Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

We have one tree in our backyard that the hummingbirds seem to love. They flock to this tree and greet us when we sit out on our deck to dine al fresco. Most of the time I can’t get good shots of them because they are so backlit, but they are still fun to see. I never stop though, because I just may get lucky sometimes and I get some good shots too.

These are the shots I normally get. Not bad, but not great either.

But with luck and persistence, every now and then I get some good shots too.

The moral of the story is …. Never give up. Have a great day and make everyday great. You never know. Today could just be your lucky day. 🙂

Thanksgiving is quickly coming. For our Canadian friends, it is coming in just a few days. This year, it will be celebrated on October 14. In America, we still have about a month and a half to wait. Soon, everyone will be busy planning menus and getting things ready to spend the day with loved ones. Leftovers are always a part of the Thanksgiving traditions as well. But what do we do with all them? How do we plan to use them up? Here are some delicious ideas for using up those holiday leftovers.

The reason I am writing about this today is because I have been asked by Rent/Redfin to do a post about using up Thanksgiving leftovers. The article is set to publish in October on the Rent. Blog, which saw over 2 million in traffic last year.  This is a big honor for me and I am very excited to participate.

Here are just a few of my recent ideas for using up those delicious Thanksgiving leftovers. These can easily become part of your holiday traditions as well.

1. Thanksgiving Leftovers – Turkey Enchiladas with Pumpkin Cream Sauce Thanksgiving Leftovers Transformed into Turkey Enchiladas with a Pumpkin Cream Sauce

Enchiladas in general are a great way to use up leftovers, but why not make them festive as well. I had just enough pumpkin puree for this dish, and then I also used up some of the turkey and vegetables to make these very tasty enchiladas.

2. Curried Thai Turkey and Vegetables – More Leftovers From Thanksgiving

Pasta is always a good way to use up leftovers of any kind. Why not turn your leftover turkey and vegetables into a festive pasta to continue the festive celebrations. You can dress it up even more by turning them into an ethnic dish too if you like. The pasta possibilities are endless.

3. Potato Pancakes – From Leftovers To Potato Pancakes

Almost everyone has mashed potatoes on their Thanksgiving table. Sometimes you have leftovers and sometimes you don’t, but if you do, turning those potatoes into potato pancakes is always a delicious option of repurposing them. No one will ever know they came from leftovers.

In fact, all these delicious options I have provided, no one will know they came from your Thanksgiving Holiday leftovers. The only way they will know is if you tell them. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Our fall colors are a little late this year, but they are beginning to pop out. We are at a lower altitude than the mountains, so our fall colors tend to be behind the mountains by a couple of weeks anyway. They may not be numerous yet, but the colors that are coming out are already beautiful.

Here are the fall colors around my lakes.

I just love fall. It is my absolute favorite season of the year. I love all the colors and the cooler, crisper air. I love everything about fall.

We had some pork loin down. Larry was in the mood for something Asian to be made with it. No problem. I can do that. I was inspired by a honey garlic pork recipe I saw and went from there. We tend to like our foods with a little spicy kick, so I spiced it up a bit and added vegetables to top it off.

Spicy Honey Garlic Pork

My spice came from adding red pepper flakes as well as topping it with a a little extra spicy chili mix. Just a dab will do you, since the spicy chili mix really packs a punch. You can substitute chicken for the pork too if you like.

2 lbs pork

2/3 cup honey

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup chicken broth

2 TBSP soy sauce

2 TBSP garlic

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 1/2-2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 TBSP cornstarch

red chili spice as a topping, optional

Combine all the ingredients together and mix well. Marinate the pork in the sauce for at least 30-60 minutes before cooking.

When ready to cook the pork, preheat the oven to 400* F or 200*C.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the pork reaches an internal temperature of about 160*F or 72* C and/or the juices run clear.

I served my pork over wild rice and then topped it with vegetables as well. For my vegetables, I used some green beans, red pepper matchsticks, red onion slices and mushrooms.

I boiled the beans for about 5-7 minutes and sauteed the rest in butter and olive oil, with salt & pepper until they were ready.

Once everything was done, I layered them up, starting with the rice, then the pork, the mushroom mixture, green beans, and then finished it off with a little dab of spicy chili sauce.

I served this with a cabernet. Pork is one of those dishes that goes well with either red or white wine, but because my sauce was a rich, brown, spicy sauce, I chose red wine. It was a perfect combination and all the flavors just popped to life.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

The Germans love their potatoes. Like me, the Germans love their potatoes cooked in all kinds of ways. They use them for almost every meal. Today, each person on average, consumes about 150 lbs of potatoes per year.

Potatoes were introduced to Germany in the 17th century, but became popular in the 18th century. Back in the 18th century, Frederick II of Prussia (also known as Frederick the Great) was looking for ways to feed his nation and lower the price of bread. He proposed the potato as a suitable new addition to the nation’s diet. Potatoes are called Kartoffel in Germany and German speaking countries, like Austria.

Potatoes are popular in Germany for many reasons, but one reason is because of the military, believe it or not. When an army camped on a field with traditional crops, which they did without consideration for the peasants, the crops would be destroyed and the harvest gone. Because of this, German peasants quickly saw the value of the potato, which would not so easily be harmed by military movements taking place on the surface.

One of the popular potato dishes in Germany is scalloped potatoes, though they often are made with a bit of mustard. I made some German scalloped potatoes from a recipe from one of my German cookbooks, that included mustard, bacon onions and garlic. No wonder they were so good. 🙂

German Scalloped Potatoes of Kartoffelauflauf mit speck

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Preheat the oven to 400* F or 200*C.

olive oil

3/4 lb bacon, diced

1 onion, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

3 lbs potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin rounds

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup shredded cheese

fresh parsley, chopped

Slice the potatoes into thin round slices.

Get a skillet very hot add the oil and cook the bacon until it is browned, for about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat.

Add the garlic and onions and cook for about 7-10 minutes, or until the onions are translucent.

Combine the mustard, cream and the salt & pepper. Add the onions, garlic, bacon and most of the chopped parsley to the mustard and cream mixture and mix together thoroughly.

Add a single layer of the potato rounds to the prepared casserole dish.

Add a layer of the cream mixture, then repeat until the potatoes and cream are all used.

Top with the cheese. You can use whatever type of cheese you like, though cheddar is usually recommended. I used Mozzarella this time, because that is what I had. Using different cheeses will give different flavors and qualities to the potatoes. Play around with them. Use what you like most or mix and match them.

Bake for about 1 hour, or until the cheese is all melted and forms a golden crust on top. Sprinkle a little parsley on top and enjoy it while it’s hot. You can leave out the bacon if you like, and it will still be very good.

We had two types of potatoes for this meal. The German scalloped potatoes and the potatoes in in my focaccia. Potato Focaccia Pugliese

Since fall weather is slowly creeping in, and the weather is getting a little cooler each day, this was a perfect meal for fall. Our days of dining out on the deck are becoming limited for the rest of the year. We are going to enjoy it for as long as we can though; one ray of sunshine at a time.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

This year I saw a lot of Says Phoebes. A lot more so than I have seen in years past. They are such cute little birds. They supposedly like the quiet solitude of the country life, but I live in the suburbs and they seem to like it here too. They are usually here with us from March-October, so their time here is coming to an end for this year. I will miss them, but I will also gladly welcome them back again next spring.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

As you know, I love to cook with international themes. This allows me to sample foods and different cooking techniques from all over the world in the comfort of my own kitchen. We are quite the culinary travelers (although we are quite the real travelers too). I had some Kielbasa and decided to go with a German theme for side dishes. I made some red cabbage with apples and German scalloped potatoes. I also had some mustard cream sauce I used to top the Kielbasa and then served it with my potato focaccia Pugliese Potato Focaccia Pugliese and a smooth red blend. Larry is 100% German, so he was fine with this idea too. It was a perfect Bavarian meal. 🙂

Red Cabbage and Apples

You can either bake this dish or cook it on top of the stove. I chose to cook it on top of the stove. It’s sweet and tangy and very colorfully delicious. This is another simple meal using basic ingredients.

1 red cabbage, shredded

1 onion, sliced very thin

2 apples, peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks

2 tsp red wine vinegar

2 TBPS water

1 TBSP sugar

salt & pepper tot tasdte

olive oil and butter for cooking

As I mentioned, I cooked mine on the stove in a skillet. I find this is a quicker way to cook it with the same results, or even better, than baking it.

Get a large skillet very hot, then add some olive oil and a little butter. Add all the ingredients to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage, apples and onions are tender.

When everything is tender, it’s time to eat and enjoy. Wunderbar! This is perfect for all of your Oktoberfest celebrations.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We have quite a few different species of hawks that call Colorado home. We have Cooper’s Hawks, Sharp-Shinned Hawks, Northern Goshawks, Swainson’s Hawks, Red-Tailed Hawks, Ferruginous Hawks and Rough-Legged Hawks. The Red Tails are the most prolific hawks we see in our area, but every now and then we see other types as well. We see them quite often too.

I love the hawks and all the other birds of prey. They are graceful, majestic warriors like none other. They are almost always perched up high, to get a good hawk’s view of the surrounding area or are soaring high in the skies, hunting their prey.

Here are some of my recent hawk sightings. This one looks like a Ferruginous Hawk.

It’s hard for me to get good shots of them in flight. This one will have to do for now.

This one is a Red-Tailed Hawk.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Oh how I love the cooler weather!!!! I can bake things in the oven without melting from the heat. I can bake breads again. WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!! There is something very calming and therapeutic about making bread too, at least for me. I made some potato focaccia Pugliese bread and we enjoyed every bite of it too. 🙂

Potato Focaccia Pugliese

Focaccia is a type of yeast bread that is very similar to pizza. It’s baked in a shallow pan, giving it a flatter appearance than regular leavened bread but with a spongy, bubbly crumb. The olive oil coating is part of what makes it unique, resulting in a deliciously crispy top and bottom crust.

Pugliese means it is something that originated in the Puglia region of Italy. Pugliese bread is a type of bread made from a soft sough that has large holes in the bread that come about through the baking process. The bread is soft in the center and crunchy on the outside and most often it is shaped in an oval shape.

My potato focaccia Pugliese is a combination of both types of delicious breads. Like with so many other wonderful dishes, it is made with simple ingredients, but most importantly, it is made with lots of love.

4 scant cups flour

1 TBSP salt

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast

1 1/4 cups lukewarm water

olive oil – I used both regular and garlic olive oil

8-10 small new potatoes, sliced thin

rock salt to sprinkle on top

2-3 sprigs of either fresh rosemary and/or sage

Combine the flour, yeast, water and salt together and form into a soft dough ball. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough ball into prepared bowl, cover and let rise for about 1-1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.

After the first rise, oil a baking sheet and firmly press the dough into the pan, trying to fill the pan as much as you can. Dimple it with your fingers.

Slice the potatoes into thin slices and top the dough with the potatoes. Cut the herbs into small pieces and distribute over the top. Add a sprinkling of coarse salt to the top. Cover and let rise again, for about another hour. I used a combination of both garlic olive oil and regular olive oil.

I didn’t have rosemary this time, but I did have sage. The sage complimented the potatoes perfectly.

Preheat the oven to 450*F or 230*C.

Bake for about 30 or so minutes, or until the dough is golden brown and a light crust is all around the edges. Drizzle with more olive oil, slice and serve warm. !Delicioso!

This recipe makes 1 large flatbread. Originally I cut my focaccia into portions and I was going to share with a couple of my neighbors. But neither of them were home when I tried to deliver it, so darn, we had to eat it all ourselves. 🙂 It took us a couple of days to finish it, but finish it we did. Now it is all gone and time to make some more.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Yesterday out on my walk, I saw a late season Heron, hiding in the reeds. I thought my eyes were deceiving me at first, and I had to do a double take. But sure enough, there was this regal looking Heron right in front of me. He only allowed me to get a couple of shots before flying off, but at least he granted me that, and for that I was grateful.

As I was quietly trying to readjust to get another angle, he flew off. I couldn’t get him in flight, but I did catch him on his landing.

It is very late in the season for Herons, but I am always so happy to see them. We are still having very warm weather, so maybe my birds are a little confused about the seasons right now.