turkey, turkey, turkey...

Rosemary Scented Turkey Quesadillas with Cranberry Salsa

In our house the left over turkey from Christmas day usually gets made up into a delicious turkey curry or popped between a couple of slices of bread and served up as sandwiches until it has all been devoured. I thoroughly enjoy both of these but thought how nice it might be to serve up something different. I've had a scout around and come up with a few new recipes that I will share with you. I found this recipe in a healthy eating magazine and have already tried and tested it so i know not only do they taste amazing but they are pretty healthy too. They taste light and fresh and are the perfect meal for the day after Christmas when you may have overindulged a little too much.

Ingredients:
8 Stalks celery, minced
1 yellow onion, minced
100g fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped (thawed, if frozen)
2 large pears, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Juice 1 orange
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dried rosemary
500g shredded turkey, if you are not using leftover turkey you could use ground turkey for this.
8-15 corn tortillas (6-inch diameter)
grated cheese, enough to taste, why not use up the left overs from the cheese platter and create lots of different flavour combinations.

1. To prepare the salsa add 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 onion, cranberries, pear, 1 clove of garlic and orange juice. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Set aside for later.
2. Preheat a large non stick frying pan or skillet and add the remaining celery and onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add in the rosemary and the remaining garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. If you are using the ground turkey add this now and cook for 5 minutes breaking it up as you do. With a fine mesh colander drain the turkey mixture and leave to sit in a large bowl. If you are using leftover turkey you just add this to the bowl of celery, onion, rosemary and garlic now.
3. Wipe out the frying pan or skillet and reheat to a medium heat. Add a tortilla to the frying pan then add a few spoons of mixture to cover the tortilla. Sprinkle cheese to cover. I like a lot of cheese so I get a little carried away at this point. Leave this to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes.
4. With a spatula gently fold the tortilla in half and cook for one minute gently pressing the tortilla closed if need be.
5. divide the quesadillas between the plates and add some salsa to garnish. They are so tasty, you will just love them.

I love making quesadillas as you can add any leftovers you have in the fridge and make delicious snacks in no time. They can be as simple or adventurous as you like and always go down a treat. I love to add some sour cream to top mine off perfectly. Enjoy.

facemask frenzy...

I really enjoyed making the hair masks so I decided to see if I could find some homemade facemasks too. It's so nice to chill out in the evening and have some pamper time after work or enjoy a relaxed Saturday with some movies and me time. Here are a few I tried out and really liked. They are all really easy to make and use things that you will most probably have lying around at home already.

The first one I decided to make was a sugar scrub. I love that really clean feeling you get after using a sugar scrub but to buy a nice sugar scrub will usually set you back quite a bit so I was delighted when I found this cheap and cheerful solution.

Lemon-Honey Sugar Scrub

This works well to remove dead skin, the olive oil works wonders for moisturising and the lemon and honey will brighten your complexion too.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of honey
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 ½ tablespoons of sugar

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, apply it to your face, and rinse with warm water. It's as easy as that. So refreshing and so easy to do.

The next one I tried is more of a mask. Perfect for the winter as I always find my skin seems to dry out a little more when I'm faced with wind and rain on an almost daily basis. Sometimes just moisturing doesn't seem to be enough.

Egg Yolk, Honey, and Olive Oil Mask

This combination of ingredients is perfect for reviving dry skin.

Ingredients:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon of warm honey
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Mix the ingredients in a bowl. Massage the mixture onto your skin, then lie back and relax for 15 minutes, maybe pop some chilled cucumber slices on your eyes while your at it. Rinse with warm water and gently pat dry.

I love cucumber, I love to eat it, relax with it on my eyes, I even love cucumber scented products, cucumber is just refreshing all round so I thought it was pretty important I found a cucumber face mask. This one is great for cooling and soothing your skin, If you're feeling a little wind burnt or just need some refreshing then this is the mask for you.

Cucumber and Yogurt Face Mask

Ingredients:
½ cucumber
1 tablespoon of natural yogurt
Pop the cucumber and yogurt in a blender and mix until well combined, massage the mixture onto your face and neck, pop some chilled cucumber slices on your eyes and relax, leave on for 15 minutes and rinse with cool water. Feeling refreshed?

I'm also a huge fan of vitamin c. If I'm feeling ill or run down the first thing I reach for is a glass of fresh orange juice and I usually feel perked up almost straight away. If vitamin c can do that to the way I feel imagine what it can do to our skin.

Vitamin C Mask

Vitamin C has really good anti aging properties aswell and theres no time like the present to get started on an anti aging skin regime.

Ingredients:
½ fresh, peeled, and mashed kiwi fruit
2 tablespoons of raw honey
2 drops of orange essential oil

Mix all the ingredients in a blender, then massage the mixture onto your skin and relax for 15-20 minutes. Then rinse with warm water and pat dry. Have a glass of orange juice once your done for that extra vitamin c hit.

Give them a go, treat your skin and have some chill out time. Play some nice music and kick back, maybe get the girls around for a pamper day. Enjoy.