Asian Lettuce Wraps -quick and easy

I am always happy to find a recipe that my family loves and that I can make in under 30 minutes.   With 5 boys at home, our evenings are chock full  and I don't have time to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  We have homework to do and places to be (scouts, basketball, wrestling  etc:)  These lettuce wraps are so tasty--my family gobbles them up and I could not believe how easy and quick they are to make.  Winner!

My husband wanted a "sauce" to go on top, so I used some of this Thai Peanut Sauce recipe here that I keep in my freezer (frozen in ice cube tray size portions)  You could also serve it with a bottled plum sauce.  Yum!  I personally didn't think it needed a sauce, but it was really good that way!

I have made some big changes over at my other blog Mel and Boys that I am very excited about.  Check it out and let me know what you think:)  I am kicking off the new year with a post on time management tools with links to my favorite planners and free printables to keep you organized.    What do you use to keep on top of things?

Asian Lettuce Wraps -quick and easy

Author: Melanie

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


• 1 Cup finely chopped onion


• 1 lb ground turkey breast


• ¼ teaspoon salt


• ¼ teaspoon pepper


• ¼ teaspoon garlic salt (I used Lawry’s)


• 1 12 oz bag of Broccoli slaw  (found in the produce section with bag salads)


• 1 small can drained water chestnuts


• ½ Cup  Teriyaki Sauce


• 1 teaspoon sesame oil


• Approximately 15 Ice berg or Butter Lettuce leaves

Instructions

1. Place oil into a large 5 qt skillet or other large pan over medium heat. When hot, add onion and cook for 5 minutes to soften. Add ground turkey, salt, pepper and garlic salt. Brown and crumble until cooked through.


2. When turkey is cooked, stir in broccoli slaw, water chestnuts, teriyaki sauce and sesame oil. Cook for another 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Reduce heat to low until ready to serve. Serve spoonfuls inside lettuce leaves. Enjoy!

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Recipe Source: Picky Palate

Brined Roast Turkey

My brother in law TJ introduced me to this fabulous recipe  probably 8-9 years ago when we were in Arizona for Thanksgiving.  I had never had a brined turkey before and I could not believe the difference it made!  It was the most flavorful and moist turkey I had ever eaten!  Yesterday for Sunday dinner  I used the same method for a turkey breast instead of a whole turkey and it turned out as wonderful as ever.  This is my favorite way to prepare turkey.  Next time I make it I will get some better pictures, but believe me...it really is delicious!

Brined Roast Turkey
submitted by Melanie~The Sisters Cafe

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey
**or a 7-8 pound turkey breast  (just half the brine)

For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon chicken or vegetable stock

1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

 Canola oil

Directions
2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

The night before you'd like to servethe turkey:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.  Dry it really well--this is an important step to a good roasted turkey!

Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes(about 15 minutes for a breast). Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Recipe Source: My brother in law TJ based off an Alton Brown Recipe

Weight Watchers Turkey Burger

I love turkey burgers.  I've enjoyed making my Southwestern Turkey Burger recipe for years.  Yum!  So when I saw this new turkey burger recipe in our church cookbook, submitted by my friend Stephanie Ambrus, I was excited to try it out.  And it did not disappoint! Hope you enjoy!

Weight Watchers Turkey Burger

Author: Erin

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb ground turkey


• 2 shallots (or 2 green onions), finely chopped


• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce


• 1 tablespoon ketchup


• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic


• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper


• 1/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese


• 4 strips bacon


• 4 hamburger buns, split and toasted


• 1 tomato, cut into 4 slices

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, place turkey, shallots, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, pepper, and cheese.


2. Mix very gently with a fork to combine, being careful not to overwork meat.


3. Form into 4 burgers.


4. Cook bacon.


5. Grill burgers and serve on the bun with bacon and tomato. I also like to serve the burgers with slices of sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce, and red onion.

Notes

*These are five points on Weight Watchers if you use turkey bacon. The original recipe called for it, but I am not a fan of turkey bacon so I had to replace it with the good stuff.

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Thanksgiving Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Turkey Day!
This recipe is courtesy of Brian Flannagan, of a friend of ours here in Michigan.  It is phenomenal. I will never try a different turkey recipe for our Thanksgiving Dinner again. This is deliciously flavorful and moist. We love it!

Thanksgiving Turkey

Author: Erin

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic


• 1 pkg fresh rosemary (sold for $2 at my grocery store)


• 1 ½ T. salt


• 1 ½ -2 tsp pepper


• ¼ c. olive oil (about)

Instructions

1. Thaw turkey according to package directions. Use any brand of turkey.


2. Create a rub by combining pressed garlic, ripped leaves from rosemary sprigs, salt, pepper, and just enough oil to create a paste that is not too runny. There should be about 1/2 cup of the rub.


3. Starting with the turkey breast at the cavity opening, loosen the raw skin away from the meat by pushing your fingers under the raw turkey skin and breaking it away. Continue working the skin away from the meat until both sides of the breast area, as well as the top of the thighs are separated. With a tablespoon or two of the rub in your palm, massage the rub over a section of the turkey (under the skin). Repeat until all the meat has been seasoned with the rub. Use a little of the same rub to season the walls of the turkey cavity as well. (You may still bake stuffing inside the turkey if you plan to.)


4. Place turkey on the rack in a roaster pan, breast side up, uncovered, on the lowest rack of the oven.  Cook at 425° for 1 hour. (It also works without a rack in your roaster, but the rack keeps it from sticking and from stewing in the juices.)


5. After one hour, lower the temperature to 325°.  Cover loosely with tinfoil (crimp tinfoil around edges loosely), and roast for another 1 – 1 ½ hours. Check after 1 hour.  The turkey is ‘officially’ cooked when the meat thermometer (pushed into the breast meat at the thickest spot) reaches 170°. Some people think the meat texture, though juicy and flavorful, seems undercooked at 170°, so if you like your turkey cooked a little more, wait another 15 to 30 minutes and check again. Remove from the oven when the internal temperature of the turkey breast is 175°.  Cover with tinfoil for 30 minutes before carving.


6. Plan on about 2 ½ to 3 ¼ hours to roast the turkey.

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Karen's Sloppy Joes

I made my favorite sloppy joes for our camping trip to Mirror Lake this past month. Not super fancy I know, but these are tasty! This recipe from my friend Karen is simple and sweet and very good. And I think it is great with ground turkey. I doubled the batch and did half turkey/half beef this time. So whether you have a bunch of little mouths to feed or are lucky enough to live in an area warm enough to still camp, give this sloppy sandwich a try!

Karen's Sloppy Joes

Submitted by Amy ~ The Sisters Cafe
Printable Recipe

1 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef (still tastes great with turkey)
1 onion
3/4 c. ketchup
2 T. brown sugar
1.5 T. mustard
1 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. worcestershire sauce

Chop onion and assemble ingredients. Brown ground turkey/beef in a large frying pan. Add the remainder of the ingredients and mix well. Serve on hamburger bun or whatever you would like. Voila!

Cool Stuffed Pitas

This recipe is best served in Pita pocket bread, but for whatever reason the grocery store near our home did not have them. We made due with these little whole wheat sandwich thins, but it was pretty messy. I suggest you hold out for pita pocket bread for this recipe. Next time I will! Anyway this is a family favorite for a easy refreshing summer dinner! I got this recipe from my friend Lisa when about 10 years ago and have been making it ever since. No need to cook and heat up your kitchen! I like to serve these with some chilled watermelon, chips and carrots sticks. Such an easy dinner and so yummy and cool! This is my kind of recipe for summer!

Cool Stuffed Pitas

submitted by Melanie

Printable recipe here

1 pkg pita pocket bread

Cream cheese

1 head of lettuce, shredded

1 pkg cubed turkey or ham

1-2 tomatoes, chopped

1-2 jack or cheddar cheese, shredded

Ranch dressing to taste

Sprouts (opt.)

Cut pita bread in half and spread cream cheese inside pockets. In large bowl, mix lettuce, cube turkey/ham, tomatoes, cheese and ranch dressing. Stuff mixture into pita bread.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

My husband, Jed, and I never thought we would be turkey burger fans, but these burgers are delicious. Jed thinks they are fantastic. My friend, Katie W, submitted this recipe for a cookbook we made a few years ago. Last time I made these I was surprised to discover that I didn't have any lettuce in the fridge. Woops. So, even though my picture doesn't show all my preferred condiments, I like to serve these with lettuce, tomatoes, red onion slices (so good!), sharp cheddar cheese, on toasted buns. I toast the buns by spreading them with a little butter and putting them under the broiler for a minute.

Southwestern Turkey Burgers

Author: Erin

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds ground turkey (don't add more than this)


• 1 jalapeño chile, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired)


• 2 ounces grated Monterey Jack cheese (about ½ cup)


• ¼ cup plain dried breadcrumbs


• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise


• Coarse salt and ground pepper


• Vegetable oil, for grates


• 4 hamburgers buns, split horizontally


• Desired toppings (I like sharp cheddar, tomato, mayo, lettuce, and red onions)

Instructions

1. Heat grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl, place turkey, jalapeño, cheese, breadcrumbs, mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon coarse salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Mix very gently with a fork to combine, being careful not to overwork meat (which would make burgers dense).


2. Gently form meat into 4 equal-size patties, 4 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Press thumb in the center of each patty to make an indentation approximately 1/2-inch deep (this helps keep burgers flat during grilling).


3. Moisten a folded paper towel with oil; grasp with tongs and rub over grates. Season burgers with salt and pepper; grill until cooked throughout, 5 to 8 minutes per side. Serve on buns (toasted on grill), with desired toppings.

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