White Wine Gravy for Your Turkey

Yes, yes, Thanksgiving is fast approaching and you may want to have this delicious white wine gravy for your turkey available just in case. This Thanksgiving tip and  recipe is by Martha Stewart, a source you can trust!

For a silky-smooth gravy, whisk constantly as you gradually add flour to the pan. You can make this recipe to accompany any turkey, but it's particularly delicious with Martha Stewart's Herb-Rubbed Turkey!   *taken from http://www.themomsbuzz.com

Prep: 35 minutes
Total: 35 minutes

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. While the turkey rests, place the roasting pan on the stove across two burners (if using a disposable roasting pan, scrape drippings and browned bits into a medium saucepan). Heat drippings over medium-high, scraping up browned bits, until thickened, about 10 minutes.
2. Add wine; cook, stirring constantly, until syrupy, 5 to 6 minutes. Gradually whisk in flour, and cook, whisking constantly, until incorporated, about 1 minute. Gradually add 1 cup broth; cook, whisking, until flour is a deep caramel color, 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Gradually stir in remaining broth and 4 cups water. Bring to a simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until gravy reaches desired thickness, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove neck and giblets, and strain gravy through a fine-mesh sieve; discard solids. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Countdown to Thanksgiving Checklist by Rachel Ray

 

We are only 7 days away from Thanksgiving, just in time to prepare our checklist and start thinking about our menu. But you must start today so that you can use this great countdown Thanksgiving Checklist by Rachel Ray. Plus, it works really well with 'a big bird and small budget Thanksgiving menu' that she recommends, but you can certainly adapt it to whatever dishes you are planning on making for your own feast. Here is the checklist:

7 Days Before

• Bake layers for the cake you are planning on making; let cool, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.
• Prepare crusts for the pies, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.

3 Days Before

• Clean out the fridge to make room for the ingredients.
• Place the turkey on a tray in the refrigerator to thaw (if frozen).
• Bake, toast and soak cornbread or other key ingredient for the stuffing.

2 Days Before

• Make the salad dressing and toast any nuts you may be using for the salad.
• Prepare the stuffing and bake up to the last 15 minutes.
• Measure out ingredients for the turkey and gravy and place together.

1 Day Before

• Set the table and put out serving platters, bowls and utensils.
• Bake and refrigerate the pies, cakes or desserts you are offering.
• Make and refrigerate the filling and frosting for the desserts.

Last Day & Last Minute

• Assemble the desserts for eating.
• Cook the bird, stuffing and potatoes.
• Assemble the salad.

Happy planning!

- Found on The Moms' Buzz, Originally from : www.rachaelraymag.com

Butterfly Bounty....Creative Snack and Craft!

 

 

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Total Time Needed:

30 Minutes or less

Whether you're packing a snack for a trip to the park or making a treat for your preschooler's playgroup, these fluttery friends are sure to charm. The bags can be filled with any snack, though a mix that offers a blend of colors and shapes makes for a more interesting butterfly.

Materials

• Clothespins
• Glitter glue
• Glue
• Googly eyes

• Small crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, or your choice of snack items
• Snack-size ziplock bags
• Pipe cleaners

Instructions

1. For each bag, decorate one side of a clothespin (we used glitter glue). Glue two small googly eyes near the gripping end of the clothespin and let the glue dry.
   
2. Put small crackers, dried fruit, trail mix, or whatever else you'd like into a snack-size ziplock bag until it's about half full. Seal the bag, cinch the middle with your fingers, and clip it with the clothespin.
   
3. Fold down the tips of a 4-1/2-inch length of pipe cleaner, then bend the entire piece in half. Clip the pipe cleaner in the clothespin.
   

Back to School: Lunch Box Ideas

Here are a few "back to school" tips on how to build a fun, easy, tasty and nutritious lunch box.  Many of our children are back at the elementary school or just starting preschool for the very first time.    Also, included in this post is a nice downloadable PDF document of cute, loving and fun notes and jokes that you can add to your older children's lunch box.


1. FREEZE: Place a frozen juice box in your kids’ lunch box as it’ll keep the food chilled and will be thawed by lunchtime.

2. Go for VARIETY: Make sandwiches using whole grain tortillas, bagels or pitas.
 
3. WIPES, WIPES: Pack antibacterial wet wipes so your kids can clean their hands before and after eating.

4. SNEAKY VEGGIES: Add grated veggies to sandwiches and wraps for crunch – your kids won’t notice they’re eating something that’s good for them!
 
5. DRESSING It up: Use small resealable bags to pack dressings. Kids can open one corner and simply squeeze onto salad, then discard.

6. Get DIPPING! Pack salsa, hummus, yogurt or salad dressing for your little ones to dunk their sandwich, veggies or fruit into.
 
7. PETITE works better: Make bite-sized and mini versions of regular foods like sandwiches. They work well for small appetites and are more likely to be eaten.

8. BE LOVING: Add a quick note to say good luck on a test or “I love you” – it will brighten your child’s day. Download LunchboxJokes_US_01.pdf and print it.

9. Get ORGANIZED: create you own schedule Monday-Friday of the menu you will prepare for lunch so that you know every morning or the night before what to do for lunch boxes.

10. CONSULT:  check out these sites for other fun and easy to do ideas for lunch boxes: www.familyfun.com and the Lunch Box Builder, and if your family is vegetarian, you may want to visit Vegetarian Lunch Box.


"Lunch boxing" can be an enjoyable activity!

*Taken from The Moms' Buzz, Original source: www.familyfun.com, www.kraftfoods.com.

Produce Tips - Tomatoes

Here are a few quick and easy to remember tips I have found on a website called The Mom's Buzz.   This site is a great resource on a variety of topics, including produce! 

Here are some facts and tips about tomatoes:

• Shelf Life: 4 -7 days
• Storage: store at room temperature away from sunlight.  Never refrigerate!!!
• Tip: for homemade salsas use seeded tomatoes.  Here is how to seed tomatoes. To remover excess of seeds and water, cut in half cross-wise, then hold cut side down and gently squeeze.  Your salsa will have a more intense tomato flavor and will be less watery!  

Fruit 'n' Cheese Snack Mix

A cute and simple way to motivate our young ones to eat healthy!!

Prep Time: 10 min. | Makes: 1 serving.

What You Need

1 oz. KRAFT Cheddar Cheese, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup whole strawberries, stemmed, quartered
1/4 cup seedless red or green grapes, halved

Make It

PLACE cheese in 1 side of resealable sandwich-size plastic bag; loosely tie pie cleaner or twist tie around middle of bag. Place fruit in other end of bag; seal bag, then twist pipe cleaner tightly to separate cheese from fruit.

CURL ends of pipe cleaner to resemble antennae of a butterfly.

REFRIGERATE until ready to serve. Untwist pipe cleaner, leaving bag sealed. Gently shake bag to mix fruit and cheese. Open bag and enjoy!

Size-Wise: 
This eye-catching snack is easy to make and a fun way to get your kids to eat a 1/2 cup of fruit.



Best of Season: 
Add fresh blueberries when they are in season.


*taken from Yahoo, Shine

4th of July - Tasty Treats

Revolutionary Berries   

by Sharon Cindrich and Judith Fertig, Photographs by David Roth, Family Fun Magazine

Rally the kiddie corps to help with these fun-to-prep bites!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces white chocolate chips
• Strawberries

• Blue sugar or edible glitter

Instructions

1.  Melt 12 ounces of white chocolate chips in a microwave according to the package directions (make sure the container and the berries are dry; even a little moisture will alter the texture of the candy).
2.  One at a time, dip strawberries into the chocolate and then into blue sugar or edible glitter.
3.  Set them to harden on waxed paper.

Makes 35 to 45 decorated berries.

Frosty Fireworks (Flavored Ice) from Family Fun Magazine

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One way to make a splash this Fourth of July is by treating your kids to tall glasses of Patriot's Punch. Simply fill an ice cube tray with a red or blue fruit-flavored beverage (such as Powerade, Gatorade, or Kool-Aid) and let the cubes freeze solid. Then drop three or four colored cubes into each glass, pour in flavored seltzer water or clear soda, and watch the special effects. As the cubes melt, colored bubbles will swirl through the seltzer.

Ingredients

• Red or blue fruit-flavored beverage

Sticks and Stones Snack Mix

Hello, MOPS moms! Today I am sharing a quick and easy recipe for a snack mix that I “discovered” recently. This recipe is from the September 2009 issue of Family Fun magazine. This recipe is fun and easy!  Not only is it tasty, this alternative could help you avoid pre-packaged snacks, which could save you money and help the environment.  This yummy snack is pretty good, from a nutritional standpoint, too.  AND your kids can help you make it!  Here is the recipe:

Sticks and Stones

Ingredients:
4 T. butter
¼ cup frozen orange or apple juice concentrate
¼ cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups Quaker Oatmeal Squares
2 cups pretzel sticks
1 ½ c. whole almonds
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Place the butter, juice concentrate, and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 45 seconds to melt the butter. Stir in the cinnamon.

Place the oatmeal squares, pretzels, and almonds in a large bowl. Pour the melted-butter mixture over it and stir to coat.

Bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until the mixture is dry to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and stir in the dried fruit. Let mix cool completely before storing it in airtight container. Makes about 7 cups.

Cooking notes of interest:
"Obviously you can substitute ingredients in or out depending on your family’s preferences."
"The first time I made this all the Craisins were left in the bottom, so I omitted those in my second batch."
"When I made it I didn’t have juice concentrate and I also didn’t even have any juice in the house! I just added some water to the butter/brown sugar mixture and it worked fine."
"Other cereals could easily be substituted for the Quaker Oatmeal Squares."