Yummy Recipes for Holiday Leftovers & Ideas for What to do w/ all those Candy Canes

Now that the holiday feasts are over many of you probably have a fridge full of leftovers. If you're like me you can only eat turkey & dressing for so long. Here are a few ways to turn yesterday's meal into a new delicious dish:

Leftover Turkey becomes Turkey Mornay
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Ingredients:

* 1 (16-ounce) jar four cheese Alfredo sauce
* 1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
* 2-3 cups sliced cooked turkey or chicken
* 5 English muffins, split with fork and toasted
* 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
* 1 Tbsp. torn fresh basil leaves or 1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
* 1/2 cup chopped grape tomatoes

Preparation:
Place Alfredo sauce in medium saucepan. Stir in Gruyere or Swiss cheese. Cook over low heat until cheese melts, stirring frequently. Then add the turkey or chicken slices and spoon sauce over them; heat gently until sauce begins to bubble, stirring frequently.

Preheat broiler. Place the English muffins on a broiler pan and spoon the turkey slices and cheese sauce over each. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Broil 4-6" from heat source until the sauce bubbles and brown spots appear.

In small bowl combine chopped tomatoes and basil. Spoon this mixture over the hot sandwiches and serve immediately. Serves 6-8


Leftover Cranberry sauce becomes Cranberry Meatballs
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:

* 48 frozen cooked meatballs
* 1/2 cup cranberry sauce
* 1/4 cup orange juice
* 2 Tbsp. sugar
* 1 Tbsp. finely minced ginger root
* 1/8 tsp. white pepper

Preparation:
Bake the meatballs according to package directions until well heated. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine cranberry sauce, orange juice, brown sugar, gingerroot, and pepper. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes until bubbly. Add meatballs to sauce and stir. Serve with toothpicks. Serves 8-10

Use all of your leftovers to make a pie
Ingredients:

* Anything leftovers you'd like to add (turkey, potatoes, veggies, etc.)

Other ingredients:

* Puff pastry (Frozen or make your own if preferred)
* Chicken gravy (made from granules is fine)
* 1 Egg beaten

Preparation:

Cut up your leftovers into bite-sized pieces and mix together. Make up some chicken gravy and add to the mix to make a sufficiently moist mix. Find a suitable pie dish or casserole dish and transfer your leftover mix into it. Roll out the pastry and place it on the top of the dish after brushing the rim with the egg mixture, sealing well. Make 3 slits in the middle of the pastry to allow the steam to disperse whilst cooking and brush the top with the egg mix. Cook in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until the pastry is cooked and golden brown.

If you wish you can freeze the pie before cooking to save it for a later date but make sure you use a suitable pie dish that you can freeze and defrost before cooking.



Now what to do about all those candy canes! Try the following recipes:

Triple Chocolate Candy Cane Kisses

4 3-oz. chocolate bars, 2 semisweet, 1 milk & 1 white chocolate
1/2 c Crushed candy canes

Melt the 3 kinds of chocolate in 3 separate bowls. Stir half of the crushed candy into the semisweet chocolate. Reserve a bit for sprinkling; stir the remainder into the milk and white chocolates. Drop teaspoons of the semisweet onto a parchment-lined tray. Top with 1 dollop each of the milk and white chocolates. Sprinkle with crushed candy. Let harden.
Compliments of Just Chocolate Recipes

Or create your own rich coffee mix...
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:

* 1 cup powdered non dairy creamer
* 1-1/3 cups sugar
* 1 cup instant coffee granules
* 1/2 cup cocoa powder
* 2 candy canes

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in bowl of blender or food processor. Process until well blended and particles are fine. Store in tightly covered container in a cool dry place. To use, dissolve 1-2 Tbsp. of mix in 1 cup boiling water or to taste.

More ideas for candy canes:

# Use candy canes as stirring sticks for hot beverages.
# Add crushed candy canes to vanilla frosting and make cookie sandwiches with purchased cookies or graham crackers.
# Add crushed candy canes to Rice Krispy treats.
# Melt some purchased white almond bark and add crushed candy cane pieces. Pour onto waxed paper and chill for instant Candy Cane Bark.
# Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top of iced cupakes or on top of ice cream sundaes.
# Layer ice cream and hot fudge sauce with crushed candy canes and top with whipped cream for a peppermint twist treat.

"Sex And The City 2" Trailer!!!

Urbanistas, it's the most we've been waiting for since 5.08. Here's the first trailer for "Sex & the City 2." Get your best cosmo glasses ready now b/c on 5.28.10 when "SATC 2" hits theaters. For the love of all things SJP, start planning your haute wardrobe ensembles for the occasion NOW.

D.I.Y.D. (Do-It-Your-D*mn-Self) Holiday gift ideas

This holiday season we're all coming up with creative gift ideas that won't break the piggy bank. Step #10 in the Urban Heiress Plan for "urban addict" recovery is the simply D.I.Y.D. bka "Do It Your D*mn Self." The premise of this concept is to use your talents & resources instead of paying for overpriced goods/services. We often forget or overlook the many gifts we can give people that won't cost you much (if at all), but will be cherished for a lifetime. Here are a few ideas just in time for the holidays:

**Babysitting services - Who wouldn't want an offer for you to watch their rugrats FREE of charge? Priceless gift that won't cost you anything except your time.

**Cleaning services - Once again, who wouldn't want an offer for you to tidy up their home/office, mow their lawn or even wash their car? That's better than anything you can buy at Macy's.

**Make a CD mix/Write a song - Give your loved one the gift of music by creating a CD with your very own special mix of songs that you dedicate to him/her. Or go a step further & write/record a musical selection for them. Best Buy won't have this in stock!

**Cooking/baking - Gift your loved ones a home-cooked or bake them their fave dessert, confection, bread, etc. Their tummies will love you for life.

**Arts & Crafts - Use your talents to create a masterpiece for your loved one. Whether you knit, sew, painting, sculpt or some other skill, you can make a one-of-kind gift that your loved one will cherish for years to come.

Holiday Shoppers Beware: COMING SOON to a bank near you, "CARD," Opens nationwide on 2.21.10

Some still aren't aware of the major implications of the credit card reform that is happening in February 2010. In May '09, President Obama signed legislation (aka the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility & Disclosure Act) to prevent credit card companies from continuing their shady behavior (raising interest rates, closing accounts w/o warning, decreasing credit limits BELOW existing balances & so on). Some of the pluses of the legislation are as follows:

• Restricts retroactive rate increases. Card issuers cannot raise the rate on your existing balance unless you are more than 60 days late on your account. They can only raise your rate on new purchases going forward. (If you are more than 60 days late, issuers are required to revert to the lower rate after you make six months of on-time payments.)

• Provides more advance notice of rate hikes. Card issuers must notify consumers of changes at least 45 days in advance. (This one has already gone into effect.)

• Increases time to pay bills. Card issuers must mail out statements at least 21 days before the due date. They must also consider a payment made before 5 p.m. Eastern on the due date as on-time. Payments due on a day when the issuer is closed for business (for example, a weekend or holiday) cannot be subject to late fees.

• Applies payments to high interest rate balances first. Many consumers’ accounts have different rates for different transactions. For ex. if you transferred a balance from an old card at a low interest rate but have since made new purchases at the regular interest rate with the new card. Under the new law, credit card companies must apply payments in excess of the monthly minimum toward the highest interest rate portion of the balance first.

• Eliminates universal default. If you’re late with a payment to another company, issuers can no longer raise your rate.

• Requires an opt-in for over-limit fees. Issuers must obtain a consumer’s permission to process a transaction that would put his or her account over its limit.

• Restricts college credit. Consumers under age 18 cannot receive credit, unless they are emancipated under state law or are designated as a secondary cardholder to a parent or legal guardian’s account. College-age applicants’ account limits will be limited to 20% of their annual income or $500, whichever is greater.
source



If any of this is confusing to you then guess what??? You shouldn't be using a credit card!!! WHY would you buy something w/o knowing the price? That's exactly what you're doing if you use a credit card to purchase something w/o understanding how your credit card company is going to bill you for it. THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU SWIPE!

Especially since the credit card companies are coming back swingin! They're not taking this laying down. Many credit card issuers are strategically coming up with new ways to get around these new laws and still keep their grubby hands deep in your Louis Vuitton wallet.

Exhibit A: The 79.9% APR credit card....Yes, you read it right - 79.99999% interest on a credit card! Beware if you get a credit card offer in the mail from First Premier Bank for this debt-trap. Just to give you an idea of the implications. If you had a $300 balance on this card you would pay $20 per month in interest. Now multiply 20 times 12. I don't think I need to spell it out any further. It's absolute thievery. The saddest part is that First Premier is targeting people who already have bad credit b/c those are the ones who most rely on it & are likely to incur the most finance charges. *shaking my head* source



Please, please for the love of Gucci think twice before making all of those ridiculous holiday gift purchases for people you probably barely like or won't even be speaking to this time next year. Also, make sure that before 2.21.10 you take the time to find out exactly what changes your creditors are making to their terms for your own sake. For more on what CARD means for you personally CLICK HERE. And remember commandment #3 - if you can't afford to pay cash then you don't need to buy it!

Jetsetting on a Budget

Making last minute holiday travel plans? Before you book that vacay check out THIS WEBSITE for amazing travel deals all over the globe.

A Blow Job that Lasts for 4 Months???

No not that kind (shame on you)...I'm talking about the latest craze known as the Brazilian blowout. Hollywood is all abuzz over this latest smoothing hair treatment which supposedly improves the health of your hair. According to the innovators of this popular beauty splurge, the Brazilian blowout incorporates the use of a proprietary based Keratin formulation that actually improves the condition of the hair by creating a protective protein layer around the hair shaft to eliminate frizz and smooth the cuticle.

Peep these before & after pics to see the results:





Could this be the answer to my lifelong prayers?! I've had my hopes up before only to be let down time & time again. First there was the Hawaiian Silky in the 90s, then the Japanese straighten in the early '00s, now this. But hey, I'll try it. Imagine if George Washington Carver had given up after having found just one use for the peanut. I digress...more of the proof in the pudding:





For more on how this works CLICK HERE to watch the magic happen or visit the OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

The Urban Heiress Returns to Yahoo!'s "omg! The 411"

Howdy urbanistas! Thank you for checking out last week's episode. Because of your support you'll be happy to know that last week's episode received the MOST views the show has ever had!!! Let's keep it going...check me out below on this week's episode & help set a new viewership record:

Urban Heiress on Yahoo's "The 411"

Howdy urbanistas! Check out your very own Urban Heiress on this week's episode of Yahoo's entertainment news show "The 411." I hope it brings the LOLs. I make my debut at the 3:11 mark.

These Shoes Were NOT Made for Walking

The father of the now signature red-heeled shoe Christian Louboutin collaborated with champagne-maker Piper Heidsieck to create “Le Rituel” which is a crystal flute in the shape of a stiletto that accompanies a bottle of bubbly in a box that sells for $500. Believe it or not, but this concept has historical significane. Louboutin says he was inspired by Russian tourists in 19th-century Paris, who would drink vodka out of ballerina slippers to celebrate a ballerina's performance. You learn something new every day. Who knew? So for all of you showstoppers who'll be popping bottles on NYE, here's a sure way to ring in 2010 on a HAUTE note.



SOURCE

Rent the Runway

First I told you about Borrow a Dress Couture and now there's another option for all of you fashionistas. Instead of wasting a few hundred bucks on a party dress that you probably won't wear after this holiday season you can literally rent the best in A-list fashion from Rent the Runway in just 3 easy steps:

1. LOVE - Browse through a large selection of A-list designers and find a dress or two that you love.

2. WEAR - Schedule a delivery date, and your dress will appear on your doorstep. Next-day and even same-day delivery (if you live in NYC) is available, for last-minute wardrobe crises. They will also send you a second, back-up size—just to be safe.

3. RETURN - Put your dress in the provided handy pre-paid packaging and drop in the nearest mailbox (RTR takes care of the dry cleaning!).

It's easy breezy...To sign up CLICK HERE!

Holiday Shopping: The Warehouse Sale

Howdy urbanistas! Soooo November came & went but I'm promise I'm back on a consistent basis now. Hiatus is o-v-e-r. I've been traveling a lot. In the past week I hit up Miami, Grand Cayman, Nashville & now L.A. During my travels I have come across several frantic shoppers who are having problems finding economical but fab gifts for this holiday season. No fear, the Urban Heiress is here! I'll share some of my tips with you in the next coming weeks as we countdown to the BIG day.

My first tip is to check out sample/warehouse sales in your area. You can always find a good deal on designer duds. One of my fave is THE WAREHOUSE SALE. This discount shopping experience pops up in every major U.S. city with slashed prices on some of today's hautest styles in denim & more. TWS has several upcoming events just in time for the holidays. To check out what's happening in your city CLICK HERE.