Turkey Chili

I’ve been making this dish for a long time and have never written it down or taken a photo.  I’m not sure why but I will correct that today.  I make my chili slightly warm then I add chopped jalapeno peppers and lots of hot sauce to satisfy my desire for heat.

Ingredients:

½ yellow onion, chopped

1/3 red pepper, chopped

1/8 jalapeno, chopped

½ Anaheim chili, chopped

½ zucchini, chopped

1 tsp. black pepper, ground

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 lb. turkey, ground

5 tbsp. All-purpose spice mixture

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can black beans, drained

1 tbsp. shredded cheese, Mexican blend

1 avocado, chopped

Cilantro to taste

Hot sauce, I like the rooster sauce

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the onion and all the peppers.  Cook until the onions are soft.  Add the zucchini and black pepper and cook stirring often for a couple of minutes.  Remove to a serving bowl.  Add the turkey to the skillet and cook until no longer pink.  Add the all-purpose spice mix and combine with the turkey.  Add the chopped tomatoes and the black bean.  Stir to combine.  Add back the onions and peppers and combine with the turkey.  Let the chili come to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve with avocado, shredded cheese and hot sauce if desired.

Turkey Pot Pie

What else do you do after making a big turkey and having far too many turkey sandwiches, make a pie.

Ingredients:

Olive oil

½ Red onion, chopped

½ Red pepper, chopped

3 Carrots, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

4 Small white potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 Can cream of celery soup

1 Cup turkey gravy

Turkey, chopped (as much as you prefer)

1 tbsp. Bell’s Seasoning

1 Cup frozen peas

1 tbsp. Milk

Pie crust, top and bottom

The recipe for the pie crust is a trusted secret of a very good friend of mine and I am not at liberty to disclose it.  I will tell you it is fantastic.

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Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onion and pepper.  Cook for 2-4 minutes and add the carrots cooking for 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Add the potato and cook for 5 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Add the celery soup and gravy reducing the heat to simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the turkey and season with Bell’s Seasoning.  Simmer for 5 minutes, add the peas and remove from the heat.  Check to see if you need additional seasoning.  Let cool before adding to the pie crust

Pour the filling into the pie crust and cover with the top crust sealing the perimeter.  Poke some holes in the top crust with a folk to allow the steam to escape.  Brush the top of the pie with olive oil.  Bake for 40 minutes at a 400 oven.  If your pie is not browning, brush the top with a little milk.  Remove the pie from the oven and let rest so it will set up before serving.

Roasted Turkey

Roast Turkey

Well the turkey finally defrosted and I was able to cook it on Monday instead of Easter Sunday.

As you know a good plan needs a good back up plan when the good plan doesn’t work.  I have become much more flexible in my mature years.

This turkey was worth the wait, it came out beautifully browned and extremely moist.  I cook my turkey in a roasting bag for 3 hours at 350.  Yes, I said a roasting bag.  Sounds strange, I thought so to, but it produces the best turkey I have ever had with lots of juice for gravy.

My turkey recipe:

Ingredients:

16 pound turkey

1 yellow onion halved

Olive oil

Bell’s Seasoning

Roasting bag

1 tbsp. flour (for the roasting bag)

Directions:

Prepare your turkey by cleaning out the inside and reserving the organs and the neck in a sauce pan.  Use this for gravy making.  Rinse your turkey and remove any stray feathers, freaks some people out when they see a feather on the turkey.  Pat the turkey dry and coat with olive oil.  Place the onion halves in the cavity of the turkey and use Bell’s Seasoning liberally over the whole turkey inside and out.

Place the turkey in the roasting bag, place in a roasting pan and put in the oven for 3 hours.

Remove and let rest before removing it from the bag.  Be careful when removing the turkey the juice will be very hot.  Slice your turkey and serve.  Gravy recipe later.

Turkey Cutlets

Ingredients

6 Turkey cutlets

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

2 Eggs

Salt and Pepper, black fresh ground

1 Cup Italian style bread crumbs

¼ Cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 Tsp. Paprika, Hungarian

1 Tsp. Chili powder

1 Tsp. Garlic powder

Directions

Place the bread crumbs in a wide dish and season with salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese,  garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Season the turkey cutlets with salt and pepper. Dredge the cutlets in the eggs letting excess run off. Place the cutlets in the bread crumb mixture and cover both sides. Place the cutlets in the hot oil and cook till brown on both sides. Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Serves 4