These homemade banana nut muffins are brought to you by your very own foodie lover/cook fanatic. ;)
Love to bake when I have the time!
<3 Suz
Sneak Peek from last week's shoot!
великолепный!!!
Here is a little sneak peek of the amazingly talented, striking ballet dancer we shot last week!!
What a face! More to come..! Stay tuned. <3
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© Suzanne Spiegoski 2014
Turkey Gumbo
Hey Everyone! With all that leftover turkey from this year's Thanksgiving I knew I had to do a totally yummy leftover recipe - and what better leftover than something from the south? ;)
It's what's for dinner this week!
Gather up some kielbasa, bell pepper (I used green), celery, white onion, couple cloves of garlic. Chop everything else up except the garlic - this we mince :)
Next, in a big pot on medium heat, stir in butter with flour every 30 seconds for 10 minutes until the mixture turns into a peanut butter-like color.
See?
Add everything from the first step including some diced tomatoes (canned is okay), along with a bay leaf, and some oregano & thyme.
Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 1 hour.
Lookin' good! :)
After an hour, put in some sliced okra.
Cook the okra for a couple of minutes, in the meantime shred the leftover turkey meat.
Add into the pot!
Add some white rice into a bowl, then serve gumbo on top.
And there you have it folks! A simple but delicious fixer-upper of your turkey leftovers!
Stay tuned for next's weeks: It's What's For Dinner Part 8!
<3 Suz
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Meatloaf Sunday's
Hey ya'll!! Hope you enjoyed the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend! I know I sure did!
Last night was my traditional 'Meatloaf Sunday's', where my husband and I, scarf down my meatloaf while watching 'The Walking Dead'. We are huge fans of the show and have been zombie addicts ever since the first season! It would seem rather strange to some, I guess, given that hamburger meat looks like brains and we're watching zombies eating people alive... I know a lot of friends who just can't even stomach watching the show, but for me the more gruesome it is the better! ;)
It's your typical classical meatloaf. Very easy to make and super delish! Check it out - if you are looking for full recipes send me a shout out at suzanne@suzannespiegoski.com
Cheers to a great week!
xo
<3 Suz
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Some ingredients: Chopped onion, breadcrumbs, eggs, milk, dried basil leaves, salt & pepper.
First mix in 2 eggs and milk.
Then mix in breadcrumbs, onion, basil, s & p, and some chopped parsley.
Lastly, throw in your choice of ground meat (beef, lamb, turkey etc.)
And then, the best way to make meatloaf imo, mix all together with your hands! :)
Put in loaf pan, cover in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour and 25 minutes. In the meantime, make your sauce which will consist of mostly ketchup, brown sugar and a little bit of mustard to put on top of the meatloaf after baking.
After 1 hour and 25 minutes, take the meatloaf out and spoon off the fat. Then spread the ketchup sauce on top, baking uncovered for 10 minutes.
Smash a clove of garlic and sauté with spinach and a pinch of salt for a brief 2-3 minutes.
Finished result! :)
Add some mashed potatoes with some brown gravy into the mix and we got ourselves a whole hearty meal! Enjoy and see ya soon!!
Thanksgiving | 2013
Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone!!! This year was the best! I have so much to be thankful for, not just on a Holiday, but all year-round - each and every single day!
I'm so eternally thankful for the family I have made my own. To my husband - thank you for your constant support and endless love. You are my rock and without you I really don't know where I would be right now. Thank you for saving me and always having my back - I am so proud to be your wife!
To our furry child, our baby boy Maq: Thank you for your magical healing powers, your unconditional love and just being the silly ole goofball that you are! Your fierce loyalty has nicknamed you the'velcro-dog' because no matter where I go, you're stuck right next to me! Every day with Maq is a gift. Thanks bubba, for always being by my side! Love you always and forever, my good boy!! <3
Lastly, I am forever grateful for all of your support, far and wide; all walks of life: my friends, whether longtime or new, my colleagues, my skaters and clients - without you all I wouldn't be who I am today!!
Now onto my favorite part of Thanksgiving: COOKING!
This Turkey Day I made, of course, the big bird (all 13 lbs!), homemade stuffing, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, cranberry sauce, fresh whole wheat baguette bread, rosemary roasted acorn squash, cranberry pecan Brussels sprouts with crumbled bleu cheese and homemade pecan pie! I think I did a pretty swell job as a wife's first Thanksgiving meal! ;)
Check it out:
For Thanksgiving breakfast, we had whole wheat toast open sandwich with avocado (straight out of CA - thanks to our new awesome friends Jim & Natasha!) and a fried egg, with a sprinkle of black pepper. YUM!!!
Fresh pecans
Add rising flour to below mixture - shout out to Aunt Jemima! ;)
Mixture of brown sugar, light corn syrup, vanilla extract and rising flour.
Mixing all the ingredients together!
Stir butter and beaten eggs into the mix.
Add pecans after completing mix.
Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes.
Now onto stuffing made from scratch! Mushrooms, celery, white onion, fresh parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and Italian sweet sausage.
Close - up
Who doesn't love sausage?!
After prepping my goodies for the stuffing, I toast my bread next. I do 4 slices of whole wheat and 4 slices of white bread and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 7 minutes.
While the bread is toasting in the oven, I start cooking the rest. Brown sausage first with EVOO.
Next (in order) - onions, celery + herbs. Cook for a couple of minutes.
Now add mushrooms last.
13 - Pounder!!
Final prep shot of my turkey! This bad boy took over 5 hours of cooking time this year!
Two acorn squash.
Cut each acorn in half.
Cut each halve in fours, totaling 16 slices. Drizzle with EVOO and salt, bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes.
Make a paste of brown sugar, softened butter and chopped rosemary to put on the squash.
Spread paste on squash evenly so they can all get some of that yumminess! Put back in oven for another 30 minutes. :)
End result! Make sure to spoon some of that yummy sauce onto the squash one last time before serving!
A bouquet of Brussels sprouts!
Cut off the ends of each sprout, rinse in cold water then dry. Roast sprouts in EVOO for about 10 minutes, then mix in chopped pecans, dried cranberries and crumbled bleu cheese.
End result: can you say nom-nom time? :P
Can't forget the French wine! ;)
Pecan pie is ready!
Turkey success!
Full display.
Yes, I hate that entire plate and I am not the least bit ashamed! Fully stuffed.. even today!
I hope you all had a Happy and healthy Thanksgiving with your loved ones!
Stay tuned for next week's food blog: Sunday Meatloaf (too appropriately coinciding with our favorite TV show, The Walking Dead!) :) ;)
xo,
Suz <3
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