Thanksgiving Planning

I apologize for the temporary absence from my blog. I haven't really been in the mood for blogging and I have  had many other things on my mind. My husband and I are expecting a baby! I am due May 18th and we are so excited. I have constantly been thinking about the food I am eating, but not in relation to my blog. I have been reading the book Real Food for Mother and Baby by Nina Planck. It's amazing how overwhelming it can feel when you hear everything about what you should and shouldn't eat. Nina's book breaks it down into simple, whole, real foods and makes nutrition easier to grasp.

As I got on my computer tonight, I browsed through my blog pictures folder...apparently I haven't been taking any food pictures either! So I decided to share my Thanksgiving planning with you. I am very excited to be hosting again this year. My husband's parents are coming from Iowa. Right now we have 6 guests and are planning on a few more possibly. I am making a few changes from my menu and preparation from last year. I am making more items ahead of time to make the holiday more relaxed. I will be brining my turkey like I did this summer and will use Alton Brown's recipe again. Anyway, enough with my talk! Here is my tentative plan (subject to some changes) to prepare for Thanksgiving. You can watch these videos from Good Eats if you want to learn about brining the turkey and feel like a little bit of weird Alton humor. : )

• Already made
• Alton Brown's Cranberry dipping sauce (in freezer)
• Dinner rolls (in freezer)
• Sunday
• Shop for final fresh ingredients
• Monday
• Put turkey in fridge to thaw
• Clean house after work...family arrives tomorrow!
• Tuesday
• After work, make pie crusts and keep in fridge
• Wednesday
• Morning:
• Make brine and keep in fridge
• Bake pumpkin and chocolate meringue pies
• Make Cheesy potato casserole and keep in fridge
• Make Green bean casserole and keep in fridge (or maybe this recipe?)
• Make cheeseball dip
• Make fluff (technical name...it's Cooper family recipe)
• Prepare relish tray with olives (another Cooper thing : )
• Afternoon
• Do something fun with family! : )
• Evening
• Place turkey in brine
• Thursday
• Morning:
• Make mashed potatoes and place in crock pot on warm
• Prepare stuffing and place in crock pot to cook
• Sweet potatoes...I don't have a recipe yet. 
• Get turkey in the oven, save giblets to boil for stock to make gravy
• Relax for a couple hours :)
• About 12:45
• Make topping and put cheesy potatoes in the oven to begin cooking (45 minutes)
• After turkey is done and resting
• Make topping and put green bean casserole in the oven (20 minutes)
• Put rolls in the oven to bake
• Make gravy 
• About 1:30 
• Enjoy a meal and count your blessings together!

Now for a few final tidbits. I would love a probe thermometer for my turkey (early Christmas present anyone??). This eliminates opening the oven to check the temperature. Instead you set it to the temperature when the turkey is done, and the timer goes off when it reaches the correct temperature. I also watched this video from Alton Brown (yes, I like his shows and info!). Did you know that bubble wrap will keep food warm for hours? Interesting idea that I may try out. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for!

This post is linked to Mingle Monday

One Year Anniversary!

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of when I started Cooper Cookin'. I believe I have come a long way from my first recipe post; and as this next post demonstrated, I am thankful I no longer feel the need to have catchy titles with matching first letters. I decided to compile a list of my family's favorite recipes, in order of oldest to most recent, from this website as a celebration of my first year blogging. These are recipes that I make often and enjoy sharing with others. Thank you to all of those who read this blog, your comments really make my day! Have a wonderful week!

1. Taco Ring
A family favorite and most popular main dish on this website. If you haven't made this yet, you need to do so soon! Check out this recent update for ideas on making this a little bit healthier.





2. Herbed Breaded Chicken
Eeek that's a terrible picture but the chicken is no less delicious. Most of the time I just throw in whatever herbs I want and I always use homemade breadcrumbs.




3. Taco Soup
 I actually haven't made this for a while (it's a good fall/winter recipe) but it's always one of our favorites.



4. Garlic Bread
Yummmm I love this stuff. I use whatever bread I have on hand and real Parmesan cheese if I have it too. Always delicious with some pasta...carbs anyone?



5. Cast Iron Seared Steak
So simple and delicious. Make it a treat by spending a few extra bucks on high quality grass-fed beef.



6. Bourbon Chicken
Recently I have quit frying the chicken with cornstarch and usually just stir-fry it with some olive oil. Last time I made this I added diced red peppers and sugar snap peas!



7. Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes with Cream Cheese Drizzle
Knock your socks off delicious and heavenly. These are definitely a rare treat, good for lazy weekends with family visitors.



8. Slow Cooker Maple and Brown Sugar Ham
This recipe is so simple, don't even bother measuring. Just put it in the slow cooker and walk away. Amazingly tasty. I love to save the leftovers for casseroles, soups, and egg dishes.



9. Brownie Bite Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache
Okay, so this isn't something that I've made more than once, but I really shouldn't unless there's going to be a crowd. Because it's that good. I might eat half of it on my own if no one was watching.



10. Puffy Chocolate Chip Cookies
I make these often. Once or twice a month. My husband is addicted, I pretend I'm not addicted. When I wrote this post I mentioned that I wanted to try other chocolate chip cookie recipes, but I just haven't gotten around to that yet because these are always so good. I have the recipe memorized...



11. Simplified Chicken Cordon Bleu
It lives up to it's name, and the flavor is fantastic. This is one of those recipes that I saved my slow cooker ham to use with.



12. Cheesy Chili Mac
This recipe is wonderful and simple. I have recently used only 3/4 pound of meat instead of a full pound and it's just as hearty.



Again, thank you so much for reading my blog and especially for making the recipes! I love it when I hear that someone has enjoyed one of the recipes that I shared. That is what makes me want to continue blogging. And you wanna know a secret? Every time I get a comment or a new follower, I do a little happy dance. : )Thank you!

Get Ready for New and Improved Taco Ring!

There it is. Taco ring in all it's glory. The most popular main dish recipe on this blog, and for good reason! A year ago I never would have thought twice about using the canned crescent rolls and other pre-packaged ingredients, but this food blogging world has really affected my cooking perspective, and in a good way too. You may remember my first taco ring post and a few changes have happened since then. I plan on giving you all the recipe details soon but for now I will tell you that the above taco ring was made with homemade taco seasoning and homemade crescent rolls! Someday I would also like to make my own refried beans, taco sauce, and cheese! Baby steps! I am currently on my way back from Iowa (sniff) and will be back to my regular recipe updates next Monday. Have a great week!

Linked with Mingle Monday

Frugal Living: Roasted Turkey

My blog posting has been slowly becoming more and more infrequent. I still enjoy doing it, but there are usually many other tasks that I choose to do first before sitting down to write a blog post. Take comfort in the fact that I continue to take lots of pictures and maybe when my husband is back in school I will pick it up more (I don't like to sit at the computer when he's home with me)!

This post topic may (or may not...I'm not always consistent) become a somewhat regular topic. I had long been leery of packaged lunchmeat and had begun to cringe when buying it at the grocery store. First of all, it's expensive; $3.99 for one package. And, when you really look at it, the stuff's just weird and funky. Processed and unnaturally slimy...

I always plan my menus by the week and then go grocery shopping (that could be another Frugal Living post). Once or twice a week I would plan on having sandwiches because we would not be home together to eat. I hated to buy that stinking lunchmeat but I couldn't think of a way around it. A few times I had some turkey breast shaved for me at the deli counter, but I still didn't really like it...have you ever seen a turkey breast the size of a basketball? Pretty sure that's processed together too. Anyway, I know I 'm getting a bit windy so back to the point.

Then I had a lightbulb (ah ha, that's it, I'm a genius!) kind of moment...

I would roast a turkey, shred it up and keep it in the freezer to use for sandwiches! And that's what I did. I roasted a turkey using Alton Brown's turkey recipe, which uses scientific principles to lock moisture into the meat via a brine...pretty cool stuff, watch the video online if you're interested. Then my husband shredded it up (while eating it too). I boiled the carcass to make broth. And this is what I ended up with:

9 cups of shredded turkey (and that's after we ate it for dinner last night and my husband's snacking) and 14 cups of broth! I did a little math to see how much money I saved. I'm not sure of the weight of my turkey because it didn't have a tag but I'm guessing it was between 10 and 12 pounds.

• Cost of turkey: $13
• 1 meal for two
• 9 cups shredded meat
• 14 cups broth
• Cost of lunchmeat: $3.99/package (approximately)
• I think the 9 cups of shredded meat would at least equal 4 packages. I don't have a scale otherwise I could have figured this out exactly with ounces.
• Cost of 4 cups Swanson broth: $2.79 (suggested retail price)

To buy 4 packages of lunchmeat and 3.5 broths would have cost $25.73, and I paid $13. Was it as easy as buying a quart of broth and a package of lunchmeat? No. Do I feel better because I know exactly what is in my food? Yes! Does it taste better? Yes! Is it convenient to pull broth and turkey out of your freezer when needed? Yes! Did I buy an organic turkey? No. Would I like to in the future? Yes. This would cost more (the only option at my store was $50 and I did not want to pay that much when I know I could get it somewhere cheaper), but I think it would be worth it. Besides that organic turkey was like 20 pounds, so it would have given tons more meat and broth, balancing the ratio a little bit. Someday we might raise heritage turkeys, but that's a whole different chapter in life that I won't get into now!

I am pleased with my experiment and I hope that I have inspired you to be a bit more frugal today! Maybe you won't roast a turkey in June when your apartment is 80 degrees and it's 100 degrees outside (this is not suggested if your air conditioner is in bad shape like mine is!), but you will at least be more aware of the ways that you can save money. Have a great day!

I'm Still Here

I will be without a computer until further notice, just in case anyone was curious! I will update as soon as I can!

Just a Bit of Fun

Here I am, having the opportunity to write a blog post and I can't. For a few reasons. First of all, we got a new computer (which is amazing!), but our pictures haven't been transferred over yet. This means that I only have access to the pictures on my memory card, which totals to three recipes I could share with you.

One of them was completely terrible and we threw it out after our valiant attempts to choke down our portions. It was a vegetarian shepherd's pie, made with lentils. I don't know what it was, but it tasted strangely like barbecue sauce. I think it was the vegetable broth, that stuff was nasty when I tasted it! I won't tell you which blog I got this recipe from... :)

The other recipe was a variation on chili, but I wasn't too impressed. My final recipe was really good and I even started the blog post for it, but I just didn't feel inspired. I don't want to write about a delicious recipe when I don't feel like it. That takes away all the fun, ya know?

So as I was browsing through the pictures on my memory card, I thought I might share some photos of our recent visit to the zoo, enjoy!

A Bad Egg

So a few days ago I was busily baking in the kitchen...

I got out my egg carton and cracked an egg, a normal thing of course.  On the counter, not the bowl, but more on that later. Well, you can imagine my surprise when I saw this:

 Look at that egg yolk!

 I don't know about you, but I've never seen an egg yolk so stinkin' tiny!

It's Just Not Working

I was going to put up a new post but my computer is having issues and won't load the pictures.

And now I'm sad.

So anyway, I thought that I would let you know that I will be adding a new tab soon and I will also try and update more of my recipes with links to print. I made taco ring today, and took some pictures in better light to share with you.

Have a great Sunday! I thought about putting some cute picture here...but then I remembered that my computer is being evil. Boring post, I know, but it happens.

Love, Monica

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from the beautiful state of Iowa! Take time to pause and remember why we all celebrate; the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

The Thanksgiving Tales

As you may remember from Wednesday, I told you that I was going to be making Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. I am about to fill you in on all the details, from bravely touching the huge raw turkey, to serving up my favorite pumpkin pie. I have lots to tell, so I will try to keep it brief and organized!

To begin, here is a picture of us and our wonderful friends who joined us for Thanksgiving!



Allow me to start with the planning. I chose the menu items and then made a grocery list. Simple as that. We had turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, cheesy potato casserole, rolls, green bean casserole, carrots with dip, and pumpkin pie. There were a few things that I didn't make but would have liked to have: cheese ball, sweet potato pie, my french apple pie and cranberry ginger ale. Given the small party, light budget, and my inexperience, we kept things simple. I also cut a few corners by using store bought rolls and making the usual canned-ingredient green bean casserole instead of a homemade one that I would like to try. I would have liked to do everything homemade, but as I mentioned above, I needed to keep things simple. Especially since I worked until 8:00 the night before!

Now to move onto the preparation. I put the turkey out to thaw on Tuesday (did I mention that we got our 14-pound turkey for $4.07?! It was a great deal!) I made the pie crust on Wednesday and kept it in the fridge. Thursday after work I made the pumpkin pie, and also put together the cheesy potato and green bean casseroles.

Friday morning I prepped the veggies and spice rub for the turkey. Then the part I had been fearing. De-gutting the turkey. I've heard horror stories of reaching into the cavity abyss to pull out gizzards (and might I add that gizzards and giblets are gross words?). Getting the turkey out of the fridge without spilling the nasty juices that were on the plate under it was quite a difficult task. After getting my workout for the day, I slowly cut the wrapper off the turkey.

And I was pleasantly surprised.

{Source: Bing images}

There was a small, tidy bag sticking out of the cavity. So I pulled it out and thought, that was easy! I looked inside and was surprised at how small the cavity was, especially since I had a large pile of veggies to put in there; only about 1/5 of them fit (see below for the reason why)! So I rubbed the turkey with spices, filled it with veggies, and put it breast side down in my roasting pan. I then made the stuffing and put it in the crockpot.

Two hours later the turkey came out of the oven and the two casseroles went in. I boiled water and began cutting the potatoes while the turkey sat and got juicy. Then I made the gravy and mashed potatoes.

Jeremiah carved the turkey (and did a great job for his first time)! But there was one small surprise. The neck and the giblet bag were still in the turkey!!! Umm, gross! Apparently, I only pulled out a gravy mix, not everything else! I was so surprised, and thought to myself, no wonder the cavity seemed so small! But the turkey tasted good in spite of my missed body-part removal. And I might also mention that the turkey literally fell off the bones when we took it out of the pan. I guess that's a good thing, right?!

And then we ate! And it was all delicious!

I was happy with the timing of everything. It all stayed hot and was done as planned. I now have confidence that I can host any big holiday feast! My only complaint was the size of my kitchen. I hardly had working space and had to use my dining table, which meant that I didn't have the table set and ready like I hoped, but that's okay. In the end, it all worked out great!

I forgot to take pictures while cooking, but here is the link to view and print the turkey recipe. I highly recommend it to you! I plan to post recipes for the stuffing, cheesy potato casserole, and pie at a later date.

Two-hour Turkey adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Just Me and My Uninspiredness

This last week has been really busy and I haven't gotten around to putting up a blog post for a while. I was searching through my recipe pictures but didn't feel inspired to write something. I have pictures for Chicken and Broccoli Twice-Baked Potatoes, Bacon and Gruyere Macaroni & Cheese, a Pumpkin Roll, Swedish Meat Loaf, 3 Chocolate Chip Cookie versions, Pumpkin Oatmeal, French Toast Casserole, and 4 other recipes that I will probably never write about because they were (sadly) gross. But I did work hard on them, so here's some pictures of the not-so-good recipes. It happens to all of us I guess. Just don't be mad at me, k? : )

Bacon and Broccoli Strata

Potato Noodle Soup

Herb and Pecan Crusted Pork Chops

Green Bean, Chicken, Wild Rice, and way-too-much Onion Casserole

Well there you have it, not everything I make turns out good! Out of all those recipes, I couldn't bring myself to blog and review one. I think it might be because I got off my schedule. I usually write on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and maybe one other night of the week; but I only write when Jeremiah is at work. It gives me something to do and prevents me from becoming obsessive (which could easily happen).

Anyway... I'm starting to ramble.

I had to work Thanksgiving, and then we were out of town the whole weekend. I worked my 12-hour shifts on Monday and Tuesday, so as you can see, I'm just getting around to catching up in the blog world. After feeling slightly bad for not keeping up with my normal postings, I felt a little better because many other bloggers cut back on posts last week too.

And here's the main topic I was going to discuss when I started this post: my Thanksgiving! As I mentioned above, I worked at the hospital that day from 6:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. It wasn't my ideal first Thanksgiving as a married couple, but that's just how life is sometimes. And I'm thankful for my job! As a result, we are celebrating Thanksgiving on Friday! And I'm going to be making my very first turkey (eeek)!

This is my menu: Turkey, Gravy, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Mashed Potatoes, Cheesy Potato Casserole, Rolls, and Pumpkin Pie. Nothing too fancy or out of the ordinary, but it's my first time hosting a holiday meal, so I went easy on myself. I plan to tell you all about it on Saturday, so stay tuned!