dressing

#CranberryWeek: Cranberry Cornbread Dressing

~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

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Welcome to #CranberryWeek, hosted by Caroline’s Cooking and A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures. We’ll be sharing cranberry-inspired creations all week long in celebration of national cranberry day. You can search #CranberryWeek to keep up to date and follow the #CranberryWeek Pinterest board for more cranberry inspiration.

I was really excited when I discovered #CranberryWeek was going to be a blogging event this year. I hope it’s one that will become an annual thing as I simply adore cranberries!

I’ll be posting each day this week and offering a variety of courses. Yesterday, I shared a dessert that is guarenteed to please your holiday guests. Today I’ve got a wonderful side dish to cranberrify your dressing/stuffing.

I’m sharing this cranberry cornbread dressing today becuase should you choose to serve it on Thursday you’ve got to get your ingredients today! The cornbread needs to be baked at least a day in advance, and there’s a loaf of white bread that needs to go stale.

There are a fair amount of moving parts in this dressing, but just about all of them can be prepped ahead of time, making your turkey day workload lighter.

  • Pecans can be toasted and chopped ahead of time (or purchased that way if you can find them)
  • Celery and onion cut in advance, even cooked early on, too!
  • Cornbread and white bread cubed up early

If you get all that prep done, all you need to do is mix everything together and pop it in the oven (or stuff it in your bird). This recipe makes enought for two large casserole dishes – so if you’re stuffing the turkey, you’d have to have a huge cavity! Any extra dressing/stuffing could be baked and frozen for a taste of Thanksgiving another time of the year.

When I made this recipe, I had all intentions to freeze one of the casseroles for Thanksgiving enjoyment. But… my post-1 year-doctor’s-visit child was needing my attention. As I picked him up and turned to stir the veggies at the stove, he reached out and knocked one of the bowls of bread to the ground! The bright side was that I hadn’t added the egg or stock to it, so the mess wasn’t too difficult to clean.

We loved this dressing recipe and I’m remaking it and serving it today at my husband’s office Thanksgiving party.

Cranberry Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 2 C pecans, chopped
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 3 onions, chopped
  • 6 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 9″ skillet cornbread (day old), cubed
  • 1 loaf white bread (stale), cubed
  • 2 C dried cranberries
  • 1 bunch parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • 1 tbsp Kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp black pepper
  • 2 – 3 eggs, beaten
  • 4 C chicken stock

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 10 minutes. Set aside.
  2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and celery, until tender.
  3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  4. In a very large bowl (or two) toss cornbread, white bread, toasted pecans, cranberries, parsley, oregano, S+P. Add eggs – amount of eggs needed will depend on the moisture level of the bread – and chicken stock.
  5. Transfer dressing to two large greased casserole dishes. Bake, covered, 35 minutes. Bake, uncovered, 20 minutes.

*This recipe is modified from Martha Stewart at http://www.marthastewart.com/317663/cranberry-cornbread-stuffing*

Cranberry Cornbread Dressing for #CranberryWeek from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Be sure to check out all the other cranberry recipes being shared today:

Baked Pork Chops with Cranberry Thyme Sauce from Hostess At Heart

Cranberry Caipirinha from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Cranberry Chicken Thokku from Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Cranberry Cornbread Dressing from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

Cranberry Oatmeal Sourdough Muffins from Cooking With Carlee

Cranberry-Sage Breakfast Sausage from Palatable Pastime

Jaegerschnitzel with Cranberry-Raspberry Sauce from Caroline’s Cooking

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Tomato and Bean Salad

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Late spring and summer this year have been fairly wet. All of the rain yielded quite the tomato crop over in my neighbor’s yard. Which means just about every week I’m being given fresh homegrown tomatoes! (Black cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and roma tomatoes) I’ve even been handed two quarts of homemade tomato sauce.

This pregnancy I’ve found that I adore tomatoes. BLTs have been shamelessly scarfed down for lunch at least once a week, and those cherry tomatoes turned into my favorite salad (tomatoes, thinly sliced onion, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, S+P).

I took a play on that aforementioned salad and added beans and basil to make a heartier potluck contribution at a church function.

Tomato and Bean Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 very large heirloom tomato, chopped
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I used Gourmet Garden lightly dried basil)
  • 1 heaping tbsp minced red onion
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp agave
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic

Steps:

  1. In a large bowl, gently toss together beans, tomatoes, basil, and onion.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegars, oil, agave, and garlic. Season to taste with S+P.
  3. Dress salad and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve (at least 30 minutes).

*This recipe is adapted from Rebekah at http://rebekahrose.blogspot.ca/2015/07/bloggerclue-white-bean-tomato-and-basil.html*

tomato bean salad | sew you think you can cook

Honey Orange Vinaigrette

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I’m not sure I’ve mentioned this yet – but I have really loved spring and summer here in Ohio. (Despite Monday’s post complaining about the rain.) The weather barely gets above 90 degrees and the sun doesn’t set until 9! This extra sunlight has really taken a lot of pressure off me when it comes to preparing meals for the blog. And no snow on the ground means I can take my photos outside again!

IMG_3575This particular salad I made at the end of May when my little man was almost 11 months old. At this point he was an expert crawler and good at pulling himself up. His mobility skills allow me to bring him outside with me while I photograph food, which means I’m not putting it on the floor by the window and playing defense. It also means I don’t have to wait until nap time or for my husband to come home first!

I followed Renee’s suggestion and served this vinaigrette over a spinach salad with apples, shallots, and feta cheese.

Honey Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

  • 1/3 C fresh orange juice
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 tsp minced shallot
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 2/3 C extra virgin olive oil

Steps:

  1. Place orange juice, honey, vinegar, shallot, mustard, and garlic in a small blender. Pulse until combined.
  2. While the blender is running slowly add the olive oil. Season to taste with S+P.
  3. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Separation is normal, shake before using.

*This recipe is adapted from Renee at http://magnoliadays.com/2015/spinach-salad-honey-tangerine-dressing*

Honey Orange Vinaigrette | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

One of my favorite ways to incorporate salads into our menu is under the influence of Mexican Monday. Typically salads are just plain boring, but with big flavors in Mexican cuisine, no salad is ever boring. And creamy dressings are my favorite. This dressing gets a kick from the chipotle pepper in adobo, but is mellowed out by the sour cream and cilantro.

This salad makes for a great lunch or quick dinner – and can be assembled even more quickly if you have left over cooked chicken or stop at the store and pick up a rotisserie chicken from the deli. With black beans in the salad, you could even omit the chicken if desired for a Meatless Monday too.

For a little crunch in your salad, topped with crushed up tortilla chips or the tortilla strips salad topping from the store (they’re typically next to the packaged croutons).

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

Ingredients for dressing:

  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo*
  • 1/3 C packed fresh cilantro
  • 2/3 C sour cream
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • juice of 1 1/2 limes
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar

*for a milder dressing remove seeds from pepper, for a spicier dressing include some of the adobo sauce

Ingredients for salad:

  • 1-2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
  • 1 head of lettuce, chopped
  • grape tomatoes, halved
  • red onion, thinly sliced
  • canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • canned corn, drained and rinsed
  • avocado, diced
  • red bell pepper, thinly sliced

Steps:

  1. Season chicken with S+P. In a non-stick skillet, cook chicken over medium-high heat in a little bit of olive oil.
  2. Place dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse until smooth. Adjust seasonings to taste.
  3. In a large bowl combine salad ingredients with cooked chicken. (Note: I didn’t specify amounts for the salad ingredients, use any or all to create your perfect salad!)
  4. Toss salad with as much dressing as desired.

*This recipe is adapted from David at http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chipotle-chicken-taco-salad-10000001215905/*

Chipotle Taco Salad

Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

It’s always fun to see what people come up with during the Crazy Ingredient Challenge. I’ve pinned a few recipes but I’ve never made someone else’s CIC recipe.

Until now.

For this month’s Mustard and Strawberries challenge I had considered doing a salad with strawberries and honey mustard dressing, but that wasn’t creative. It never occurred to me to make a dressing! Pure genius. And pure deliciousness.

 

Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C (5-7) fresh strawberries, stems removed and cut in half
  • zest and juice of 1 clementine
  • 2-3 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/3 C extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Steps:

  1. In a food processor combine strawberries, clementine juice/zest, honey, and mustard until smooth. With the machine running stream in olive oil. Season with S+P to taste, if desired.
  2. Remove the blade from the food processor and stir in poppy seeds.

*This recipe is adapted from Cindy at http://www.hunwhatsfordinner.com/2014/02/strawberry-poppy-seed-dressing-crazy.html?m=1*

Strawberry Poppy Seed Dressing

Protein Packed Southwestern Salad

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

I am keeping with my healthy kick of Mexican Monday (previous weeks included Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers and Turkey Lettuce Wraps) with a double duty Mexican Monday & Salad Night.

It’s been way too long since my last salad post – and unfortunately that also indicates it’s been way too long since our last salad night! Stuart has been looking for healthier meals lately, and after eating this Southwestern Salad he was completely satisfied.

The dressing for the salad is made with Greek yogurt. If you’ve paid attention, or know me, you realize that I have a great dislike for Greek yogurt. But I do try and give it another chance every now and then. I was prepared to revert to bottled salad dressing, but I’m happy to state that I loved the creamy cilantro vinaigrette!

I added chicken to the salad so we’re getting 3 sources of protein: the Greek yogurt in the dressing, chicken, and black beans! I promise this is no rabbit food.

Protein Packed Southwestern Salad

Ingredients for the chicken:

  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken tenders (you can also cut up 1 breast into strips)
  • 3/4 tsp Adobo seasoning
  • 1 tsp Ancho chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil, divided use
  • 1 head iceberg lettuce
  • 1/2 C canned corn, drained
  • 1/2 C canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 on-the-vine tomato, chopped and seeds removed
  • 1 avocado, chopped
  • crispy tortilla strips, for topping

Ingredients for the dressing:

  • 1/2 C Greek yogurt
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 C fresh cilantro
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 C extra virgin olive oil
  • salt, to taste

Steps:

  1. In a small bowl combine adobo seasoning, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Season both sides of chicken with spice mixture (you will have some left over).
  2. In a medium skillet heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 4-5 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
  3. In a food processor combine all dressing ingredients.
  4. Assemble salad with lettuce, corn, beans, tomato, avocado, and chicken. Toss with as much dressing as you like. Top with tortilla strips.

*This recipe is adapted from Chung-Ah at http://damndelicious.net/2014/01/10/southwestern-chopped-salad-cilantro-lime-dressing/*

Protein Packed Southwestern Salad 1 Protein Packed Southwestern Salad 2 Protein Packed Southwestern Salad 3