Turkey – Buen provecho…2022

Sheet Pan Nachos

Last minute company for lunch? This is simple and tasted great using Costco’s Tostados Multigrano . The only real prep was in cooking the meat. Other than that this comes together quickly. I used ground beef, but turkey would work too.

Sheet Pan Nachos

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp. garlic-infused olive oil
½ cup finely chopped green onion leaves (green tops only)
1 Tbsp. minced jalapeno (optional)
1 (16 oz.) package ground beef (or turkey)
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning
1 (11 oz.) multigrain tostados
⅔ cup shredded cheddar cheese (or dairy-free cheese)

Optional Toppings

1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
⅓ cup sliced green onion (green parts only)
⅓ cup sliced black olives
1–2 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
sour cream
Salsa – I prefer Pace brands

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion leaves and optional jalapeno. Sauté until leaves are bright green, fragrant, and soft. Add ground beef and brown, breaking apart into crumbles, until cooked. Once cooked, add taco seasoning, stir mixture, and adjust seasoning to taste. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.

3. Place tostados onto a rimmed baking sheet and spread into an even layer. Top with cooked beef mixture and sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake for 5 minutes until cheese is slightly melted.

4. Remove pan from oven. Top with your favorite optional toppings and serve warm.

Garlic Butter Zoodles and Meatballs

If it seems like I am on a zoodles kick these days, it is because I really do love pasta BUT those carbs are my downfall. Okay, we have been doing the KETO diet again since October with great success! That means very limited carbohydrates. Hence, this KETO recipe. OK, you could make this with real pasta!

The recipe calls for making your own meatballs, but it is so much easier to buy them when you come across a brand you like in the grocery store!!! So skip making them and buy a package ready to bake or fry. Don’t be afraid, those are cherry tomatoes in with the zoodles, NOT egg yolks…LOL

Garlic Butter Zoodles and Meatballs

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. ground chicken, turkey beef or JUST BUY THEM!!
5 cloves garlic, minced and divided
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
2 tbsp. freshly chopped parsley
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce Ingredients

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
4 tbsp. butter
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 lb. zoodles

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl mix together ground chicken, 2 garlic cloves, egg, Parmesan, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper then form into tablespoon sized meatballs.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil and cook meatballs until golden on all sides and cooked through, 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and wipe out skillet with a paper towel.

Melt butter in skillet then add remaining 3 garlic cloves and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add zoodles to skillet and toss in garlic butter then squeeze in lemon juice. Add meatballs back and heat just until warmed through.

Garnish with more Parmesan to serve.

Holiday Recipes

With both American Thanksgiving and Christmas forthcoming, I am noting a few previously posted recipes which newer viewers may not have seen. Amongst these – what to do with leftover turkey? (Turkey Divan), an awesome Cranberry Chutney for either holiday, old-fashioned Hasty Pudding, a Christmas Morning Wife Saver which can be prepared the night before, as well as a few scrumptious cookies, like Biscotti with Ginger, Cranberry, Orange and Cashews for that after dinner coffee, Brandied Fruit and Nut Shortbread, and Cranberry Pistachio Salted Caramel Bars. Simply enter the names in the GO box to find them. Some might even be great for New Years.

Please observe social distancing and limit your dinners to local recommendations. Wear masks in public at all times! There will always be a next year if we observe the prescribed recommendations…

Canadian Thanksgiving, Eh?

Since there might be a few new followers, I am noting a few of the recipes on the site which you might want to incorporate into your Canadian OR American Thanksgiving dinners. Hoping you might find some ideas before you head out to buy groceries…LOL

Look for these and other recipes in the GO box –

Good Eats Roasted Turkey or

Spice Rubbed Turkey or

Slow Cooker Rosemary Garlic Crusted Roast Beef (for those who are not into turkey)

Thai Style Chicken and Pumpkin Soup

Fragrant Fall Red Cabbage (side dish)

Pumpkin Crunch Cake (much better than pie!)

Happy Thanksgiving my friends!!

Easy Cranberry Chutney

No photo for this one as it is all blended together in a jar and then refrigerated. Great for using during the upcoming holidays…

Easy Cranberry Chutney

From inthekitchenwithkath.com

(Adapted from a recipe in Yumana’s Table by Yumana Devi)

Makes about 3 cups, and doubles easily if you’re serving a crowd.

1 (12-ounce) bag of cranberries

2 large apples

2 large oranges or limes

1 cup pure maple syrup (I used ½ cup)

Zest the oranges.
Wash and drain the cranberries and put them in a pot. (My 3 quart pot is the perfect size.)
Peel, core, and chop the apples, and add them to the pot.
Juice the oranges. Add the juice and the orange zest to the pot.
Add the maple syrup.
Bring the chutney to a boil over medium-high heat.
Reduce heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, for about 30 – 45 minutes, until the cranberries have popped, the apples have cooked down, and the chutney has thickened a bit. Stir it occasionally while it’s cooking.

Cool and transfer to a bowl; cover and refrigerate until ready to serve OR put it in an airtight jar, ready for use. Would be great over cream cheese as an appetizer or with roast beef…not just turkey!

Slow Cooker (Crockpot) Swedish Meatballs

What to do without Costco? I have had a bag of turkey meatballs in the freezer for awhile. The truth is we didn’t really like them! Not to waste I found this slow cooker recipe for Swedish meatballs and I got the chance to use them all up, never to buy again. If you have been following for sometime you will know that I had previously made meatballs for use with pasta. This recipe called for frozen ones. Et voila! Actually they tasted awesome…great for a buffet table.

Slow Cooker/Crock Pot Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 can cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup, low sodium*
1 can beef broth, low sodium*
1 packet dry onion soup mix
2 tbsp. A1 steak sauce
1 (2 lb.) bag frozen meatballs
1 (8 oz.) container sour cream (1 cup)
1 (16 oz.) package egg noodles

sliced mushrooms (optional)

Directions:
In a 5-6 quart slow cooker, mix undiluted soup with beef broth, onion soup mix and steak sauce. Stir well.

Then add in frozen meatballs.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 3-5 hours. (My slow cooker is always faster than the recipe calls for, in this case they were done in about 4 1/2 hours.

After meatball mixture is almost cooked, add in the sliced mushrooms and stir in sour cream.

At this time, put a pot of water on the oven to boil for your egg noodles (make according to package directions.) Drain noodles well when done.

Mix noodles and meatballs together. Or serve meatballs on top of noodles.

Note: Low sodium is my personal preference for this to keep it from being too salty. If I’m serving for a crowd, I will mix together noodles and meatballs and keep my crock pot on the ‘warm’ or ‘buffet’ setting. But when it’s just my family, everyone can serve themselves and grab as many meatballs, noodles and sauce as they like.

http://www.thecountrycook.net

Good Eats Roasted Turkey

Up until last year I always brined my turkey according to a recipe from Emeril Lagasse. (its here on the blog). Last year I wanted a different brine recipe and on Food Network, I found Alton Browns Good Eats Turkey Recipe. Lo and behold I liked it better! Sorry Emeril!

So here it is…you can choose Emerill or Alton…

Good Eats Roast Turkey Alton Brown The Food Network

Ingredients

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water
For the aromatics:
1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you’d like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Actually you can find special brining bags in most supermarkets these days, made by Reynolds. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting or less…use a timer. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Recipe courtesy of Alton Brown, also featured in Food Network Magazine

Turkey Divan

With US Thanksgiving fast approaching, as well as Christmas (44 days), thoughts turn to turkey. I have previously posted a great recipe for preparing turkey which originated with Emerill Lagasse — check out Funky Brined Turkey elsewhere on the blog. Its awesome and I have used it for many years. AFTER US Thanksgiving and Christmas, there will undoubtedly be some leftover turkey. You could make pot pies, but who wants to fiddle with a crust? Turkey Divan is the perfect answer for leftovers!! The following recipe was adapted from Anna Olsen, Food Network Canada.

FYI, if you don’t have leftover turkey, just head down to the deli and get a precooked roasted turkey breast and either bring it home to slice or have the butcher cut thick pieces. Don’t use turkey lunch-meat!!! You could also substitute chicken… enuf said…hope you enjoy this one.

Turkey Divan by Anna Olsen Food Network Canada
Ingredients (my changes in red as always)

3 cup fresh broccoli, cut into florets (and peeled stem pieces)
4 Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, diced into ½-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, diced into ½-inch pieces
5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp chopped fresh savory (I could not find any here)
1 tsp each thyme and oregano
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 cup chicken stock
½ cup half-and-half cream
½ cup dry white wine
2 cup Jarlsberg cheese or Manchego if in Mexico
salt & pepper
1 lb. cooked turkey breast meat (not luncheon meat), sliced
2 Tbsp. chopped Italian parsley
½ cup dry breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Directions
1. Blanch broccoli in boiling salted water (or steam) until just tender, then shock in ice water to halt cooking. Drain broccoli and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 F.
3. In a large sauté pan with sides melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until almost translucent, about 4 minutes.
4. Add diced pepper and sauté 3 minutes more. Sift flour over vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, until a faintly nutty aroma is emitted, but flour does not brown.
5. Stir in mustard, savory and zest. Stir in chicken stock, ½ cup at a time, blending well after each addition (this will prevent lumps). Bring liquid up to a simmer, then stir in cream.
6. Return to a simmer and stir in wine. Reduce heat to low and stir in 1 ½ cups Jarlsberg or Manchego cheese until melted. Season to taste.
7. Stir in broccoli and turkey, adjust seasoning if necessary, stir in parsley and pour into an 8-cup casserole dish.

This can be prepared to here and refrigerated until before dinner when you can apply the topping before baking. I usually put the refrigerated dish on the counter to warm it up a little before baking.
8. Sprinkle top with remaining ½ cup cheese mixed with breadcrumbs and olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes, until sauce is bubbling along the sides.
9. Serve over cooked rice or buttered noodles.
10. Alternatively, the half-and-half cream can be replaced by ½ cup mascarpone cheese, for a more decadent version.

Serve it with a great Jasmine rice!

Roast Turkey Breast with Potatoes, Green Beans and Mustard Sauce

Just came across this great recipe for Thanksgiving…. turned out perfectly. <y changes as always are in RED

Roast Turkey Breast with Potatoes, Green Beans, and Mustard Pan Sauce

6 servings PREP: 25 minutes TOTAL: 2 hours Recipe by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
4 tablespoons honey mustard, divided (I used grainy mustard)
5 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon, divided (I used dried rosemary)
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 2 1/4-pound boneless turkey breast, net removed (I used a skinless one from Costco)
2 pounds baby potatoes, halved
2 cups thinly sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only; about 2 large) (substitute carrots, small onions and baby squash)
2 8-ounce packages trimmed French green beans (haricot verts)
1 cup low-salt chicken broth

TEST KITCHEN TIPS

The Bon Appetit Test Kitchen used a whole small turkey breast when testing this recipe. If you plan on cooking a turkey breast half, then shorten your cooking time.

To ensure the best results, make sure your oven is calibrated to the correct temperature.
After 30 minutes, check the potatoes and leeks for doneness. After 35 to 45 minutes, check the turkey temperature with an instant-read thermometer. It should register 165°F when it’s done.
If you don’t like the tarragon, thyme or rosemary would suit this recipe just as nicely. Just be sure to use a smaller amount—about 1 tablespoon—as these herbs can be overpowering.

Preparation

NOTE: I did the turkey in one covered Corelle baking dish and the vegetables in another…on the same shelf in our gas oven. I did put te green beans in with the turkey as indicated.

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Coat 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with nonstick spray. Whisk 2 tablespoons mustard, 2 tablespoons tarragon or rosemary, and 1 tablespoon oil in small bowl. Place turkey breast, skin side up, on 1 prepared baking sheet; sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. Spread mustard mixture over skin. Roast turkey in bottom third of oven 45 minutes.
While turkey roasts, toss potatoes, sliced leeks, 1 tablespoon tarragon or rosemary, and 1 tablespoon oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; spread out on second baking sheet.
After turkey has roasted 45 minutes, place potatoes in top third of oven. Roast along with turkey until potatoes are tender, stirring potatoes occasionally, about 45 minutes. Remove potatoes from oven.
Toss beans with 1 tablespoon tarragon and 1/2 tablespoon oil in large bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread beans around turkey; pour broth over beans. Continue roasting until thermometer inserted into thickest part of turkey registers 165°F and beans are crisp-tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Rewarm potatoes in oven 5 minutes.
Place potatoes and beans on platter. Slice turkey; place on same platter. Whisk 2 tablespoons mustard into turkey juices on sheet; season with salt and pepper. Spoon some juices over turkey; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon tarragon. Pass remaining juice.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quickrecipes/2010/11/roast_turkey_breast_with_potatoes_green_beans_and_mustard_pan_sauce#ixzz26f7wk1B4

Cranberry Orange Chutney With Cumin, Fennel and Mustard Seeds

Not sure where this recipe originated since it was in my binder for awhile. Since we have 10 pounds of cranberries in the freezer this year, I thought we should make use of them. We served this as a side dish with a smoked pork loin, which I sliced into thin slices and reheated gently on top of the stove, in a mixture of red grapefruit juice and some fresh rosemary. It would be great with poultry, i.e. instead of the usual cranberry relish. We also used it the next day with salmon. Equally good. Enjoy! Buen provecho!

Cranberry Orange Chutney with Cumin, Fennel and Mustard Seeds

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

1 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut into matchstick-size strips

1 tablespoon minced seeded Serrano chile (without the seeds)

3/4 cup water

1 pound fresh cranberries or frozen, thawed

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup matchstick-size strips orange peel (orange part only)

Pinch of salt

The Technique: Simmered

Simmering (to cook at about 185°F) cooks the berries and other ingredients at just the right rate. How to tell if your sauce is simmering? Small bubbles should break the surface around the edges of the pan. This technique softens the berries and allows enough time for all of the flavors to meld.

Preparation

Bring sugar and vinegar to boil in heavy small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add cumin, fennel, and mustard seeds; stir until mustard seeds pop, about 1 minute. Add onion; cook until beginning to brown, stirring constantly, about 6 minutes. Add ginger and chile; stir until chile softens, about 2 minutes. Add vinegar mixture, 3/4 cup water, all cranberries, orange peel, and salt. Simmer until juices thicken, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Cool, cover, and chill. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.