Turkey Egg Rolls with Cranberry Chili Dipping Sauce

Most of you have recipes that only come out at the holidays.  Maybe because they are more involved and time consuming, or maybe because you just want to keep them special.  If you made The Most Amazing Crab Dip every month of the year, it just wouldn't have the same significance as it does at Christmas.  Same in my family.  Around the turn of the century (how fun to say that - I sound like I should be wearing petticoats or something) my mom started making egg rolls.  Like, really really good egg rolls.  She probably clipped the recipe out of the newspaper and thought she'd give them a whirl.  Remember clipping recipes out of newspapers?  Does anyone still do that?  The first year she made them for us at Christmas, we were freaking out they were so good.  Better than many Chinese restaurants in fact.  I would tease my mom and say she must have been a Chinese grandma in a former life.  She just smiled at me.  "Oh, Renee" she would say.  

Turkey Soup with Butternut Squash & Wild Rice

 If you enjoyed turkey at your Thanksgiving dinner (in Canada) last weekend, then no doubt you had a pot of turkey bones bubbling away on your stove at some point this week.  My mom hosted the feast this year, and for a change she did a bacon lattice on top of the 22 pound bird.  I repeat.  Turkey, covered in bacon.  It was a glorious sight to behold.  I was so smitten I forgot to take a photo.  And that's saying something.  The bacon infusion could be detected throughout the meat, and oh sweet lord, the gravy.  So good.  So, if you want to switch things up this year for the holidays, you can't go wrong with slathering turkey in bacon.  Of course, the next day, she brought out her soup pot, tossed some of the bones in (I got a freezer bags worth too - them being lots of bones in that big bird), covered them with water, onion, celery, carrot and simmered them the day away.  Given my thrifty nature, ahem, I save my vegetable scraps from whatever meal prep I'm doing and just tuck them away in a freezer bag as I go along.  That way when it comes time to boil up some bones, you already have your veg, no need to chop up fresh onions, celery, carrot, etc.  Also, fresh parsley, garlic, peppercorns and a pinch of whole cloves are my musts for stock.  Let it simmer long and slow, with bubbles just breaking the surface.  You'll get a nicer flavour than just boiling the crap out of it for one hour.  Remember, most good things in life take a good, long while.  

Sweet & Smoky Turkey Sloppy Joes

Mid September means most of us are back to school, back to work, back to reality, as it were.  I don't know about you, but every once in a while I close my eyes thinking it's still a lazy summer afternoon and all is just so right in the world.  This is a month of transition, in so many ways.  Work, weather, relationships.  There's lots on the go here, as I'm sure there is where you are, too.  Meals need to be thrown together faster than you can say "New episode of The Mindy Project! Hooray!".  And that's where these sloppy joes come to the rescue.  They are full of flavour and the sauce comes together while you whip up a quick coleslaw on the side.  Be sure to grab some fresh rolls, and there you are.  Dinner under thirty minutes, leaving you time to chauffeur the little ones to their activities, or get back into that yoga class (hey there yoga mat, nice to see you again) or just settle in for the night, because all of your favourite shows are back.  Can I just say thank goodness they finally adapted the wonderfully smutty Outlander series for TV.  Thank you Showtime for making my Sunday evenings that much better. 

For full recipe, please head on over to the Turkey Farmers of Canada website.  

Turkey Lasagna with Ricotta & Basil

Hey you guys.  How are things in your neck of the woods?  Just popping in today to say hey, and also to tell you about this crazy good lasagna I made over on the Turkey Farmers of Canada website.  I'm so proud to have partnered with them, so stay tuned for more yummy things turkey coming your way.  While this recipe is made to be kid-friendly, rest assured the adults in your household will likely love it equally.  I added in a little baby kale for extra nutrition, who in their right mind doesn't love basil?  Hop on over here to get the full recipe.  Okay, back to regular summer programming, i.e. the raspberry patch that needs picking, lawn mowing and general sloth-like behavior afterwards.  I'll pop in soon with a summer salad that I can't stop eating.  Until then, enjoy these late summer days.