It’s the post-Thanksgiving cooking fiesta at our house. I made marshmallows and got them all shipped off today. There were a few left over, so I decided to dip them in chocolate. The dipped version wouldn’t survive the trip to parts unknown, so I don’t want to hear any complaints if you were on my mailing list.
However, if you’re hankering for chocolate, I melted some chocolate chips in a small pan and added just enough cream to loosen it up a little. Dip and done.
For the turkey, we had cold turkey sandwiches and hot turkey sandwiches with gravy. Dale froze one whole breast and trimmed up the rest of the meat, which we’ll use in soup and some sort of casserole. Some of the options are turkey enchiladas, turkey pot pie and turkey divan.
I made stock out of the turkey carcass this morning. Tonight is Comfort Food Tuesday, so we’ll skip turkey tonight and have burritos or chimichangas from Dale’s homemade refried beans. This last batch was made from black beans. He sometimes uses pintos. I like them both!
While we do use canned beans for some dishes, we mostly start with dry beans and cook them in the Instant Pot.
Dale also made a salsa from his homegrown Trinidad scorpion peppers. They are among the hottest peppers on the planet, as measured by Scoville Heat Units. As a point of reference, jalapeños have 2,500 to 8,000 SHU’s. The heat level varies considerably from pepper to pepper.
Trinidad scorpions, depending on which variety, register from 1 to 2 million. As in, kids don’t try this at home. The first time I tasted Dale’s salsa made with these peppers, I sat on the stairs and cried. He has since learned a little goes a long way, and now I actually love it.
That means I’ll make soup tomorrow. It has carrots, celery, mushrooms, turkey and barley. I have this one little trick that makes the soup especially delicious. When I’m straining the stock, I save some of the meat and the cooked vegetables and then whiz it up into a paste in the food processor. We call it the flavor bomb, and I add a couple of spoonful’s to the soup.
I’ll make blue corn muffins to go with the soup. We got hooked on blue corn anything while visiting New Mexico, which in my opinion, has the best Mexican food in the U.S. Blue corn can be hard to find, but it’s worth the trouble. I purchase blue cornmeal for muffins and blue corn masa for tortillas on Amazon.
Stupidity gone wild
The virus is getting bad around here. It seems lots of people are getting together for big social events, and it will probably get worse in the weeks to come. We’re super-cautious to begin with, but we had a serious conversation about whether we need any course corrections.
We’re still going to the grocery store. We don’t do “big” shopping, and that may work to our advantage. One or both of us will shop for just a few things and get in and out quickly. Masks, hand san, social distancing.
My sister and many others wipe down the groceries or even quarantine non-perishables in the garage. I mean, you gotta do what feels right for you, but everything I’ve read says that’s not necessary. Just wash your hands again after you put the groceries away.
Even though I believe my swim protocol is safe, it’s one less place I need to go, so for now, no swimming. I’m still golfing and continuing to be very, very careful. I decided not to play in the women’s group until things improve, mostly because that’s the only time so many women are on the course. We hit from the same tees, so you have be careful your playing partners don’t get too close. And then all those women using the restroom …
I went out yesterday as a single and played with some men, which makes it easier as far as tees and restrooms go. I overheard them complaining to the starter about me joining them. Spoiler alert: unless it’s your own private course, that’s how it works.
For revenge, I outdrove them, birdied the first hole and then had a string of pars. They were pretty nice after that.
New slippers
Finally, with all this staying home, I decided to upgrade my slippers, or as Dale calls them, garden shoes. I never go barefoot and wear Crocs or Birkenstocks around the house. A stiff shoe is good for my back and knees.
I’m one of those people who buys everything in black, but I decided to cut loose this time. I don’t know if it’s retirement or the pandemic or what, but I bought pink fur-lined Crocs, and I love them!!
It’s funny how a small thing like fuzzy pink slippers can lift your spirits.
Besides turkey sandwiches and soup, our favorite thing to do with leftover Thanksgiving turkey is Turkey Tetrazzini, yum!
You know, I don’t think I’ve had turkey tetrazzini. I looked up the recipe online, and I love everything about it! Might have to go for it this year. Thanks for the tip!
Hope you like it. We always have it after Thanksgiving, but like it so well that we make it other times too, but substitute chicken– still yummy.
Those chocolate dipped marshmallows look yummy, and those slippers look fun. Thanks for the tip about whizzing some of the soup and adding it back. I’m making turkey soup for dinner. Glad you’re staying safe. We have a mask mandate in our town, which is annoying all the right-wing fringe groups. On small business Saturday, a bunch of them went into small businesses unmasked and wouldn’t leave when asked. The owners felt pretty intimidated and hopefully they’ll press charges against the ones that were caught on camera. Life in a red state.
Even in California, there are badly behaved right-wing fringe groups. It’s like Trump found them under a rock and set them free. I get angry thinking about how a public health crisis was politicized. But then I have to let it go. Nothing I can control.
Wow – all good ideas with the the leftovers. The day after I made a traditional Thanksgiving leftover calzone. Everything goes into it. I’m getting to the point where I look forward more to that 🙂
Calzone with just about anything would be delish!
I have always tended toward navy/grey/black clothing, too, but I once bought a pair of fuchsia flats as part of my work wardrobe, and I recall that I literally laughed out loud every time I caught a glimpse of my feet when wearing them. Mood elevator in the office. I also prefer stiff shoes and have been wearing Haflinger slippers, so thanks for the reminder about Crocs.
Kudos on your attitude toward the golfers! Playing well is the best revenge. I also appreciated your comment about letting go of the anger toward what we can’t control. That’s something I’m really struggling with. At a curbside pickup at REI I encountered a young woman who after loudly proclaiming herself as a Trump voter demanded to see REI’s mask policy in writing, and I’m still angry days later. Must move on.
It is hard to let go, but I keep practicing. These people just make no sense to me.
I really like those slippers! Upscale Crocs. I cold see some of those in my future. The podiatrist who writes this blog reviews and recommends stiff shoes:
http://podiatryshoereview.blogspot.com/
Hey, thanks for the link to podiatry show review. I used to follow her recommendations all the time but somehow thought she had stopped posting recommendations. So glad to get back on her site!
Good for you in joining the men’s group of golfers, ignoring their early complaints, and not letting their complaining impact your golfing. Yay! I love your pink Crocs.
A lot of women don’t like going out as a single, but I enjoy it. Usually they can work me in, and I don’t have to round up partners and agree on a time. I’ve met some interesting people as well. I go during the week when it’s mostly older retirees. Most of the men I play with are cool and don’t worry about playing with a woman. I have a pretty good game and can hold my own.
HAH! Your golf story made me smile. Also your pink Crocs.
I’ve always been intrigued by homemade marshmallows, and yours look great! Way to elevate a cup of hot chocolate (with maybe a bit of Baileys; ‘tis the season after all). I don’t normally like sweet drinks but that is one I would try.
I still can’t get the Like button to work for me but I do always like your posts, Donna!
Deb
Thanks, Deb! I could totally see it with hot chocolate and Bailey’s. Have you ever had RumChata? One of my golf playing partners had some in her bag (we call it birdie juice), and it was absolutely delicious. I think she mixed it half and half with fireball. We just take a tiny shot to celebrate birdies.
I will check this out! “Birdie juice”? 🤣🤣🤣
We lived in Texas for 30 years and learned to do TexMex cooking. This year the wife made Turkey Tortilla soup. I’m not fond of turkey soup but this has just the right spice to make it great for me.
I now live in a red Midwest state – retired to be near wife’s family and to get out of Texas – it just got too hot and dry – and the politics got even more crazier as we lived there.
Recently a local brewery simply closed when a patron refused to wear a mask and started berating the staff. My business, my rules. Don’t want to wear a mask – fine – we’re closed.
We lived in Texas for several years and loved it, in spite of the politics. We learned a lot about TexMex cooking, and I love TexMex music. Dale makes a great chicken tortilla soup and was going to make the turkey version, but there are so many choices when it comes to leftovers!
I just don’t understand why people won’t come together to save lives during this pandemic. It really has nothing to do with politics.
ah – the music…. good stuff. We had our kitchen redone last year and when the Hispanic workers came, they had a “radio” but were not playing Tejano music. When I asked why not they said most people here did not like it. I told them it was ok with me as we lived in Texas – I got the best work out of these guys after that. And some good conversations as well.
I understand that about 40% of the population are on the narcissist spectrum. Some a lot futher along than most of us I guess. It’s all about me… right?
I am hooked on the first (self-titled) Los Super Seven record. It came as a set with the second when I bought it on Amazon, and while I like both, that first one is unbelievable. Texas music is great overall. I keep a spreadsheet of my favorite singer-songwriters from Texas! Sadly, this year we lost John Prine, Jerry Jeff Walker and Billy Joe Shaver.
I used to save the turkey carcass and use it for soup but I’ve gotten lazy and just use the drippings and chicken stock. I love the idea of your flavor bomb. We had turkey noodle soup last Friday. I always put in too many noodles but I love thick soup. We loved it.
I need to try making marshmallows. They look so yummy and I know Tim would love them.
I love thick soup, too. Especially if the noodles are what’s making it thick!
My husband doesn’t even like marshmallows, but he likes these. Just the plain ones. I am fixated on trying lemon marshmallows. Maybe some lemon juice and zest in the mix, and your scone glaze as a topper.