Thanks for joining me for a Thanksgiving treat bought to you by Oxo! I receive product samples and the fabulous new Now & Again cookbook to inspire this post.
We have friends who host an annual Friendsgiving Celebration each year a couple of weeks before the official Thanksgiving Holiday. They carve up the turkey and everyone attending brings one of their favorite sides. For me, Thanksgiving recipes are nearly ritualistic. The shopping experience, the seasonings, everything is baked into a sense that I can follow with ease.
Friendsgiving is different. It’s an opportunity to try out other families favorite treats and be a bit more experimental with what I decide to make. When I dove into the Now & Again Thanksgiving menu I knew I needed to try something new for Friendsgiving this year. Written by Julia Turshen, Now & Again features a year of recipes intended to be reinvented as leftovers for weeks to come. When it comes to Thanksgiving, there is no better menu to consider both the 1st meal and all the proceeding leftover makeovers. With large portions and flavors that last for hours on the buffet table Radicchio and Roasted Squash Salad is the perfect dish for a Friendgiving gathering!
I love that this recipe is easy to prep in advance so I can pull it all together to day before and Oxo’s kitchen products are just the ticket for laying out this meal in advance.
This dish calls for Butternut Squash, raddicchio, olive oil, salt, honey, garlic and maple cider vinegar.
When prepping in advance I start out by peeling the butternut squash using Oxo’s swivel peeler. This easy to use peeler is perfect for the tough skin of a butternut squash and the handle makes peeling a whole batch a breeze. After chopping into pieces you’ll store the squash in the top tray of Oxo’s On-The-Go Lunch Container. The bottom half we’ll fill with sliced raddicchio. We’ll set those ingredients aside to roast before the actual dinner.
Thanks to the combination of honey and apple cider vinegar the dressing for this dish is both sweet and savory. I mix up twice as much so I have left over dressing for other salads throughout the week.
Anyone else really struggle with measuring out liquids by the tea or table spoon? I love this little mini measuring cup! The angled view of the measuring line helps make a more accurate pour.
Everything gets whisked together and stored in an Oxo Squeeze Bottle until I’m ready to use it. Toss it all in the fridge and we’re prepped for heading to dinner.
A few hours before we head over to the party is time to roast the squash. Once cooked, everything goes back in the On-The-Go Lunch container and combined with the dressing before serving. It’s such an easy recipe but it feels like a fancy dish that took hours!
What are your favorite Thanksgiving Traditions? Do you celebrate a Friendsgiving before the official Holiday?
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of OXO.
On of the best things about fall is pumpkin spice everything and I love how versatile pumpkin can be in a bunch of different recipes. I once attended a cooking class where they taught how to make a pumpkin stew with chicken and when I started brainstorming what kind of recipe I wanted to make for Halloween night, this variation of chili came to mind. The pumpkin in this recipe gives the chili a subtle sweetness and the cinnamon is just enough of a reminder that fall is here.
This is the perfect recipe for whipping up quickly before trick or treaters start arriving and leaving to slow cook as you hand out candy. In just a couple of hours the flavors have fully combined and it’s ready to serve.
CrockPot Pumpkin Chili Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb ground sirloin
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 14 oz can pumpkin puree
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- OPTIONAL 1 can Kidney Beans
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp piri piri season
- 1 tsp red cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp table salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1.) This dish start off by sautéing a cup of yellow onion in olive oil. Once the onion is translucent, add in the ground sirloin and allow it to brown. I used an 80 / 20 blend so before putting into the crockpot I drained off the grease. If you use a leaner cut of meat you might not need to do that.
2.) In the Crockpot add the beef and onions, bell peppers, canned tomatoes, kidney beans (optional) and pumpkin puree. Mix it together well.
3.) Add all the dry seasonings and mix well. At this stage the recipe will be very thick. Add in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth and stir until combined.
4.) Place the on high and allow to simmer for 2 hours. When done, serve topped with Avocado and cheese.
With the new house it was definitely time for upgrading our window coverings. In our old home the master bedroom faced North and a few fabric blackout shades were fairly effective at keeping the home dark most of the day. Additionally at the time Drew was working swing shift, so total darkness was not really necessary to ensure he had a good night sleep.
In the new house our master bedroom faces west. During the mid afternoon the sun coming throughout the windows is BRUTAL. From about 11 am on, the sun streams directly through the front window into headboard. Imagine trying to sleep with all that going on. Right after moving into the new house Drew’s shift moved from swings to graves. One of the top things that make being married to a police officer challenging is learning how to balance his unorthodox work hours against my regular 9 to 5.
Our inverse working schedules mean we rarely see each other as is and when we do see each other we want to be able to spend that time enjoying one another’s company. Finding a blackout shade that would help Drew sleep better on the days he works means that he is better rested on days off and we are able to do more as a couple.
Old blackout shades
When I first learned about Comfortex I was fascinated by their ColorLux line that blends easily into popular paint colors. I want our bedroom to be a relaxing refuge, not windows covered with multiple layers of curtains that don’t appear to fit in the decor of the room. Once I started talking with one of the Comfortex sales team I learned that I could get not only blackout shades that match our paint colors but also ones that would block out 99% of the sun!
Comfortex SlumberShades are constructed with blackout cellular fabric and specially designed sidetracks lock the shade into place while absorbing additional incoming light. Each shade is custom ordered with the color you prefer and cut to fit your window perfectly.
The best part is that they are super easy to install. Just remove the old window coverings and use a drill to place the mounting brackets into the top of the window frame. The SlumberShade locks in with a click and tracks need to be lined up in the middle of the frame. You can see the full installation video below, it really is that easy!
Now that we’ve had these installed for a few weeks, I love them even more. I love being able to sleep in on the weekends with the additional darkness and for Drew, SlumberShades have made a world of difference in his ability to sleep soundly during the day.
For workers on night shift or graves, these are by far the best blackout shades you can have in your home!
Interested in learning more about Comfortex SlumberShades and requesting a color swatch set? Use my custom link and let Comfortex know you read my review: http://info.comfortex.com/rocky-mountain-bliss .
Disclosure: I received a product sample from Comfortex to facilitate this review. All opinions and writing are my own.
Looking for other Police Wife Life tips? Check out my post on explaining how conceal carrying works.
Fall wouldn’t be complete without a hearty beef stew. CrockPots are practically made for beef. I am way too impatient to properly cook roast or stews using my stove. CrockPot meals using beef allows the meat to tenderize and absorb the flavors of the dish. I like to make a big batch of this stew on Monday morning and enjoy it for lunch all week long!
CrockPot Beef Stew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb cubed beef (stew meat or chuck roast)
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt / 1/2 tsp Pepper / 1/2 Garlic Powder
- 1 cup baby carrots
- 1 cup cubed yellow gold potatoes
- 1 cup whole mushrooms
- 1 12 oz stout beer
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, diced
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Fresh Thyme leaves
- 2 tbs tomato paste
The key to really locking in the flavor of this dish is starting the beef off right. Put the flour, salt pepper and garlic powder into a 1 gallon ziplock bag and mix it together. Add the beef and shake it around to completely coat with flour.
Using a small amount of olive oil, brown the beef in a hot pan. Remove when fully seared and place into the bottom of the crock pot. With the remaining oil in the pan, saute the onion and garlic. When done, add that to the crock pot.
Add rest of the ingredients (carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, broth, Worcestershire, Thyme, beer) to the pot and leave on low for 8 hours. Depending on the heat of your crock pot, the dish may be done or you may want to thicken it some more. To thicken, add 2 tbs tomato paste and stir in 30 minutes before you intend to serve. Move the heat up to high to finish cooking.
[tasty-recipe id=”2731″]
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