Roast Turkey

I always keep a stocked freezer filled with meats, veggies, breads, jams, and pesto.  I stock up on veggies, jam, fish, and pesto in the summer months when I can get the freshest in-season ingredients and work my way through them as needed.  At points through the year I will get a shipment of lamb, venison, or beef from family or friends and work through those as well.  After Thanksgiving I always buy a couple of turkeys and add them to the stockpile to make sure we have enough variety to keep things interesting.  I took one out the other day to roast it and it fed us for nearly an entire week.

Day One: Turkey, stuffing, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, and gravy
Day Two: Turkey Pot Pies
Day Three: Turkey Quesadillas
Day Four: Turkey a la King
Day Five: Turkey Sandwiches
Day Six:  Minestrone Soup with Turkey Broth

That's a lot of turkey, but since we ate it prepared in so many ways we hardly noticed we were eating the same protein day after day. ( Hint: Turkey meat can be stored in portions in the freezer and defrosted as needed.)

Roast Turkey
loosely based on "Accidental Turkey" from Ina Garten's new cookbook Foolproof

12-14 pound  turkey
kosher salt
rosemary
1 large yellow onion, quartered
1 lemon, quartered
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 stick butter, melted
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Sprinkle the turkey all over, inside and out, with salt and pepper.  Place the the onion, lemon, and thyme in the cavity of the turkey  Brush the outside of the turkey with the melted butter and place in a large roasting pan with a rack.  Place the turkey in the hot oven and roast for 45 minutes.  Lower the temperature to 325 degrees and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 more hours, or until internal temperature reaches between 170 and 180 degrees.  Remove from oven and tent with foil for 20-30 minutes before serving.

Turkey Meatballs

I make a pan of these quick and healthy turkey meatballs every couple of weeks and then use them throughout the week for easy meals.  They are great simmered in sauce for spaghetti and meatballs, crumbled in an omelet, this quiche recipe, or made into meatball sandwiches.  They also freeze really well so I can keep the leftovers handy for a quick weeknight meal.

Turkey Meatballs
makes about 52 meatballs (3/4 oz. each)

1 package ground turkey (roughly 1 3/4 lbs)
2 slices bread, cubed
1/2 onion, diced
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/3 cup milk
2 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp oregano

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, I find that my hands are the best tool for mixing the meatballs.  Use a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop to form meatballs.  Place each meatball on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 15-20 minutes.

For a quick and easy spaghetti and meatball dinner I drop cooked meatballs in prepared pasta sauce and simmer for 20-30 minutes more.  These meatballs also freeze really well, so I drop the leftover cooked meatballs into a freeze bag and freeze in a single layer.  On a busy night, I can pull the frozen meatballs out and toss them directly into a pot of spaghetti sauce for a super quick weeknight meal

Turkey Meatloaf

This turkey meatloaf is a really tasty alternative to a regular ground beef meatloaf.  The leftovers make a pretty mean meatloaf sandwich too.  Try this, I bet you will like it!

Turkey Meatloaf
1lb package ground turkey
2 slices bread, diced
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 small onion, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 T yellow mustard
2 T ketchup
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  (I use my hands.)  Mixture will be moist and soft, which differs from the texture of ground beef.  Make sure everything is completely incorporated and then place mixture on sheet pan.  Form into a loaf shape.  Baking time depends on shape of loaf, but should take about 35-45 minutes or until internal temperate reaches 165 degrees.  Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

Spinach-Artichoke Mayo

Here is a great little idea for all of those turkey day leftovers! I toasted up a few mini party rolls and topped them with a little turkey, lettuce, and a bit of spinach-artichoke mayo. Super easy and super yummy for a quick sandwich to go with a bowl of hearty turkey noodle soup. Making the most of leftovers can be tasty!

Spinach-Artichoke Mayo
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 small jar artichokes
1 cup fresh spinach
2 T grated Parmesan cheese

Mix all ingredients together in a mini food processor or mixer. Enjoy in fresh sandwiches, paninis, and more.

If this method does not suit a certain member of the family, let her create her own mini lunch...then photograph if she insists!!

Oprah's Turkey Burger

Neither Joseph nor I normally choose to eat burgers consisting of anything but beef, however, we're both feeling a little too "bulky" right now. I have a good excuse...I still haven't gone for my six week check up since having Grace (it's tomorrow!) so I haven't been given the green light to exercise. (After tomorrow I don't know what excuse I'll use.) As for Joseph, well, he just eats too much and eats out too often at work. So, we're trying to find some healthier alternatives for dinner around here.

This week I selected some lean ground turkey with the turkey burger in mind but I wasn't extremely hopeful that it was the best idea. I pictured dry and flavorless which has been my experience with the two or so turkey burgers I've had in my life. But what I got was so much more.

When prepping I went in the direction of Oprah's favorite turkey burger. (My taste buds must match up with hers because this was the best turkey burger ever.) In fact it was big hit with both of us, oh, and Gabe ate his as well - even going as far as to say "It's nummy." The addition of my pineapple chutney made these burgers so flavorful and moist that I certainly wasn't missing the all beef patty I'm used to. This burger had a good balance of sweetness from the pineapple and heat from the Chipotle and ginger. It also felt a little tropical which was fun and interesting. The chutney recipe makes enough chutney for two or three batches of burgers, but I don't think it will last that long, I have plans to try it on top of some pork tenderloin.

Here I've taken the recipe from the Oprah Show, a recipe from Fresh Everyday by Sara Foster, and some of my own ideas to create a moist flavorful burger. I changed out the pear chutney for pineapple chutney because I had a fresh pineapple that was begging to be used. I also added and omitted a few things depending on what I had in the pantry/fridge. It turned out swell, in my opinion.

Pineapple Chutney

If you haven't had or made a chutney before you should definitely give it a try. You combine lots of ingredients that you wouldn't normally pair (pineapple, onion, peppers, vinegar, ginger) to get a wonderfully interesting and flavorful accompaniment for a variety of meats.

1/2 fresh pineapple, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1 orange/red pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. coarse grain mustard

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. freshly ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low. Simmer for 45 minutes. Cool before using.

Turkey Burgers

1 lb lean ground turkey

1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

small bunch chives, chopped (about 1/8 to 1/4 cup)

1 tsp. Tabasco sauce

1 tsp. ground chipotle powder

1 Tbl salt

1 Tbl pepper

1/2 cup chutney (more or less depending on your taste)

Combine all ingredients and lightly mix with hands. Form into 4 patties and grill for about 7 minutes per side depending on thickness.