Post-Thanksgiving Stuffing Ideas

How do you prepare your stuffing?

Thanksgiving leftovers present a delicious way of enjoying the holiday all over again the next day (or two--or three!). One of my favortie Thanksgivings occured when we made Thanksgiving quesadillas. They were so tasty and even the cranberry sauce worked well with them as a sauce.

But what about your leftover stuffing? It can obviously be used to stuff other things (I know lots of people who use it in peppers) but there are even more clever ways to use leftover stuffing. Have you ever thought about making meatballs out of it? How about a stuffing meatloaf? You can use stuffing for just about anything if you combine it with the right ingredients. I've read about people using it combined with White Castles to make a new dish!

What do you do with your Thanksgiving leftovers? Share your recipes and photos in the chat.

 

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Leftover Halloween Ideas

What do you make with your candy?

Now that Halloween is over, it's time to put all that candy to use! Sure, you could dole it out a piece at a time, donate it, exchange it in a buyback program... But if you want to hang onto it, there's lots of foodie things you can do, too. Here are just a few examples.

Save it for December when it's time to make gingerbread houses! We do this every year and it's always fun to see what we can come up with based only on that, our graham crackers and icing.

Melt it down and make something new out of it. Don't think it's possible? Try this cotton candy maker that lets you make cotton candy out of ANY hard candy!

Use it to decorate your goodies during the holiday season. You can even melt some of it down (especially chocolate) and use it IN your baking.

What other things do you like to do with leftover Halloween candy in the kitchen? Tell us in the chat!

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

 

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Upside-Down Oreo Cake

A no-bake treat!

Combining cookies and cakes to make the ultimate desserts is a passion of many cooks and if you don't have to bake the treat, all the better! This no-bake Oreo upside-down cake is the perfect treat for Oreo lovers. All you need are some Oreos, milk, cream cheese, cool whip, sugar and strawberries. Follow the recipe and store it in the fridge and you'll have an easy, no-bake treat for your next party.

No-bake cakes are awesome. I usually make an eclair cake each December for my husband and the best thing about it is that you can put it in the fridge and forget about it instead of staying tied to the timer. 

Have you ever made a no-bake dessert? What kind is your favorite?

 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Desserts/Sweets

Maggot-Filled Rotten Cheese

A Sardinia Delicacy

If you opened up a cheese container and found maggots, would you throw it out? I think I'd burn it, myself. (Okay, maybe not, but I'd think about it!) Just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies and knowing that some people actually approach the dish as if it's a delicacy makes me want to throw up. Logically I know that bugs are a great source of protein and most of the world does eat them in some capacity, but my conditioning makes me gag at the thought.

Known as casu marzu, this maggot-filled cheese is also known as rotten cheese and it's been banned for health reasons by the European Union. Even so, it survives via the black market because people love it. It's known and the world's most dangerous cheese and it's eaten with the maggots alive and well. Blech.

Have you ever eaten live insects? Which kind?

 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Del Monte Chopped at Home Challenge

Enter for fun and maybe you'll win!

Are you a fan of the Food Network show Chopped? Chances are that you've at least seen an episode or two, so you may know how it works: contestants receive a basket of ingredients that they must use prominently in a single dish to wow a panel of celebrity judges. The contestants are usually accomplished chefs so they get complicated ingredients that make things interesting.

The Food Network is teaming up with Del Monte Foods to offer a fun Chopped at Home Challenge. You just have to use four ingredients and submit your recipe for a chance to win $5,000. The ingredients are so versatile that you almost have to enter: fresh basil, Del Monte corn, feta cheese and a lemon. That's it!

Will you be entering the challenge? If you will, I will! Post about your experience in the chat.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Halloween Recipes That Kids Can Make

Get your shopping lists in order!

Most people like to find "kid-friendly" foods to make, and while I'm of the mind that kids can make just about any foods adults can with proper supervision and assistance, it can make it easier to find recipes that are especially easy to make. Parent and Child is my favorite parenting magazine and they have released some really cool-looking recipes for Halloween! Click the link to see them; some of them include boogeyman brownies, trick or treat cookies, and my favorite, mummy toast!

Now that my daughter is 11 and making her own foods, she prefers to make fall-themed treats like pumpkin bread. She'll make the silly ones now and then with me but we both look forward to her cousin, who turns one on Halloween, growing up to cook with us!

What Halloween goodies will you be making?

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

 

Klat Categories: 
Holidays

Make a Foodie Bucket List

Then start checking off those boxes!

While lots of people like to set goals in January, there's something about fall that calls for fresh beginnings, new experiences and magic in general. Yeah, we tend to romanticize the season in the West, but so what? It's nice to be excited about the weather changing instead of a new phone coming out or something. At any rate, if you are setting some new goals for yourself this fall, consider some foodie goals. You can make an entire list based on just about anything!

Maybe you want to try every flavor of root beer available to you, or 20 types of cheese or food trucks. Make a list of foods to cook, wines to sample, restaurants to visit. Make a list of every flavor of taffy at your candy shop and check through them, or every coffee drink and leisurely sample one each week throughout the season.

What will your foodie list look like? Share it in the chat!

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

Best Gnocchi Recipes

Share your favorites

My cat's name is Noke, which is pronounced no-key, which prompts people, upon hearing it, to think that he is named after potato pasta. No such case: he's actually fully named Princess Mononoke, and called Noke for short. The truth is that I've never eaten gnocchi! I bought a package at the store to make a couple of weeks ago but never got around to it, so I'm here to beg for your best gnocchi recipes.

First of all, is making your own very difficult? Should I buy the packaged variety but customize the rest for a semi-homemade meal? This list of seven perfect sauces for gnocchi has me interested. Butter, sage and parmesan? Yes, please! Pesto is always a good idea in my book, and of course I'd try marinara with basil. 

What is your favorite way to make gnocchi? Let us know in the chat.

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Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Vegetarian / Vegan
Home Cooking

Favorite Pizza-Based Recipes

Make one tonight!

Who doesn't love a good pizza? Sometimes you can make something even better than pizza that's inspired by the dish itself. Have you ever made pizza bagels, pizza subs or any other awesome pizza-based foods? By simply adding pizza sauce, cheese and toppings to typical, everyday foods, you can spice them up and enjoy your favorite food in a different way.

Erin Chase of $5 Dinners has shared a recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Pasta and it's absolutely delicious as well as frugal. Like most of her recipes, it utilizes minimal ingredients and is very easy to make. You could always add in vegetables and other favorite ingredients to make it more like your own favorite pizza.

What pizza-based foods do you like to make? Share your recipes in the chat.

 

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Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage
Home Cooking

Fall Hungry Squad Goal

Try a New Spice Each Week

If you're looking for a fun way to celebrate food this fall (and who isn't!), how about a fun spice challenge? Try your hand at making something different with a different fall spice every week this season. There's a catch: you must make the spice one of the stars of your dish! 

Need a good place to start? Create a checklist with any of these spices:

nutmeg

ginger

cinnamon

clove

allspice

orange peel

Add any fall spices that you like and search for some recipes that sound good to you. Try making your own ginger ale, apple pie or even a homemade pumpkin spice latte!

Which spices will you experiment with?

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Klat Categories: 
Food & Beverage

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