Joey's Slow Cooker Turkey with Apples and Cider Gravy

 

 

 

 People always ask me what my favorite dinner is, and I'll say the same thing every time: Turkey dinner with the usual everything that goes with it. But I think we only cook it on holidays because it's a bit of a production number, and it can turn out dry if it's overcooked.. and unless we're cooking for a giant crowd, most times we just don't need to cook that big of a roast. 

 And then we discovered the 3 lb boneless turkey breast cooked in the slow cooker. It was viral all over the interwebs, with its cranberries and onion soup mixture. Of course, I took the cooking method and ran with it, trying all kinds of other versions, and that's where this recipe was born. 

 As always, my first thought is "what do I happen to have on hand?" In this case, it was apples and apple cider. So I threw it in the slow cooker, added some sliced onions (why? because I love apples and onions together) and then made gravy after it was done. It was sweet from the cider and savory from the onions and poultry seasoning, Absolutely DELISH! Perfect for anytime, but special enough for your holiday dinner, especially if you only have a 3 or 4 mouths to feed. This would also be a great thing to add to your table in addition to a holiday ham, just in case anyone might like to have turkey too. The apples and cider gravy will go  PERFECTLY with everything! 

100% would make again! Enjoy! 

  

  

 

 

3 lb Butterball boneless turkey breast
1 sweet onion, peeled and sliced
1 Honeycrisp apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 tsp poultry seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup apple cider 
1 tbs apple cider vinegar
4 tbs butter, cut into small pats



Place your completely defrosted turkey breast in a slow cooker, making sure to leave the netting on. (Save the gravy packet for another time, or discard)
Place the onion and apple slices on and around the turkey.
Sprinkle with poultry season, salt, and pepper. 
Now add the cider and vinegar.
Top with pats of butter. 
Cook on low for exactly 6 hours. 
Remove turkey to a cutting board. Remove apples and onions to a serving platter.
Let the turkey rest while you make the gravy. 

Add a slurry of cold water plus 2 tbs of flour. Pour into slow cooker while stirring constantly. Turn the slow cooker to high and let it continue to cook until desired thickness. Pour into gravy boat for serving. 
Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, remove the netting from the turkey.
Slice the turkey and place on the platter with the apples and onions. 
Garnish with parsley, if desired. 
Serve with gravy on the side. 

 

Tips:
Usually, I say that slow cookers are very forgiving when it comes to cooking time, but in this case, I’ve found that cooking any longer than 6 hours runs the risk of overcooking the turkey. To insure that your turkey is perfect, use a meat thermometer. I'd test it at about 5 1/2 hours. Take it out when the turkey breast reaches an internal temperature of 160ºF. Then let it rest. The carry over cooking time will bring it up to the required 165º.
If your turkey breast is still frozen, cook it for about 8 hours. 

Sweet Potato and Pecan Casserole

 

 Every year, when I'm looking for new holiday dishes, I always seem to work my way back to sweet potatoes. What can I say? I just love 'em! But here's the thing... and this may be a divisive statement... I will never understand why people put marshmallows on top of sweet potatoes. I know, I know, Crazy, right? But I said what I said. Someone was clearly not in their right mind when they came up with that one. I mean, I gave it a try, truly, I did. I've even posted recipes, (well, at least one that I can think of) with sweet potatoes and marshmallows, just for the people who do enjoy it. But if I had my druthers, I'd druther have a sweet potato casserole with pecans and NO marshmallows. Not so sweet that it wants to be a dessert, but just sweet enough. And THAT brings us to this recipe. 

 I first saw it on a website called Just a Pinch, but then of course I changed it to the way I like it. That's really the bottom line, right? We should cook the way we like it!

 It's super easy and comes together in a snap. I always pressure can my own jars of sweet potatoes, so it was even easier. You just stir everything together and bake! It's perfect for your holiday table, and there are definitely NO marshmallows involved, thank you very much!! I suppose you could put some on top if you REALLY feel strongly about it, but there's really no need. It's already perfect just as it is! 

Hope you like it!

 

 

 

6 sweet potatoes, boiled or roasted and peeled
6 tbs butter, melted
2 eggs, whisked
1 tsp rum extract or a tbs of rum
1/2 c sweetened condensed milk
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped pecans 

 

 

Heat oven to 350ºF.

Mash the potatoes by hand. Stir in remaining ingredients, except for chopped pecans. Pour into a baking dish. Cover and bake for about 45 minutes. Uncover. Sprinkle pecans over the top. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Done!

 

 

 

Tips:

The original recipe included the zest of an entire orange. When I first tried it, all I could taste was orange, and for me, it ruined the whole dish. Not that I don't like orange in my sweet potatoes. I do, just not that much. Maybe next time I'll add just a teaspoon. Or maybe just a splash of orange juice. Actually, when I make my Candied Sweet Potatoes, the secret ingredient is a tablespoon of orange marmalade. You could add that to this recipe, if you want!  

Joey's Real Deal Green Bean Casserole

 

   For years and years, I've enjoyed the classic Green Bean Casserole recipe, just like the rest of America, especially for Thanksgiving. It calls for canned green beans, canned cream of mushroom soup, and canned French fried onions. But then, a while back, I thought, "What if we don't use canned ingredients and use fresh ones instead? Wouldn't that be much better?"

 So I made a batch using fresh green beans. Great!  It was delicious, as always, and it absolutely elevated the recipe. I was definitely on the right track. Then I thought, "ok what if I make my own mushroom cream sauce instead of the canned soup?" Yes, I know the recipe was developed specifically so consumers would have another reason to buy Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, but I still thought we could do better. Again, absolutely delish, but there was still room to push it higher. And then came the game-changing moment. I decided to make my own French fried onions. 

What? Who even does that?? 

Well, clearly, now I do! And let me just tell you.. it made a huge difference! It was as big of a difference as going from canned to fresh green beans, and there was nothing to it! I made it for our Thanksgiving dinner and everyone absolutely raved about it! NOW it's elevated to where it should be!

 So here's the thing.. it does take a few extra steps to make each component. I know. I know. It's kind of a lot. Nothing too difficult, but it does take time. But then all you need to do is throw it all together and bake! It's seriously worth the extra effort. The good news is you can do all of the components in advance, easily a day or two before Thanksgiving, and then just bake it while the turkey is resting and or being carved. Boom.

Side note, when I asked my nieces, Casey and Carly, what the new version should be called, Casey suggested "real deal" because it's all the same things, but this is the REAL deal. So there we go!

 Give your loved ones a chance to taste this version, and I swear they'll request it every time. In our family, it's now definitely the new classic!

 

 

 

For the Green Beans:

Choose fresh bright green beans, about 3-4  lbs, depending on how many people you're serving, and how big your casserole dish is. Trim the stem end from each of the beans, then cut into 1-2 inch lengths. Place cut beans into a steamer, and steam until almost completely cooked through. Full disclosure, I like my green beans to be COOKED. None of that "crisp tender" hooey. I'm not saying I like them to be cooked to death, but I do like a tender bean. After steaming to your liking, remove to a mixing bowl.

 

 

For the Mushroom Sauce:

1 stick butter

1 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, finely minced

1/2 cup flour

3 cups milk

1 cup half and half

salt and pepper to taste 

In a large sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onions. Saute and cook for a good ten minutes, letting any moisture from the mushrooms evaporate. Add the flour, then whisk to blend with the butter. Continue to cook for a minute or two, then add the milk and half and half. Continue to whisk until the sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and a good amount of pepper.  Pour into the mixing bowl with the green beans. 

For the French Fried Onions:

2 medium onions (or one large)

Buttermilk

Flour

Salt and Pepper

Oil for frying

 

Peel and slice the onions VERY THINLY into half rings. Place them in a bowl, then pour buttermilk over to cover. Let them sit for at least a good 15 minutes. (I probably left them for more like a half hour).

In another large bowl, place a good amount of flour for dredging, plus salt and pepper. 

In a wide shallow pan, heat oil (enough to go about halfway up the side of the pan) to about 350º. Using tongs, grab a batch of onions, and let the buttermilk drain, then throw them into the seasoned flour and toss until well coated. Gently and carefully drop the dredged onions into the oil. Use a slotted spoon or spider strainer to stir them around so they don't clump together. Let them fry until they are golden brown. Remove to a paper towel or napkin to drain. Immediately sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Repeat until all onions are fried. 

Now it's time to assemble. 

Pour half the fried onions into the big bowl with the beans and sauce. Gently toss to coat everything. Pour all into casserole dish. Cover with foil, and bake at 350ºF for about 30-40 minutes. Remove foil, top with remaining fried onions. Bake for another 10 minutes, just to crisp up the onions. 

Tips:

To make it in advance, just assemble everything as directed, store your extra fried onions in a ziploc bag at room temperature, then cover and refrigerate your assembled casserole until your event. Take your casserole out of the fridge about an hour before baking. Bake as directed. 

To steam a large quantity of beans, I like to use my pasta pot. It has an insert for lifting and draining your cooked pasta, which also works great as a steamer. Just fill the pot with enough water in the bottom until it reaches the insert. Easy!

Joey's Broccoli Stuffing

 

 This is an easy way to combine your stuffing with your veggie side dish.

It was inspired by a broccoli and stuffing casserole that I saw on a website called Al Dente Diva, and this is where I landed. I sort of used her recipe as a guideline, but then I added my own spin.. adding celery and onions, etc. The result wound up being pretty similar to the way I would usually make stuffing anyway, only now it has the addition of broccoli. Who knew it would be such a match made in heaven???? I literally couldn't stop myself from going back for more. It's goes perfectly with your holiday turkey or ham, or any Sunday roast dinner. My only question is "Why have we never done this before???? "

 Seriously. I'll definitely be adding this one to the repertoire! 

1 large baguette, torn into pieces
4 cups broccoli florets
1 stick butter
1 onion, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
1 tbs chicken Better than Bouillon 
2 cups milk
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper


Heat oven to 350ºF.
Place torn baguette pieces on a dry baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes to lightly toast. Place in a very large mixing bowl along with broccoli florets. Set aside.
Melt butter in a sauté pan. Add chopped onions and celery.  Sauté until they begin to soften.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients.
Now it's time to assemble. 
Add sautéed veggies and milk mixture to bowl with broccoli and bread. Toss well to combine.
Pour into a buttered casserole dish.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or longer if you like a crispier stuffing.

 

 

Tips:
Be sure to tear the bread into rough craggy pieces, instead of cutting into cubes. They'll soak up the liquid much better, and give you lots of crispy bits on top.
There's no need to add any salt because the bouillon has plenty. If you're sensitive to salt, just hold back a little.

I give it a stir halfway through the cooking, just to insure even cooking. I like a pretty moist stuffing, so I don't leave it in the oven for too long, but you do you!

Baked Apricot Cranberry Sauce

 

 In my never-ending search for new variations of Thanksgiving recipes, I was recently spiraling down the Tik Tok rabbit hole, when I found this little jewel of a recipe. It’s from a blogger who calls herself the Feel Good Foodie. It wasn’t the list of ingredients that I found so intriguing, but rather the cooking method. Now, I’ve made homemade cranberry sauce for years and years, but never BAKED them. What a concept, right?  So, clearly, I needed to give it a try, just to see how it would go. Well, guess what.. it was fabulous!! There was a sort of "roasted" quality that was really nice, and rather unexpected, if I'm being totally honest. Who knew? It was SUPER easy to make and the flavors were out of this world. Perfect for your holiday meal.
 Oh, btw, I should mention that the original video I saw didn’t include any kind of jam, but when I looked it up on her website, she included orange marmalade. I had some homemade apricot jam, so I went with it. Marmalade or without, you should give this a try. It’s always good to switch things up every so often, dontcha think?? Enjoy!


12 oz bag cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup apricot jam 

 

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Combine the cranberries, sugar, water, and cinnamon in a small baking dish. 

Bake for one hour, stirring halfway through.
Remove the dish from the oven, stir in pecans and preserves. Allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate.

 

Tips:

Clearly this is a great time saver because you can make this WAY in advance. No need to take up oven space on Turkey Day!
Feel free to double or triple this recipe if you have a crowd to feed. Boom. 

Not a fan of cinnamon with your cranberries? Just leave it out!
 If you’d like to try these flavors, but don’t want to bake them in the oven, you can certainly do this on the stove top. I bet you could even do it in the crock pot as well, but I haven’t tested that idea yet. I’ll let you know when I figure that out!

Cauliflower, Carrot, and Artichoke Bake

 

 

 When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, you really can't go wrong with the classics. You have your turkey and gravy, obviously, and then you have your cranberries, your stuffing, your mashed potatoes, and your green bean casserole, among others. But then I got to wondering.. what if I play around with them a little? Would that be so terrible? 

 So I looked at the ingredients in the classic green bean casserole, or Green Bean Bake, as we used to call it. I thought, what if we swap out the green beans and use something else? So that's what I did! I still wanted the convenience of using the canned cream soups and French fried onions, but just skipped the green beans altogether. 

 OH. MY GOD. Can I just tell you how good it turned out?? Why have we never done this before? I'm not even kidding when I tell you I couldn't stop myself from going back for seconds and it was gone in no time. Who knew something so simple could be so good? 

 So if you're not a fan of green beans, just swap 'em out for something else! I used carrots, cauliflower, and artichokes. Why? because I LOVE them (also I just happened to have them on hand), but pretty much any vegetable(s) will work. Which veggie is your favorite? I betcha it'll be awesome! And who knows? Maybe this will be your NEW favorite classic!! Ok, good talk. 

 

 

 

1 lb cauliflower florets 

1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup 

1 can condensed cream of celery soup

6 oz container of French fried onions

Salt and pepper

 

 

Place carrots and cauliflower in a steamer. Steam until just crisp tender. 

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, stir together remaining ingredients, reserving about 1/2 cup of the onions. Resist the urge to snack on them while you make the rest of the casserole. 

Gently toss the par cooked veggies with the soup mixture. Pour into a 9x13 or similar casserole dish. Sprinkle with reserved onions, if there are any left. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

 

 

 

Tips:

Instead of steaming, you could also par boil the veggies, and then drain well.

I intentionally did not add any kind of cheese because, well, it wasn't included in the original green bean casserole. Also I didn't want to make it too heavy. But I realize, for some people, it's just not a casserole if it doesn't have cheese. So feel free to add 8 oz of any kind of shredded cheese, if you like. I would go with Swiss or Cheddar, but you do you! And for heaven's sake, do NOT use the pre-shredded cheese in a bag. It melts SO much better when you buy the block and just shred it yourself!  

 

Butternut and Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

 

 OK, I have a question for you.

Do you have the same menu every year for your Thanksgiving dinner? Or do you switch things up from time to time? I've asked this question many times, and it seems people like to have the tradition of the same menu from year to year. My family is the same! We have all of our favorite Thanksgiving dishes, and it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them.

 For many families, there's one dish that falls squarely into that category, and that's mac and cheese. It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without it, right? Um... well... not for everyone. Full disclosure... as much as I LOVE a fabulous mac and cheese and all its variations, it has never been part of my family's traditional menu. I guess my Mom always figured we have mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and stuffing.. why would we need another starch? But hey, who am I to judge??? So that's why I decided to come up with a new "Thanksgiving" version of mac and cheese. 

 I added some roasted vegetables and some fresh herbs, but still kept it ooey and gooey, just the way mac and cheese should be. It turned out to be absolutely delicious! And it's definitely good enough to be included in one's holiday menu. It goes perfectly with your roast turkey or ham. Maybe this will be your NEW traditional holiday mac and cheese! who knows? It could happen!! Hope you like it!

 

 

1 lb diced butternut squash

1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into chunks

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 lb cavatappi pasta

 4 tbs butter

1/4 cup flour 

4 cups milk 

8 oz Velveeta cheese or American cheese

8 oz Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded

8 oz Swiss cheese, shredded

1 tbs brown mustard

1/2 tsp thyme leaves

1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary leaves

2-3 scallions, sliced 

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

 

 

Heat oven to 400ºF.

Place diced squash, cauliflower, and peppers on a sheet tray. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss well to coat. Spread out to a single layer. Roast in oven for about 30 minutes. After they've finished roasting, remove from oven, and reduce oven to 350ºF.

Meanwhile in a large pot of heavily salted water, boil your pasta until al dente. Drain, set aside. 

In a sauce pan, melt butter. Add flour, and whisk to combine. Continue to whisk and cook the flour for about a minute or two, then add the milk, whisking to break up any lumps. Add cheeses, mustard, and herbs, continuing to stir until thickened. 

Now it's time to assemble. 

Place roasted vegetables in a large greased casserole dish along with drained pasta. Stir in cheese sauce and sliced scallions until well combined. Sprinkle bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese over all. Sprinkle some dried parsley over the top, for a little color, if desired. 

Place casserole dish in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for about 15 minutes. 

 

 

Tips:

You can butter your bread crumbs, if you like, but I had some olive oil left on the roasting pan, so I just used that. Or just sprinkle them dry. It'll all work!

Adding 4 cups of milk may seem like too much, but just trust the process! Your final dish will be the perfect texture. No one wants a dry mac and cheese!

When using shredded cheese in a dish, it's always best to buy the block and then shred it yourself. The pre-shredded cheese has a coating on it so it won't clump, but then it doesn't melt as well. Just FYI! 

Not a fan of butternut squash? Add whichever roasted veggies you like! Any kind of root vegetables would work well here. Could even do broccoli or sauteed spinach. All good!