Thanksgiving Joys


Lobster - Squash - Chicken Noodle Soup - Lasagna - Sweet Potato Gnocchi - 
Cheese - Chocolate Cake - Macaroni and Cheese

We spent Thanksgiving traveling east to see our family and friends. 

We are grateful and blessed to have so many loving people in our lives.

 Our adventure started in Boston where we visited my brother Dave in Quincy.  

He spoiled us with lobster and impressed us with his mouth watering squash.  

The squash was so easy... cut it up, put it in foil, drizzle with olive oil and place on the grill.  So good! 

I am so proud of my brother Dave.  A couple years ago he started his own business selling anything to do with vacuums.  Check it out...  http://evacuumstore.com

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Our next stop was my parents' house.  

My mother is one of those Italian mothers who is always in the kitchen.  

We are well fed when we visit. 

We were greeted by her homemade chicken noodle soup.  

Ooh, it was delicious! 

My dad raved about the noodles.  He says the secret is the noodles.  :)

Nana's Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe

a small onion- chopped

1 lb chicken breasts

2 T olive oil

1 bag of frozen crinkle cut carrots

6 chicken flavor bouillon cubes

12 cups of water

1. Cut chicken into bite size pieces and saute with chopped onion in a large sauce pan.

2. In a separate pan, boil water and bouillon cubes until cubes are dissolved.  

    Add broth to cooked chicken and onions.

3. Add carrots and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. In a separate pan cook noodles according to package directions.

5.  Combine noodle and eat! 

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 I treasured my time in the kitchen with my mother.  I love that my mother has no recipes or measurements that she follows.  It is always a little bit of this and some of that.  

We made her lasagna together.  It was so wonderful.

First we made a quick sauce...

Nana's Quick Sauce

2 T olive oil

3 minced garlic cloves

2 (35oz) cans crushed tomatoes

4 cups water

1 small can tomato paste

fresh parsley, basil and oregano - 1t each

1. saute olive oil and garlic

2. add all ingredients

3. bring to boil and then simmer for 1 hour

Nana's Lasagna 

 2 lbs ground veal, pork, beef (or meatball mix) 

3 cloves of garlic - minced

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Romano cheese

1 t each - parsley, bail and oregano

2 eggs 

1/4 cup water

lasagna noodles

ricotta cheese

mozzarella cheese

1. Combine meat, garlic, bread crumbs, Romano cheese, parsley, basil, oregano, 2 eggs and 1/4 cup of water.  Mix together.  Cook meat until brown.  Add a pinch of salt.

2.  Cook lasagna noodles according to directions.  Put olive oil in the water as you are boiling the noodles to prevent sticking.  

3.  Begin to layer lasagna :  noodles, ricotta cheese, sauce, meat - repeat - and then add mozzarella cheese on top.  

Nana always serves dessert!  

So easy...vanilla and chocolate pudding with cool whip and chocolate chips. 

Thank you mom for sharing your recipes and time with me.  I love you! 

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My sister Michele is on a gluten free diet.  She has MS and Crohn's Disease and her dietary change has really helped.  I think she is such a strong women and a great example to all.  She doesn't complain and only worries about what she can control, like her diet.  She took the time to teach me how to make gluten free sweet potato gnocchi.  They were so good.  

 The key ingredient is Gluten Free Flour

Michele's Gluten Free Sweet Potato Gnocchi

4 sweet potatoes

salt and pepper

1 egg

3 cups gluten free all purpose baking flour

grated Parmesan cheese (aged cheese has less lactose in it)

1. Bake sweet potatoes until soft.

2. Peel cooked potatoes and mash until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper.

3.  Add egg  and stir until combined with potatoes.

4. Add 1/2 flour and stir until combined.  

5. Add the remaining flour, in 2 more batches, until a firm dough forms. 

6. Roll out dough into 2 cm- diameter logs.

7. Cut into 2 cm pieces and press with a fork.  

8. Bring a saucepan of salted water to boil.

 9. Add a handful of gnocchi and cook for 3 minutes or until they rises to the surface.

 Mash sweet potatoes

Combine egg and flour

Add flour until dough is firm

Roll out dough

Cut dough

Press lightly with a fork -

My sister said I smashed mine.

Cook a handful at a time.

My sister served them in a garlic olive oil sauce and topped them with grated Parmesan cheese.

1 cup olive oil

4 cloves of garlic - minced

basil

Thanks Michele.  I can't wait to make them again. Love you! 

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Thanksgiving day arrived.  We spent Thanksgiving with my in-laws.  They have a wonderful tradition where they share Thanksgiving dinner with the Duffy and McGarr families.  It is an amazing group of people and the day is always filled with so much laughter and love.  We felt lucky to be apart of it.

The McGarr family owns a dairy farm in upstate New York.  Our cousin Keeley started her own cheese company.  Please check out her website - www.keeleyscheeseco.com.  She is such a hard worker and We are so proud of her.  Yum, yum, yum! 

Keeley's mother, Connie, made a dessert that people couldn't stop talking about.  She made this incredible chocolate cake.  I need to get the recipe from her so I can post it. 

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Lastly, my mother-in-law's sister, Jan, and her children, Sarah and Jesse, made us dinner the day after Thanksgiving.  I have to brag about Jesse's Mac-n-Cheese.  As you can see it was creamy and out of this world delicious!  I know he used cheddar and gruyere cheese.  

Again, I have to get his recipe so I can share it with all of you.