. . . and other things, too!

I hope you had a fantastic Thanksgiving. I sure did.

We ate ourselves silly on all the traditional Thanksgiving players:  turkey (smoked this year in the trusty SmokinTex), mashed taters, green bean casserole, two kinds of cranberry sauce — the real kind and the kind that comes out shaped like the can, pumpkin pie and so many other amazing things.

Now, it’s Black Friday and it’s time to stock up for the next holiday. It’s only just about 4 weeks away!

Where has my life gone? My youth and my sanity are slipping away. But, dangit, I’m going to eat well while it’s happening.

We’ll have lots of company again for the holidays so I’m taking advantage of the sale they’re having now at the Kansas City Steak Company. When you spend $49.95 or more you get 8 free steakburgers sent to you. I need those. My people are hungry.

ALL THE TIME.

I’ve got to keep a whole bunch of things on hand because when our family is here it feels like you just finished cleaning up one meal and it’s time to start the next. Ayyyy!

I’m ordering some filets, a roast and some hot dogs. With the steakburgers I’ll get, that should get us through. But ya never know.

After that, they’ll have to call the pizza joint down the street. I’ll be tired . . . but I can’t wait!

The holiday season has officially begun and my freezer is about to be well-stocked!

Photo courtesy of the KansasCitySteaks.com.

For Thanksgiving, we served two turkeys — one brined and roasted and the other smoked — and a spiral-cut ham. Plus, we had zillions of sides. It was enough to make your pants split.

We plan to do the same for our Christmas dinner. What’s a holiday season without gaining a few pounds?

Boring. That’s what.

Here’s the roasted turkey fresh out of the oven. That brine made it so tender and flavorful we all ate like we’d been stuck living in the wildnerness with the wolves for a few months and had been surviving on berries up until that point.

Then, we smoked one in this smoker — the 1400. It rocked. I don’t like it too terribly smoky — just enough apple wood flavor to give it a little kick. It was perfect.

I had a hard time deciding which one I wanted to eat so, of course, I had both. Plus ham. Plus sides. Oy.

Yeah, we used our Christmas dishes. Wanna make something of it? We’re not going to be at our house for Christmas so we wanted to use them at least once.

We’ll probably break them out for the kids’ chicken nuggets in the coming weeks, too. We are totally getting in the spirit around here.

How about you? What are you planning to serve for your holiday dinners?

When one more turkey sandwich sounds like a death sentence, it’s time to mix it up!

Renowned chef Guy Fieri gives us his recipe for Tequila Turkey Fettucine. Save this for after that Christmas turkey, too! Your family will thank you.

Tequila Turkey Fettucine

Recipe courtesy Guy Fieri

Yield: 1 serving

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1 ounce olive oil
1/4 red onion, cut into strips
1/2 tablespoon minced jalapeno
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 ounces turkey breast, cooked, sliced
1 ounce tequila
4 ounces heavy cream
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
9 ounces fettuccini pasta, cooked
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 lime wedges, for garnish
2 sprigs cilantro, for garnish
2 tablespoons diced Roma tomato, for garnish
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. In saute pan with high heat, add olive oil, onions, jalapeno and saute until translucent.

2. Add garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes.

3. Add turkey, lightly mix ingredients, careful not to break turkey up too much.

4. Deglaze pan with tequila, pouring around the edge of the saute pan.

5. Add cream, lemon juice and cilantro.

6. Toss together, then add pasta, and toss ingredients while adding Parmesan cheese.

Nest pasta on plate, pour sauce over pasta. Lay sprigs of cilantro over top, sprinkle tomatoes on top, and crack pepper around the rim of the plate.

Ease of preparation: intermediate

Recipe and photo courtesy of abcnews.com.