Happy Monday to you! Canadian Thanksgiving here at home, Columbus day in the US and what I think is a regular Monday in the rest of the world. I have a special post for you today. Not only do I have a thanksgiving recap from the zesty in laws on Saturday night I have a cheesecake that Sister in Law zesty made that will blow your mind. Do you get excited about food like I do? When I saw the spring form pan makes it way to the table at around 7:36pm Atlantic time on Saturday night, I may have gotten a few chills down my back with excitement. Spring form in my simple mind means cheesecake. Cheesecake means HOLY YUM.

This was know exception.  Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake! Yeah I know  – ridiculous.  I could not wait to sink my fork into this piece of work.  But give me a minute and I will tell you how she made it.  She altered the recipe slightly from all recipes and the details are below.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups crushed gingersnap cookies
• 1/2 Cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/3 Cup butter, melted
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 Cup white sugar, divided
• 1 Tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 1 Cup canned pumpkin
• 3/4 Tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 Tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 Tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 Tsp. allspice

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the crushed gingersnap cookies, pecans, and butter. Press into the bottom, and about 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture and place in the fridge.
3. Blend 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg into the remaining mixture.
4. Spread the pumpkin flavored batter into the crust, and drop the plain batter by spoonfuls onto the top.
5. Swirl with a knife to create a marbled effect.
6. Bake 55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until filling is set. Run a knife around the edge of the pan.
7. Allow to cool before removing pan rim.
8. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
9. ENJOY!

This is my small portion.... do note the butter tart pie that was also amazing! Maybe I will share that later on this week for you to try.

Zesty Tip: Zesty in law did mention that putting the extra one cup of mixture aside in the fridge was something she would do again.  Also remember with spring form pans and cheesecake, always wait until the cake has cooled before removing.  makes life easier.

OK, so as you can see that was delicious… and I realize I started backwards with the dinner recap.  But that is OK.  I am going to do a picture recap of the entire meal right now so you can enjoy in all it’s beauty.  I will start off with a picture of the menu so you can related to the pictures.  If you want any recipes just let me know in the comments and I will get them for you.

As you can see, this is no ordinary turkey dinner that you would have on Thanksgiving. This is high end folks and I know that I am super lucky to be part of this so bear with me and get thru this masterpiece.

Brussels prior to plating. This could win an award for taste

Parsnips prior to hitting the wood oven

rumbling beets getting ready for the big dance

A little stuffing.... oh dear I can feel my pants getting tight again

Caramelized onions that you could add to whatever you wanted.

An action pea shot... before the bacon.

Honestly, these brussel sprouts! Unbelievable!

WOW, as I review these pictures, I am hungry again and think back to how amazing this dinner was.  I am actually going to make some chocolate chip pancakes for the kiddos here now and than maybe do some house work before heading to Momma Zesty’s for another turkey day.

Have a great day wherever you are in the world and I will come back on Wednesday for more excitement.

Take care

zesty

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Remember a while back we were doing Help the Student event, and I received this guest post from Jenny at Picky Palate?  Well I had to bring this one back because when I actually made these I thought I was never going to stop raving about them.  Then I thought to myself, wouldn’t this be a HUGE idea for a super bowl party.  They are different, delicious and down right simple to prepare.

This turkey burger has minimal ingredients with massive flavor.  You may have to shop around to find the right slider buns of your choice.  My only piece of advice is to try and find a bun that is not tough and hard to bite through.  You know what I mean right?  Sometimes you get rolls that you feel like you are chewing on the sole of your shoe.  With those you will have a problem keeping the burger in tact.  A fresh soft roll is the way to go.

Hope you try Jenny’s  little sliders.

I cooked these burgers right on the stove top in a large skillet.  Was just too lazy to fire up the grill.  By all means, grill them if you’d rather. If you are a feta fan, beware…you could quite possibly eat many of these

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 Cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 Cup sun-dried tomatoes, jarred in olive oil
• 1/2 Cup fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped
• Pinch of Kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and Lawry’s Garlic Salt with Parsley
• Baby hamburger buns or dinner rolls, split and warmed
• 2 Cups fresh baby spinach leaves

Sun-Dried Tomato Mayonnaise

• 1 Cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, packed in olive oil, drained

Method

1. Heat oil into a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Place turkey, feta, sun dried tomato, spinach and seasonings into a mixing bowl.
3. Mix until just combined.  Form 1/4 Cup little patty’s and place onto a cookie sheet.
4. Once all are formed, place batches in hot skillet.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown and cooked through.
6. Place mayonnaise and tomatoes into a bowl; mix to combine.
7. Spread over insides of warm rolls.
8. Layer bottom roll with spinach and the burger.
9. Close with top roll and eat

Makes about 12 little sliders

Zesty Tip: To speed things up – feel free to make these ahead of time and let them sit in your fridge.  You could prep them the night before and then you can cook them off once you get home.  If you want to reheat them, I like to add a little drop of water on the burger before putting it in the microwave.

Freestyle Variation: Some people may not have access to sun dried tomatoes or kosher salt and garlic salt with parsley.  It is OK if you are missing those ingredients as the burgers will still turn out and taste great.  Don’t be disappointed if you find a recipe and you do not have all the ingredients – stay positive and improvise.

Alright, I am outta here but remember this.  It is Friday so keep smiling.  Enjoy the big game on Sunday if you like football and if not…. just eat lots.  Be on the lookout for my article in the upcoming release of the G! Magazine.  It is titled: Ad Hoc Dining: Don’t think about it – just eat it! such my style.  Have a great weekend.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Help The Students Event: Day 12

Happy Friday Eve Zesty Readers!  This is Danica from Danica’s Daily.  I LOVE that Zesty is helping out all of the students and am honored that he asked me to share with you all one of my FAVORITE recipes.

When I was in college the BIGGEST time saver for me was to take one day to prepare meals and snacks for the week.  I’d bake up casseroles like this Baked Cheesy Turkey Ziti, portion it out into single serving containers, freeze a couple and eat the rest for lunch/dinner all week.  It’s the perfect solution when you need something that is healthy that you can just grab and go.

This recipe is so easy to make and something that is perfect for to have during the week when you are short on time.  It has so much flavor that your “beef” LOVERs will not be able to that you “healthified” it by using Turkey and low-fat cheese.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs Lean Ground Turkey
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 c sliced mushrooms
• 1 can organic diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce ( LOVE TJ’s Low-Fat Marinara) or make your own
• 2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes
• Garlic Salt & Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
• 6 oz uncooked Whole Wheat Penne Pasta (I used Barilla Plus)
• 3 oz low fat mozzarella cheese
• 3 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese

Method

1. Cook your pasta according to the directions on the box.  While it is cooking, prepare your sauce and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 9×13 dish with nonstick spray.
2. Brown your ground turkey through mushrooms until the turkey is cooked through and no longer pink.  Drain if there is excess water and return to pan.  Sprinkle with garlic salt, freshly ground pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.  Add your diced tomatoes and marinara.  Heat through ~ about 5 –10 minutes.
3. Drain your pasta and add it to your turkey sauce.
4. Stir pasta and sauce together and pour into a prepared 9×13 dish.



5. Top with cheeses and bake for about 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned.
6. Makes 6 BIG servings or 8 regular sized servings.
7. ENJOY!

Freestyle Variation: You can make this vegetarian by using Veggie Crumbles or your favorite beans.  Follow the same process just eliminate the ground turkey.  Of course you can make it beefy for the beef lovers and add ground beef as well.

The BEST part of this recipe is having leftovers made up for the week so you only had to cook ONCE, but, eat all week.  There is just something about red sauce dishes that tastes so much better the next day.  Thanks again for letting me guest post Z!  If you all would like to see more recipes like this along with other ramblings by me, be sure to stop by Danica’s Daily!

Thanks Danica for a great simple recipe for everyone to enjoy.  I know myself – I would eat at least 3 servings of this one.  Have a super Thursday and talk to you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Help the Students Event: Day 4

Happy Labor day to you!  I hope you are enjoying the holiday Monday.  The weekend was nice and relaxing – we survived hurricane earl relatively without issue.  One of the barbecue doors blew off the bottom but I think I can put it back on somehow…  not too worry!

So as I was going over in my head for a fun, simple after class dinner – I immediately thought of tacos.  These are really simple and totally a blank canvas and sure to appease a variety of taste buds.  You can put pretty much use whatever ingredients you want.  This makes it a great student dish as you can use the tacos to “clean out the fridge“.

Today I chose ground turkey as the star of the taco, as well as some Indian flavors to spice it up and add the zing.

Ingredients

• 8 Tacos ( Soft or Hard shell)
• 1 lb. Ground Turkey
• 1 Handful Cilantro ( chopped)
• 1 Tsp. Cumin
• 2 Tomatoes ( chopped)
• Cheddar Cheese ( or whatever you have)
• Olive oil/Canola oil/Cooking Spray
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Over medium heat, add the oil and turkey meat and begin to brown.  Add the salt, pepper and cumin and continue to cook until no longer pink
2. Add 1/2 the chopped tomatoes and cook down for another 4 minutes
3. Stir in the cilantro; serve in the taco and top with tomatoes and cheese.
4. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: By adding the tomatoes in the turkey mixture, it will help the turkey from drying out.  Letting it simmer in the tomatoes and having them break down is a good thing.

Freestyle Variation: Don’t like turkey meat… add chicken, ground beef, black beans if you are vegetarian.  These are no rule tacos – infuse the taco with whatever turns your crank or even better – whatever you have on hand.  For example, you could try a brown rice and bean taco topped with sour cream and green onion.

As I said earlier, have a great labor day Holiday and get ready for classes to start soon.  I may go play some golf today or cut the grass.  I know I know – my life is riveting.  Talk to you tomorrow with a guest post for the Student in your life.

Take care

zesty

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As you are reading this post I am likely up in the air or settling in Virgina depending on how keen you are to pick up a new zesty post.  I am spending the week in VA this week for work and I am hoping the weather is nice!  I have some writing and posting to catch up on while away, so I will try to use the airplane to my advantage as well as the hotel room to get some writing done.

When you think chili – you think comfort, warm, wholesome and a hell of a long process to get there before you can eat it.  Well I guess I will try and change your mind if that is the way you think about chili.  Today I thought I would share with you a super simple Turkey Chili – that is good for you and pretty much dead easy to prepare.

Ingredients

• 1 Sweet onion (chopped)
• 3 Celery stalks (chopped)
• 1 Cup mushrooms ( button)
• 1 lb. Lean ground turkey
• 3 Cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 Large can crushed tomatoes
• 1 Can kidney beans ( do not drain)
• 1 Tsp. Salt
• 1/2 Tsp. Crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 Tsp. cumin
• 1 /2 Tsp. chili powder

Method

1. Pour oil into large saucepan. Turn heat to medium and heat oil for 1 minute.



2. Add onions to hot oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon, for 5 minutes, or until onion is almost clear.



3. Add celery and mushrooms and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.





4. Stir in garlic, chili powder, red pepper flakes, and cumin until well combined.
5. Add ground turkey to pot. Stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up large pieces. Brown turkey for 5 minutes, stirring often.





6. Toss in the can of tomatoes once the turkey is no longer pink and stir well.



7. Dump in the can of kidney beans – stir to mix and cover the lid over low heat and let simmer. ( about 15 minutes )



8. Remove lid and check seasoning; modify accordingly.



9. Serve with crusty bread, or some homemade biscuits.



10. ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: Remember that ground turkey by itself is super bland.  It does absorb flavor quite well so do not skimp on the seasonings that you wish to bring to this particular chili dish.

Let’s say Happy Monday!  I hope you have a great week and I will be in tune with what is happening from the south.  Talk to you all on Wednesday with hopefully another fun and exciting post.  It may not be all about food but you never know.

Take care

zesty

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Happy Friday!  With Thanksgiving fast approaching in the US (I forgot to do this post for the Canadian Thanksgiving), I thought this would be a great time to quickly go through my favorite eats at Thanksgiving.

First off I will start with saying that it was really hard to limit this post to 5 items because I truly love everything about thanksgiving.  But here goes:

1. Turkey

This really does have to be one of my favorite meats to eat. I love turkey with all the fixings and even in sandwiches, soups and casseroles.

2.  Fig and Maple Brussel Sprouts

Recently introduced to me this year, this dish was a knockout! I mean the combination of flavors and textures were over the moon.

3. Homemade Cranberry Sauce

A classic yet one of my favorite side dishes with turkey. You can find out how to make this easy delicious dish.

4. Turkey Dressing/Stuffing

A true family favorite for sure.  You have to be quick to this bowl to ensure you get some.  A little turkey, a little dressing and a touch of cranberry.  What a bite!  This is also great on a turkey sandwich.  Not the most healthy of choices but… can you really worry about that around this time of year?

5. Sticky Date Pudding

I great dessert after a big dinner. I love the combination of warm caramel sauce coupled with the cool ice cream sitting a top a super moist cake. I sometimes classify this as heaven! This sticky date pudding is delicious.

Now Tell Me Yours!

This is where I want everyone that reads this post to come out of the wood work and mention at least one of your favorite foods around Thanksgiving. I think it will be fun and I just realized that I left my favorite sweet potato dish out of the top 5. Very shocking but that just goes to show how much I like food! Ok I better run to the flooring store and pick out grout. I will talk to you on Monday. Have a great weekend.

I am doing a big food demonstration tomorrow morning for a large group of people so I will be sure to let you know how it goes. The topic I am focusing on is – Not so traditional Christmas foods and ways to prepare them.

Talk to you Monday.

Take care

zesty

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I made a sandwich a little while ago and for some reason I forgot to post about it.  I really did like the outcome of the sandwich but it was nothing over the top.  I remember picking up some sour dough bread at the bakery which was used for a grilled sandwich with some melted cheese oozing out the ends.

Now when it comes to sandwiches, in the last 3-4 months I have made a large change when it comes to sauces on my sandwiches.  I don’t use any now!  I know it sounds a bit bizarre for some but I really enjoy it now.  I never was a big fan of mayonnaise so I used to revert to mustard.  But lately I put that all on hold and usually have been avoiding it all together.  I now tend to focus on cheese, vegetables and even fruit.

When it comes to the filling for this sandwich… it is super basic.  We always seem to have turkey deli meat around since the kids love it and it is a good source of protein and as for cheese – I just went with old cheddar.

Ingredients

• 2 Slices of Sour Dough Bread
• Handful of turkey meat
• 3 Slices of cheddar cheese
• Black pepper

Method

• Preheat sandwich maker or George foreman grill
• Slice the bread and top with turkey cheese and pepper
• Place the other piece of bread on top
• Add sandwich to the grill and cook for 3-4 minutes until cheese has melted and bread is golden brown
• ENJOY!

Zesty Tip: One tip when making grilled sandwiches is to make sure the filling ( meat in this case ) is fairly dry.  I find the deli meat can be quite moist and will make the bread soggy, so I tend to pat it dry with a paper towel before adding it to the sandwich.

So that is the sandwich. Nothing elaborate but a very good quick meal whether you are on the run, or just craving the crunch from a toasted sandwich.  I hope you have a great Tuesday and I am glad to see so many of you joining up for the free blogging tips newsletter over at my new consulting site.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers out there.  This past weekend was action packed to say the least.  Saturday included some work at the house site, taking a load to the dump, and a super Thanksgiving Dinner.  It didn’t end there, to close out the night  Mrs. Zesty and I hit the dance floor during a wedding reception we were invited to.

That was only Saturday which I know is likely hard to imagine…. but Sunday was equally as exciting.  We were invited to a family picnic by our house builders.  It was really nice of them to do that and we had a great time.  The weather was very nice for a change and the kids had a great time running around and playing. The food looked amazing and I did have a sample of the seafood chowder.  I didn’t want to pig out too much because we had plans to have another turkey dinner with my Family.

I kind of have a hodge podge post for you today because I was unsure how to structure it (the whole week for that matter).  What I thought would be a great idea is to have a “Turkey Feast Week“.  This week will include fantastic turkey creations from kicked up vegetable dishes, homemade cranberry, mustard pickles, amazing dressing, melt in your mouth turkey and of course a couple of killer desserts.

With that said, I am going to start the week of with a glimpse at the full meal deal and some random shots throughout the cooking process.

As I mentioned on Friday, we were going to attempt to go apple picking on Saturday if the weather was fine – the weather was not fine!  Poured rain all day on Saturday so we are attempting to go today.  I will keep you posted and may intervene with an apple post.

Before I start off this fun post I need to announce the three lucky winners of the POM Tea Giveaway.

Winners

Comment 36: Tiffany

I have always want to try these…I told some co-workers about the giveaway.

Comment 16: Melissa
I just told 10 of my co-workers about the giveaway and your site! Will be linking back next…

Comment 30: Low
Hey Zesty! I just gave you a tweet out! Is that proper Twitter lingo? Something tells me it’s not, but you know what I mean.

For all the winners, contact me with your mailing address and I will get your coupon delivered.

Turkey Day

Without giving away some great recipes today, I am going to share with you some shots I took throughout the day on Saturday.  I will get into the details and recipe specifics later this week.  I am so excited about the line-up I am finding it hard not to post them all at once.

I hope you have a super Monday and if it is a holiday for you – please enjoy it.  I am heading out to the house today to hang with the builders and maybe help them if I can.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend.  It was a very very cold weekend here and therefore was a great excuse to do some good old fashion baking as well spend some quality time with the family.

Contest Winners

Lets get the day started with our contest winners! After a very strong response to my giveaway post for 2 copies of the great book “FUNDAMENTALS OF PHOTOGRAPHY” we officially have our winners.   The random number generator popped out 147 and 161 which corresponds to:

VeganLisa                      Teeni

I just want to say Congratulations to Lisa and Teeni and thank you to everyone who participated. It was a lot of fun seeing all the comments, link backs as well as new subscribers. Stay tuned for another giveaway in February.

Homemade Turkey Pot Pie

After any turkey day, for as long as I can remember, we’ve always had a ton of left overs.  All kinds of leftovers in the form of vegetables, gravy, turkey etc.  Sometimes I have a craving for an old fashioned turkey pot pie to utilize some of those ingredients.

Below is a simple little recipe that tastes great on its own or with a quick and simple Caesar salad on the side.

Ingredients

FLAKY TENDER PIE CRUST (makes enough for two pies 9″ diameter)

• 2 – 4 tablespoons ice water
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces
• 1/2 cup Crisco shortening
• Egg wash of 1 yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon water

PIE FILLING

• 1 cup of gravy
• 1/2 cup cooked carrots (chopped or sliced)
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1/2 cup peas
• 3/4 cup chopped turkey meat (cooked)

Method

1. In a large bowl, stir together one cup of flour, sugar and salt. With a hand-held pastry blender, cut butter into flour until butter is dime-sized.
2. Add shortening, cut into mixture til dime-sized. Lightly stir in remaining flour. Sprinkle with half the water. With a full palm, squeeze flour together against side of bowl.
3. Rub hands together to drop damp flour into mixture. Add just enough water to hold together; the less water the better, dry crumbs on the bottom are good.
4. Refrigerate. Preheat oven to 375F.
5. Sprinkle work surface with flour. Cut dough in half, return second piece to fridge. Sprinkle dough with flour. Working in just one direction, roll dough into an oval the diameter of the pie plate plus its sides. Slip a bench knife beneath the dough to loosen, turn 90 degrees. Roll again to form a circle. Brush off excess flour.
6. Bake bottom crust until golden brown.
7. Prepare filling in a bowl by adding gravy, corn, peas, carrots and turkey.  Mix together and season to taste with salt and pepper.
8. Roll out top crust. Fill bottom crust with your filling. Gently flip top crust over filling, brush off excess flour. Trim excess pastry, then turn under and press to form and seal the edge. Crimp decoratively. Slice top to vent. Brush top (but not edges) with egg wash.
9. Bake 35 minutes or until top crust is golden brown and juices inside are bubbling.
10. Let cool for 5 minutes prior to slicing.



11. ENJOY!

I really hope you enjoyed today’s post.  I want to thank everyone for participating in the contest and send out a special congratulations to the winners.  Have a great week and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Take care

zesty

Download my Free Recipe Book: Simply Zesty