Post by: Paige - Turkey Recipe Week

Turkey Recipe Week by Paige

 (You can substitute any recipe with Chicken if you prefer)

(Another note, I would not make all of these meals in one week! That would be an excessive amount of cooking. These recipes are an accumulation of the last three and a half weeks of recipes)

Sunday:

Turkey

Cranberry Sauce

Fat Potatoes

• 8 Russet potatoes
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 stick of butter
•  Salt
•  Pepper

You know how to make these. Note: I like to leave the skin on to increase fiber.

How to cook a perfect turkey:

Hot to deconstruct a roasted turkey or chicken:

Monday:

Grapes

Carrots

Turkey Hot Pockets

•  2 pkgs of refrigerator crescent rolls
• 1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 bundle of green onions, chopped
• 1 box of frozen and chopped spinach, drained
• Shredded turkey or cubed

Preheat oven to 350. Roll out the crescents so that the dough is flat. Pinch two triangles together to make a rectangle. Put about four rectangles on each cookie sheet. It will make about 8 hot pockets on two cookie sheets. Mix together the 8 oz of softened cream cheese, turkey, chopped green onions, and very very VERY well drained spinach in a medium bowl. Then take a large cookie scoop and put one heap of mixture on each rectangle of dough. Fold the sides of the dough over so it covers the mixture. Lightly press on the sides of the dough with your fingers, just enough to make sure the filling won't escape. Remove from 350 degree oven after about 10 minutes or until tops of hot pockets are golden brown. Really easy to save extras in the fridge, just wrap in tin foil or put in individual zip loc bags. Reheat them in the microwave for 45 seconds.

Tuesday:

Cream of Mushroom or Chicken Soup

White Rice

Shredded Turkey

Get out your rice cooker and start making some white fluffy rice! Make however much rice your usually do for dinner. Instead of water, I like to add chicken broth to make it really flavorful. Or you can add chicken base to the water and stir it in. Either way get your rice going and then shred your meat of choice. In a medium pot over the stove or heat up one can of mushroom soup  add a little bit of milk to thin it out, add salt, pepper, your meat of choice. Put the shredded meat in the soup and spoon it over the rice. Then pile it high with basic haystack items. *

*Top with green onion, bell peppers, almonds, pineapple, broccoli, chinese croutons, peas, olives, mandarins, etc. any basic haystack items

Wednesday:

Turkey Pad 
Thai (this is more difficult than the other recipes)

• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 limes, 1 juiced and 1 cut into wedges for serving(I only had lemon juice on hand)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (I used Soy sauce, but a teeny tiny amount)
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar(Use regular vinegar or don't put in at all)
• 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce(Just don't)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded or cubed cooked turkey
• 8 ounces linguini, broken in half (use regular spaghetti you have on hand)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 large carrot, grated (you could also toss in some steamed broccoli)
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (I didn't add any peanuts, but that is usually in pad thai)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups bean sprouts (I also added shredded cabbage to bulk up the veggies)
• 3 scallions, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

Directions

To make the sauce: In a bowl, pour the boiling water over the brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the lime juice, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and sriracha and stir. Place the leftover turkey in the pad Thai sauce and let it absorb the flavors while prepping the rest of the dish. Next, prepare the pasta: cook the linguine one minute less than the manufacturer's directions. Drain, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan over high heat until very hot, almost smoking. Add the onions and stir fry 1 minute. Add the garlic and stir. Then add the eggs and cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add the linguini and turkey with sauce and cook, stirring for a few minutes. Remove from heat and toss in grated carrot, peanuts, cilantro, bean sprouts and scallion. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/turkey-pad-thai-recipe/index.html

Thursday:

Refried Beans (from the can, reheat)

Basic Mexican Rice

Turkey Enchiladas

• 2-1/2 cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken (or TURKEY)
• 2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken (or add water plus chicken bouillon cubes)
• 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 12 whole Corn Tortillas (we used white corn pkg of 18)
• 1 whole Large Onion, Diced
• 3 whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced (Nope Nope Nope!!!)
• 1 teaspoon Paprika (I didn't add this)
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 2-1/2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Picante Sauce (optional)
• Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds, just to soften (do not allow to become crisp.) Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you'd like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.

Serve with picante sauce, if desired.

Faint. Repeat as needed.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/white-chicken-enchiladas/

Basic Mexican Rice

• 2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
• 1/2 whole Large Onion, Chopped
• 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cups Long Grain Rice
• 1 can Rotel (10 Ounce) (I really rinsed and drained this gooooood or else too spicy)
• 1 can Whole Tomatoes (14.5 Ounce)
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (more If Needed)
• 1 teaspoon Cumin (more To Taste)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic, then cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add rice and garlic. Stir constantly, making sure the rice doesn’t burn. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Add Ro-tel and tomatoes. Stir to combine and let cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 additional minutes or until rice is done. Add more liquid as needed; rice shouldn’t be sticky.

Just before serving, sprinkle lots of freshly chopped cilantro over the top. Serve immediately.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/good-ol-basic-mexican-rice/

Friday:

Baby Carrots

Turkey Sandwiches

• Grainy mustard (to spread on both sides)
•  Tomoatoes, sliced
• Romaine Lettuce
• Turkey breast, sliced
• Cranberry sauce (unless that is weird to you)
• Havarti cheese, yum.
• Bacon would be yummy too
• Build your own sandwich on  hearty multigrain bread.

Saturday:

Pita Bread (From Costco, we liked the tomato mushroom flavor pita with the soup)

Sweet Potato Soup

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons olive oil (I used canola or vegetable oil because it was closer to the pan)
• 3 large or 6 small shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds (about 2 to 3) sweet potatoes, peeled, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (Leave the skin of the potatoes, it won't affect the color or taste, but increases YOUR daily fiber intake)
• 2 (6-inch long) stems fresh rosemary (don't cheat with the dry herbs, buy a couple of real sprigs, the rosemary really makes the soup!)
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I didn't want to go to the store and buy broth, so I mixed six cups of warm water and chicken base in my vita mix and then added it to the pot)
• 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, at room temperature (Don't use mascarpone! It is way too expensive, besides it is basically fancy Cream Cheese, so add half a 8 oz. brick and call it a day)
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup (I did NOT add the maple syrup, the soup was already naturally sweet from the sweet potatoes, but Nathan liked it with the syrup, so taste it before you add any sort of sweetener. Another option--Mom added sugar because she did not have maple syrup on hand.)
• If you have heavy cream on hand, add a tablespoon or two, it was delicious!

Directions

In an 8-quart stockpot, melt the butter and oil together over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, rosemary and chicken broth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the rosemary stems. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until smooth and thick. Whisk in the mascarpone cheese and maple syrup until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Keep the soup warm over low heat until ready to serve.

Cook's Note: The soup can also be pureed by ladling, in batches, into a food processor or blender and blended until smooth.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/creamy-sweet-potato-and-rosemary-soup-recipe/index.html

Nathan's Favorite:

Cuties or Orange slices

Pizza Sandwich

• 1 Large Loaf  French Bread, Bakery fresh ($1.50 or less from grocery store)
• 16 oz. can of tomato paste
•  Italian Seasoning, dried  (probably in your cupboard but never use)
• 2 cups Mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 cup Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 package Pepperoni, ready to eat kind
•  4 oz. can of sliced olives
• 1/3 cup parmesean cheese (I don't like it with parmesan, better left off)
• Bell peppers (also optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees or turn your broiler on if you are feeling risky. Cut your loaf horizontally in half. Lay the loafs on a foil lined cookie sheet. Spread the tomato paste on both inside layers as if spreading mayo or mustard on a sandwich. Sprinkle with italian seasoning or oregano and basil, whatever feels right to you. Then sprinkle with cheeses, pepperonis, olives and bell peppers in whatever order you want. I usually put veggies on top so that they can get cooked a little faster. (No one likes raw peppers on their sandwich.).  Put the sandwich in the oven open faced and cook until nice and melted. Put the halves on top of each other and slice diagonally. Yum!