Day 1: Cranberry orange turkey thighs, Mashed potatoes, Roasted Brussels sprouts
Day 2: Vegetarian Shepard’s pie
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed salad
Day 4: Turkey noodle soup
Day 5: Ratatouille (from frozen supply), Fruit smoothie
Day 6: Spaghetti squash “noodles” with jarred pasta sauce, Sauteed kale
Day 7: Salmon with sherry cream sauce, Roasted sweet potatoes, Steamed broccoli
Notes: It’s turkey day this week! If you are prepping last minute, see below for some extra recipes I’ve archived that make great side dishes using seasonal veggies. I also included some recipes in my plan this week to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. Mashed potatoes can go into a Shepard’s pie. The recipe listed is a vegetarian version, but you could add shredded leftover turkey too. I also use the turkey carcass to make homemade broth (instructions below) and some turkey noodle soup. And if you are looking for a super easy meal, try out spaghetti squash noodles with a jar a pasta sauce. All you have to do is cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, brush the flesh with olive oil and bake flesh down on a cookie sheet for 30-40 minutes at 400 degrees F. Once it is tender, use a fork to scrape out the “noodle” strands from the squash and portion onto plates. Top with a jar of pasta sauce that has been warmed. It doesn’t get any easier than that for a home cooked meal!
Thanksgiving side dish ideas:
Roasted Beets with Orange Yogurt Dressing
Roasted Root Vegetables with Garlic Thyme Dressing
Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad
GLP tip of the week: Learn how to make your own broth. You may think that homemade broth is labor intensive, but it is quite literally one of the easiest kitchen hacks. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner I usually have plenty of vegetable scraps and turkey bones to make several quarts. There is no time like the present to learn this cooking skill. It is as easy as dropping bone and veggie scraps in a pot, covering with water, and simmering for hours. This will take you no more than 10 minutes of hands on time.
There are a lot of reasons to make your own broth. Bone broth is a highly sought after drink these days to boost immunity. But, it can be high priced and is almost exclusively packaged in Tetra Pak. I previously posted about the woes of Tetra Pak here. To recap, it is a type of packaging made with thin layers of plastic, paperboard, and aluminum. This type of packaging is very difficult to recycle. Broth is one of the most common items packaged in Tetra Pak. So once I discovered how easy it is to make, I never looked back. I stock my freezer with 4 cup, 2 cup, and 1 cup portions in Ziploc bags (use them over and over again), silicone bags, or old yogurt tubs.
Here is my easy version of homemade broth:
- Place meat bones (turkey, chicken, beef, or ham bone) in a large stock pot. This is optional if you prefer to make veggie broth.
- Add any vegetable scraps on hand, like the ends of onions and garlic, celery, carrot tops/peels, parsley stems, other herbs etc. I keep a bag in my freezer and add scraps until it is full. That is how I know it is time to make some broth!
- Fill stock pot with water until almost completely full.
- Bring water to a boil, then reduce to low temperature, cover, and allow to simmer. You can cook your broth anywhere from two hours to longer than 24 hours. The longer it simmers, the more vitamins, minerals, and flavor that are extracted from the bones and veggies. I usually start it after supper and allow to simmer until morning. You may have to add more water if you are cooking for a long period as some will evaporate. WARNING: Be sure that the counters near your stove are clear of anything that could burn if you are not going to be nearby at all times.
- Place a colander over a large bowl and pour in the contents of your pot, straining out the cooked down chunks. If you prefer, you can strain the liquid again through a fine mesh sieve, but I don’t mind a few floaters in my broth. The cooked bones can be tossed (or a dog treat) and the veggies composted.
- When the broth is cool you can scoop it into quart size bags and freeze for future use. A full stock pot of broth will yield about 4 quarts once strained.
