Back in the 80's while in college I often got invited to church potluck dinners where mid-western grandmas and church ladies brought oven-proof pyrex bakeware filled with "hot dish" or casserole.
This month it seemed timely to bring back the potluck idea. I asked the ladies of our group to bring a modern twist to the church potluck theme.
We opened with cocktail, this time the tried & true Mimosas.
Next was a fresh take on Spinach Salad with
a sprinkling of Toasted Almonds and
Pomegranate Blueberry Vinaigrette.
For the main course, given that this is November, some kind of turkey hot-dish would be most appropriate, thus we had Turkey Dressing Casserole served with a side dish of Glazed Carrot with Toasted Pecans.
Dessert was a modern take on Pumpkin Mousse adorned with crushed & whole gingersnap cookies, an ending accompanied by earnest prayers from our lips to God's ears.
Recipes
Turkey Dressing Casserole
1 lb. ground turkey
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1 cup diced sweet peppers
1 can (10.5 oz.) condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 box Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing bread cubes
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tbs.butter, room temp
1 tbs.olive oil
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat olive oil on non-stick skillet, add ground turkey and saute until brown, remove from skillet into a large bowl.
4. Add butter to the same skillet and cook onion and sweet peppers until onion is transluscent.
5. Into ground turkey bowl, add mixture of cooked onion & peppers.
6. Add cream of celery soup, chicken broth & stuffing bread cubes into bowl, mix all ingredients well.
7. Pour into a 12"x8"x4" baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking oil, spread evenly.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle top with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, bake for another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Glazed Carrots with Toasted Pecans
1 tbs. olive oil
6 cups diagonally sliced (1/4 in.) peeled carrots
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups toasted pecan halves
1. Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat.
2. Add carrots and cook, stirring frequently, 4 minutes.
3. Stir in ginger and sugar and cook, stirring, until sugar melts, about 2 minutes.
4. Add pecans and cook until carrots are tender when pierced and mixture is glazed in sugar, 3 to 5 minutes.
Pumpkin Mousse Shooter
2 oz. fat-free cream cheese,
softened
1 can (15 oz) solid-pack
pumpkin
3/4 cup fat-free milk
1 package vanilla fat-free
sugar-free instant pudding mix
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
3 cups thawed reduced-fat
whipped topping, divided
4 gingersnap cookies, crushed
1. Beat cream cheese in a medium
bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth.
2. Add pumpkin, milk,
pudding mix, cinnamon, ginger and cloves and beat about 1 minute or until
smooth.
3. Fold in 1 1/2 cups whipped topping.
4. Spoon 1/4 cup mousse into each
of the eight 6 oz. dessert glasses.
5. Spoon 2 tablespoons whipped topping over
mousse in each glass.
6. Top with 1/4 cup mousse. Cover and refrigerate for about
an hour.
7. Just before
serving, top each shooter with remaining whipped topping and gingersnap crushed
cookie crumbs.
