Rustic Turkey Stew

Tonight I made Rustic Turkey Stew from my new "Company's Company Tonight" cookbook:

 

I will write the recipe as it is, but I did omit and change a few things:

Ingredients

3 Bacon slices, diced (omited)

1/2cup all purpose flour

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp pepper

1lb Boneless, skinless turkey thighs cut into 2 inch pieces (I used 2 large turkey breasts)

1tbsp cooking oil (i just sprayed olive oil)

2tsp cooking oil (again, a spritz of olive oil)

2cups sliced fresh white mushrooms

1cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2cup white wine (i didn't put any of this in, for no particular reason)

2 1/2cups chicken broth (i used 3 cups veggie broth to make up for lack of wine)

1lb Baby potatoes (just normal size potatoes)

1cup sliced carrot

1cup sliced celery

1 Bay leaf

Directions

Cook bacon in large frying pan on medium until crisp. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel-lined plate to drain. Discard drippings. Transfer bacon to 3 1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker (I skipped this step completely of course).

Combine next 3 ingredients in large resealable freezer bag. Add half of turkey. Seal bag. Toss until coated. Remove turkey to plate. Repeat with remaining turkey and reserve remaining flour mixture.

Heat first amount of cooking oil in same frying pan on medium-high. Add turkey. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionaly, until browned. Transfer to slow cooker using slotted spoon. Reduce heat to medium.

Add next 4 ingredients to same frying pan. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until onion is softened. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture. Heat and stir for 1 minute.

Slowly add wine, stirring constantly and scraping any brown bits from bottom of pan. Add broth. Stir. Add to slow cooker. (I, of course, did not add wine. My frying pan would not accommodate 3 cups of liquid either so I just put the broth directly into the crock pot)

Add next 3 ingredients. Stir. Add bay leaf. Cook, covered, on Low for 6-7 hours or on High for 3 - 3 1/2 hours (mine was in there for closer to 9 hours and it was still great). Discard bay leaf

It doesn't say it in this recipe, but often slow cooker recipes will say to add cornstarch at the end to thicken up the sauce. I took a little bit of the liquid out, whisked it with cornstarch and put it back in the crock pot for about 10 minutes. I would recommend doing this at the end.

MY REVIEW: This was so good! Normally dishes taste pretty similar when they come from the crock pot but this one was unique. It really didn't have much in the form of seasoning, but the flavor was excellent and the turkey nice and tender. As it does require a little more time for the browning of the meat and sauteing the mushrooms/onions, I did all my prep work last night. It took about 20 minutes in the morning to get everything in the crock pot.

JASON'S REVIEW: It was scrumptious and very filling. The turkey was extremely tender and surprisingly better than anything that's ever come out of an oven.  (bold statement)

Pan-Fried Turkey Scallops with Citrus Honey Sauce & Potatoes with Nori

I got a great Readers Digest recipe book from the library the other day. It has huge pictures which = great recipe book. I tried 2 recipes from it tonight and there are a few more I plan on trying before this one goes back to the library.



Pan-Fried Turkey Scallops with Citrus Honey Sauce - under 300 calories

4 small skinless turkey breast steaks, about 4 ounces each (Save-On Foods had turkey that was already smooshed - it came 4 slices to a package)
2 tablespoons butter (margarine)
4 large shallots, thinly sliced (only had 3)
1 garlic clove, crushed
14 ounces thin green beans, trimmed (i used frozen)
2 tablespoons honey
Fresh-grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Fresh-grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper (no salt for us)

Put the turkey steaks between sheets of plastic and pound them to flatten to about 1/4 inch thick; set aside. (Again - skipped this step thanks to Save-On Foods)

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic, and saute until soft, but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a draining spoon, remove the shallots; set aside.

Put the turkey scallops in the pan, in one layer, and fry them 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and rinse briefly in cold water to stop the cooking; set aside and keep warm. (Or just microwave the frozen ones...)

Mix the honey with the orange and lemon zests and juices. Remove the turkey scallops from the skillet; keep hot. Pour the honey mixture into the skillet, return the shallots, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and boil about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Arrange a mound of beans on each of 4 plates (2 plates and 2 lunch containers!). Place a turkey scallop on top of each mound. Spoon the sliced shallots and pan juices over.

Potatoes with Nori - under 200 calories

500g new potatoes (I put just enough for 2 suppers and 2 lunches)
2 tablespoons butter (margarine)
Grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
1 sheet toasted nori, about 20 x 18 cm
2 tablespoons snipped fresh chives (had none of these)
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper (no salt for us)


1. Put the new potatoes in a saucepan, cover with boiling water, and bring back to a boil, over high heat. Boil until they are just fork-tender, 12 minutes. (I didn't do any of this 'already boiling water' stuff... just boil the potatoes. You know how.)

2. Reserve 3 tablespoons cooking water from the potatoes, then drain them and return them to the saucepan with the reserved water. Add the butter and lemon zest and juice. Turn the potatoes to coat them with the liquid.

3. Use scissors to snip the nori into fine strips. Scatter the nori over the potatoes and cover the pan. Simmer over low heat until the nori is soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add seasoning to taste and sprinkle with the chives.

MY REVIEW: I loved this meal!! No complaints. It was the perfect size. The ingredients weren't exotic or expensive but it came out looking pretty fancy if I do say so myself. I wasn't expecting 4 smooshed turkey things in one tray so I got 2 trays - now I have 4 more in the freezer and can't wait to try this again. The potatoes were fabulous too. What a great way to use nori.

JASON'S REVIEW: I've never tasted potatoes like that before and they were good. The turkey was good.

Oh Jason and your creative adjectives.

Porcupine Meatballs & Green Beans

In honor of seeing my first live porcupine yesterday during an evening ski, I made porcupine meatballs tonight! To accompany it - some green beans. Both recipes I found on Recipe Zaar and followed to a tee:

MEATBALLS
3/4 lb ground turkey
1/4 cup white rice, uncooked
1/4 onion, diced
1-1 1/2 garlic cloves (forgot this! would have been good though)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can Campbell's condensed tomato soup

Mix everything together except tomato soup and form into meatballs. Place in casserole dish and pour tomato soup over the meatballs. Bake at 350 oven for 1 1/2 hours.


BEANS
1 (1 lb) bag frozen green beans (I just made 2 servings...)
2 tablespoons butter (margarine and probably more like 1tbsp)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs (don't need that much)
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning mix garlic salt

Microwave beans according to package directions and drain. Melt butter in a large skillet, add onions and sautee over medium low heat until they begin to yellow. Add bread crumbs and seasonings and saute 1 minute. Add green beans and saute 3 to 4 minutes.

MY REVIEW: Loved both of them and will make again. Both very easy. Did not resemble porcupine.

JASON'S REVIEW: It brought me back to the porcupines that mom used to make.