Main Course

Grilled Turkey Salisbury Steaks with Tomatoes and Cheddar Sauce
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Grilled Turkey Salisbury Steaks with Tomatoes and Cheddar Sauce

For a long time we made turkey or chicken burgers but they always came out too dry and bland.

I came up with the idea of adding some Dijon mustard to spice it up and we have been doing that forever. Then Lyn found this and we tried our twist to it. It got the two chewing heads bobbing approval!

Classic Salisbury steak is a patty made of ground beef and seasonings that is fried in butter or oil and smothered in a brown sauce. Although it was once considered health food by its inventor–a 19th century English-American physician named James Salisbury–it’s really not. This grilled version, made with ground turkey breast and fresh vegetables and smothered in a low-fat cheese sauce, makes the grade.

Adapted from Now Eat This … Cookstr

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground turkey breast
  • 1-2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (We like trader Joe’s it is spicy as heck)
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Nonstick olive oil cooking spray
  • 2 medium heirloom tomatoes, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
  • 1  medium red onion, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
  • 1 cup evaporated skim milk
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • ½ cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

How

1. Preheat Panini grill pan to sear or grill.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the turkey and rosemary until well combined. Divide the mixture into 4 equal portions. Form each portion into an oval patty about 3 inches wide, 5 inches long, and 1 inch thick. Season the turkey “steaks” with salt and pepper to taste, and spray them lightly with olive oil spray. Place them on the hot grill.

3. Spray the tomato and onion slices with olive oil spray, and season them with salt and pepper to taste. Place them on the Panini grill next to the turkey steaks. Grill the turkey steaks and onions for 3 to 6 minutes. Grill the tomato until charred and warmed through, about 2 minutes.

If you are using as a flat grill then 3-4 minutes per side for onion and burger and 2 minutes for tomatoes.

4. Meanwhile, whisk the evaporated milk into the cornstarch in a small bowl. Pour the mixture into a small saucepan, and bring it to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly. Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook until the sauce has thickened, about 1 minute. Whisk the cheese into the sauce until melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Pile the tomato and onion slices on top of the turkey steaks. Spoon the cheese sauce on top, and serve.

Turkey Salisbury Steak                                   Turkey Salisbury Steak

Turkey Salisbury Steak

 

Thyme, Celantro, Oregano, Garlic Grilled Chicken
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Thyme, Celantro, Oregano, Garlic Grilled Chicken

The spring brings some of my favorite things asparagus, winter hardy herbs popping into life. I love cooking a whole chicken stuffed, no jammed packed, with fresh thyme, orange, garlic and lemon wedges. I love cooking with the fresh herbs and have no objection to picking out the leaves and stems before using. So I was off to the garden to pick a handful of this and that.  This is the kind of meal you can use over and over in salads, sandwiches and other dishes throughout the week you can even freeze a chicken breast or two for a quick meal later on.

This can actually be made with rosemary or any other herbs you might have ready to pick.

Ingredients

  • 6 skinless boneless chicken breast
  • A handful of oregano maybe 1/4 cup chopped
  • A bunch of sprigs of thyme leaves only
  • A handful of celantro about 1/2 cup chopped
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic smashed in 1 tsp. kosher salt
  • Juice of one lemon
  • Juice of one lime
  • 1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
  • Fresh ground pepper

How

In a plastic bag combine all ingredients and cover chicken

Place in refrigerator for at least at an hour turning occasionally

Grill on medium heat for about 6-8 minutes preside until it is about 164-50

Remove from heat loosely cover and let sit for 3-5 minutes before slicing or severing.

Ingredients  Let's Eat

We served this with mashed sweet potatoes, broccoli. and apples and cinnamon roasted on the grill in tin foil.

We go about 4 oz. of protein about half a breast each and pile up on the veggies.

Chipotle Mango Pulled Turkey Breast
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Chipotle Mango Pulled Turkey Breast

I thought it would be too dry, I thought I rather use pork, I thought I would go along with her. I think she was right.  The Mangos gave you sweetness and the chipotle gave it that little heat. There were leftovers galore and my lunch salads taste mighty fine these last two days. The rest into the freezer for a quick defrost and eat meal at a later date.

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds boneless, skinless boneless turkey breast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 sweet onions (such as Vidalia), thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 chipotles in adobo, seeds removed, and chopped, plus 1 tablespoon sauce
  • 2 mangoes, diced, or 2 cups frozen mango chunks, thawed set aside
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro set aside

How

Season turkey with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper.

Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Brown all sides of turkey, about 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

In the crock pot, stir tomato paste, brown sugar, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper into chicken broth. Add onions, garlic and chipotles. Place browned turkey on top. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.

With 30 minutes remaining, add mango and re-cover.

Remove turkey, stir in cilantro.

When turkey is cool enough to handle using two forks pull /shred the turkey and return to crock pot, stir to mix and serve.

Chipotle Mango Pulled Turkey

Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary
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Roast Leg of Lamb with Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary

The longer the lamb marinates in the seasoning paste, the better flavor you’ll have. Anywhere from 1 to 24 hours will work, but overnight is best. Slice the leftovers for pita stuffed sandwiches topped with tabbouleh.

Mike and Laurel came over for Easter but we started them off with Charoset on Matzah and some Matzah (Matzo) Ball Soup. Happy Eastover Day (The Day was for Laurels birthday we had boston cream pie for that.

From Martha Stewart – Mad Hungry, October 2010 Yield Serves 6 to 8 we served with mash potatoes and asparagus and my wife made a nice mint sauce with pomegranate molasses.

Ingredients

  • 2 whole lemons, washed, seeded, and chopped
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed
  • 5 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 boneless leg of lamb, butterflied, boned, and cut to lay flat (about 5 pounds)

Note: I was handed the recipe and rolled this not realizing that it was to cook flat. I found the video today and am red-faced. I thought 45 minutes was a pretty short time.

How

  • Place the chopped lemon, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a food processor. A blender can also be used, if done in batches. If you have neither, finely chop all ingredients together.
  • Open up the lamb and lay it flat. Spread and massage the lemon paste evenly over the inside and outside of the lamb. Place in a baking dish and cover, or in a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight to marinate, turning occasionally.
  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 30 to 60 minutes before cooking. Place the lamb FLAT on a rack in a foil-lined roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Place the meat in the oven and after 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 425 degrees. Roast for 45 minutes (rolled about 1 to 1/12 hrs) , or until medium rare, 140 degrees on an instant read thermometer. Allow the meat to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving and serving.

Raosted leg of lamb cooking flat   Raosted leg of lamb  Rosted Leg of Lamb rolled

Note: I think besides trying it roasting flat LOL, I would cut the lemon rind down to maybe 1 lemon it just had a little too much of the bitter taste, it was not overwhelming by any means and everyone else seemed to enjoy. I’m just saying. 

My Favorite Brisket recipe
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My Favorite Brisket recipe

Funny story we originally had planned on a candied brisket and went shopping on Friday night instead of our usual Saturday morning. Wholefoods was very crowed at the meat counter and I forgot to get the brisket so we looped back to the crowed counter and without thinking purely out of habit asked for a single cut brisket instead of a corned beef. To top it off it was kids night and I had to fight for the samples.

So what does one do when they get home, adapt. When it was all said and done we voted that my original Jewish style recipe was better it created thicker richer tasting gravy the meat absorbed more of this flavor. This had a soupier more wine tasting gravy which flavored the meat as such. Don’t get me wrong it was very good but could have used a little kick. Maybe more garlic and onions or some sweetness.

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 5-pound brisket of beef, shoulder roast of beef, chuck roast, or end of steak
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 onions, peeled and diced
  • 1 10-ounce can tomatoes
  • 2 cups red wine
  • 2 stalks celery with the leaves, chopped
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 6 to 8 carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal
  • I added about of whole berry cranberry sauce.

How

  • Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the brisket and rub with the garlic. Sear the brisket in the oil and then place, fat side up, on top of the onions in a large casserole. Cover with the tomatoes, red wine, celery, bay leaf, thyme, and rosemary.
  • Cover and bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for about 3 hours, basting often with pan juices.
  • Add the parsley and carrots and bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes more or until the carrots are cooked. To test for doneness, stick a fork in the flat (thinner or leaner end of the brisket). When there is a light pull on the fork as it is removed from the meat, it is “fork tender.”
  • This dish is best prepared in advance and refrigerated so that the fat can be easily skimmed from the surface of the gravy. Trim off all the visible fat from the cold brisket. Then place the brisket, on what was the fat side down, on a cutting board. Look for the grain – that is, the muscle lines of the brisket – and with a sharp knife, cut across the grain.
  • When ready to serve, reheat the gravy.
  • Put the sliced brisket in a roasting pan. Pour the hot gravy on the meat, cover, and reheat in a preheated 350-degree oven for 45 minutes. Some people like to strain the gravy, but I prefer to keep the onions because they are so delicious.

From JEWISH COOKING IN AMERICA by Joan Nathan (Alfred A. Knopf, 2001)

Mornin Oatmeal
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Mornin Oatmeal

I guess the older one gets the more set in their ways they become. Look around everyone has their quirks from the same breakfast routine to one who has to enter office from a certain door, drive a certain route, getting ready for bed……. Routines they are there with us all the time once set are hard to break you can chuckle at them they are kind of funny. What are a few of your routines? One of my many is my mornings, I come down stairs around 5 AM have my juice and daily supplements, turn on the coffee maker, go to the living room and do my 33.5 minutes of Qi Gong, then I make my oatmeal and coffee sit and watch the news until I see the weather (heh I am getting older for some reason it has become important), then I write my “morning” email to my family, get ready for work and leave. That was one long sentence I told you I am a flow of thought writer.

Ingredients

½ cup organic rolled oats

1 cup water

Pinch or 2 of ground cinnamon

Small hand full of raisins

Small hand full of whole raw unsalted almonds

Morin Oatmeal

How

Combine all ingredients in small pot simmer to desired thickness.

You can serve with cut up banana, apple whatever I like it without.

You can prepare with walnuts

You can use milk if you like

I’m just telling you my routine

Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie.
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Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie.

Continuing theme a night dinner plan it was vegetarian night again. We have fallen very nicely into the flow and I don’t have to peek at the calendar as much to figure out what tonight brings theme wise.

We love the taste of spinach and cheese but can’t say that I have tried this combination. The best thing was that I came home from work and the house smelled soooooo good. Lyn worked from home and had everything ready for me including a nice glass of wine with cheese and crackers. How lucky am I!

 Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed , and squeezed dry
  • 3 cups cooked brown rice (small grain)
  • 1 cup diced extra sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ cup nonfat milk (we use lactose free)
  • 1 roasted red pepper cut in strips

How

Make sure your wife is working from home 🙂

Preheat the oven to 4250. Generously coat a 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Add Onion and cook. Stirring frequently until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl. Add rice, cheese, pepper and salt to the bowl and stir to combine.

Note: We thought after that some red-hot pepper flakes would be a nice touch if you wanted a little more heat.

Whisk eggs and milk in medium bowl then stir in rice mixture. Transfer to the pie pan and smooth the top with a spatula and arrange the roasted red pepper on top.

Bake the pie until lightly browned in spots about 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie   Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie

White Turkey Chili
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White Turkey Chili

After a week of temps in the 80’s, spring decided to return with temps in the 40s and with the chill in the air something that warms the belly was called for. So we decided that the Sunday which according to our new menu plan was special meal day and what better than a steaming hot bowl of chili.

 Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
  • 2 pounds ground turkey breast
  • 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp. ground coriander
  • 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 (16 oz) jars of Salsa Verde medium heat
  • 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles, drained
  • 1 small jalapeño, seeded and finely sliced
  • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 2 (15.5 oz) cooked Great Northern small white beans, drained
  • Chopped cilantro, for garnish
  • 7 tsp. grated Monterey Jack cheese, for garnish (optional)
  • 7 tsp. sour cream, for garnish (optional)

White Chili ingredients

How

Heat ½ of the oil in a large pot over medium high heat.

Add turkey and cook, stirring often, until browned. Transfer to a bowl and return pot to heat.

Add remaining oil, bell pepper and onion and cook until softened and not brown.

Return turkey to pot and add coriander, cumin, oregano and salt. Stir well to combine.

Add bay leaf, salsa verde, chiles, jalapeños and broth, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 45 to 50 minutes.

Gently stir in beans and cook for 35 minutes more.

Ladle chili into bowls and garnish with cilantro, cheese and sour cream, if you like.

Yesterday I added a small amount of red bell pepper for a little color

Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast with Red Wine Sauce
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Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast with Red Wine Sauce

What does one do with a chicken breast that you took out of the freezer and had no plans for. My wife had mentioned stuffing chicken with feta last week so I guess that was my main influence. This was a real cook from the gut, open the frig and see what I have kind of creation. Boy you would think that with our new plan of a theme a day cooking I would be a little more organized but then some of my better meals came from the gut. Ok feta, red pepper, onions, mushroom, red wine, lemon and cherry tomatoes. Here we go!

Ingredients

  • 1 Chicken breast bone in with skin
  • About ¼ cup minced red bell pepper
  • About ½ cup feta crumbled
  • About 1 Tbsp. Dried Greek oregano
  • About 3-4 mushrooms roughly chopped
  • Fresh ground pepper (for my wife the pepper head)
  • 1 small onion quartered
  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp. Lemon juice
  • About 1 cup red wine
  • Cornstarch and water combined.

How

Preheat oven with rake in middle to 450◦

In a small bowl mix pepper, feta, oregano, pepper together well.*

Rinse and thoroughly dry chicken

Sprinkle salt (lightly) and pepper all over the chicken

Gently loosen the skin on chicken with finger or fat end of butter knife to create a pocket.

Stuff the feta mixture into the pocket and then stick mushroom under skin on top of the feta.

Place in roasting pan (I used a corning ware dish) and drizzle olive oil over chicken.

Add the onions and tomatoes, enough red wine to cover the bottom and lemon juice.

Place in oven and turn heat down to 350◦

Cook until instant thermometer reads about 165◦ about 40 minutes. I started checking around 20 minutes because I was paranoid of drying out the chicken.

I crisped the skin by turning on the broiler for about 8-10 minutes still on middle rack.

Watch it though I kind of…what do they call it now on TV when the burn something. Oh ya look how beautifully caramelized it is!

Set chicken aside, pour the drippings into sauce pan add cornstarch bring to boil reduce heat slightly and simmer until thicken.  When it boiled I had to add more cornstarch to thicken a little more. Pour over chicken when plated.

Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast Prep 1  Feta Stuffed Chicken Breast Prep 2   Feta stuffed chicken breast prep 3

*Steve note: You could mince the mushroom and mix with feta but to tell you the truth I forgot them and stuck them in after. That’s what happens when you empty from frig to counter then move to preparation area and forget something.

Lamb Stew with Spring Veggies
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Lamb Stew with Spring Veggies

Lyn had been wanting a stew which was unusual for her she is not much of a stew person. Years ago we had made an Irish lamb stew but for the life of us could not remember where we saw it. So we must have look at a dozen recipes and I came up with this which was heavily influenced by Wholefoods. This stew came together easily, simmering on top of the stove for a couple of hours made another day of growling tummies.

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp. fine sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
  • 2 pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • —
  •  1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 Tbsp. dried rosemary
  • 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
  • —
  • 2 cups chopped carrots
  • 1 pound small red or white potatoes, halved or cut into chunks
  • —
  • 1 cup fresh peas or frozen green peas, thawed
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • —
  • 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (About 1 scallion)

Double click to enlarge

 How:

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large bowl or plastic bag. Add lamb and toss to coat well.

Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium high heat.

If needed working in batches (setting aside first batch in bowl), add lamb and brown on all sides set all lamb aside for a moment. Add the garlic and cook until you smell about 15 seconds to 1 minute.  Add chicken broth, wine, rosemary and oregano. Stir to combine add the lamb and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Stir in carrots and potatoes. Cover and continue to simmer 1 hour longer.

Stir in peas and mustard and simmer 3 to 10 minutes or until peas are just cooked through (frozen peas do not take as long to cook).

Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with green onions.

Lamb and Veggie Stew with bread

Note from Steve: The only thing I might change is using fresh springs of oregano and rosemary and removing the stems after cooking.