The Perfect Thanksgiving Turkey

A flavorful brine and simple step-by-step instructions will have you and your family enjoying the perfect turkey this Thanksgiving!

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole {Flashback Friday}

This delicious and easy casserole has all the components of a stuffed cabbage roll, but without the extra work!

Stuffed Zucchini Boats

These turkey stuffed zucchini boats are full of flavor and a delicious addition to your healthy eating plan!

Turkey Cups

The hardest part about vacation for me is returning to my normal routine.  The agency where I worked was closed the week of Christmas, plus this past Monday and Tuesday.  That meant that (with the exception of 1 day I went in) I had 12 days off of work.  It was wonderful to have that down time to get things accomplished around the house.  Plus, we had enough holiday parties and get-togethers to keep us busy.  The downside was that all the busyness made my time off go way too quickly and now it's time to get back to the grind and back to work! 

I made these turkey cups with leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  It had been a busy day at work and I wasn't really in the mood for making dinner.  I grabbed what I found in the fridge and came up with these.  They would be a great use for any leftover Christmas turkey (if you still have any).  You could easily use chicken instead of turkey too.  These came together quickly and heated up well for leftovers. 

After a couple weeks of very little cooking on my part (thanks to all the parties and leftovers from those parties), I might have to whip these turkey cups up again tonight.  They're quick, simple, and delicious!

Turkey Cups

Makes 8

Ingredients:
1 package (8 count) Pillsbury Flaky Layers Biscuits
2 cups shredded turkey (or chicken)
8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 Tablespoon garlic powder

1.  Press biscuits into lightly greased muffin tins to form cups.

2.  Mix together the shredded turkey, cream cheese, chicken broth, cheddar cheese, and garlic powder.

3.  Spoon turkey filling into each biscuit cup.

4.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown.

Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

Turkey Meatballs

A couple of weeks ago my friend and I got together and spent a few hours making freezer meals.  We both work full-time and sometimes struggle to put a healthy homemade meal on the table every night after work.  Making freezer meals turned out to be an excellent solution!  We spent about 4 or 5 hours putting together our meals and each of us ended up with 14 freezer meals.

One of the recipes that we made was meatballs.  We mixed the meat, rolled them into balls and flash froze them before placing the meatballs in freezer bags.  When I was ready to use the meatballs, it took a minimal amount of time to cook the spaghetti (or spaghetti squash in my case), heat up some sauce, and cook the meatballs.  A healthy and delicious meal was on the dinner table in a record amount of time!

We're already planning our next freezer meal cooking day, as we've deemed our recent one a huge success!  Some of the recipes we froze are already on my blog, like pizza dough and beef stew, but I have a few new recipes that I'll be sharing in the future.  Have you ever made freezer meals?

Meatballs

Makes approximately 24 1-inch meatballs

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 pound ground turkey

1.  In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together until completely combined.

2.  Roll meat into 1 inch balls.

**If you're freezing the meatballs: place the rolled meatballs in a single layer onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet and place in your freezer for approximately 1 hour.  When the meatballs are hard, place them in a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze.  When you're ready to cook the meatballs, continue at step 3.

3.  Preheat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.

4.  Add meatballs to the warm oil and cook for about 5 minutes per side, turning the meatballs as each side browns.  Cut into one meatball to ensure that it is completely cooked.

**You can also freeze the meatballs after cooking them.

Adapted from:  Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

When I was in Romania, I was served a lot of traditional Romanian foods.  My favorites were mici (sausages) and sarmales, which are stuffed cabbage rolls.  They are absolutely delicious and I've never had anything as good in the states.

I came across this recipe for stuffed cabbage casserole and I thought it looked and sounded delicious.  It also looked like it would take a lot less time to make than stuffed cabbage rolls.  I was right--it was very easy to put together.  It doesn't taste exactly like a sarmale, but it was the closest I've ever had here. 

Mike and I both enjoyed this meal, but we thought the ratio of cabbage to filling was off, so I've adjusted the recipe to reflect that.  This recipe makes a large pan full, so we had lots of leftovers.  It freezes well so I have enjoyed quite a few lunches from this dish!

Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

Makes a 9x13" pan, about 10 servings

You will need:
1 pound lean ground beef (I used ground turkey)
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 Tablespoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika  
1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes with juice
1 can (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1/4 cup water
1 head green cabbage, coarsely chopped into 1 inch pieces
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 cups low-fat mozzarella cheese

1.  Cook ground beef in a large frying pan until it's browned and cooked through.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

2.  In the same pan, add 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and the onion and cook until the onion is translucent and starts to turn brown.  It will take about 5 minutes.

3.  Add in the minced garlic, thyme, and paprika and cook for 2 minutes.

4.  Add in the diced tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, water, and cooked ground beef.  Simmer until slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes.

5.  While the meat mixture simmers, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large frying pan.  Add the chopped cabbage and cook until the cabbage is wilted and about halfway cooked.  Season with salt and pepper.

6.  When the meat mixture has thickened, stir in the cooked brown rice.

7.  Grease a 9x13" casserole dish and layer half the cabbage, half the meat mixture, remaining cabbage, and remaining meat mixture.  Cover with foil.

8.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, until the edges begin to bubble.

9.  Remove foil and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.  Bake uncovered for 20 more minutes.

Serve hot.

Source:  Skinny Taste

Turkey Crescent Squares

Chicken Crescent Squares (11/29/10)
I made this recipe the other day to use up some leftover Thanksgiving turkey. You can probably substitute any meat you want and it would still taste great! I loved the contrast between the savory cream cheese and the sweeter crescent rolls. These are super easy~ and they taste great cold for lunch the next day!

You will need:
1 package crescent rolls
4 ounces (1/2 package) cream cheese
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup diced turkey
1/2 package bacon bits (probably 1/3 cup crumbled bacon)
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/2 cup cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cookie sheet.

2. Combine cream cheese and milk in a bowl.

3. Add in turkey, bacon bits, garlic powder and cheese. Mix well.

4. Separate crescent rolls into 4 squares (leave 2 triangles together).

5. Scoop 1/4 of the turkey mixture into the center of each square.

6. Fold each corner of the crescent roll in to the center and pinch to close.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crescent rolls are golden brown and turkey filling is warm.

Enjoy!