Thanksgiving Leftover Eggrolls with Spicy Cranberry Sweet and Sour Sauce

Wondering what to do with leftovers from your Thanksgiving leftovers? Christmas maybe? Try making it into eggrolls for something different. It may sound weird, but holy toledo, it is so delicious. Especially the dip. The dip is to die for!


Thanksgiving Eggrolls
*1 cup Leftover turkey, chopped up
*1 cup Leftover stuffing, chopped up
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp oyster sauce (optional)
12 Eggroll Wrappers

Spicy Cranberry Sweet and Sour Sauce
1 cup Cranberry Sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Sriracha Sauce (optional, but this is where the spice comes in)

1. Saute the leftover turkey and stuffing, and garlic in sesame oil over medium high heat. Add in soy sauce, ginger, and oyster sauce. Saute for just a couple minutes until the garlic releases its flavor.

2. Put the filling into the eggroll wrappers and roll.

3. Place eggrolls on a greased pan. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the eggrolls get a nice crispy brown.

4. Make the dipping sauce by combining cranberry sauce, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and sriracha. Mix it all together.



*Alternately, this recipe could be made using chicken, shredded carrot, chopped mushrooms, chopped celery instead of using leftovers.

Fava Bean Dip

I've altered by fava bean dip recipe. Here's the new one!

1 1/2 cups fava beans, shelled and de-skinned
1 can garbanzo beans
1/4 cup tahini sauce
1 tsp crushed garlic
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 - 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
olive oil


1. Blend beans, tahini sauce, garlic, cayenne pepper and lemon juice in food processor or blender.

2. Add in olive oil slowly until it forms a dip consistency.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

We are big fans of buffalo chicken in this house so it would make sense that we'd absolutely love it in dip form. Yup, we do. I made it for a little guys night out and they gobbled it up.

2-8 0z blocks of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup of blue cheese dressing
1/2 cup of ranch dressing
1 cup of Frank’s Red Hot Buffalo Wing sauce
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese



Preheat oven to 375.

In a large bowl combine softened cream cheese, ranch dressing, blue cheese dressing, and buffalo wing sauce. Using a hand mixer, mix until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Fold in shredded chicken and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Pour into a 9x9 baking dish. Top with remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until dip is warmed through.

Serve with tortilla chips, bread, crackers, and celery.

Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Butter

Fall...Halloween...Thanksgiving...it is the time of pumpkins. One of our favorite fall treats are Pumpkin Scones with Cream Cheese Butter. Oh my, I'm salivating just thinking about them.


1 T instant dry yeast
1/3 C sugar
1 C milk, warmed to 110 degrees
7-8 c flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch cloves
1 tsp salt
1/2 C cold butter, cut in pieces
1 large egg, slightly beaten
2 C pumpkin puree (16 oz)
oil for frying

1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and warm milk. Let stand a few minutes, until foamy.

2. In a second bowl, combine 5 C flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and salt.

3. Add cold butter, and cut in until mixture resembles cornmeal.

4. Put dry ingredients in large bowl with the yeast. Mix slightly.

5. Add egg and pumpkin. Beat on low until well mixed.

6. Continue to mix on low (knead), adding small amounts of the remaining flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

7. Beat another 3-4 minutes, and then transfer to a well greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double (about 1 hour).

8. Punch the dough down and transfer to a floured counter. Break off golf ball size pieces. Roll the balls out into flat pieces, 1/2" thick.

9. Fry in hot oil (375 degrees) on both sides. Cool on a paper towel covered rack. Serve with cream cheese butter.




Cream Cheese Butter
1 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Beat ingredients with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
2. Serve with warm pumpkin scones.
3. Refrigerate leftover mixture.

Ful Medames Hummus

It's not the prettiest thing ever, but it sure is tasty. I used traditional ingredients for Ful Medames ( a traditional Egyptian dish featuring fava beans) to make a Ful Medames Hummus. Fava beans have a nutty flavor and are delicious even just eating plain.

About 2 lbs fava beans
1/3 cup Tahini Sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
several T olive oil
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread out whole fava beans on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Roast for about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool enough to handle.

2. Remove beans from fava pods. They should come out of the pods quite easily.

3. Blend fava beans, tahini sauce, garlic, lemon juice and cayenne pepper in a food processor (or a blender). Add olive oil slowly until the mixture gets the desired dip like texture.

Serve with pita bread.

Cheese Rolls

Once again, my sister over at The Craft Patch has given me another tasty recipe. These are like cinnamon rolls, but cheese instead. The recipe is pretty vague, but it shouldn't be too hard to turn out something good.


1 recipe roll dough
cheese, cheese cheese
garlic powder, onion powder, parsley

Make roll dough in bread machine or however you make roll dough.

Roll it out into a big rectangle, just like you would for cinnamon rolls. Sprinkle with cheese. I used cheddar and mozzarella, but any cheese would be good. Sprinkle with onion/garlic/parsley, as little or as much as you'd like. I went light on the seasonings and heavy on the cheese (yeah, baby). Starting at the long end of the rectangle, roll tightly just like when you make cinnamon rolls. Cut into slices and raise for 20 minutes or so. Bake at 350 until golden brown and bubbly.

Bierocks (Runzas)

My Granny is a full blooded German woman who has been serving me German food since I was a little girl. Needless to say, this kind of food reminds me of her. You could make smaller versions of these and serve them as appetizers.

Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tsp yeast
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 Tablespoons shortening
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling
- 1/2 pound ground sirloin
- 2 shallots, diced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
- 1 small head cabbage, chopped
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds


1. Put bread ingredients into a bread mixer. Run on dough only cycle and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour.

2. Saute beef and shallot in a large skillet over medium high heat, until beef is browned. Add garlic, salt, and lemon pepper. Saute for 1 more minute. Add cabbage, worcestershire sauce and caraway seeds. Cook until cabbage is limp, about 15 minutes. There shouldn't be a need to drain any liquids since you should be using a nice lean ground sirloin.
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3. Roll out the dough into a large 18 x 18 inch rectangle. Cut into 9 six-inch squares. Spoon about 2 heaping tablespoons of filling onto each square until all of the filling has been used. Pull the opposing corners of the square up over the filling, pinching them closed at the top. Make sure you pinch it well to get a good seal so it doesn't burst open during cooking. Place each bierock onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, or until golden brown. Serve hot, or wrap and freeze for heating later.

Cheese Crackers

Why make your own crackers? #1 It is ridiculously easy. #2 It is cheaper. #3 You control what goes in: no preservatives, no unknown chemicals, you can make them truly whole grain. #4 They taste pretty darn good. Tip: If you roll them nice and thin you'll really get a nice crisp cracker, but I suggest trying them on the thicker, softer side sometime. It is almost like eating a cheesy pie crust.

1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup flour (you could use white or fresh ground wheat for whole grain)
4 Tbl butter or margarine
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to sprinkle on top
1/4 tsp paprika
1 dash cayenne pepper
1/4 c water


1. Grate cheese in food processor. Switch food processor from the grate to the blade.
2. Add flour, butter, salt, paprika, cayenne to cheese in food processor. Process until everything is mixed/crumbled (maybe 10 seconds?)
3. Add water and process for another 10 seconds.
4. Roll the mixture out onto a greased cookie sheet. Get it as flat as possible.
5. Sprinkle on your desired *seasonings and then cut into your desired shape. You can just use a pizza roller or a knife. I used a pastry wheel for mine.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes, watching carefully.
7. Cool and enjoy. Once entirely cooled, store in an airtight container (if there are any left to store).


Seasoning Ideas
- sea salt
- garlic salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- cajun seasoning
- italian seasoning
- rosemary
- curry powder
- get creative! almost any spice will work!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I love, love, love Spinach Artichoke Dip. If it didn't go straight to my thighs I would probably eat it every day.

Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
14 oz artichoke hearts, chopped
1/2 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a small baking dish.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
3. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.


(This is wonderful served with sliced Rosemary Bread)

Cranberry Salsa Over Cream Cheese

One of my favorite Holiday treats comes from my dear Aunt Cynthia. It is delicious, pretty to look at, seasonal, and good for potlucks. What more could you need from a Christmas dish?


1 12 oz bag or 3 cups of fresh cranberries, rinsed and drained.
1/4 cup minced green onions
2 small jalapeño peppers, cored, seeded and minced
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. fresh cilantro leaves, minced
2 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice


See the rest of this recipe over at my new professional blog....