Pistachio Cranberry Sauce

Thanksgiving and the holiday season is upon us already!  To help with your preparation, Jenny Engel and Heather Goldberg of Spork Foods have created a delicious Pistachio Cranberry Sauce recipe that is easy to make and perfect for Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season! 

I'm a sucker for cranberry sauce and can't wait to have it on Thanksgiving and the day after, slathered on my turkey sandwich!

Pistachio Cranberry Sauce

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3/4 cups water

1/2 cup packed brown sugar*

1 large cinnamon stick

10 oz fresh or frozen cranberries (2 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice and zest of 1/2 lemon

Dash sea salt

1/4 cup Setton Farms roasted, shelled Pistachio Kernels (roughly chopped)*

2 tablespoons dried cranberries*

Directions:

Heat a 2 quart sauce pot and add water and brown sugar. Bring to  simmer over medium heat and add cinnamon stick, fresh or frozen cranberries, lemon juice and zest, and sea salt.  Stir to incorporate all ingredients.

Simmer covered until berries burst and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick and add in diced pistachios and dried cranberries. Cook about 1-2 minutes uncovered and remove from heat. 

Serve warm or allow to cool, then refrigerate sauce over night.

Pistachio cranberry sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead.

*To make the dish faster, use 1/3 cup packed brown sugar and substitute pistachios and dried cranberries with four diced Setton Farms Pistachio Chewy Bites.

Recipe and photo courtesy (C) Spork Foods, 2014

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Top 7 Turkey Myths That Could Ruin Your Thanksgiving

Are you hosting Thanksgiving this year??  If you're cooking turkey on Thanksgiving or for any meal, here are seve turkey myths that could ruin your meal!  

7 Turkey Myths That Could Ruin Your Thanksgiving
Reader’s Digest debunks turkey myths to help you save time and your turkey this Thanksgiving

Old fashioned turkey lore can ruin your big meal. But Reader’s Digest compiled a list of turkey myths and turkey truths to help you save time and money – not to mention your meal – this Thanksgiving. Some turkey tips include:

• MYTH: You don’t have to thaw a turkey completely. TRUTH: A properly thawed turkey is key to making sure the bird is fully cooked; one that’s partially frozen when it goes in the oven means the outside will cook but the inside will remain raw.

• MYTH: A stuffed turkey won’t cook through. TRUTH: You can reduce risk by heating the dressing up to at least 130 degrees before placing it in the turkey. Also, check the temperature of both the stuffing and turkey meat before serving. Stuffing should be about 165 degrees, whether it’s cooked inside the bird or separately.

• MYTH: Basting frequently keeps meat moist. TRUTH: Contrary to popular belief, experts say basting doesn’t actually flavor the meat much because most of the liquid runs off the skin and back in the pan. Plus, opening and shutting the oven every 30 minutes can cool an oven quickly, adding to overall roasting time.

• MYTH: Don’t eat the skin. TRUTH: Turkey skin is high in fat – but its monounsaturated – the good kind of fat. Monounsaturated fats help balance cholesterol levels, which could lower your risk of heart disease, and it may improve insulin and blood sugar levels. Don’t make it your main meal, but feel free to enjoy a portion guilt-free.

Tips courtesy Reader's Digest!

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Easiest Rosemary Roasted Chicken

We are a meat eating family, no doubt about it.  If we don't have some sort of meat protein every night for dinner, my kids are hungry again an hour later.  We do stock a freezer full of our ranch raised natural beef but we do mix it up with chicken or pork throughout the week as well.

Rosemary Roasted Chicken is a favorite in our house.  Easy for me to put together and the family gobbles up this healthy deliciousness.

I buy skin on, chicken leg and thigh quarters and skin on thighs as well.  I begin by rubbing some olive oil all over the chicken pieces and then using Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, I season the pieces.

I place the chicken pieces presentation side down in a baking dish, add a sprig of rosemary and place in to a pre-heated 400 degree oven and set the timer for 40 minutes.  After 40 minutes, I then turn the pieces over and bake an additional 40 minutes.  A total of 80 minutes.

After 80 minutes, you will end up with the juiciest, most flavorful and beautiful rosemary roasted chicken. Roasting chicken with the skin on and on the bone really makes this dish juicy.  I, myself, don't eat the skin but I love roasting chicken with it on because I just love the way it's flavored afterwards.  So juicy.

Make sure you make enough for leftovers!  Sliced up chicken is great to top a salad with the next day for lunch or wrap in a tortilla for chicken burritos!

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Easy Portuguese Kale and Linquica Soup

I grew up on Portuguese Kale Soup.  We had it at least a few times per month during the chilly months. My mom was born and raised in Brazil, my dad on the Azores Islands of Portugal, so Portuguese food was plentiful in our home growing up.

We grew kale in our garden every year and  I vividly remember picking the leaves and breaking off the stalks and then eating them raw right out of the garden.  We also raised our own beef and my mom would incorporate any type of meat into this soup.....many times some sort of beef roast or soup bones and sometimes even cow tongue....nothing went to waste in our home. 

Just a few days ago, the kids and I spent a rainy, chilly day at my parent's home.....a perfect day to cook for them this time.  I didn't go the cow tongue route here.....I used Linguica instead....another favorite Portuguese delicacy I have cravings for every now and then.  This is a super easy soup to throw together last minute.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Easy Portuguese Kale and Linguica Soup

Ingredients:

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

4 15 oz cans of chicken broth

4 cups of kale, chopped, thick stems removed

3 T olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 15 oz cans of white Cannellini beans

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 15 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 link of Linguica, sliced 1/4 inch thick

Directions:

In a large soup pot, cook onions and garlic in olive oil...careful not to burn the garlic, until onions are translucent.

Add the potatoes.  Stir and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the linguica, beans, kale, diced tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking stirring every so often, until the potatoes are tender.  About 20 minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste.  Continue to cook a little longer and add water if needed for a thinner broth.

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