Oh This Salad so Good! Spinach-Turkey Salad

This salad is so simple and so delicious! The combination of fresh spinach, basil, chopped pine nuts, turkey and Parmesan create an incredible healthy, fresh, main-dish salad. I served this salad for dinner, and it disappeared faster than I could blink. Serve it with your favorite vinaigrette or just a drizzle of red wine vinegar and olive oil. It has so many great flavors already, so it doesn’t need a lot of dressing. Welcome in spring with clean eating and this fresh salad.

 

Spinach-Turkey Salad

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 3 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 (5-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

11/2 cups chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/2 pound sliced deli turkey (I used cracked pepper turkey)

1/4 cup freshly shaved Parmesan cheese

Vinegar and oil or vinaigrette

Preparation

1. Combine spinach, basil and pine nuts in a large salad bowl. Add turkey and cheese. Drizzle with dressing, tossing gently.

What’s For Dinner: Healthy Spaghetti and Meatballs

If you think you can’t be healthy eating Spaghetti and Meatballs, you’re wrong. This version uses ground turkey, whole wheat spaghetti and egg whites. I like to bake the meatballs on a rack in the oven first, then put them in the sauce. I made this recipe for some kid’s cooking classes I taught 2 summers ago, and it was an instant hit. They had no idea I had slipped in turkey for the beef, and for many of them, it was the first time they tried whole wheat noodles. They really liked them! This is a super easy recipe and a family favorite at my house, so I hope you will enjoy it in your home too. Also, please comment by clicking on the button below, and tell me what type of recipes you would like to see. Alison

 

Spaghetti with Turkey Meatballs

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

11/2 pounds ground turkey 

1 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs

2 egg whites

1/4 cup minced onion

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 (3-pound) jar marinara pasta sauce 

1 (16-ounce) package whole-wheat spaghetti 

Fresh basil, optional

Preparation

1. Combine turkey, breadcrumbs, egg whites, onion, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Shape mixture into (1-inch) balls. (I used a tablespoon cookie scoop for the balls.)

2. Place a rack coated with cooking spray in a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined broiler pan. Arrange meatballs on rack. Bake at 400F for 10 minutes or until meatballs are browned.

3. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

4. Pour marinara sauce into a Dutch oven. Add meatballs. Cover and simmer over low heat 30 minutes. Serve over pasta and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and fresh basil, if desired.

Fresh Simple and Luscious Lasagna

Lasagna can seem like a pain to make, but really it’s so easy and really worth it. This recipe is special because it gets its great flavors from an array of vegetables, fresh parsley and sausage. It’s not too high in calories and fat as I used very few noodles, part-skim ricotta cheese and just a small amount of shredded cheese for such a large dish. If you don’t prefer sausage, use lean ground beef or ground turkey. You can make this recipe ahead. It’s perfect for company or for weeknight with leftovers for the next day.

 

Sausage-Vegetable Lasagna

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 35 minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound mild or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms

11/2 cups marinara sauce

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green pepper and onions

1 (15-ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

6 lasagna noodles, cooked

11/2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend

Preparation

1. Saute first 5 ingredients in a large saute pan or Dutch oven in hot oil  over medium heat 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender; add mushrooms and continue to cook until sausage is browned. Add sauce and tomatoes; simmer 10 minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, combine ricotta cheese and parsley, stirring well.

3. Layer lasagna noodles, sausage mixture and ricotta mixture in a 13- x 9-inch lightly greased baking dish; repeat with remaining layers ending with sauce. Top with shredded cheese. 

4. Bake at 375F, covered 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 15 minutes more. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Turkey Meatloaf with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Basil

Whether you are a huge fan of meatloaf or not, I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorite meatloaf recipes that I developed using ground turkey. Ground beef or pork may be substituted for the turkey, but the ground turkey works well with the fresh combination of basil, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes. Anyone can put this recipe together with ease, and yes, it can be made up ahead of time and baked later in the day or even prepared up to one day in advance and warmed up just in time for dinner. Serve with a big salad and your favorite vegetable or potato side dish for a delicious comforting meal.

 

Turkey Meatloaf with Sun-Dried Tomatoes 

Prep: 15 minutes

Cook: 1 hour

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 pound ground turkey

3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (use can use plain breacrumbs if you like)

3/4 cup chopped fresh basil

2/3 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup chopped onion (optional)

2 egg whites

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup ketchup

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9-x 5-inch pan with aluminum foil. Combine ground turkey and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well. Shape into a loafpan. Bake 50 minutes. Spread 1/3 ketchup evenly over the top and bake 10 minutes more.

Three Weeks Until Thanksgiving-Start Thinking Turkey

It’s only 3 weeks until Thanksgiving, and I don’t know about you but I will be hosting it at my house. I usually do it every year, and if I plan ahead, I won’t have to stress at all. For the next few weeks I will feature a number of entries to focus on Thanksgiving, and I thought I would begin with turkey. I followed Martha Stewart’s method for using a cheesecloth back in 1997 when I developed my turkey recipe below for Christmas with Southern Living Cookbook. It has been a family favorite ever since.

 

Orange-Glazed Roasted Turkey

The cheesecloth covering on this turkey acts as a blanket that locks in juices. The roasted results are incredibly moist.

Yield 10 servings

Ingredients

Cheesecloth

1 1/2  cups  orange juice

1  (12-pound) turkey

Salt and pepper

3  tablespoons  vegetable oil

1 1/2  cups  chicken or turkey broth

1/2  cup  butter or margarine, melted

1/4  cup  orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier) or orange marmalade

3  tablespoons  honey

2  teaspoons  grated orange rind

1  tablespoon  coarse-grained mustard

Garnishes: flowering kale, baby artichokes, red grapes

Preparation

Cut a 36″ length of cheesecloth; unfold to a single layer (measuring 36″ square). Fold cheesecloth in half crosswise; fold in half lengthwise to make an 18″ square. Pour orange juice into a small bowl; submerge cheesecloth square in orange juice, and let soak 5 minutes.

Remove giblets and neck from turkey; reserve for making homemade broth, if desired. Rinse turkey thoroughly with cold water; pat dry. Sprinkle cavity with salt and pepper. Place turkey, breast side up, in a greased broiler pan. Tie legs together with heavy string, or tuck them under flap of skin; wrap a small piece of aluminum foil around ends of legs. Lift wingtips up and over back, and tuck under bird. Brush turkey with oil; add broth to pan.

Lift cheesecloth out of orange juice, and squeeze lightly, leaving it very damp; reserve orange juice in bowl. Add butter and next 4 ingredients to orange juice; stir well. Brush turkey lightly with orange glaze mixture. Unfold cheesecloth to 18″ square. Spread cheesecloth over most of turkey, covering legs and wings. Brush cheesecloth and exposed parts of turkey with orange glaze mixture; pour remaining glaze over covered breast of turkey.

Insert a meat thermometer into meaty portion of thigh, making sure it does not touch bone. Bake at 325° on bottom oven rack until thermometer registers 170° (2 1/2 to 3 hours), basting cheesecloth and exposed areas of turkey every 30 minutes with pan juices. (Cheesecloth will become very brown as turkey roasts.)

Carefully remove and discard cheesecloth. Cut string holding legs together; remove small piece of aluminum foil. Baste turkey heavily with pan drippings. Bake turkey at 325° for 30 additional minutes or until thermometer registers 180°, basting heavily with pan drippings every 10 minutes. (Turkey skin can overbrown easily, so watch carefully.)

When turkey is done, let stand in pan 15 minutes; then carefully transfer to a serving platter. Brush again with pan drippings; reserve remaining pan drippings for Pan Gravy. Cover turkey with foil while preparing gravy. Garnish platter with kale, baby artichokes and red grapes, if desired. Serve turkey with Pan Gravy.

Note: If you are using a larger or smaller turkey, adjust roasting time accordingly, and remove cheesecloth for the last 30 minutes of roasting. The turkey browns quickly after removing cheesecloth, so baste often at that point.

Christmas with Southern Living 1997, Oxmoor House, JANUARY 1997 www.myrecipes.com

Here were Martha’s instructions:

Cover the turkey with cheesecloth that has been soaking in butter and wine; the cloth should cover the breast and part of the leg area. Make sure the cheesecloth never dries out or comes into contact with the inside walls of the oven; in either situation, it may ignite. 

 Every 30 minutes, use a pastry brush (better than a bulb baster) to baste the cheesecloth and exposed area of the turkey with the butter-and-wine mixture. (The turkey pictured here is out of the oven, but basting should be done in the oven and as quickly as possible, so the oven temperature doesn’t drop.) Watch the pan juices; if they are in danger of overflowing, spoon them out and reserve them for the gravy.After the third hour of cooking, take the turkey out of the oven. Carefully remove the cheesecloth, which will have turned quite brown, and discard it. Baste the turkey with pan juices, taking care not to tear the skin, and return it to the oven.