Meat

Turkey, Cranberry, and Pepper Jack Quesadillas

I made my own cranberry sauce this year for Thanksgiving and I will never buy canned or premade cranberry sauce again because mine turned out perfect (see note below for the link to the recipe I made). Unfortunately, of the six people who came to my house for dinner, only my aunt and I ate any of it which meant that I basically had an entire bowl leftover in my fridge. I figured, what a better way to take care of some leftovers than to throw them in a quesadilla? As a result, I came up with these Turkey, Cranberry, and Pepper Jack Quesadillas. Cranberry sauce, turkey, sliced apples, scallions, parsley, and pepper jack cheese are sandwiched between whole wheat tortillas and grilled until toasty brown. One thing I love about quesadillas is that they can be an appetizer, snack, or a light meal in a pinch. These quesadillas are sweet, tangy, and spicy and you’d never know they are from leftovers.

Turkey, Cranberry, and Pepper Jack Quesadillas (makes 2 quesadillas or 4 servings; 2 wedges per serving):

4 6-inch whole wheat tortillas
1 McIntosh apple, sliced (or any apple of your preference)
1/2 cup prepared cranberry sauce ( I made Basic Cranberry Sauce from Cooking Light)
1 cup turkey breast, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped scallions
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 cup pepper jack cheese

Place two tortillas on a flat work surface. Spread 1/4 cup of the cranberry sauce on each tortilla; top with apple slices. Layer chopped turkey and 1 tablespoon each parsley and scallions on each tortilla. Sprinkle each tortilla with 1/2 cup of pepper jack cheese. Top cheese with remaining tortillas. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat (or heat panini maker to 350°). Place one quesadilla in the pan and cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side until lightly browned (top with another pan to flatten quesadillas as they cook, if necessary). Remove quesadilla from pan and repeat procedure with the remaining quesadilla. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges. Serve with sour cream if you like.

Thanksgiving leftovers used: turkey, cranberry sauce, apple, parsley

The ingredients:

Place two tortillas on a flat work surface. Spread 1/4 cup of the cranberry sauce on each tortilla; top with apple slices.

Layer chopped turkey and 1 tablespoon each parsley and scallions on each tortilla.

Sprinkle each tortilla with 1/2 cup of pepper jack cheese. Top cheese with remaining tortillas.

I used my beloved Cuisinart Griddler® to make my quesadillas (heated to 350°).

Remove quesadilla from pan and repeat procedure with the remaining quesadilla. Cut each quesadilla into 4 wedges.

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Me 🙂

Turkey and Potato Soup with Canadian Bacon

I hosted my first Thanksgiving ever last week and as a result ended up with plenty of leftovers in my fridge. My plan for this week is to take advantage of those leftovers and make some new meals with them. This first leftover recipe I made is Turkey and Potato Soup with Canadian Bacon. I just happened to have turkey Canadian bacon in my fridge after finding it in my local Whole Foods last week and it worked perfectly in this dish. The recipe calls for baking potatoes but I threw in the leftover prepared mashed potatoes I had which melted into this soup deliciously. This is a warm, creamy, hearty soup that somehow sucks me right back to my childhood. And that is a compliment.

Thanksgiving leftovers used: turkey, mashed potatoes, celery, carrots, onions, broth, sage

The ingredients:

In a saucepan, sauté onion, celery, carrot, and Canadian bacon in canola oil until soft.

Add in broth, mashed potatoes, turkey, and sage. Whisk together and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Prepared mashed potatoes for baking potatoes

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Jerk Chicken Chili

November 14, 2011
Shannon
3 comments
chicken, chocolate, food, soup, tomatoes

Chili is usually a recipe that I make the first weekend that football starts, no matter what the temperature is outside. So, making chili in November is pretty late for me. But this recipe for Jerk Chicken Chili was worth the wait. This recipe came from Glamour Magazine – a surprising source of tasty recipes. This chili is different than your regular chili but still just as hearty and comforting. The spices in this chili – chili powder, thyme, allspice, cinnamon – are cooked with onion and yellow pepper early on which brings out their natural oils and intensifies their flavor. Chicken is added and coated with the spice mixture before being simmered with the liquids, beans, and jalapeño. Fresh cilantro and (surprise!) chocolate are added at the end to deepen the flavor of every bite. I left the garlic out of this recipe for one reason only: the editors at the magazine included it in the directions but didn’t include it in the ingredients! Ugh! Anyway, the flavor in this chili goes deep to create an intense, soothing chili that digs down and warms you to the core. If you’re bold enough to try a different kind of chili, you won’t be disappointed with this!