Greek Turkey Sliders

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs. 93% lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup zucchini, grated and drained well
• 1 slice bread
• 1/8 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 3/8 cup red onion, grated
• 1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 1/8 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 Tbsp fresh spearmint, chopped
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 8 pita halves

Directions:

Wet bread with water, squeezing excess out. Tear into small pieces and place in large bowl. Combine with turkey, egg, zucchini, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, spearmint, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Using a 1/4 cup measure, form each slider. Preheat grill, clean grill grate well, and spray with olive oil spray. Grill sliders on low until cooked through.  Serve with pita bread halves.

Freezing Directions:

Place a piece of wax paper between each burger, place in freezer bags, seal, label and freeze. Place pita bread in separate gallon freezer bag and freeze alongside burgers. To Serve: Thaw both a burger and a pita bread for each serving.  Grill as directed above.

Italian-Style Soup with Turkey Sausage

**I used Italian Hot and Mild Sausage mixed because that is what I had at home.  I also used a different noodle, Rigatoni to make it. The point is, you can use what you have in your home most cases and it will turn out just as delicious, if not better!

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces sweet or hot Italian-style turkey sausage, cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can (32 ounces) reduced sodium chicken broth
1 can (15 1/2 ounces) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon Oregano Leaves
1 teaspoon Rosemary Leaves, finely crushed
1 teaspoon Thyme Leaves
1 package (6 ounces) baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup uncooked small pasta, such as mini bowties or elbows

1. Heat oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Add sausage; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir 3 minutes longer or until onion is tender and sausage is browned.

2. Pour chicken broth, beans and tomatoes into saucepan. Stir in oregano, rosemary and thyme. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 minutes.

3. Stir in spinach and pasta. Return to boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

This is how mine turned out:

How to cook a perfect Turkey

This is for a bird that is 20 lbs or more. Take out the bird on Friday and thaw in the refrigerator to be cooking on the following Wednesday ( it will need to sit out for 6 days to be sure the bird is completely defrosted).

Brine the bird:

What you will need:

Water

Sugar

Kosher Salt

Fresh Herbs

For a minimum of 3 hours, you want to brine your turkey.You will need a container larger enough to cover the turkey fully with water.

Prepare a brine. Brine will seal in the flavors and juices of the bird. A simple brine recipe is 4 quarts of water, 1 cup of sugar and 1 ½ cups of Kosher salt. Adjust your brine mix to completely cover the turkey. To add taste, add salt, pepper, garlic or herbs to taste.

A simple brine recipe is 4 quarts of water, 1 cup of sugar and 1 ½ cups of Kosher salt. Adjust your brine mix to completely cover the turkey. To add taste, add salt, pepper, garlic or herbs to taste.

When it's time to prepare the turkey, my best advice is to take it out about 30 minutes before you cook it, dry it off and allow the skin to get to room temperature, or as close to it as you can.

Preparing the Turkey after the brine:

What you will need:

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temperature

Fresh Rosemary Twigs

Thyme (fresh or dried)

Large onion cut up

3 Carrots chopped up

2 Celery stalks chopped up

2 Oranges sliced to make circles (length wise)

Place the turkey in the baking pan. Add to butter some fresh chopped rosemary and thyme. You will want to separate the skin from the breast of the turkey by running your hands under the skin to the top of the breast. This will allow you to separate the skin, so you can butter and place items under it. You will want to make sure you remove anything that is inside the turkey and trim off any excess fat.

Once the skin is separated from the breast, you will take some butter and rub on the inside of the skin and then on the top and sides of the turkey. Having the turkey closer to room temperature will help with the butter sticking to the bird. Once the bird is covered in butter, take 2 orange slices and place in the left breast of the turkeys skin. You will be able to see the slice through the skin as it sits on the breast. Repeat on the other side of the turkey. Add a few chopped onions under that skin and some fresh herbs.

To keep the bird in place better, tuck the wings under the turkey.

You will want to add the remaining chopped vegetables and place them inside the turkey. It will be stuffed pretty well, but will give off amazing flavors.

Cooking the Turkey:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place turkey in oven for 2 hours. Then turn down heat to 225 degrees and place heavy foil on turkey, bake for 18 hours.

If you have a smaller bird, like 16 lbs, you will want to take off at least 2 more hours.

**If you are eating at 3:30pm, you will want to put you turkey in at 7:30 pm the night before, and turn down the oven at 9:30pm. **

To know if the turkey is done, you will need to check the temperature. You will need to put the thermometer next to the breast and thigh for the best reading.

Roasted Butter Herb Turkey

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• 2 tablespoons garlic herb sauce mix (recommended: Knorr)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed garlic
• 1 (32-ounce) bag celery and carrot party sticks
• 2 large onions, large dice
• 1 (32-ounce) container low-sodium chicken broth
• 12-pound turkey, thawed if necessary
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 3 (3/4-ounce) packets fresh herbs poultry herb blend (sage, thyme and rosemary)
• 1 lemon, thickly sliced

Directions

In a small bowl, combine softened butter, poultry seasoning, garlic herb sauce mix, and crushed garlic. Use a fork to mix together until well combined. Cover and put in the refrigerator for 15 to 30 minutes, until firm but not hard.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Arrange celery, carrots, and half of the diced onions in the bottom of a roasting pan. Add chicken broth and set aside.

Rinse the thawed turkey and pat dry. Use your finger to carefully loosen the skin around the entire bird. Take the butter mixture and cut into large pieces. Place the butter pieces under the skin of the entire turkey. Rub the remaining butter pieces on the outside of the skin and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the inside of turkey cavity with remaining onions, fresh herb poultry blend, and lemon slices. (Truss if necessary.) Insert the pop-up thermometer at an angle about 3-inches down from the neck cavity and 2-inches from the breast bone, in the thickest part of the breast.

Place turkey on the bed of vegetables in roasting pan. Place in the oven and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F. Roast for 1 hour, then baste with pan juices every 20 minutes until thermometer pops up or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh registers 180 degrees F, about 3 hours.

Tex-Mex Pasta Salad

Recipe Courtsey of David Bonom

This kid-friendly recipe is a takeoff on macaroni and cheese; it makes a large batch that holds well for two or three days. Serve with pickled jalapeño slices for grownups who like spicy food.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: about 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 pound uncooked radiatore pasta (short coiled pasta)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 (1.25-ounce) package 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning (such as Old El Paso)
• 2 cups (8 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese
• 2 cups chopped seeded tomato
• 1 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 (8-ounce) container reduced-fat sour cream
• Salsa (optional)

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain; set aside.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add turkey; cook until browned, stirring to crumble. Stir in water and taco seasoning; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates and the turkey is done, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

Combine pasta, turkey mixture, reduced-fat cheese, and next 6 ingredients (through beans) in a large bowl.

Combine lime juice, salt, cumin, and sour cream, stirring until well blended. Pour over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat. Serve with salsa, if desired.

Romaine and Turkey Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing

Recipe Courtesy of Nancy Hughes

Chop oven-roasted turkey breast from the deli counter into chunks for a quick start on this salad. With crisp parmesan toasts, it's a complete meal.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups salad and 2 cheese toasts)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1/2 ripe peeled avocado, seeded and coarsely mashed
• 8 (1/2-ounce) slices diagonally cut French bread (about 1/2 inch thick)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded Parmesan cheese
• 4 cups bagged chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 cups diced roasted turkey breast (about 8 ounces)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Combine first 7 ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth, scraping sides. Set aside.

Preheat broiler.

Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese on each bread slice. Broil bread slices 2 minutes or until lightly browned.

Combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle buttermilk mixture over lettuce mixture; toss gently to coat. Serve with cheese toasts.

Turkey and Black Bean Chili

INGREDIENTS

1 pound dried black beans, soaked in cold water for 24 hours
1 batch homemade vegetable stock, see recipe
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small dry chili, ground
4 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon safflower oil
2 pounds ground turkey meat
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 yellow onion, small dice
1 bulb of fennel, small dice
2 red bell peppers, small dice
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
4 large vine ripe tomatoes, medium dice
1 large acorn squash (about 2 ¼ pounds, top cut off and seed cavity hollowed out
1 large butternut squash (about 4 ½ pounds), cut in half, seed cavity hollowed out
2 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
2 orange bell peppers
3 zucchini, split in half lengthwise and hollowed out slightly
4 portobello mushrooms, stemmed
2 cups cilantro, chopped semi fine
Juice of 1 lime

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 500F, and grill or indoor grill pan on medium high heat.
• Drain the soaked black beans and rinse with fresh cold water.
• In a large saucepot, add beans and vegetable stock, cover and cook for 2 ½ to 3 hours or until beans are soft and tender.
• Remove from heat and keep covered in a warm place.
• Heat a large sauté pan over high heat.
• Toast each type of seed separately for 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant and color slightly darkens.
• Remove from heat and in a mortar and pestle, grind spices and dry chili into a fine powder.
• Add paprika to ground spices and mix well.
• Return pan to heat.
• Add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook ½ of the ground turkey
• Season with half the spices and black pepper and stir to break up any extra large chunks.
• Cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until turkey turns light golden brown.
• Remove to a mixing bowl, wipe out pan, and repeat with remaining turkey meat and spices.
• Drain off any excess liquid from turkey meat and reserve.
• In a separate large saucepot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium high heat.
• Once hot, add onions and sweat for 3 minutes stirring constantly.
• Add fennel and sweat for an additional 3 minutes.
• Add peppers and garlic and cook for 3 minutes stirring occasionally.
• Add tomatoes and gently stir to mix.
• Bring to the simmer, add turkey, and reduce heat to low.
• Cook covered on low heat for 10 minutes, after which the tomatoes will begin to release their liquid.
• Drain the beans from their cooking liquid but reserve ½ cup of the bean broth.
• Add beans and reserved broth to the turkey mixture and gently simmer covered for an hour.
• At this point, brush each squash, the peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms with remaining 1 teaspoon of oil.
• Roast each squash uncovered on a sheet pan for 1 hour or until flesh is just barely soft but not mushy.
• When squash is halfway done, place peppers in the oven and roast for 30 minutes or until skin starts to color and peels away from the flesh.
• Add zucchini to oven when squash and peppers have 10 minutes of cook time left and grill portobellos for 5 minutes on each side.
• Remove all vegetables from oven and grill and reserve.
• Once peppers have cooled slightly, peel skin away from flesh, cut top off pepper and discard seeds.
• Stuff each roasted vegetable with chili and arrange on a platter.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves, squeeze lime juice over chili, and serve.