Spaghetti with Creamy Spinach and Tarragon

(from Food & Wine via delish.com)

10 oz prewashed spinach

2 T butter

3 scallions or green onions, including green tops, chopped

1-1/2 t dried tarragon

3/4 t salt

3/4 lb (12 oz) spaghetti

5 oz cream cheese, cut into cubes

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 t black pepper

Remove any tough stems from the spinach. In a large frying pan, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Add the scallions and tarragon and cook for 2 minutes. Add the spinach and salt and stir until wilted. Simmer until the liquid evaporates from the spinach, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Reserve one cup of the pasta water. Drain the spaghetti and toss with 3/4 cup of the reserved pasta water, the spinach mixture, and the remaining ingredients. If the sauce seems too thick, add more of the reserved pasta water.

Fish and Bok Choy Noodle Stir Fry

(adapted from a recipe at kidspot.com.au)

1 lb long noodles (spaghetti, fettuccini, etc.)

2 t sesame oil, plus another tablespoon for the fish

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 onion, chopped

1 lb boneless fish fillets (or use Swai nuggets)

1 T soy sauce

4 baby bok choy, bottom sliced off and washed well (or any kind of cabbage)

1/3 c oyster sauce

Juice of ½ lime

Cook the noodles until almost done, then drain and add a tablespoon of oil olive or vegetable oil to keep them from sticking. Meanwhile, bring a wok or a non-stick frying pan to a high heat, and then add 2 teaspoons of sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger and onion and cook for one minute, tossing around so the garlic doesn’t burn. Add the extra tablespoon of sesame oil and the fish and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is nearly done. Add the soy sauce, stirring constantly so the fish stir fries and doesn’t stew. Add the bok choy, oyster sauce and noodles, and heat through until the fish and noodles are done. Stir in the lime juice and serve immediately.

Turkey and Noodles

(Part of the LEFTOVERS from my THANKSGIVING DINNER for 12 for under $50)

To get the very last meal out of the Thanksgiving leftovers, make Turkey and Noodles. Like Chicken and Noodles, but with turkey instead of chicken. This was my aunt’s signature dish. Make it like CARCASS STEW, but add a pound or two of noodles to the broth. Homemade are best, of course, but probably more effort than you want to make right after Thanksgiving. I like curly noodles, but whatever you like – or whatever is cheapest. Meanwhile, boil up some more potatoes, and mash them. You serve the turkey and noodles over the mashed potatoes. Talk about carb heaven comfort food! You can really stretch the last of the leftover turkey this way, because the broth gives a strong turkey flavor to the noodles even if there wasn’t much meat left. You should be able to get more than four servings of Turkey and Noodles, because you’ve got the noodles and the potatoes to stretch it. It depends on how much water you used to cook the bones. In fact, if you really need to stretch it, make the Carcass Stew up through taking the meat off the bones, but save the bones. Put the bones back in more water, add a couple of tablespoons of vinegar and some more salt and pepper and poultry seasoning, and simmer them all for at least twelve hours, and up to 24, or even 36. You’ll be amazed at how much flavor was left in the bones. You can use this turkey broth, along with the leftovers, to make Carcass Stew, and use the first bunch of broth to make Turkey and Noodles. That’s really stretching things, but both meals should still be good even if they don’t have quite as much flavor as if you just make one meal out of the carcass.