Turkey-Vegetable-Egg Scramble Recipe and Gift Ideas from Swistle’s House

I was going to tell you about one of my favorite ways to use leftover turkey, but then I realized it also uses up an atypical Thanksgiving side dish so let’s start with that. It’s an easy vegetable dish that I started making as a thing to go with salmon and rice. I’m afraid this is one of those recipes without good measurements; if I’d realized I was going to tell it to you, I would have measured as I made it last time. But I will try to at least give you an IDEA of the measurements, unlike my late mother-in-law who gave me her treasured cinnamon roll recipe that tells me to combine “cinnamon, butter, and sugar”—no measurements at all.

Cut up one red bell pepper, one small/medium summer squash or zucchini (I don’t peel it), and some carrots (I do peel those, or else I use baby carrots). The goal is to have about equal amounts of the three vegetables, all in smaller than bite-sized pieces because I like to have a couple of pieces combined with each bite of whatever else I’m eating; I cut the carrots in not-too-thin slices because I don’t like them to get mushy and cooked-carroty. I put all the cut-up vegetables in a 2-quart casserole dish because that’s the only one I have that has a lid, but they don’t fill it so you could use something smaller. I pour on some bottled lemon juice; my guess is that I put on a tablespoon or two. Then I add a pinch or two of thyme, and some ground pepper, and stir it all up. (You could skip the thyme/pepper or use a different spice.) Then I drop in a blop of butter, probably a tablespoon. I put the lid on, and I put it in the oven for roughly half an hour at roughly 350 degrees F, but really it goes in with whatever I’m cooking—so if I’m cooking at 400 degrees F, it goes in at 400 degrees F and I just take it out sooner. When it’s done, I give it another stir to mix the butter around, and I add some salt.

So! Now for how I use up the leftover turkey: scramble some eggs with cut-up turkey and a good scoop of these vegetables (ideally the right number so that every bite has one piece of egg, one piece of turkey, and one to two pieces of vegetable), plus as much Tostitos Queso Blanco dip as I can heap on a spoon. Just stir it alllll around.

Now. What was it I was going to say after the recipe part? Oh, yes! Today we are doing Gift Ideas from Swistle’s House: I am going to wander through my house finding things I highly recommend buying for other people. This idea seemed so great when I thought of it, but the execution was more challenging than anticipated: one’s own possessions sort of VANISH into the house, so that even though I periodically think, “Oh, I just love this shower radio; I should recommend it!,” I don’t then SEE the shower radio when I’m looking for gift ideas. Well, I did see the shower radio. But there are other things I DIDN’T see, is my guess.

Bloom County Complete Library. Children ruin everything, including one’s cherished paperback Bloom County books. There are five hardcover volumes altogether (I have the first three, because those are my favorite era of Bloom County), and the children are not allowed to touch them.

Texts from Jane Eyre. These are even funnier if you’ve read all the books featuring these characters, I imagine, but I haven’t read Wuthering Heights and still laughed a LOT at Cathy and Heathcliff’s texts:

good that’s so much love

 

Tinted Chapstick in Merlot, for someone’s stocking. It’s $4.99 at Target, sometimes a better price on Amazon. It’s just the right amount of color for not needing to look in the mirror. I tried Hello Bordeaux as well, and it’s pretty good but a little bright on me; the Merlot is my definite favorite.

Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer in Plum. A more intense color; I need the mirror for it.

 

The promised shower radio. This surprisingly expensive item ($80 as I’m posting) happened because Paul ordered me a much less expensive one that we couldn’t get to work, and he got frustrated and ordered this one to replace it. Anyway, I love it. I use it the whole time I’m getting ready in the morning. If you don’t need Bluetooth, there’s a radio-only version for $60 at time of posting.

 

Drambuie. My friend Miss Grace suggested this when I had a lingering cough that was driving me crazy. I bought it as Very Expensive Cough Syrup (it’s around $30 for the bottle), but now I like to have a bottle on hand for occasional treats: it’s one of the only liquors I like the taste of well enough to sip. It’s sweet and warming, and I guess it tastes like black licorice but I strongly dislike black licorice so I don’t understand why I like it, then. To me it tastes more like honey and spice, not spice like pumpkin spice but more like…well, licorice. But I don’t LIKE licorice! It’s puzzling.

 

Honeywell Circulator Fan. I tend to run hot, and I hate being hot, so I love this fan. It’s just the right size to get a pleasant breeze going, and it tips to various angles. I discovered it because my sister-in-law put one in their guest room and I stayed over and it was perfect.

 

Munchkin Deluxe. I hate this game. But the children love it, and fortunately Paul will play it with them. We also have the Munchkin Apocalypse, which is a complete playable game on its own (but not Deluxe, so it doesn’t have the playing board) but can also be used as an expansion pack with the basic game.

 

Vintage Charm Lidded Bowls. These try very hard to imply that they are Pyrex, but as far as I can tell, they are not. They are INSPIRED by Pyrex. I do love them so much, and they have LIDS. The price goes up and down a lot; I got a pack of three bowls with three lids on a Goldbox deal for $20, but more often they seem to be in the $30s.

 

Melissa and Doug giraffe. Have I…mentioned this giraffe before, or is this a little awkward? I bought it impulsively on clearance at HomeGoods last year and it is one of the joys of my life. The comments/photos on Amazon are funny/entertaining and show that others feel the same about their giraffes. We often dress her in hats and scarves, but I happened to catch her in a contemplative moment right between wearing a small turkey on her head and being draped in Christmas lights and a Santa hat.

 

Anker PowerCore 5000 portable phone charger, or the smaller/lighter Anker PowerCore Mini 3350. My brother bought me one of these for Christmas one year and now I always have one in my purse. We have about five of them total because they help soothe my Disaster/Preparation Anxieties, too.

 

Dishers! I have the Oxo small (2 teaspoons) and the Oxo medium (1.5 tablespoons), both of which are good for cookies, depending on how big you like to make cookies. I also have a Vollrath size 20 (1-5/8ths ounce), which is good for muffins. They are surprisingly expensive, so they make nice gifts. Paul gave me the Vollrath one and I thought it was way too expensive until I tried it, at which point I added “more dishers” to my wish list.

TacoProper Taco Holders. Before we had these, it was impossible to contemplate dishing up plates of tacos for five children. By the way, I don’t have any but have you seen the triceratops taco holders? I love them.

Joie Oink pig spatula. A good spatula AND ALSO VERY CUTE. The mini ones are good for scraping the last bits of peanut butter out of the peanut butter jar and into your mouth.

The cuteness of the pig spatulas reminds me of my Happy Spoons (not shown—they’re in a utensil jar on the counter).

 

LG microwave. Speaking of expensive. But maybe you and a house-sharing adult like to buy each other household appliances for holidays. The price varies a bit; I bought it for about $150, but I’ve mostly seen it higher than that. It is not a compact microwave, by the way, and I hadn’t realized there was a difference, so that was a bit of a surprise (our old microwave was compact). I was like, “Look how it fits EXACTLY on the microwave cart! …..Ohhhhhhhhhh!”

 

Denim 24/7 Bootcut Jeans. I really like these. (Don’t buy anything on the Roaman’s site for full price: they are the kind of site that has constant sales.) I have them in a few different shades of denim (I particularly like Stonewash Sanded), and recently got bold and ordered them in Red Ochre, which reminds me of the red-orange Crayola crayon. I wish I’d been a little bolder and gotten the Golden Amber instead, which I wanted more than the red-orange but was also more nervous about wearing; I saw them on someone else and they were fabulous. Well. I’ll add them to the next order.

 

Wet Brush. I bought this because Kelly told me to (which is also why I have Daisy razors instead of the crummy ones I used to have). You don’t have to use it on wet hair. It’s the best brush I’ve ever owned, and Elizabeth and I now own four of them between us. For a gift, I recommend combining it with a Turbie Twist hair towel.

 

Duluth Fire Hose pants. If you are buying for a gentleman who prefers pants to be cargo and sturdy, I can tell you that Paul says these are the best pants he has ever owned. They have pockets upon pockets within pockets, and they seem beautifully stitched. Furthermore, his barber took one look and said “Great pants. Duluth?” Also, as the one who does the laundry, I can add that they don’t get all wrinkly in the dryer if you don’t take them out right away. They are kind of expensive; sign up for the email list first, because they have constant sales of the “25% off plus free shipping” type. If you need something to bring the total up a bit to meet a free-shipping requirement, Paul also likes their Big Ass Bricks of Soap.

23 thoughts on “Turkey-Vegetable-Egg Scramble Recipe and Gift Ideas from Swistle’s House

  1. Rah

    My husband has a lot of posterior to love, which usually results in jeans fitting oddly, sometimes tending to bunch up in the, well, in the middle. We bought to Duluth jeans, and omigosh, the fit is just amazing. But I would go to their website just to read the humor. Their men’s pants feature a gusset in the crotch, the lack of which is, they say, a failing in other brands of pants (like a cheap hotel, no ballroom). I think the gusset is what makes hubby’s pants fit so well P.S. I am not associated with Duluth Trading Company at all, just a big fan.

    Reply
  2. Alex

    I just impulse bought the giraffe, shipped directly to my sister and 2 young nieces. We all “followed” April the giraffe and shared the excitement of witnessing her baby being born earlier this year via the live cam, so this felt like SUCH a fun way to commemorate that 2017 highlight (which it very much was). Thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    1. Maureen

      I love that you bought this for your sister and nieces! I’ve been trying to rationalize why I would need this giraffe-my daughter is in college, but I REALLY want it! The idea of dressing the giraffe for holidays? That makes me supremely happy. I love how the picture does look like she is pensively gazing out the window, wondering if her life is quite what it should be :)

      Reply
  3. Shari

    I can’t tell you the number of tears the wet brush and original sprout miracle detangler saved my 6 year old. Highly recommended! My husband is also a fan of Duluth pants, and he will only wear their long tail t-shirts.

    Reply
  4. Katie

    These posts are making my holiday season so much better. I also endorse the Honeywell fan- I’m on my third one.

    Side note: “Gift ideas under $15” would make an excellent post. Asking for a friend. The friend is me.

    Reply
  5. Stimey

    Um. The giraffe? Is so awesome I almost can’t breathe. I love that you unapologetically have a large stuffed giraffe just hanging out. You are DELIGHTFUL.

    Reply
      1. Carol

        Yes, I am a 53 year old woman who lives alone (well, with one cat), and I’m thinking about how I could purchase this without moving straight into the “crazy middle aged woman” category. I am dangerously close, and this might push me over the edge!

        Reply
  6. Suzanne

    I am so delighted by the giraffe and the entire paragraph you wrote about it (her?) (her.). We have an enormous bear that I impulse bought at Costco a few years ago, and it now mainly spends its time face down on the basement couch, or occasionally being used as a chair of sorts. But despite that, I have opened the giraffe link in a new tab. Can I resist its charms? WE’LL SEE.

    Reply
  7. Linda

    I love the Duluth firehose pants. My husband can somehow walk through an empty room and end up with a rip on one knee of his pants and a huge stain on the other if he wears regular pants. I think his current Duluth pants are 3-4 years old. They are expensive but buying one pair every several years ends up being much cheaper than having to buy less expensive ones every couple months.

    Reply
  8. Jd

    I have the giraffe!!! She is wonderful! she has a beautiful face and is very peaceful. I also have a large stuffed pony that looks great in Santa hats.

    Have book marked the Dino taco holders.

    Reply
  9. Becky

    My brother-in-law has requested Duluth Trading Company underwear for Christmas. I have his name, and will get a pair for him, but $24 for one pair of underwear….it had better be REALLY good!

    Reply
  10. Heidi J

    If I may contribute to your list of awesome house good, I’d recommend the ZYLISS Lock N’ Lift Can Opener with Lid Lifter Magnet.
    Link: http://a.co/0m66BVh

    I’ve had it for several years now and I still love it. I HATED the cheapo can opener I had before and this one has been working flawlessly for years now.

    Reply
  11. Ariana

    My 18-month-old daughter became obsessed with one of these giraffes on a recent trip to HomeSense (Canadian Home Goods, I think). It was $69.99 and now I’m feeling like I should have bought it.

    Reply
  12. Cara

    I’m guessing the reason you like the black licorice flavor, but don’t like black licorice is that it’s actually anise. Which is what black licorice used to be flavored with but I don’t think it is anymore because I hate black licorice and don’t mind anise. Or fennel, which also tastes of anise. Or maybe it’s that I only like it in small doses and black licorice is way too much of it.

    And I am surprised to hear you can use the wet brush on dry hair. I bought one and quickly determined I had to wet both my daughters’ hair to use it. Well, my little one has super curly hair that I now brush out with spray bottle in hand no matter what. But, even my daughter with thick, wavy hair can’t use the wet brush without wetting down her hair. It just stays on the surface.

    Reply
  13. Maureen

    I caved and bought the giraffe! I have no idea where I am going to put it, but as an added bonus, when I looked at it on Monday morning-it was part of a lightning sale on Amazon, so it was $59.99. I kept going back and forth, my husband saying we didn’t need it, with me saying but look at her face!

    A Christmas present to myself!!

    Reply
    1. Swistle Post author

      !!!!!!!

      This is so fun! Giraffes gradually spreading into households across the country! Melissa and Doug executives scratching their heads: “What could account for this uptick in giraffe sales?”

      Reply
  14. Tara Griffin

    Oh gosh, Swistle! I linked through to Duluth Trading because the pants would be a great gift for my husband. But now, thanks to the magic of advertising cookies, my screen is full of the Duluth underwear ads no matter what website I’m on! Quite embarassing :)

    Reply
  15. The Sojourner

    Oh God Swistle that charger stick is exactly what will make my life complete.

    Signed,
    I spent too much time scrolling Facebook on my phone and realize as we’re going out the door it’s at 1%

    Reply

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