Turkey

Cheesy Sausage Balls

I’m pretty slow to the sausage ball party. I first became aware of these little bites from Trisha Yearwood’s show on Food Network and thought that they would be a perfect little nugget for me considering how much I love sausage (turkey sausage, that is). But since then, I suddenly see sausage balls everywhere – on Pinterest, on the Today show, on my Instagram feed. Well, I figured it was high time for me to jump on the bandwagon and I was especially thrilled when I came across this recipe for Cheesy Sausage Balls which has a little different twist than your standard sausage balls.

Sausage, cheese, and quinoa make up the base of these bites which are perfect for a Thanksgiving appetizer. Instead of baking mix, these balls have cooked quinoa which is so much healthier than some floury mix. Granted, baking mixes are super simple and easier to throw into a bowl than cooking up a batch of quinoa but it only takes fifteen minutes for quinoa to cook so you can do it ahead of time and still have some leftover for another dish later. Plus, quinoa is so much better for you! The quinoa actually adds a bit of texture to these sausage balls, a bit of a pop, if you will. I haven’t tried the sausage balls made with baking mix but I don’t think I need to. I’m perfectly happy with these little guys and I bet you will be too!

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 Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine quinoa, cheese, cornstarch, black pepper and sausage in a bowl.

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Shape mixture into 40 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Place balls on a lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray.

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Bake at 375°F for 18 minutes or until lightly browned and done.

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Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions:

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

Turkey Sausage and Spinach Lasagna

I don’t know what has happened to me but I think I’ve turned into a little girl again getting all giddy every time Frozen comes on television. The past couple of weekends, I’ve been getting ready to cook some food and scroll through the tv stations for background noise only to find Frozen on one of the cable channels. When I see it’s on, I can’t help but turn it on. And yes, I sing at the top of my lungs. Frozen has become one of those movies I turn on whenever it’s on. I’m even pretty darn close to downloading it. I mean, I have a niece who turns six on Friday so I should at least download it so I have it available for her to watch when she visits, right? It only seems like the right thing to do. Anyway, one dish I made while belting out Let It Go was this Turkey Sausage and Spinach Lasagna.

Hot turkey sausage, fresh spinach, shallots and garlic are the basis of this lasagna which is layered with no-boil lasagna noodles, ricotta cheese, and a béchamel white sauce. Topped with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, this tomato-less lasagna is creamy, a little spicy, and a lot flavorful. It makes six servings so this is a great meal for a family or easy to portion control for lunches or dinner leftovers. Maybe you won’t feel like making lasagna during the summer but after watching Frozen for the umpteenth time, I felt like having a warm meal. Do you want to build a snowman?

If you like this, check out Turkey Lasagna.

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Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, milk, stock, oil and bay leaf in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Cook 8 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; stir in salt and pepper. Spread 1 cup milk mixture in bottom of an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.

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Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons water and spinach to pan; cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Drain spinach, pressing until barely moist. Increase heat to medium-high. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 4 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan. Add shallots and garlic to pan; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in remaining milk mixture, spinach, and cooked sausage. Remove pan from heat.

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Arrange 2 noodles over milk mixture in baking dish; top with 1/2 cup ricotta and one-third spinach mixture. Repeat layers twice. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes. Remove foil.

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Preheat broiler to high. Broil 4 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

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Let stand 10 minutes.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light magazine

Sloppy Turkey and Chili Joes

I had a nice long 4-day weekend this weekend and I didn’t do much but read, relax and sleep. No, I wasn’t at the beach, or the lake, or the park, or the pool. I was home. I found myself going to Target two or three times just because I was bored and wanted someone to talk to. See, here in the Philadelphia area, people disappear in the summer. People either have a shore house or know someone who does. Or people go on their summer vacation, something I’ve been used to since growing up in Illinois (my birthday is in July and friends were always on vacation). Going into the weekend, I took a deep breath and resigned myself to the fact that I’d be riding solo all weekend. My only plans were to read and eat a turkey burger. Done and done. But once that was accomplished, I got bored again. So I started cooking these Sloppy Turkey and Chili Joes.

Ground turkey is cooked with onion and poblano pepper (one of my faves) until meat is browned and veggies are softened. Next, canned tomato sauce, a little brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, and garlic powder are added and brought to a simmer. This is such a quick and simple sloppy joe recipe that I honestly think this is my new go-to. It doesn’t require a slow-cooker or an electric skillet (what my mom used make her sloppy joes in) or a bunch of ingredients. The poblano pepper gives it a subtle bit of heat without it being too much (you can use green pepper here if you prefer) and the brown sugar gives it a mild sweetness that I like from my sloppy joes. These are messy, just the way you want them to be, so keep a lot of napkins on hand. I liked this so much that I might make another batch and eat it on some baby spinach or roasted veggies. It’s just as good when eaten with a fork.

If you like this, also check out Sweet Chili Rolls.

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In a large nonstick skillet cook ground turkey, onion, and poblano pepper until turkey is no longer pink, stirring to break up turkey as it cooks.

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Stir in tomato sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, and garlic powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

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Place bun bottoms on serving plates; add cheese slices. Top each with turkey mixture. If desired, top with basil leaves. Add bun tops.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:

  • Monterey Jack cheese

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Better Homes & Gardens magazine

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