The Writing On the Wall

The silverware has been put away, all the dishes safely stowed in the cupboard, napkins washed and folded,candlesticks tucked in the cabinet….and one giant mound of turkey is left in the refrigerator. What does one do with the leftovers? In my kitchen, the leftovers have been rolled over into at least four more meals. A turkey soup and three turkey pot pie/casseroles for the freezer. Below, you will find the recipe for what I hope, will be a delicious Thanksgiving Feast…part deux.

Turkey Pot Pie Casserole – Freezer Bound

Ingredients

* frozen pastry
* 4 tablespoons butter, divided
* 1 small onion, minced
* 1 cup of frozen peas
* 2 carrots, diced
* 3 tablespoons dried parsley
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 cubes chicken bouillon
* 2 cups water
* 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
* 1 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup milk

Directions

1. Remove frozen pastry from freezer
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add the onion, peas, carrots, parsley, oregano, and salt and pepper. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the bouillon and water. Bring mixture to a boil. Stir in the potatoes, and cook until tender but still firm.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Stir in the turkey and flour. Add the milk, and heat through. Stir the turkey mixture into the vegetable mixture, and cook until thickened. Cool, then pour mixture into a casserole dish. Roll out the pastry, and place on top of filling. Flute edges, and make 4 slits in the top crust to let out steam.
4. Wrap casserole from bottom with plastic wrap – sealing completely. Then, cover with foil. Place in freezer.
5. To cook, remove plastic wrap, cover with foil and cook at 350 for 45 minutes. Uncover and cook for 15 minutes to brown.

Aside from sweat treats, tricks, costumes and scary sound effect cassette tapes, one of my favorite parts of Halloween is the pumpkin. I’m not sure that I have ever actually gone to the pumpkin patch to select the perfect squash. I do, however, recall trips to the grocery store in search of the flat fronted pumpkin so well suited for carving.

When the carving process began, I always loved how the cool stringy contents gripped to the walls of the pumpkin as my fingers combed through the slime. The next step was picking out the seeds to be toasted with salt and cayenne pepper. Finally, the design process began.

Generally speaking, my pumpkin carving skills were limited to geometric eyeballs and jagged toothed smiles. A quick image search of pumpkin carving techniques today puts my basic skills to shame. I am however, inspired to get started on a new mission for a smashing 2010 jack o’ lantern.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
1. Collect un-rinsed pumpkin seeds
2. Add 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, half teaspoon cayenne pepper
3. Add 1 tablespoon of melted butter.
4. Mix and spread them on the baking sheet.
5. Roast them at 300 degrees for about 30 minutes. Stir them halfway through.
6. Eat ‘em!

As I sit down to type this first blog entry, I am struck with a case of writer’s block. I don’t think it’s so much a factor of now knowing what subject to write about, but rather that there are so many possibilities, I am paralyzed by choice. It has occurred to me that students in my class will surely find themselves in a similar predicament. To begin, I suggest you think about any issues that you currently find interesting. What’s on your mind? Are there current events in local, international or entertainment news that you have an opinion on? Have you recently seen a movie or listened to a new album that you would like to review? Do you have a beef with people who stand in the doorway of the subway when there is empty space inside? Tell us about it.

If you are still stumped for a subject, I have listed some inspiration below. By no means must you write on any of the below topics. In fact, writing is most interesting to read when the author is passionate about the subject. So, it’s up to you…this space is yours.

Blog Topics To Get you Going

1 Facebook and why I use it
2 Kanye vs. Swift
3 2010 Olympics
4 A Community I Love
5 Me and my laptop
6 Life without iTunes
7 Glee Club
8 Ways to Save a Bad Time at a Party
9 How I Find Blogging Ideas
10 I Just Have to Get This Off My Chest
11 When I Have Kids
12 How Schools Could Use Social Networking Sites
13 The Best Parts of the Day
14 Hockey Season
15 College Football
16 Kristen Cavallari: friend or foe
17 When high school ends
18 Top birthday gifts
19 How to Make a Difference
20 If I Were a Movie Star
21 Athletes and their Salaries
22 Read These Books
23 People I’d Like to Meet
24 Time for me to Brag
25 Here’s how I Feel about Newspapers

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