Hot Fried Turkey

Last year I had fried turkey for the very first time, and it was to die for. Seriously, I could not believe how good it was and how long I've been missing out on it. Well, this year I cooked Thanksgiving lunch for my Dad. I decided I would try my hand at frying up some turkey, but the catch is I don't have one of those frying contraptions. So, I went googling for a fried turkey breast recipe. Plus, since it was just me and my Dad; I didn't want to cook a whole turkey. Well, I came across this recipe from Carla Hall (you may remember her from Top Chef) and decided to try it. Man, it was freaking GOOD. I made the spicy oil to go along with it, and that provided a lot of heat. The turkey had so much flavor and it was so incredibly moist. I brined the turkey (per the instructions) for a couple hours and I'm thinking that's what made it so moist. The turkey even tasted good the next day. Seriously, if you are making Thanksgiving for a handful of people give this recipe a try. You won't be disappointed. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
For the Brine:
2 quarts Water
1/2 cup Hot Sauce
1/2 cup Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Turkey Breast (both sides; cut into 8 pieces)

For the Spiced Oil:
3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil (plus more for frying)
2 tablespoons Cayenne Pepper
 1 teaspoon Paprika
 2 teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes
 2 teaspoons Salt
 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
 1 teaspoon Sugar

For Dredging:
3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Fresh Cracked Pepper

I think the hardest part of this recipe is chopping the turkey into 8 pieces. I don't own a meat cleaver, so it proved to be a bit difficult cutting the bone. But, I managed to get thru it with all my fingers in tact. Be extremely careful when cutting threw the bones. 
Take out a large saute pan and add the water, hot sauce, salt, and sugar. Add the turkey pieces and place the pot in your fridge for a couple hours. The recipe says brine the turkey for at least an hour. I brined mine for a little over 2 hours. While the turkey is brining; go ahead and make your spiced oil. Take out a small saute pan and add the oil thru the sugar to the pot. Over medium heat cook until fragrant...about 30 seconds to a minute. Remove from heat and pour into a small bowl. Set aside.

For the dredging; take out a medium bowl and combine the flour, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
Once the turkey has finished brining; pour into a colander and pat the turkey dry with a paper towel. Place on a wire rack and lightly dust the turkey with some of the flour mixture. Then, transfer the turkey to a large plate and let air dry in the fridge for an hour.

About 15 minutes before your ready to take the turkey out of the fridge; get out your dutch oven and pour enough vegetable oil into the pot to cover the turkey while frying. I used about a bottle and a half of canola oil for this. Heat the oil to 325.

Take out the turkey from the fridge; and cake the turkey with your flour mixture. Be sure to press the flour into the turkey so that it adheres to the skin. Fry the turkey in the pre-heated oil for about 8 to 10 minutes. Carefully, remove and place on a plate lined with paper towels or a wire rack. Check the temperature of the turkey to ensure it's around 160 degrees. Then, crank up the oil to a temperature of 375 and fry the turkey a second time for 4-6 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel and drizzle with the spiced oil. Enjoy!

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

After being a poor contributor in the past, I have decided to try to actually do something about that. It seems to be easier to make writing down what I cook a point since I don't do much these days except, well, be at home doing home stuff. I think cooking falls in that category! Last night I made a variation of a stuffed peppers recipe after reading about 4 or 5 different recipes, none of which appealed to me. The last time I made stuffed peppers of any kind, it was with Stove Top stuffing and probably about 5 years ago? The ex-boyfriend didn't like rice--should have known then that it wasn't meant to be. Anyway, onto the main event!

Ingredients:
5  bell peppers (can use any you prefer, red or yellow, etc. I used green)
1  lb Italian seasoned ground turkey
1  small onion
2  jalapenos (optional)
2  to 3 cloves of garlic, more to your liking
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
2  to 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used 2 cups but think 3 would be better)
2  8 ounce cans tomato sauce
Olive oil 

The spices I hardly measure, but did my best to keep track. You can tweak the amounts if needed:
Salt and pepper to taste (I used about 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper)
About 1/2 teaspoon or so of Paprika
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper (Joe and I like a little kick but this is optional as well)

Directions: Place rice in a pot with about a cup of water and cook until water is absorbed. Meanwhile, chop off the tops of the peppers and gut them. Rinse and set aside. Dice the onion and jalapenos, and finely chop the garlic. For less spice, remove all seeds and insides from jalapenos.
Heat olive oil in a pan, add the chopped goodies and garlic. Saute for about 2/3 minutes. Add ground turkey to the pan. Cook until no longer pink. The ground turkey can come already seasoned which I prefer. It just adds something to the meat. If you have regular ground turkey, you can always add Italian seasonings to the mix.

Remove from heat. Add 1 can tomato sauce, cooked rice, spices, and cheese. Mix it all up! Leave enough cheese to sprinkle on top of the stuffed peppers. Lightly grease a baking dish. Fill peppers with stuffing, and place in the baking dish, pour the other 8 ounce can of tomato sauce over the peppers. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour until peppers are tender. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese left aside on tops of the peppers and bake for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted. Serve with garlic bread, or any choice of sides. Yum!


(Click for printable recipe)

Cranberry Salad Dressing

After Thanksgiving and two days of leftovers, we were in serious need of some greens. I was thrilled with this healthy use of Thanksgiving leftovers.

Ingredients
2/3 cups of cranberry sauce
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of cider vinegar
2 tablespoons of pomegranate juice
1 tablespoons of maple syrup
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
pinch of salt

Simply mix all ingredients and toss with your choice of greens. I decided to dress my salad up a bit with turkey, almond slices and slices of mozzarella. Easy and afterwards you won't feel weighed down or sleepy.


(Click here for printable recipe)

Fast Turkey Chili

I did something daring today. Finally post a blog after about a month of silence, you say? No, that wasn’t it - though, sure, it might have been a while. Today, I was brilliantly brave. Not only did I make chili from scratch. I did so while wearing a clean, white shirt.

I know. Such bold acts walk the line of lunacy.

Anyhow, this is a recipe I’ve had bookmarked on my computer for easily over a year. Fast Turkey Chili – the name alone is promising. 'Fast' is always a great thing when it comes to dinner. 'Turkey' presents a healthier option to the sometimes greasy beef chilies. And, of course, ‘Chili.’ I mean, really. Who doesn’t love a good chili when it’s cold outside?

Ingredients: 
Olive oil
1/2 medium onion
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
1 lb. ground turkey
garlic powder
chili powder packet
1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 15-oz. can of pinto beans
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 ½ cups of frozen corn

Dice the onion, and chop the bell peppers into roughly ½ squares (minus the core and seeds). Heat a large pot over high heat and drizzle olive oil, spreading it evenly. When the pot and oil are hot, toss in the onion, bell peppers, and ground turkey. Cook, stirring regularly, until turkey is no longer pink.

Add in garlic powder to taste (about 5 shakes for us). Mix well and cook for one more minute. Add the chili powder packet and mix well, cooking for one more minute. Add the tomatos, beans (drained), and oregano, and stir thoroughly. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Partially cover it, and stir occasionally.

Add the frozen corn, stirring to mix it in well, and simmer for 10 more minutes. After that, it will be ready to serve. The total time from start to finish is roughly 60 minutes. I made cornbread, which was a perfect complement.

Happy cooking!

KSP

(Click here for printable recipe)

Oatmeal-Basil Meatballs

Apparently, I like to experiment with my meatballs. The first time I ever attempted meatballs was in June for Iron Chef Melon. Now, those were some amazing meatballs, even though the recipe was a bit unique (those meatballs were served in a watermelon puree - the Iron Chef winner of the evening, I should add!).

Tonight, I tried meatballs again. I started with my ground turkey and tossed it into a bowl, only to realize that I had no breadcrumbs. How do you make meatballs without breadcrumbs?

I went to the internet, and of all of the options, I was intrigued with the idea to swap out oatmeal for breadcrumbs. Those of you that think this is odd, keep in mind, last time I experimented with meatballs, this brought us to watermelon puree. Oatmeal is rather tame in comparison.

So apparently, I’m not fated to make normal meatballs. I am, however, fated to make awesome meatballs. This recipe is a purely original creation. I’m not saying it’s an original idea, just not inspired from any website or cookbook. I always keep my fingers crossed when I attempt such things, but this one was a huge success. De-lish.

Ingredients: 
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 egg
½ cup uncooked oatmeal
Basil (about 5 shakes of the spice bottle, or to taste)
Garlic powder (about 5 shakes of the spice bottle, or to taste).

In a bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly (this is best done with your hands). Form mix into small balls. Brown in a skillet. Either mix with spaghetti directly or cook for a minute in spaghetti sauce before mixing with pasta, (I did the latter).

This was simple and delicious.

A tip: Something that I have regretted on both occasions in my life when I have made meatballs is that I have taken the ground meat out of the fridge, dumped it in a bowl, and dove straight into the mixing and such, throwing my hands right in. Doing so just after the meat is pulled from the fridge is the hand equivalent to brain freeze. I’d suggest letting the meat sit outside of the fridge for a few minutes before starting.

Happy cooking!

-KSP


(Click here for printable recipe)