So this is love?

Last week, Eric and I went on yet another "date" to Target. (After nearly 19 years of marriage, we recognize that sometimes the best date is the one that will accomplish whatever is screaming for attention at the top of the to-do list.) One of the things we were picking up was valentines for Daniel to give out in his class, and, as we walked the isles filled with pink cards and red chocolate boxes, I saw a glimmer of a thought come into Eric's eyes.

Then he turned to me and said, "So... do you want me to keep doing the same thing I've been doing for you for Valentine's Day?"

"Ummm...  You mean nothing?"

"Yeah. That."

"Sure."

That was it. Plus a little chuckle at the end of the exchange. No facades. No hurt feelings. No expectations for gifts or grand gestures. And I'm very happy with the way we do things. He has never made a big deal out of holidays, but don't be fooled into thinking less of him for it. Have I ever mentioned that he does the dishes pretty much every day? Or that he gets up between 4:30 and 5am every morning so that he will be home before dinner to spend time with the kids? Or that he packs a lunch every day to save money? And never complains about his commute?

Yes. This is love.

Mystery Meat

Now what? So you have all this leftover meat...what are you going to do with it? Keep topping it with gravy? Freeze it? Throw it away without telling anyone? (Especially your friends who actually believe in not wasting food.) You really should do something with it before it becomes unrecognizable, a.k.a. "mystery meat". I'm sure you could find a-million-plus recipes online for ways to use your not-so-precious leftovers, but wouldn't you rather get recipes from a trusted friend? I thought so. Here are a few of mine. I would love to get a few of yours also!

TURKEY WILD RICE SOUP
Ingredients:
30-ish oz. chicken broth (it really doesn't need to be exact)
2 c. water
1/2 c. uncooked rice (wild, if you have it; whatever, if you don't--don't you already love this recipe?)
1/2 c. chopped green onions (or regular onions)
1/2 c. butter (or margarine, if you like it--we can talk about that later...)
3/4 c. flour
salt and pepper
1/4 t. poultry seasoning
2 c. milk (if you didn't gain any weight on Dec. 25, you could use half-and-half, otherwise, milk works great)
3-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
Bite-size pieces of leftover turkey, whatever amount you want

In a soup pot, combine broth, water, rice, and onions. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 25-30 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Continue stirring for a few minutes until smooth. Stir in milk and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Add milk mixture to broth mixture. Stir. Then add bacon and turkey. Heat and stir for another 10 minutes or so. Serve.

TURKEY POT PIE
Ingredients:
Double pie crust (you can also make it with just one, see below)
2 cans cream of potato soup
1 and 1/4 c. milk
1 can mixed vegetables (or use leftover ones you have on hand)
1/4 to 1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
1 c. (or more) cooked turkey

Lay one pie crust in pie plate. Combine all other ingredients and pour into crust. Top with the other crust, seal, cut a few slits in top, and bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees. OPTIONAL: Lightly grease pie plate, pour ingredient mixture directly into pie plate and top with one crust. Wrap edges of crust over lip of plate to seal, cut a few slits, and bake as above.

My favorite pie crust recipe:
Combine 2 1/2 c. flour and 1 t. salt in a large bowl. Cut 1 c. shortening into flour mixture using pastry cutter. In a small bowl, use a fork to beat together 1/4 c. water and 1 egg. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir together. Use hands to form into 2 balls of dough. Roll each ball out to 1/8 inch thick and use as desired.

CRUSTLESS BROCCOLI-HAM QUICHE (Versatile, easy, delicious, and low-fat--what more could you want?)
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1 can evaporated milk (skim is fine)
3 T. flour
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 t. dry mustard (optional)
3/4 c. shredded cheddar or swiss (or whatever)
1 c. chopped cooked ham
1 c. small broccoli florets, cooked but still firm
(You can use bacon instead of ham, and cooked mushrooms are great in the quiche; so is chopped fresh basil.)

Whisk together eggs and milk in a medium bowl. Whisk in flour and seasonings. Gently stir in cheese, ham, and broccoli. Pour into greased 8x8-inch baking dish and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until quiche is set. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Hope these are useful. And I guess let's not forget to be thankful for all this excess food. There really are starving people in many parts of the world, just like Mom said.

Counterfeit Goodies: We're rolling in dough

Our generous neighbors and friends have been carrying out the thoughtful holiday tradition of delivering plates, bags, and tins of scrumptious goodies to wish us a Merry Christmas. These have been much appreciated and devoured almost instantaneously. But now I'm feeling just a smidgen of guilt. No, not over fat and calories. That will come later.

A few years ago, a neighbor brought us a cute little bucket with a lid and handle, filled with frozen balls of cookie dough, ready to place on the cookie sheet and throw in the oven. She said, "Everyone gets too many treats all at once during the holidays. This way, when all the goodies are gone and you actually want some again, you can pull this out of the freezer and just pop them in the oven."

Brilliant! I loved it! Not only did I love the cookies and having them when I wanted them, but I loved the ease of it for the giver. She didn't have to bake them, cool them, arrange them on the plate, etc. No. Just hand them over and let the other person do all that. Like I said--brilliant!

This year, we took it to a higher level. Well, really a lower level. We didn't even make the little balls. We just rolled up the cookie dough in wax paper, put it in a freezer bag, and wrapped it in tissue paper. Voila! Here are your goodies. All I did was make and roll the dough. For 24 hours, it felt like I was in a Pillsbury Bake-off, but then it was done. No cookie sheets and cooling racks to clean. No festive plates or containers required. But now that the deed is done, I feel a little bit sheepish. "Hi. We wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, but we didn't really want to do anything for you, so YOU can do the baking. Have a happy holiday!" Kind of lame. Sort of a cop-out. Somewhat Scrooge-ish. Yet...brilliant!

Should I feel guilty?

Unsolved Holiday Mysteries

Originally I had planned to title this post "Four Crazy Things About the Holidays." Then I realized that the four things were (at least to ME) unexplained, and that fit so nicely with the overall theme of my brand-new blog, so I decided to begin a tradition of naming my posts using words that fit the "mystery" theme. We'll see how many I write before I run out of those words. Now...to those unsolved mysteries:

#1 Giant Inflatables. This odd phenomenon caught my eye back at Thanksgiving when I passed a storage company that displayed a giant inflatable turkey wearing a pilgrim suit. I couldn't help but think how strange it was that this should be a well-recognized symbol of gratitude. As the holidays have followed one almost on top of another on through New Year's, I have seen giant inflatable Santas, snowmen, and Winnie the Pooh and friends in sledding attire. The mystery? Why do people love these inflatables enough to purchase them, display them, and most especially, store them?

#2 Retail store music tracks. I think retailers would get more money out of me if I could stand to be in the store long enough to really shop. But by December 8th or so, I can't stand to hear one more version of "Santa Baby", "Grandma got run over by a reindeer", or "Jingle Bell Rock". I'm told (by very reliable sources) that retailers avoid playing actual Christmas music (i.e. "Silent Night" or any other tune that reveals the religious nature of Christmas) so as not to insult shoppers who may not celebrate the holiday or who do so without religious purposes. It seems very curious to me that these retail businesses should so carefully avoid mention of the real meaning of the holiday that is bringing in the much-needed end-of-the-year revenue.

#3 Mistletoe and Midnight. Briefly stated, the mystery here is, where did we get these made-up reasons for kissing? If I had time to investigate, I would love to find out who was the first man to tell a pretty girl that because they were standing directly under a particular plant, they simply had to kiss. And what girl fell for that? She must have wanted to.

#4 The Treat Trade. No, I'm not referring to fruitcake, though that is mysterious. I am speaking of the popular tradition where everyone makes homemade high-calorie goodies for their friends and neighbors, while pointing out that they themselves are on a diet and can't eat the goodies (but wish they could) and then they secretly snack on them anyway. Why do we do this? It's a mystery.