Christmas Day Roast Dinner

I apologies in advance that you're not going to get my usual ingredients, instructions and step by step photos for this post - quite frankly there was just so much going on in my little kitchen today that I would of probably ended up putting my camera down somewhere and roasting it with the potatoes!!!  So instead it's going to be a very short post just letting you know what we had (because honestly I was very proud of myself this year - my roast potatoes and yorkshire puddings especially came out just about 'perfect' and I promise that one day soon I will cook them again to let you know what perfection tastes like :o)

Our bellies were full of:
roast turkey
'perfect' roast potatoes
maple roasted parsnips and baby carrots
brussel sprouts in butter sauce
sage and onion bread stuffing
HUGE 'perfect' yorkshire puddings (best I've ever made!)
and of course.......turkey gravy

After the delicious breakfast that we'd had of eggs benedict my original plan to have a lunch-time Christmas meal was delayed (still too full of buttery hollandaise sauce) so we ended up having it at about 4 pm - luckily it was just Dean and I so we could have it whenever we wanted it :o)

I told you my yorkshire's were HUGE - take my word for it, underneath that behemoth in the middle of the plate there is turkey, parsnips and carrots too :o)

x  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL  x

Zucchini-Sausage Casserole

I love the concept of 'one-dish' cooking (that's probably why I have not one, but two slow cookers in my cupboard!), so when I saw a magazine by Better Homes and Gardens entitled 'One-Pan Recipes' at the grocery store the other day, you can bet I was leaning over my trolley to grab it from that shelf they put deliberately alongside the till, just for that impulse buyer (ie: me :o)

I do have one small criticism about this first recipe that I tried from the magazine, although maybe that's my own pre-conceived notions about what 'one-pan' really means.  For me, like most of my slow cooker recipes, I just want to throw everything into the dish, pop on the lid, turn it on, and leave it - and ultimately (apart from the plates/dishes I serve it in), I only have the one dish to wash up.  With this zucchini dish, aside from the dish I baked it in, I also had another two bowls and a skillet - that's just me though!! :o)

I altered the quantities of ingredients just a little and added garlic (only because I use garlic in as many dishes as I can), just for my own personal taste.

Zucchini-Sausage Casserole
serves 4

500g sausage meat (I used italian sausage, and just took the meat out of the skins)
1 tsp dried garlic (or 1 large clove, chopped)
1 medium zucchini
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed chicken soup
3 Tbs sour cream
salt and pepper
1 package Stove-Top stuffing mix
1 Tbs butter, melted

• preheat oven to 350 F.
• lightly grease a 13" x 8" deep dish and set aside.
• in a bowl, empty the stuffing mix and mix with the melted butter until well combined; set aside.
• in a large skillet, cook the sausage and garlic over medium heat until the meat is browned; drain off any fat.
• meanwhile, half the zucchini lengthwise and slice crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces.
• add the zucchini to the sausage in the skillet, and fry slightly until beginning to colour.
• in a small bowl combine the chicken soup and sour cream; stir into the sausage mixture.
• spoon half of the stuffing mixture into the prepared baking dish.
• spread sausage mixture over the stuffing in the dish, and spoon the remaining stuffing mix evenly over the top.
• cover with foil and bake until heated through - about 30 minutes.

 Zucchini-Sausage Casserole ingredients

 greased baking dish, stuffing topping and chicken soup mix.

I didn't have any bulk sausage meat, but just take the skins off of your favourite sausage and that works great.

don't slice the zucchini too thinly - you want them to still have a little 'bite' to them once they're cooked.

I didn't saute the zucchinis for very long, just enough to get a little colour.

add the chicken soup/sour cream mixture

spread half of the stuffing mix on the bottom, then the sausage and then remainder of the stuffing to make a crispy topping.

I popped a quick dish of roasted tomatoes in the oven alongside.

(just half some cherry tomatoes and sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and italian seasoning - roast at the same temperature and same time as the zucchini-sausage casserole.)

 simple and tasty.

Bread Stuffing

I had a real hankering for something savoury and stodgy today, and after searching through the fridge and pantry I decided on....stuffing.  Now, I'm probably like quite a few other people in the world, who only really make stuffing on certain holidays of the year, and I don't understand why.  It's easy, it's simple ingredients, and above all, it's delicious.  Honestly I could of probably just sat and ate the whole dish by itself, but figuring I needed to feed hubby as well when he got home I decided to add a thick layer of it on a hot turkey sandwich - YUMMY!!! 
(A big 'thank you' to my friend Ann for giving me this recipe after she served it to us at Thanksgiving dinner this year - the only change I made was to add the garlic powder.  I have a bit of an addiction to it - it goes in as many things as I can get away with :)

Bread Stuffing
enough to pack a 9x13 inch dish or stuff a 15 pound bird

1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 loaf of cheap or stale bread, cubed
2 Tbs powdered/crushed sage leaves
1 1/2 Tbs poultry seasoning
1 Tbs garlic powder
salt & pepper
1 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup milk

• in a large pan or skillet saute the onions and celery until softened.
• add the cubed bread, sage, poultry seasoning and garlic powder.  Stir a little to combine,
• pour over the butter and milk and mix until the dressing is moist.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.
• add any additional milk or seasoning until it tastes as you want.
• either stuff your chosen bird, or press it into a 9x13 inch dish.  If you want a slightly crunchy topping pop the dish in a 400 F oven for 15-20 minutes.

 cheap bread works just great for this stuffing.

I like the onion and celery chopped fairly fine.

keep the crusts on the bread, they add a nice bit of texture.

I don't put any oil in the pan to saute the vegetables, just dry-fry them on a medium heat until their slightly softened.

try not to eat it all as you stand at the stove :)

press it firmly into the dish and bake until slightly crispy.