Leftover Turkey Soup

I love this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. I actually made it back in November to use up our Thanksgiving turkey. It would be great use of leftover Christmas turkey as well. If you want to make this and don't have leftover turkey, you could use leftover chicken or meat from a rotisserie chicken. 

Leftover Turkey Soup

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup chopped carrots
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup finely chopped onion
¼ teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh, chopped
¼ teaspoon crushed dried rosemary or 1 teaspoon fresh, chopped
6 cups low-sodium chicken or turkey broth/stock
½ to ¾ cup brown rice or brown rice blend 
2 teaspoons salt, like kosher salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 cup half and half
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
3 to 4 cups cooked, chopped leftover turkey (or chicken)

1.  In a 6-quart saucepan or pot, heat the butter and oil until hot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are slightly tender, 3-4 minutes.

2.  Add the broth, rice, salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until the rice is tender. The exact time will depend on variety of rice and package directions. For a brown and wild rice blend, the time will be about 30 minutes.

3.  Whisk together or blend the half and half and flour until smooth and there are no lumps. Stir the flour mixture into the soup, whisking quickly, and simmer gently until slightly thickened, 5-6 minutes.
Stir in the cooked turkey and heat through. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed. Serve.

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Turkey Korma (With Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey)

Yum, I loved this delicious and unexpected way to use up the last of our Thanksgiving turkey! I was excited to find this recipe; thinking it wouldn't be as good as a more labor-intensive Korma, but I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It was really good! The sauce is thickened perfectly with almond flour, and using mostly broth for a base makes the dish lighter. I did add some coconut sugar (1-2 teaspoons) because I really love a slight sweetness to my Korma. (My onions were a little crunchy- I'll cook them longer next time. Keep that in mind when making this.) 

I served this with roasted curry broccoli- a bag of frozen baby broccoli florets, roasted in olive oil, salt, and Penzey's curry powder. (At 400 F for about 30 minutes.) Everything was so delicious. (Note: you can also use leftover, cooked chicken for this recipe. I want to try it with a rotisserie chicken next.) 

Turkey Korma  

adapted from An Edible Mosaic

2 tablespoons clarified butter ghee, coconut oil, or sunflower oil
1 large onion, chopped 
4 large cloves garlic *
1 tablespoon fresh-grated ginger *(I used 3-4 Tablespoons of ginger/garlic paste in place of garlic and ginger here)
½ cup almond flour
1 tablespoon garam masala spice mix
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 ½ cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (may need a bit more)
2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons coconut sugar or brown sugar, optional, for sweetness
2 cups cooked chopped turkey or chicken (from a rotisserie chicken or leftover turkey)
¼ cup heavy cream

1. Melt the ghee in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the onion and cook until caramelized, about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, ginger, Ior ginger/garlic paste) and almond flour and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in the garam masala, turmeric, cinnamon, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt, and cook 30 seconds more while stirring constantly.

2. Stir in the broth and tomato paste. Bring up to a simmer, and then simmer 2 minutes (uncovered), stirring frequently. (Make sure onions are cooked enough at the end of this step.)  If it gets too thick, add additional broth. I added at least another 1/2 cup or more. Add the optional coconut or brown sugar. Add the turkey/chicken and cook until warm throughout, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream.

 

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Turkey Cranberry Panini

This grilled sandwich was easy and delicious.  I copied an idea from Mel's Kitchen Cafe, but didn't want to run to the store for missing ingredients, so I subbed or omitted things.  I didn't have Brie, so I used Baby Bell cheese, lol.  I didn't have spinach so I left it off.  I used regular Italian sandwich bread (like American sandwich bread, only much smaller) instead of something hearty or fancy.  And I just now realized I was supposed to add some Dijon.  Lol! You might not have leftovers anymore to make this, but keep this in mind for next year.

Btw, "Panini" just means "sandwiches" in Italian.  The "i" ending makes it plural.  It doesn't mean pressed or grilled sandwiches, but in the US it does mean that, so I'll keep that in the title.  I just used my regular sandwich griller thingy for this; I don't have a real panini press.

Turkey Cranberry Panini
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

For each sandwich:
2 slices favorite sandwich bread
favorite white cheese
leftover cooked turkey, sliced
Dijon mustard, optional
2-3 Tablespoons cranberry sauce, more or less to taste
Butter, for grilling

1.  On one slice of bread spread Dijon according to taste.  Layer on cheese, turkey, cranberry sauce, and another layer of cheese.

2.  Top with the other slice of bread. Butter the outsides of the bread. 

3.  Cook the sandwich in a hot skillet/griddle/panini press, pressing down with a spatula or a heavy saucepan (if you aren’t using an actual panini or sandwich press), flipping halfway through, until the bread is golden on both sides, and the cheese is melted.  Serve immediately.

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Greek Tacos

My daughter and I made these for dinner last week.  Well, I prepared both the tzatziki sauce and cuke-tomato salsa ahead of time and made the flat breads; she made the meat filling.  She really enjoyed making them and then eating them.  :)  

Greek Tacos

adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Cucumber Tomato Salsa:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 firm large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 English cucumber, seeded and diced
1/2 cup diced red onion
Salt and black pepper to taste

Feta Tzatziki:
1/2 English cucumber
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2- 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Salt and black pepper to taste

Turkey Mixture:
2 pounds ground turkey (we used 20 oz.)
1/2 teaspoons salt, use more or less to taste
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup minced red onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 cup broth (chicken, vegetable or beef)

For the pitas:
6-8 non-pocket pita or soft wrap breads (we used this soft wrap bread)

1.  At least one hour or as early as one day before, prepare the salsa and tzatziki. For the cucumber salsa, toss the olive oil, vinegar, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions in a bowl and season with salt and black pepper as needed. Cover and refrigerate for one hour or up to 24 hours to marry the flavors.

2.  For the tzatziki, peel the cucumber (optional) and shred on the large holes of a box grater. Place the shredded cucumber in a clean kitchen towel and wring out the excess water until the cucumber is very dry. In a medium bowl, stir together the strained cucumber, yogurt, feta, and garlic. Again, season with salt and pepper to taste. The tzatziki can be refrigerated up to 24 hours. Give it a good stir before serving.

3.  For the meat, heat a large, 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the ground turkey with the salt, pepper, onion and garlic, breaking up the meat into small pieces and cooking until the meat is cooked through, 8-10 minutes.

4.  Drain any excess grease. Stir in the oregano and tomato paste and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the broth and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

5.  Warm the pita breads in a cast iron skillet or in the microwave until soft and heated through. Serve the tacos by spooning meat into the center of a pita bread and topping with cucumber salsa and tzatziki.

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Pizza Bread (Very Easy!)

This is such an easy and delicious dinner.  I saw this on Buns in My Oven, and it sparked memories of my mom making a similar recipe when I was little.  I picked up the ingredients to make it soon, and did so.  It only takes 5-10 minutes to put together and not long to bake.  And it's so good.  I used a loaf of Italian bread and it made a lot, because the loaves I can get here are huge.  So huge I had to cut them in half (length-wise) to fit in my oven, and do this in two batches.  (That's my largest pizza pan pictured below.)

There's not much more I can say about this recipe; if you like pizza, do this, it is SO easy!  I had fun taking pics, so here you go.

Pizza Bread
adapted from Buns in My Oven

1 loaf Italian or French Bread
Pizza Sauce; your favorite
Pepperoni (turkey is good) and other toppings of choice
Cheese- I used sliced Provolone and shredded sharp cheddar

1.  Slice the bread in half length-wise. Spread with pizza sauce (use as much as you like). Top with cheese – I used 6 slices of Provolone on each long side of bread, sprinkled with a bit of sharp shredded cheddar.  Layer on the pepperoni or whatever other toppings you like.

2.  Bake for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees until cheese is melted and the bread is heated through. Pop under the broiler for just a couple of minutes to get the cheese nice and bubbly, if desired.  My broiler is weird so I don't use it.  Just bake a bit longer.  Cut into slices and serve.

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Roasted Potatoes, Turkey Sausage & Peppers

 This was a delicious meal.  I heard about it from Domestic Creativity and bookmarked it to make later.  I'm so glad I did- this was a lot better than I thought it would be!!  And it was soooo easy, too.  Just add a simple veggie or salad and you've got dinner! 

I bought local turkey sausages that were delicious.  I also used both red and yellow peppers.  I used tiny, baby red potatoes and left the skin on.  My daughter loved this too, but not my picky boys.  Oh well- there was more for us! 

Roasted Potatoes, Turkey Sausage & Peppers
adapted from SkinnyTaste

1.5 lb potatoes, red or new
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered, layers separated
2 red (or yellow) bell peppers, seeds removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
1 tsp fave herbs- fresh or dry
1/2 tsp garlic powder
olive oil spray (Misto)
1 lb (or so) chicken or turkey sausage, each link cut into 4-6 slices*

1.  Preheat oven to 375°.  Cut the potatoes into small 1" x 1/2 inch pieces.  Spray one large non-stick baking sheet, or two small ones with olive oil spray to prevent the potatoes from sticking.
2.  Place potatoes, onions, peppers, olive oil, salt, pepper, rosemary and garlic powder in baking sheet and mix to combine. Mix well to be sure everything is coated with oil and seasoned evenly.  Place in the center of the oven; bake for 15 minutes.  Toss with spatula. 

3.  Add the sausage to the baking sheet with the potatoes and vegetables and bake, tossing once or twice for 25-35 minutes, or until your potatoes and sausages are cooked through. Cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your potatoes and sausage, keep an eye so they don't burn. (If your sausages are pre-cooked, they may not need as much time.  Mine were raw.)

*Note:  For easier cutting of the raw sausage, use kitchen scissors to cut them.

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Spiral Pizza Rolls

These were fun to make and photograph.  The kids loved them.  I just really wish I'd thought ahead and warmed up some marinara sauce to dip them into at dinnertime, but I was too tired by then.  I got the idea from this blog.  I added some mozzarella cheese to my filling, and then topped with same Parmesan half-way through baking.  I cut turkey pepperoni into 4's for the filling. 

A lot of people in real life ask me how I'm able to care for my new baby and bake and blog at the same time.  Here's how!  (below)

I love my Beco carrier.  I don't cook actual meals while front-wearing my baby, but baking is safe.  Making dough, cookies, quick bread, granola, etc.  I've baby-worn while doing all of that.  For cooking (using the stove, knives, etc), I'm going to wait until I can do a back-carry with baby.  I think he's old enough now; I just need to practice getting him back there.  Thank you, Youtube, for vids showing me how!!  Also, notice the cow-print legwarmers.... I love those things!  They're from Mylittlelegs.com.  Ok, baby gear announcements over! 

As for blogging, I usually do that while the little one is asleep in my arms.  It requires one-handed typing, so it also prevents me from being extremely wordy at times.

Spiral Pizza Rolls
adapted from Savory Notes

Dough:
4 egg yolks
1 whole egg
1.5 oz of sugar
3 oz unsalted butter, melted
6 oz buttermilk
20 oz all-purpose flour (I used part whole wheat)
1 package instant dry yeast , approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Filling:
Turkey Pepperoni, chopped- however much you want
olive oil
garlic powder
Pizza or Italian seasoning
marinara or pasta sauce
mozzarella, shredded- a few handfuls

Topping:
shredded Parmesan cheese
marinara or pasta sauce, for dipping, optional

1.  Whisk together all eggs, sugar, buttermilk, and butter. Add about 2 cups of the flour, along with the salt and the package of yeast. Stir together to combine.

2.  Add all but 3/4 cup of flour, and knead for 5 minutes. Dough should be soft, but not sticky. If it is sticky, add more flour. Continue kneading for another 5 minutes (so now you’ve been kneading for 10 minutes total. Either by hand, or with a stand mixer.).

3. Lightly oil a large bowl. Place ball of dough in bowl, and cover for 2 1/2 hours in a warm place. (Like inside the oven with the light on only.)

4.  After 2 1/2 hours, your dough should be nice and risen and puffy. Flour your work surface and roll out dough into a rectangle.

5.  Spread on olive oil, marinara, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning.   Add the pepperoni and mozzarella.

6.  Gently roll up into a log and pinch the ends closed.  Cut into 12 rolls using a thread or unwaxed floss.  Place in greased pan*, and put inside cold oven.  (*At this point, you can place these in the fridge if needed, to use later.  Anywhere from 2-24 hours.  When ready to bake, let sit at room temp for 30 min. and proceed with step 7.)

7.  Put a pan of hot boiling water on the rack underneath the pan of rolls, and close the oven door. Leave the oven door closed for 30 mins.

9.  After 30 minutes, take out pan of water, and pan of rolls, and preheat oven to 350°. Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes, or until tops are brown and cooked throughout.  Halfway through baking time, add the Parmesan to tops pf rolls.  Serve with extra pasta or marinara sauce, for dipping.

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Corn Chowder with Smoked Sausage

This soup was very good, filling, and pretty easy as well.  It's supposed to be Cajun-inspired, so I added some hot sauce because I couldn't find my Cajun seasoning.... lol.  I did add some smoked paprika as well.  I also used turkey smoked sausage to cut down on some fat.  1% milk worked well for this recipe, and I used frozen corn instead of canned. 

Corn Chowder with Smoked Sausage
adapted from Allrecipes

1 (16 ounce) package smoked sausage (I used turkey)

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

salt, to taste (remember smoked sausage is salty)

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups frozen corn

4 cups milk

2 cups cubed potatoes, cooked, drained

Chopped parsley (optional)

Shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)

1.  Slice sausages and then cut each piece into 4's.  Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender. Add smoked sausage and cook for a few minutes.  Add flour, salt and pepper; cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.               

2.  Add milk. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Add corn; return to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes; heat through.  Top each serving with parsley and cheese, if desired.

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Chipotle Chocolate Chili

This chili was pretty good, and I liked using a new-to-me ingredient (chocolate) in my chili.  This recipe just includes a bit of cocoa powder and some unsweetened baking chocolate.  When adding the baking chocolate, add a little at a time, because too much makes it bitter.  (Mine did turn a little bitter after adding half the amount called for, but you can add some red wine vinegar to even it all out).  This chili was almost too spicy for us, and I didn't even include the whole amount of chipotle sauce.  The kids needed some sour cream to tone down the hotness, but they still liked it. 

I cooked the ground turkey and onion in a large skillet on the stovetop and then dumped that, with the rest of the ingredients, into my large crockpot and cooked it that way.  Love having an easy crockpot recipe. 

Chipotle Chocolate Chili
adapted from Our Best Bites

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. lean ground turkey

1 large onion, chopped

1 red, or yellow bell pepper, minced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 14.5-oz. cans beans, drained and rinsed (I used one each of black and pinto)

1 15-oz. can beef broth

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp. unsweetened baking cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt, or to taste

Chipotle sauce (from the can of chipotle chilies)

1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (1/2 unsweetened baking cube), chopped (optional; use to taste as needed; be careful, because too much will make your chili bitter)

3-4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

Garnishes:

Light sour cream

Chopped green onions

Fresh Cilantro

Shredded cheddar cheese

1.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and ground turkey until meat is cooked through.  Place mixture into crockpot.  Add bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, beans, beef broth, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, pepper, and salt, if using. 

 2.  Add some of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies-as much or little as you want.  Add a chopped chipotle pepper if you want more heat.  Cook on low for 6-10 hours.  Add 1-2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar and a small amount of chopped chocolate at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.

3.  When thickened and seasoned as desired, serve with chopped green onions, cilantro, sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.

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Homemade Turkey Sausage Patties

Ever think of making your own turkey sausage at home?  No more salt-heavy, weird chewy meat full of nitrates and nitrites!!  Yeah!  Thanks to a cooking friend for making this recipe first; I'm so glad I have this recipe now!  We had these for dinner the other day with waffles.  I was going to make a fruit salad too, to blance out the meal more, but I forgot.  At least we had orange juice! 

These taste SO good- just like a turkey sausage, but so much better.  I forgot that my cooking friend doubled the spices, so you may want to do that when you make these.  I'll include a range of spice measurements in my recipe post below; choose either heavy or light on the spices.  One thing I did do was reduce the salt- from 3/4 teaspoon to 1/2, and it was just fine.  I could have used less, even, but I liked it that way and will probably use 1/2 tsp. in the future. 

Use regular ground turkey for this recipe- NOT ground turkey breast.  Ground turkey breast has too little fat and will be extremely dry and flavorless.  You need some dark meat here, and regular ground turkey has that.  As a bonus, a pound of ground turkey is only $1 here!  It will still be WAY healthier than fatty pork sausauge.  I scaled down the original recipe to use only one pound of ground turkey; if you want to use 2 lbs, click on the link to the original recipe.

Homemade Turkey Sausage Patties
adapted from Allrecipes

1 pound ground turkey
1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2-1 teaspoon dried sage
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes (add more if you want!)
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (add more if you want)

1.In a large bowl, mix together the ground turkey, ginger, salt, sage, cayenne pepper, and black pepper until well blended. (Using your hands makes sure everything is incorporated- although doing this is super gross.  You gotta do what you gotta do, though).  *Mixture can be formed into patties ahead of time, if needed, set on a large platter, covered well, and refrigerated overnight.

2.Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Form the turkey sausage into patties (I got 8-9 patties out of one pound), and fry until browned on both sides, and no longer pink in the center. This should take about 15 minutes.

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Meaty Eyeballs on a Bed of Guts

Happy Halloween!!  I wanted to make a fun, gross-out dinner tonight, so we had these eyeball meatballs on a bed of large, hollow pasta (guts), with pasta sauce (blood).  This was a huge hit with the kids, although one preferred his without blood. 

For the meatballs, I used my fave meatball recipe, Fast & Friendly Meatballs, from Allrecipes.  Google Meatball Eyeballs and you'll find different versions and pictures of these everywhere.  After I formed each meatball, I stuck a pimento-stuffed green olive into each one.  Make sure you get it kind of deep in there, or it'll pop out during cooking.  If you're not intrested in the gross-out version of these meatballs, I still encourage you to try the meatball recipe without the olives, because it is really good, and so easy. 

I only had a 16 oz. package of ground turkey on hand, so I used that, along with one egg, and a heaping 1/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs.  It worked out wonderfully, and it made exactly 12 meatballs that fit in my 9x13 glass baking dish.  I used my cookie scoop to scoop the meat mixture, and perfected the ball by shaping it with my hands. 

Fave Meatballs, or Meaty Eyeballs
adapted from Allrecipes

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
12-18 green olives stuffed with pimentos, if making Meaty Eyeballs

1.Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with the olive oil, and place it in the oven while preheating.

2.In a medium bowl, mix together the ground turkey, egg, and bread crumbs using a large spoon or your hands. Using an ice cream scoop if possible, form the meat into golf ball sized meatballs. If making Meaty Eyeballs, insert one green olive into each meatball now.  Place about 1 inch apart in the hot baking dish. Press down to flatten the bottom just slightly.

3.Bake for 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then turn them over, and continue baking for about 5 more minutes, or until somewhat crispy on the outside. Serve with pasta and sauce or however you'd like.

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Greek Lemon Turkey Orzo Soup

I've been wanting to make a Greek-style lemon orzo soup for a long time, and I finally did so last night!  We had a lemony roasted turkey for Easter, so I used the leftover turkey meat to make soup yesterday.  I also made my own rich turkey stock in the crockpot, using the turkey carcass, an onion, some garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns.  It was soooo good, and so easy!  I cooked it on high for about 6 hours, and then strained the broth, discarding everything else, and refrigerated the broth overnight.  When I was ready to make this soup, I just skimmed the fat from the top of the broth and went to work! 

I think the homemade stock was the key to this soup being so super delicious.  I'm sure it's good with storebought too, so give it a try even if you don't have any homemade on hand!  This recipe calls for a lot of lemon juice, and I like that.  I found that 1 1/2 medium lemons gave me 1/3 cup of juice.  The whole fam loved this soup- even my two semi-picky eaters. 

(Oops, I see now as I'm posting this that the recipe calls for three eggs, and I only used two!  It was great with the two- I bet three would make it even more thick and creamy). 

Greek Lemon Turkey Orzo Soup

adapted from Dunkin Cooking

8 cups chicken/turkey broth or stock

1 cup orzo pasta (I used half white, haft whole wheat orzo)

10 oz. cooked turkey or chicken meat
3 eggs
1/3 cup fresh lemon Juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest
1 tablespoon dried (or 2 TBS fresh) parsley
sea salt & fresh ground pepper, to taste
fresh snipped chives, optional, for garnish

1.  In a large soup pot bring the broth to a boil over medium heat.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook the orzo uncovered for about 15-20 minutes.  Five minutes before the pasta is done add in the chicken.

2.  Place the eggs into a mixing bowl.  Whisk the eggs while adding the lemon juice and zest.  Continue whisking and slowly stir a ladle of the broth into the egg mixture to temper the eggs (whisk quickly- so the eggs don't scramble).

3.  Reduce the broth heat to low and slowly stir in the egg mixture.  The soup will thicken slightly.  Add in the salt & pepper to taste and stir in the parsley.  Garnish with fresh chives. 

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Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs

We had these turkey meatballs last night for dinner, from the blog, Eating, Etc, and they were very good!  My whole family ate them up and wished there was more.  My 3-year old took more than his share; every chance he could, he swiped another one from the baking sheet they were on!  These were very simple to make, too.  I would suggest sauteeing them in a non-stick pan so they don't stick too badly.  We had these with Eating, Etc's homemade marinara sauce. 

Turkey-Ricotta Meatballs

Makes about 2 dozen meatballs
from Eating, Etc., via Cooking Light

1lb ground turkey meat (not breast-only)
1/2c part-skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2c seasoned dry breadcrumbs
1/4c fresh basil, finely chopped
Italian seasoning (I eyeballed it and probably added 2-3tsp)
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp ground black pepper

1) Preheat oven to 375°F.

2) In large mixing bowl, combine ground turkey with remaining ingredients & mix well.

3) Shape into about 2 dozen meatballs.

4) Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray.

5) Add meatballs and brown on all sides.

6) Transfer meatballs to a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

7) Bake for 15-20 minutes or until done.

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Black Bean, Pumpkin, and Turkey Chili

I first tried a recipe for Pumpkin Chili a few years ago, and was suprised at how good it was- and how I couldn't taste the pumpkin in it, at all. In this chili, pumpkin puree adds a very nice, thick texture, and deepens the color. This is a delicious, and easy recipe to make. Like a lot of the soups I make, this one goes into the crockpot.

Black Bean, Pumpkin, and Turkey Chili

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup chopped onion
1 chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce
2 cups pumpkin puree
½ cup water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cans (14.5 oz) black beans, drained
salt, to taste

Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and brown the turkey thoroughly. Add the onion and cook for a few minutes. Dump this mixture into the slow cooker, and stir in the bell pepper, garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, pumpkin puree, water, spices, and black beans. Cover the crockpot, and cook on Low for 6-8 hours. Taste for salt, and add if necessary. Serve with cheddar cheese and sour cream.

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Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup

Soup again! I even used the same bowl that I used when I recently blogged about salmon chowder. Oh well. It's a great soup bowl! We are trying to make more room in our tiny freezer, so we decided to cook the turkey that had been hanging out in there. We bought an extra turkey just for fun, last holiday season, and sometime last week, we took it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw. Since turkeys take so long to thaw, my cold/sore throat struck in the middle of the thawing process, and we had to cook the turkey anyway, a few days ago, even thought I couldn't taste or smell a thing. Oh well, everyone else enjoyed it!

With the turkey leftovers, I decided to make homemade turkey stock. I did this yesterday, and for dinner, we had homemade turkey noodle soup, made with my homemade stock. (For homemade stock, I just took some of the meaty turkey bones, one roughly chopped onion, a few stalks of celery and carrots, and 3 smashed garlic cloves. Covered with water, simmer for 2 hours. Add a little salt and pepper. Make sure bones are always covered with water. Strain, reserving broth and discarding veggies and bones.) I went all out and made homemade noodles, too. Since the recipe makes such a large amount of noodles, I almost want to call this "Turkey and Noodles" instead of "Turkey Noodle Soup". If you don't want so many noodles, I'd cut the noodle recipe in half. I used an Allrecipes noodle recipe. I'll provide the link below.

I live in a very humid climate, and I've found that when rolling out noodles, I should not let them rest on wax paper, or a towel, to dry. This method just produces many tears and ruined noodles. Instead, I took my 3 biggest cutting boards and generously floured them. I rolled out my noodle dough in 3 parts (one on each board), and it worked very well.

Homemade Turkey Noodle Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 cup chopped carrots

10 cups turkey stock

2 cups cooked, chopped turkey meat

pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 recipe homemade egg noodles (a half-recipe may work better)

In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, and cook and stir about 5 minutes or until partly tender. Add garlic, celery, and onion. Cook 1-2 minutes, and add turkey stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer about 10 minutes. Add turkey, pepper and parsley. Simmer about 5 minutes more. Make sure veggies are tender. Bring to a boil, and add egg noodles, boiling until noodles are cooked to your liking.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **

Greek Turkey Burgers & Tzatziki Sauce

I was intrigued by these delicious-looking turkey burgers a few weeks ago, when one of my Cooking Friends made them for dinner and shared the recipe with us. They looked simple enough to prepare, so I bought some ground turkey and went to work! While in the store, I decided I didn't like the look of any of the burger buns there, so I made my own at home. I also made some Tzatziki sauce to slather on my burgers.

We did try to grill these, but like all other homemade burgers we've tried to grill, they fell apart into the grill and made a huge mess. (What am I doing wrong?!) Luckily, we thought that might happen, so we did one test one first. Then I took the rest inside and cooked them on the stove. These burgers were good with the homemade buns, but almost too filling. Today I had one for my lunch, but ate it bunless (ha ha), slathered with tzatziki. I just have to use the word "slathered" when I'm talking about tzatziki and these burgers; I can't help it.

Greek-Style Turkey Burgers

 from Recipe Zaar

1 lb ground turkey

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup olives, chopped

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil (optional)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

ground black pepper, to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Form into patties (I made about 6), and grill or cook on the stove-top.

Here is the recipe for the buns. I'm not sure I'd make them again, because they weren't to-die-for, and I'm always excited about trying the next recipe.

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The first day I made my Tzatziki, I wasn't too excited about it, (I've had better) but it definitely improves after a few days of sitting in the fridge. The recipe calls for a "head" of garlic, and I wasn't too sure about that. Luckily, I only had one clove of garlic in the house anyway (a travesty!! I went and bought 3 heads yesterday) so the decision was made for me and I only used that one clove. It could have used another one, but any more after that would have been too much! (At least for me, and I'm a lover of garlic).

Tzatziki Sauce

from Allrecipes

1 (32 ounce) container plain yogurt

2 cucumbers

1 medium head garlic (use 1-2 cloves)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

1. Place the yogurt in a large square of double cheesecloth. Tie the cheesecloth at the top and let any excess liquid drain for about 4 hours. (I drained overnight, in a paper towel- lined strainer, hanging over a bowl, covered with plastic wrap).

2. Peel cucumbers (I only removed half the peel, for some added color); remove seeds with a spoon. Shred the cucumbers, then squeeze to drain excess liquid. Peel and mince garlic.

3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper. Add yogurt, cucumbers and garlic and stir until evenly combined. Refrigerate until ready to use.

**This post and photos are property of http://dishingwithdish.blogspot.com/ **