Bacon, Apple, and Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing: the Rebel's Choice

I have a deep question for you to ponder today. Why is bacon not a more popular Thanksgiving stuffing ingredient?

I've had stuffings with scallops, and others with water chestnuts. I've also had many made with sausage, which are delicious. But until a few nights ago, I'd never had a stuffing made with bacon.

When I realized this on Monday night, I had to act immediately. Bacon is high on my food pyramid, and I just couldn't believe that I'd never coupled it with bread enriched with turkey drippings. To add a little more flavor, and not get too crazy with the bacon, I threw in some dried cranberries and diced apple. The stuffing was freaking unbelievable.

To take the picture above, I had to scrape the bottom of the covered dish for scraps and beat my husband back with a wooden spoon to keep him from eating it.

So this Thanksgiving, I invite you to rectify this great injustice. Reach for the bacon for your stuffings. Go ahead, join me. If bacon is the hot new chocolate flavor, odds are pretty good that bacon stuffing will be the hot new trend of 2010 Thanksgiving. Here's your opportunity to be a trendsetter and have a delicious stuffing.

Bacon, Apple and Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 package of Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing
4 strips of bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 apples, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 cup of dried cranberries

1. Prepare the stuffing according to package directions. 
2. In a large frying pan, cook the bacon over medium heat. When the bacon is lightly browned, add the apples and cranberries. Saute for  2 to 3 minutes, until the apples begin to soften, and add 3/4 cups of chicken stock. Scrape up the bottom to get all the browned bacon bits.
3. Pour the bacon, stock, and fruit into the cooked and fluffed stuffing. Mix well together. 
4. Place the mixture in an oven proof dish with a cover. Cover and cook at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes.
5. Enjoy immediately on turkey or chicken.

My Thanksgiving Interview with Michael Chiarello

A couple of days ago, I had the chance to talk turkey with Chef Michael Chiarello, Cooking Channel chef and owner of the Napa Valley Restaurant Bottega. Thanks to the wonders of technology, he sat in his gorgeous kitchen in Napa while I sat in mine in Chicago, and we chatted.

Michael was charming and gracious, just as he is on his Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello Food Network show. He shared some great tips on how to roast turkey, how to make a killer pan sauce, and how to make a big, healthy vat of soup with the leftovers.



This video is just six minutes long, just enough time to give you a peek inside Michael Chiarello's dreamy kitchen, and give you some great ideas for Thanksgiving.

Carrot Souffle: my Favorite Thanksgiving Side

This Carrot Souffle commands center stage.

At the Thanksgiving table, the turkey is the unquestioned star. When my mother in law takes it out of the oven with its gleaming caramel skin, a hush falls over the large crowd gathered in the kitchen. And I don't begrudge the turkey its time to shine, but I also believe that vegetables should get a standing ovation too. And when I serve this side, it is always greeted with applause.

I've been making this carrot souffle for years. Now my relatives greet it like an old friend on Thanksgiving, and get requests for a repeat performance at Christmas dinner. This is a sweet side, not something you would serve during a regular dinner, unless you wanted to sell your picky eaters on the virtues of vegetables, but it's perfect for the rich spread of Thanksgiving.

Carrot Souffle
Active Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
2 lbs fresh carrots boiled until soft (can use baby carrots)
6 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
6 TBSPs flour
2 TSP vanilla extract
2 sticks melted unsalted butter
Dash of Nutmeg
For the topping:
12 TBSPs dark brown sugar
8 TBSPs melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup crushed corn flakes (feel free to make more if you want more crunchies)

1. Put cooked carrots and eggs into large food processor and puree until smooth. 
2. Add the sugar, flour, vanilla, and melted butter. Process until smooth. Be careful, in my food processor, this brings the mixture completely to the top and sometimes a little seeps out.
3. Bake in greased 9”x13” pyrex pan at 350°F for 40 minutes.
4. Mix the topping ingredients together. Put the topping mixture over top of baked soufflé. If you're traveling to Thanksgiving, or preparing this dish ahead of time, stop here. Just cover it with some foil and put it in the fridge. 
5. To finish the dish and get it ready to serve, bake it for another 5 to 10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can literally do this as the turkey is being cut, but don't forget it as we did one year, or you'll end up with a burnt topping, and many sad Thanksgiving guests.
6. Serve hot. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days and can be reheated in the microwave.

Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites: the Perfect Thanksgiving Appetizer

Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites before Thanksgiving Dinner

When most people think of Thanksgiving, they picture a golden turkey or mounds of fluffy mashed potatoes. but those aren't my favorite Thanksgiving dishes. When I head to my Mother in Law's Thanksgiving dinner, my mouth is watering for her pre-dinner appetizers: her mushroom roll-ups, pigs in blanket, and potato knishes that everyone nibbles on before sitting down to the serious business of eating. We always spend an hour or two just mingling, catching up, reconnecting and seeing what everyone's been up to for the last year. That can take a while as our Thanksgiving party is usually around 40 people.

It might be the conversation more than the finger foods, but those little bites have come to define Thanksgiving for me over the years, especially as there are never any appetizer leftovers. They're here, they're hot, and they're gone until next year.

Assembling the Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites is easy, even fun.

Last week, I made an appetizer that will be a perfect addition to our Thanksgiving gathering: Caramelized Pecan Roasted Squash Bites. The lightly crunchy shell yields to a rich, sweet filling. It's impossible to limit yourself to just one. And I'll probably have to make them again come Christmas time, just to show off my latest party trick.

I made a few variations on the roasted squash and nut base by topping some with a chunk of blue cheese and others with a little prosciutto. The kids loved the sweet plain squash bites and the adults loved the subtle complexity of the blue cheese and the prosciutto ones.

The filling can be made ahead of time and kept either in the refrigerator or the freezer to cut down on your Thanksgiving Day prep. For the dough, I used store-bought wonton wrappers. They were easy to work with and required no dough prep on my part, a great way to cut down on the Thanksgiving Day cooking.

I wrapped the sweet filling in wonton wrappers and pan fried them in batches in a little butter. The wontons can either be assembled ahead of time and kept in an airtight container, or assembled right there before you fry them. They take seconds to assemble. Just fill, wet one side, and press closed like an Asian ravioli. I put my 4 year old to work to assemble them and she had a blast.

Butter working its magic once again with these Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites.

Caramelized Pecan Squash Bites
Servings: 30 bites
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes (including roasting squash)
Ingredients:
For the Filling:
2 butternut squash, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
salt, pepper
3/4 cups of chopped pecans
3 tablespoons of salted butter
1/4 cups of brown sugar
For the Bites
1 package of wonton wrappers
3 slices of prosciutto (optional)
1/4 cups of crumbled blue cheese (optional)
a little bowl of water
3 tablespoons of salted butter

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the squash into evenly sized cubes, about 1 1/2 inches in width, removing any tough outer skin and seeds.
3. Mix the squash pieces with the olive oil and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for an hour, or until soft, but not burnt. Remove from oven and set aside.
4. In a medium frying pan, melt the butter on medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the pecans and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently until lightly caramelized and toasted.
5. Put the squash pieces and the pecans in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse into blended into a puree that still has small chunks of pecans. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the bites.

TO MAKE THE BITES:

1. Remove the wonton wrappers from the package and spread in a single layer on a cutting board.
2. Place a small mound of filling in the middle of each wonton wrapper.
3. Optional - top some or all of the filling mounds with either blue cheese or prosciutto.
4. Moisten two edges of the wonton wrapper with a little water. 
5. Fold the wonton wrapper in a half, in a triangle shape, by putting a dry edge onto a wet edge and squeezing shut. It's important to not put too much filling or it will ooze out and prevent the wonton from sealing properly.
6. Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a large frying pan. Add the wonton raviolis in the pan in a single layer, in batches so as to not crowd the pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side, until crispy and light brown. Serve immediately.
7. NOTE: I also tried to boil the wontons to make a quick and easy homemade ravioli dish. They held up and cooked without coming undone, but they looked horrible and tasted chewy. I don't even want to show you a picture. I should have tried to steam them as well, but the pan fried version was just too good and I simply had to eat them all without further experimenting.

a Few Thanksgiving Prep Tips from Melissa d'Arabian, host of Food Network's 10 Dollar Dinners

One of the Food Network stars I most relate to is Melissa d'Arabian, host of the 10 Dollar Dinner Show. Although I always get some great budget saving tips from watching her show, that's not why I'm a fan. I love that her husband is French, and the fact that her exposure to European cooking shines through in her easy, yet sophisticated recipes. I'm also inspired by the fact that she has 4 daughters, and a successful cooking show in its second season.

I participated in a group conference call with Melissa yesterday to talk turkey and share strategies for Thanksgiving Dinner. I walked away with some useful tips and an even greater appreciation for this easy-going, energetic, and very intelligent foodie mom.

Melissa's has two Thanksgiving-themed airing this weekend on the Food Network: her regular Ten Dollar Dinner show and a special Dear Food Network show where she and other Food Network stars will answer viewer Thanksgiving questions.

Here are a few of the tips Melissa shared in answer to our questions.

• Stay in Touch with your Pantry: The most expensive ingredient in your pantry is the one you throw away. You should always scan your pantry before you begin cooking to use up anything close to going bad. Pantry management is an important part of the cooking process.
• Loss Leaders: Melissa's MBA shone through in her explanation of the deep discounts some supermarkets give on turkey, cranberries, stuffing, and canned pumpkin in November. They discount these items so deeply that they often take a loss on selling them, all to get the customers in the store. Paying attention to prices and taking advantage of loss leaders before Thanksgiving and Christmas is a great way to keep costs down.
• Serve a Signature Drink: Keep your alcohol costs down and the festivity up by serving a signature cocktail to your guests. Make up a pitcher of cranberry mojitos and serve them to everyone. You can make an infused simple syrup by combining equal parts of water and sugar and flavoring it with orange zest, lemon zest, cinnamon, or vanilla beans. It's a great way to make fun, seasonal drinks and keep costs down.
• Stuffing is the Highlight: Stuffing is the most important dish on Melissa's Thanksgiving table. It's still a novelty to her French husband, and a must have at Thanksgiving. Melissa doesn't stuff her bird however because she thinks it dries the turkey out. Instead, she makes it on the stovetop and mixes it with plenty of turkey pan juices for moistness and flavor.
• Leftover Management: Our palates can only handle so much of one flavor profile at a time. When you have leftover meat, divide it in half. Then cut half into little pieces to be frozen and re-used in sautes or pastas. This is great for turkey and ham leftovers.

Just to get our taste buds re-engaged after a couple of days of Thanksgiving turkey, Melissa shared her recipe for Cranberry Salsa.

Cranberry Salsa
Recipes courtesy Melissa d'Arabian
Ingredients:
1/2 cup canned whole cranberry sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1/2 white onion coarsely chopped, covered and microwaved for 1 minute
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced green bell pepper
1/2 cup Mexican-flavored canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the cranberry sauce, cilantro, lime zest, lime juice, jalapeno pepper, onion, red pepper, green pepper, tomatoes, and salt, and pepper, to taste in a food processor and pulse until blended, but still chunky. 
2. Serve with Turkey Taquitos. Or delightfully plain and salty tortilla chips.

Macho Puzzling

Some families bond over touch football. Others bond while watching football.

Our family bonds over a puzzle board.

As soon as the kids fall into bed, exhausted after a day of running wild with hordes of cousins, the adults clear off the kitchen table, and break out that year's puzzle.

The puzzle theme may be tame, about flowers or puppies, but there is nothing tame about the puzzle trash talk.

They boast. They curse. They insult each other.
"I am the puzzle master."
"You're no puzzle master. You suck. You would be nothing without me."
"What! I've done this whole puzzle by myself you loser! I am carrying this whole thing by myself."
"Dream on."

They hover. They shove each other out of the way. There is no doubt that the masterminds at Ravensburger would be shocked by such macho puzzling.

The same childhood stories and rivalries are rehashed, making us all tear with laughter as the retelling improves with age.

I mostly sit around, laughing with my sister in law at our husbands' antics, gossiping and catching up. Nearby my mother in law stands at the sink, finishing doing the dishes. She jumps into the conversation, adding details to the old stories, reveling in the sounds of boisterous boyish behavior back under her roof for a little while.

The Concorde: my Most Requested Thanksgiving Dessert

Dessert is a serious Thanksgiving affair in our family. The turkey, stuffing and sides are nothing but a prelude to the orgy of desserts to follow. Every year, our list of desserts grows, covering every inch of the dining room table.
This year, contributing to Thanksgiving dinner was hard. I didn't want to disturb my mother in law in her final preparations in her kitchen, but I didn't know how I could keep things cold for the nine hour drive. I ended up baking carrot souffle, pecan pie, and pumpkin pie in Ohio and keeping them in insulated bags with plenty of ice packs for the ride. Nine hours later, the ice was still cold and the pies were still looking good.

But there was one dessert that would not travel, and it just happened to be my most popular contribution. My family talks about this dessert all year long, and I make it year after year, even though it is a huge undertaking. My brother in law calls me to make sure I'm making it weeks in advance of Thanksgiving, and I'm a total sucker for a request.

The cake is called the Concorde. It is intensely chocolaty yet very light because it is made up of layers of chocolate meringue and chocolate mousse. The recipe below is from the first cookbook I ever owned, a French pastry cookbook by Gaston Lenotre. I am translating it into English and have adjusted the measurements to American units, but you will need a scale to make this cake.


This year, my husband's cousin turned to me, one bite into the cake and said, "this sounds like something I should be eating at a really fancy five-star restaurant, not here in the middle of New Jersey."

Concorde
Ingredients
For the French chocolate meringue
5 egg whites
150 grams (5 oz) of powdered sugar
35 grams (1 oz) of cocoa powder
150 grams (5 oz) of granulated sugar

For the chocolate mousse
9 egg whites
60 grams (2 oz) of granulated sugar
375 grams (13 oz) of bittersweet chocolate
6 egg yolks
225 grams of butter
150 grams (5 oz) of powdered sugar

To make the meringues:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Mix the cocoa powder and the powdered sugar.
3. Whip the egg whites until stiff (about 5 minutes). Halfway through, add 60 grams of granulated sugar to help them keep their shape.
4. When stiff, add the remainder of the granulated sugar at low speed.
   
5. Fold in the cocoa sugar mixture with a spatula gently.
6. Prepare two cookie sheets with silpats or wax paper.
7. Spoon half of your meringue batter into a pastry bag or a ziploc bag with the corner cut off.
   
8. Pipe your meringue batter onto a cookie sheet in three ovals 6 inch long and 4 inch wide.
   
9. Fill the other cookie sheet with long straight lines of meringue batter.
10. Cook in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, until the meringue is hard but not burnt. Check the meringue frequently to ensure it does not burn.
11. Remove from the oven, and when cool, cut the long strips into one inch long pieces.

To make the mousse:

1. Melt the chocolate in a water bath.
2. Remove from the heat and beat in the butter (room temperature, not melted). The consistency should be like pudding. Fold in the powdered sugar.
   
3. Add the egg yolks, making sure the mixture is relatively cool so that it is ready to be mixed with the egg whites.
4. Beat the egg whites until stiff, adding 20 grams of sugar half-way through to keep them firm.
5. Pour the chocolate mixture on top of the egg whites, and fold it carefully together, rotating the bowl a quarter turn after every fold. You want to be very gently to maintain as much of the air as possible.
6. Put the mousse in the fridge for an hour to chill.

To assemble the cake:

1. On a serving dish, lay one oval meringue disk.
2. Cover the meringue disk with chocolate mousse.
3. Lay another meringue disk on top of the mousse.
4. Cover it with more mousse and repeat with the last meringue disk.
5. Cover the entire cake with chocolate mousse and then decorate it to fully cover most of the mousse with the inch-long meringue pieces.
   
6. Dust with a little powdered sugar.
7. Refrigerate before serving. The cake tastes best if made the day before.
   

Thanksgiving Chit Chat, at Last

For years, Thanksgiving Day was a blur. I managed a few hellos, quick pecks on the cheek to relatives and friends before racing back to manage one baby or another. Whenever I got the baby down for a nap, the troops of cousins running through the house would wake the baby right back up. The only solution was to put the cranky baby back on my hip and return to the party, attempting to keep up with the flow of conversation while jiggling my hip rhythmically.

But now that Juliette is three, I can finally enjoy Thanksgiving. There are no more worries about stairs, naps, or breastfeeding schedules. Juliette will be joining the hordes of running children, and all I'll have to remember is an occasional reminder to visit the potty.

For the first time in 8 years, I'll be able to join in the Thanksgiving chit chat, to fully focus on my relatives, to talk politics with the aunts and uncles, relationships with the single crowd, and just go with the flow.

I can't wait.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope your chit chat is fun and your turkey is moist.

Got Salsa on your Thanksgiving Shopping List?

When you're walking down the aisles of your neighborhood supermarket today (if you have your act together), tomorrow (if you have a few hours to kill), or even Thursday (if you live on the edge), do a little something different this year. Throw in a bottle or two of Pace salsas. Trust me on this one.

I'm not suggesting that you mess with your Turkey on Thursday. That would be sheer insanity. I'm the first to argue that you don't mess with tradition. At the most, you play around with a few additional funky sides. Although this year, we will be basting one of our two turkeys with apple cider instead of its own juices.

No, I'm suggesting something a little different for the day after Thanksgiving. The leftover day. A few weeks ago, I received a huge box from Pace Picante sauce and salsas. I opened the box cautiously, half-expecting a dancing girl to pop out, and was relieved to see that it contained four extremely well-protected bottles of Pace salsas, in an assortment of flavors. There were your usual hot and mild salsas, as well as an intriguing salsa verde and a delicious looking black bean and corn version.

I love a good PR pitch, and this definitely fell in that category. The Pace Picante folks included a bunch of recipes for turkey leftovers using those salsas. "Why not use your turkey leftovers a little differently this year?" they asked. And I have to agree that it is a great idea. I mean, Thanksgiving on a bun is fun and all, but there's no reason not to try something a little different. And come Saturday, if you're still with family as I will be, I'm definitely ready for a change.

I gave it a try last night so that I would have some pics to share with you. And I won't lie. It was also fun to do a little Thanksgiving preview by filling the house with the smell of roasting chicken. Instead of using one of the Pace Picante recipes, I opted to use my own so that I could make use of some of the ingredients I had on hand. I'm including the recipe below, along with the ones sent to me by the Pace PR folks, but you could really do it with a variety of ingredients, as long as you have tortillas and some of the Pace salsas. My favorite was the black bean and corn version with its light smokiness and gorgeous deep mole color.



Thanksgiving Leftover Mexican Wraps (Serves 2)
1 cup of diced leftover turkey
1 avocado
1/2 white onion, minced
1 red pepper, diced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/3 cup of sour cream
4 tortillas
Shredded Mexican cheese

1. Spread the tortillas on a cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. In a pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the minced onion and red pepper. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the chicken to the pan and mix well.
4. Pour the onion and chicken mixture evenly in the middle of each tortilla.
5. Sprinkle some cheese over the chicken mixture and close up the tortillas, inverting them so they don't open back up.
6. Bake in oven to melt the cheese for 5 minutes.
7. Top with sour cream (which I mashed with some avocado), salsa of your choice, and sliced avocado.
   

And here are a few more recipes to inspire you from the folks at Pace.
Pace® Cheesy Chicken Bean Skillet

Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

2 cups cubed, cooked chicken or turkey
1 cup Pace® Mexican Four Cheese Salsa con Queso
1 can (about 15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup coarsely crumbled blue corn tortilla chips
1. Heat the chicken, queso and beans in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over
medium heat to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low. Cook
for 5 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling.
2. Top the chicken mixture with the tortilla chips just before serving.

Tip: You can omit the crumbled tortilla chips and serve the chicken/turkey mixture as a quesadilla filling or a warm dip.
50522

Southwestern Chicken Chili

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Makes: 6 servings (about 1 1/2 cups per serving)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 / 2 cup chopped celery
1 / 2 cup chopped red pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 cups Swanson® Chicken Stock
2 cans (15 ounces each) great Northern beans
1 jar (16 ounces) Pace® Chunky Salsa
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
Shredded pepper Jack cheese
Cubed avocado

1. Heat the oil in a 4-quart saucepot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery
and pepper and cook until they're tender. Stir in the flour and cumin and
cook for 2 minutes. Stir the stock in the saucepot. Cook and stir until the
mixture boils.
2. Stir the beans, salsa and chicken in the saucepot. Heat to a boil. Reduce the
heat to low. Cook for 20 minutes.
3. Garnish with the cheese and avocado.
Nutritional Values per Serving : Calories 351, Total Fat 9g, Saturated Fat 2g,
Cholesterol 43mg, Sodium 919mg, Total Carbohydrate 42g, Dietary Fiber 8g,
Protein 25g, Vitamin A 14%DV, Vitamin C 17%DV, Calcium 10%DV, Iron 21%DV
24152

Monterey Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 40 minutes
Makes: 4 servings (about 1 cup each)

1 cup coarsely crumbled tortilla chips
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1 can (about 15 ounces) cream-style corn
3 / 4 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
1 / 2 cup sliced pitted ripe olives
2 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese (about 1/2 cup)
Chopped green or red pepper
Tortilla chips

1. Layer the crumbled chips, chicken, corn and picante sauce in a 1-quart
casserole. Top with the olives and cheese.
2. Bake at 350°F. for 40 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Top
with the pepper. Serve with the chips.
Nutritional Values per Serving : Calories 337, Total Fat 14g, Saturated Fat
5g, Cholesterol 77mg, Sodium 944mg, Total Carbohydrate 28g, Dietary Fiber
4g, Protein 26g, Vitamin A 10%DV, Vitamin C 8%DV, Calcium 14%DV, Iron 12%
DV
24811

Picante Turkey Rolls

Prep: 10 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

4 flour tortillas (10-inch), warmed
1 / 4 cup cream cheese, softened
1 / 2 pound thinly sliced deli turkey breast or cooked turkey
1 / 2 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
1 large avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped (about 1 cup)
1. Spread 1 tablespoon cream cheese on each tortilla to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Top each with about 4 turkey slices, 2 tablespoons picante sauce and 1/4 cup avocado.
2. Roll up the tortillas tightly, leaving the ends open. Cut each roll in half. Serve with additional picante sauce for dipping.
To make appetizer rounds: Cut each rolled tortilla into 1/2-inch slices and arrange on a serving platter. Serve with additional picante sauce for dipping.
Nutritional Values per Serving : Calories 446, Total Fat 19g, Saturated Fat
5g, Cholesterol 54mg, Sodium 743mg, Total Carbohydrate 44g, Dietary Fiber
7g, Protein 24g, Vitamin A 6%DV, Vitamin C 8%DV, Calcium 12%DV, Iron 21%
DV
50489

Pace® Mucho Queso Pizza

Prep: 15 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

1 cup Pace® Mexican Four Cheese Salsa con Queso
1 prepared pizza crust (10-inch)
1 / 2 cup shredded cooked chicken or turkey
1 / 2 cup sliced sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Spread the salsa con queso onto the pizza crust to within 1/2-inch of the edge. Top with the chicken, tomatoes, cheese and basil.
3. Bake for 15 minutes or until the salsa con queso is hot and bubbling.
50484

Salsa Verde Chicken Wraps

Prep: 15 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

1 cup Pace® Salsa Verde
2 cups diced cooked chicken or turkey
1 large red pepper, diced (about 1 cup)
1 large avocado, diced (about 1 cup)
1 / 2 cup sour cream
4 flour tortillas (10-inch), warmed
2 cups shredded lettuce
1. Stir 1/2 cup salsa, chicken, pepper and avocado in a large bowl. Stir the remaining salsa and sour cream in a small bowl.
2. Spread 1 / 4 cup sour cream mixture onto each tortilla to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Top each with 1 cup chicken mixture and 1/2 cup lettuce. Fold the sides of the tortillas over the filling and then fold up the ends to enclose the filling. Cut each wrap in half before serving.

Thankful

One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is taking a moment to give thanks for all the good things in our lives. Thanksgiving at my in-laws usually involves over forty people crowding around the buffet table, and we would all keel over in hunger if we tried to go around giving thanks aloud. But I still like to take advantage of the holiday to is too large to go around the table and give thanks aloud, but I like to take a few minutes to write down what I'm truly thankful for that year.

What am I thankful for this year?

I'm thankful that we're all healthy.
I'm thankful that we're all happy.
I'm thankful for spontaneous hugs on a Sunday morning with everyone piled in our cozy queen.
I'm thankful for my children's heavy heads on my shoulder as I walk them from the car to their bed.
I'm thankful for sticky kisses.
I'm thankful for smiles on cheeks that still have the traces of forgotten tears.
I'm thankful when we all manage to sit down together for a family dinner.
I'm thankful when Bella beats Steve at Memory.
and most of all...
I'm thankful that date night is still my favorite night of the week.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!