Day 74: Turkey Sausage Lasagna

I originally got this idea from an Ina Garten cookbook, but I made it my own.  It was delish!  Both kids had seconds.  The turkey sausage makes the lasagna leaner, and the goat cheese gives it a great flavor.  I use white wine in the sauce (instead of red) because I think it complements the turkey sausage.  I put it together the day before, which made dinner tonight a breeze!  I only have a picture of the "before" (as in, before it went into the oven) because I had to serve it right when it came out of the oven.  If I had let it stand a few minutes, it would have tightened up and made a great picture!  Alas, it looked a little "soupy" since I had to slice into right after it finished baking--definitely not "picture perfect!"

Turkey Sausage Lasagna

1 lb turkey sausage, casings removed
1/2 lb lasagna noodles
28 oz crushed tomatoes
6 oz tomato paste
couple pinches of sugar
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped & divided
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 lb mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
4 oz goat cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt, pepper
olive oil

Soak the lasagna noodles in hot tap water.

In a hot skillet over medium heat, drizzle it with olive oil and add the onion.  Cook until translucent. 

Add the garlic and turkey sausage, and break up the meat with a fork or the like. 

Cook until meat is no longer pink.  Add the white wine to deglaze the pan.  Cook 1 minute. 

Add the tomatoes, paste, basil, some of the parsley, a few pinches of sugar, and some salt and pepper (about 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper). 

Simmer while you prepare the cheeses.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, goat cheese, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, the rest of the parsley, and a little salt and pepper.  Add the egg and mix well.

Layer the ingredients in a 9 x 13 pan as follows: 

1/3 of the meat sauce, 

1/2 of the noodles, 

1/2 of the mozzarella slices, 

1/2 of the ricotta mixture, 

1/3 of the sauce, rest of the noodles, rest of the mozzarella, and the rest of the sauce. 

Sprinkle the top with the rest of the parmesan cheese.

Bake at 400* for about 30 minutes or until the sauce bubbles.  Let stand/cool 5 minutes.  Serve with salad and/or bread.

Day 53: Turkey Pot Pie w/ Herb Crust

I love this recipe!  It's so delicious and really not that hard.  Although, I find it a lot easier to make on a Sunday for dinner, or to make and freeze/refrigerate for a weeknight.  It's a little too involved to make the night you want to serve it (I found out tonight).  I made the crust last night and chopped up the carrots and saved the rest for this afternoon, but it has a long baking time, which is something to keep in mind.  If you have to make it the day-of and want to save a little time, cut up the turkey before you cook it so it cooks quickly.  But if you do that, look out--don't overcook it or it will be tough!  I find it easier to cut the turkey into large chunks, cook it, then cut it into bitesize pieces afterward.  The crust idea came from Bobby Flay, but the majority of the recipe is my own!  Enjoy!

Turkey Pot Pie w/ Herb Crust
1 lb turkey breast

4 cups chicken stock
few sprigs of parsley & thyme
salt, pepper
4-5 carrots, sliced
2/3 cup frozen peas
2/3 cup frozen corn
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
3 TB butter
4 TB flour
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
Crust:
2 1/4 cups flour
1-2 TB chopped fresh parsley
1 TB chopped sage
1 TB chopped rosemary
1 TB chopped thyme (*These 3 herbs can be found in the "poultry bouquet" of herbs they sometimes sell at the grocery store.)
1 tsp salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water

The crust needs to chill at least 30 minutes, so you may want to make it first, or the night before.  Place the flour, herbs, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times.  Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of tiny peas.  Add the water and pulse until the dough comes together.  Remove the dough and wrap it in plastic wrap to refrigerate.
To make the filling, place the turkey breasts in a large saucepan and pour in the stock.  Put in the herbs and season with salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until the turkey is cooked through.  Remove the turkey and allow to cool.  While it's cooling, add the sliced carrots to the stock and cook those a few minutes, until tender.  Meanwhile, cut the turkey up into bitesize pieces and place in a 1 quart (or so) baking pan.  When the carrots are done cooking, add them to the chicken, then strain the stock into a large measuring cup to remove the herbs and any other turkey debris.  Add the peas and corn to the turkey and carrots.
In the same saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the chopped shallot and cook 1-2 minutes.  Add the flour and cook 1 minute.  Pour in the white wine and the chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Add the the heavy cream and stir.  The sauce should be nice and thick at this point.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour the sauce over the turkey and vegetables.
Roll out the crust dough and sit it on top of the filling.  Trim the edges.  Poke a few holes in the crust with a knife.  Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake at 400* for 50 minutes to an hour.
***Sometimes I divide this recipe in 2 and put it in 2 smaller pans or pie plates.  Then I can freeze one or give it to a friend.  Tonight, I made the whole thing but I plan on serving the leftovers for lunch on Sunday.  I saved the crust "scraps" and will turn them into biscuits on Sunday to go with the "stew" that will be leftover.

Day 24: Turkey Cutlets with Cranberry-Orange Stuffing & Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans

This seems like such a special meal to have in the middle of the week, but it really doesn't take a long time to prepare, so it doesn't feel like you're preparing a special meal.  Using pre-packaged cutlets and help from the bakery or your own baked goods for the stuffing makes it pretty easy to prepare.  One of my culinary role models is Rachael Ray.  This dinner idea came from her!

Here's how I prepared the meal as a whole:

Turkey Cutlets w/ Cranberry-Orange Stuffing & Gravy, Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans
4 turkey cutlets
2 lg cranberry-orange muffins (4 cranberry-orange scones, without glaze)
1-2 celery stocks, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 bay leaf

fresh thyme
2 1/2 cups chicken stock, divided
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in chunks
dash of bourbon or orange-flavored liqueur (I used Grand Marnier tonight)
2 TB brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
green beans
salt, pepper
butter (total, about 1 stick)
2 TB flour
extra virgin olive oil

Start by getting the sweet potato chunks into a pot and covered with water--start boiling on a back burner.  Set the oven to warm (250-275*) for holding.
For the stuffing:
Place the chopped onion, celery, 6-8 fresh sprigs of thyme (de-stemmed, roughly chopped), and bay leaf in a saucepan with about 1 TB butter and 1 TB olive oil.  Cook 1-2 minutes.  When onions are translucent, add 1/2 cup of chicken stock.  Crumble the muffins or scones into the pan, mix.  Season with salt and pepper, and place in an oven-safe container and into the oven to keep warm.
For the cutlets:
Heat an oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat with some olive oil.  Season the cutlets with salt and pepper and place in the skillet.  Turn the cutlets when the first side is golden brown.  Once both sides are golden, place in the oven to keep warm.

At this point, get the green beans cooking.  Start steaming, or place them in water to boil.  In the winter, I tend to buy more frozen vegetables than fresh.  (They're cheaper, and I figure, more fresh since they're frozen right away (while really fresh) rather than shipped "fresh" from who knows where.)  So I get a pot of water boiling, and then toss in some frozen green beans.  Next, start the gravy.

For the gravy:
Melt 2 TB butter over medium heat in a small saucepan.  Add 2 TB flour and cook down about 1 minute.  Add 2 cups chicken stock and bring to a bubble, whisking continuously.  Once bubbling, turn the heat to low and season with salt and pepper.  Turn off heat.

Drain the sweet potatoes.  Add about 1/2 stick of butter, a dash of bourbon or liqueur, and 2 TB brown sugar.  Mash the potatoes.  Stir in some chopped pecans.
Drain the green beans.  Add 1-2 TB butter, and season with salt and pepper.
Plate everything hot and pour the gravy over the turkey cutlets.  (And don't forget to pull that bay leaf out of the stuffing before serving!)  Happy Thanksgiving in February!

My stuffing-loving husband always gets the extra stuffing!

Day 20: Turkey Club Supermelts

I love a good Friendly's supermelt!  So I started making them at home a while back.  But I have to admit, Randy makes them better than me.  He's also a pro at making great use of the griddle for an entire meal--he'll make all the bacon, eggs, and pancakes on the one griddle for breakfast, and it's the same with the supermelts.  Makes for easy clean-up!

Our supermelts generally include:

- deli turkey
- sliced cheese
- bacon
- thousand island dressing and/or barbeque sauce (the combo of the two is great!)
- optional tomatoes (sometimes we do, sometimes we don't)

Pepperidge Farm "hearty white" bread is fantastic for these sandwiches.  Homemade bread is really tasty for them, too.  Toast after the sandwich is assembled for that nice, melty cheese effect!  Mmmmmmm.......