Thanksgiving 2013

I had such a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! My husband and I recently moved away from where our families live, but we were lucky enough to have our siblings and one of my closest friends come visit us for the holiday!

We ended up having a total of 8 people over for Thanksgiving dinner this year so I took full advantage having so many people to cook for and made all kinds of things!

I started off Thanksgiving week by making some kolaches, which are traditional Czechoslovakian pastries. They are made of a sweet dough and generally have a fruity filling. I made my brother and my favorite flavor, cherry!

Look how gooey and yummy they were! I will post the recipe for these soon!

Then, my brother helped me make my favorite spinach artichoke dip to snack on during Thanksgiving day!

We even made the bread! I used the crusty bread recipe, but rather than shaping it into a ball I shaped it into a loaf. 

My husband made his favorite Thanksgiving food, dressing!

My husband and I decided that rather than making turkey for Thanksgiving, we wanted to make a ham. Some of our guests on the other hand, decided that they could not have Thanksgiving without a turkey. So one of them volunteered to make a turkey....and then another one volunteered to make a turkey... and then there was a little bit of a miscommunication and we ended up with 2 turkeys!!!

Here is a picture of turkey #1, your classic turkey:

And here is turkey #2, the 'burkey':

And here is the ham that we made:

And here are the sides! We had mashed potatoes, sauteed Brussels sprouts, sweet potato casserole, potato salad, dressing, green bean casserole, and rolls! Whew! That was a lot of food! And it was all so good!

Here is a picture of the guys trying to figure out how to carve their birds!

And here is my plate! Look at all of that delicious food!

We weren't done yet! Now time for the desserts! My friend and I started off by making Oreo balls! They are super easy to make and so good! They are the perfect dessert for a chocoholic!

And then we made a mini carrot cake using my mother-in-law's recipe! It was so delicious!

Look at that yummy cake!

Welp, that's all! I will be posting some of the recipes for things that we made over the next few weeks. If you have any questions or recipe requests just let me know! Happy Thanksgiving!

Spinach, Artichoke, & Feta Pizza

After making the spinach & artichoke stuffed shells I had leftover spinach AND artichoke so I decided to throw them on a pizza! I also found some feta cheese that I had left over from the berry salad I made a few weeks ago so I decided to throw that on as well! I then decided to use an alfredo sauce rather than a marinara sauce, and voila, I had a wonderful pizza! 

For the sauce and the toppings we used the following quantities of ingredients:

• 2 Tbs BUTTER
• 1/4 cup HEAVY CREAM
• 1/2 cup GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE
• 1/2 cup FRESH SPINACH, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup ARTICHOKE HEARTS, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup FETA CHEESE
• 1 & 1/2 cup MOZZARELLA CHEESE

I used Bobby Flay's pizza dough recipe that I have now made several times. It's extremely easy to make and perfect for preparing ahead of time, freezing, and then defrosting when you need it! The recipe will make enough dough for two pizza. 

After making the dough, I simply roll it out until it was about 1/4 inch thick. Then, I fold the outside edge of the dough inward about 1 inch to create the crust of the pizza. Now it is ready to top!

For the sauce, I made an alfredo sauce by melting the butter into the cream and then stirring in the parmesan cheese. 

Once all of the ingredients are well combined and the sauce is smooth, spread it onto the dough! Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Tip: Make sure to put the dough onto your baking sheet BEFORE adding the toppings...I forgot to do that this time and it got quite messy...

Next, I added the spinach!

Then I added the artichoke! (Only on half though, my husband wanted his pizza artichoke free!)

Next, I added half of the feta cheese...

Then the mozzarella, and then the rest of the feta on top!

Bake the pizza on the baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes and then remove the baking sheet from under the pizza. Cook the pizza for 5-10 minutes more on the oven rack in order to get the bottom of the pizza dough cooked through. (If you have an actual pizza pan with holes in the bottom you may not need to remove it from the cooking sheet.)

This is what ours looked like when we took it out of the oven! Yum!

Enjoy!

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Spinach, Artichoke, & Feta Pizza

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs BUTTER
• 1/4 cup HEAVY CREAM
• 1/2 cup GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE
• 1/2 cup FRESH SPINACH, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup ARTICHOKE HEARTS, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup FETA CHEESE
• 1 & 1/2 cup MOZZARELLA CHEESE

Directions:

1. I used Bobby Flay's pizza dough recipe that I have now made several times. It's extremely easy to make and perfect for preparing ahead of time, freezing, and then defrosting when you need it! The recipe will make enough dough for two pizza. 
2. After making the dough, I simply roll it out until it was about 1/4 inch thick. Then, I fold the outside edge of the dough inward about 1 inch to create the crust of the pizza. Now it is ready to top!
3. For the sauce, I made an alfredo sauce by melting the butter into the cream and then stirring in the parmesan cheese. 
4. Once all of the ingredients are well combined and the sauce is smooth, spread it onto the dough! 
5. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
6. Tip: Make sure to put the dough onto your baking sheet BEFORE adding the toppings...I forgot to do that and it got quite messy...
7. Next, I added the spinach! Then the artichoke! And then half of the feta cheese. Then the mozzarella, and then the rest of the feta on top!
8. Bake the pizza on the baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes and then remove the baking sheet from under the pizza. Cook the pizza for 5-10 minutes more on the oven rack in order to get the bottom of the pizza dough cooked through. (If you have an actual pizza pan with holes in the bottom you may not need to remove it from the cooking sheet.)

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Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Shells...Again!

I told you the stuffed shells were going on my grocery list for this week! We just had them for dinner and they were just as delicious as I remember them! Here is an updated post with new (more) pictures to help you recreate it!



To make this dish you will need:

• 6 oz. fresh SPINACH, chopped
• 1 clove GARLIC, minced
• 2 Tbs OLIVE OIL
• 15 oz. RICOTTA CHEESE
• 15 oz. can ARTICHOKE HEARTS, drained & chopped
• 1 & 1/3 cup PARMESAN CHEESE 
• SALT
• PEPPER
• 20 LARGE PASTA SHELLS
• 2 cups MARINARA SAUCE

Begin by heating a pot of water to boil the pasta shells. Boil the shells until they are just under al dente since they are going to go into the oven to cook some more.



Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds and then add the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted, drain any excess liquid and put the spinach into a medium bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, artichoke hearts, and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese to the bowl, and then season with salt and pepper. 



Stir to combine all of the ingredients and then spoon the mixture into a sandwich baggie.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (or a 10 x 10 inch baking dish) with cooking spray and then spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom.

Cut off one of the bottom corners of the baggie to create an opening about the size of a nickel. Once the pasta shells are cooked, squeeze the filling from the baggie into each shell and place in the baking dish on top of the sauce. 

Once all of the shells have been filled, cover them with the second cup of marinara sauce. 

Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese on top of the shells and sauce. If you want it to be extra cheesy you can also sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top! 

Bake for 30-40 minutes!

Yum!

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Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

• 6 oz. fresh SPINACH, chopped
• 1 clove GARLIC, minced
• 2 Tbs OLIVE OIL
• 15 oz. RICOTTA CHEESE
• 15 oz. can ARTICHOKE HEARTS, drained & chopped
• 1 & 1/3 cup PARMESAN CHEESE 
• SALT
• PEPPER
• 20 LARGE PASTA SHELLS
• 2 cups MARINARA SAUCE

Directions:

1. Begin by heating a pot of water to boil the pasta shells. Boil the shells until they are just under al dente since they are going to go into the oven to cook some more.
2. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds and then add the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted, drain any excess liquid and put the spinach into a medium bowl. 
3. Add the ricotta cheese, artichoke hearts, and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese to the bowl, and then season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine all of the ingredients and then spoon the mixture into a sandwich baggie.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish (or a 10 x 10 inch baking dish) with cooking spray and then spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom.
5. Cut off one of the bottom corners of the baggie to create an opening about the size of a nickel. Once the pasta shells are cooked, squeeze the filling from the baggie into each shell and place in the baking dish on top of the sauce. 
6. Once all of the shells have been filled, cover them with the second cup of marinara sauce. 
7. Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese on top of the shells and sauce. If you want it to be extra cheesy you can also sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top! 
8. Bake for 30-40 minutes!

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The website where I found this recipe is: http://www.pinkbasil.com/spinach-and-artichoke-stuffed-shells/

Spinach & Artichoke Stuffed Shells

To see an updated post with more pictures click here!

I made this dish a few years ago and it was a big hit! I don't know why I haven't made it since, but it is now on the grocery list for next week!

To make this dish you will need:

• 6 oz. fresh SPINACH, chopped
• 1 clove GARLIC, minced
• 2 Tbs OLIVE OIL
• 15 oz. RICOTTA CHEESE
• 15 oz. can ARTICHOKE HEARTS, drained & chopped
• 1 & 1/3 cup PARMESAN CHEESE 
• SALT
• PEPPER
• 20 LARGE PASTA SHELLS
• 2 cups MARINARA SAUCE

Begin by heating a pot of water to boil the pasta shells. Boil the shells until they are just under al dente since they are going to go into the oven to cook some more. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan and then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for about 30 seconds and then add the spinach. Once the spinach is wilted, drain any excess liquid and put the spinach into a medium bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, artichoke hearts, and 1 cup of Parmesan cheese to the bowl, and then season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine all of the ingredients and then spoon the mixture into a sandwich baggie.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and then spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom. Cut off one of the bottom corners of the baggie to create an opening about the size of a nickel. Once the pasta shells are cooked, squeeze the filling from the baggie into each shell and place in the baking dish on top of the sauce. Once all of the shells have been filled, cover them with the second cup of marinara sauce. 

Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese on top of the shells and sauce. If you want it to be extra cheesy you can also sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top! Bake for 30-40 minutes!

The website where I found this recipe is: http://www.pinkbasil.com/spinach-and-artichoke-stuffed-shells/