Ground Turkey Salad Spread

I have always loved the season between Thanksgiving and the end of the year.  We can get roasted turkey very inexpensively, and I just love turkey.  And I especially love leftovers.  Like most people I do the sandwiches, casseroles, soups, and so forth.  BUT, my mom would make a ground turkey salad spread that our family could not get enough of.  I made it for my son, and I make it for my husband.  It's easy, takes very few ingredients.  And it really makes a little meat go a long way.

 As I think back, I sometimes wonder if maybe one of the things I loved most about the anticipation of those turkey salad spread sandwiches, was the chance to turn the crank on the old table top meat grinder that my mom had.  We kids used to take turns, and it always seemed like our turn was never long enough.  Those were certainly good times, now that I look back.

I often wonder what became of my mom's old workhorse of a grinder?

As I said, it doesn't take much meat, and my mom used to make the salad spread anytime we had leftover turkey or even ham.  Both are equally delicious.  And the spread never lasted more than one day.  You can use both white and dark meat.  

You will need:
about 2 cups of meat, (turkey or ham)
1 large onion
dill pickles, (about 3 or 4 whole)
mayonnaise
yellow mustard

1 medium size bowl

 First remove the skin and remove the meat from the bone and chop the meat into chunks.  Chop the onion into chunks.  If your pickles are whole, slice them.  Everything needs to fit into your meat grinder.

Get your meat grinder set up and ready to go.

Today my mom would marvel at how easy I have it in the kitchen, (very little effort goes into grinding, slicing, dicing, etc.).   My kitchen set is at least 30 years old, but it's sturdy, well built and I still use it.

If your meat grinder has multi-blades or settings, choose the smaller blade setting.  This is the smaller blade on mine.

First grind about 1/3 of the meat, then do 1/2 of the onion, and 1/2 of the pickles.

After you have done 1/3 of the meat, 1/2 of the onion, and 1/2 of the pickles, repeat the process.

When you are finished, the last 1/3 of the meat will be the final thing to grind.  Finally, my mom would always push 1 or 2 slices of bread through the grinder.  This was to serve 2 purposes; first to push the last bit of meat out of the grinder, and second to add a small about of binder to the spread.

As you can see, we already have almost a full bowl of ground meat.

 Now add about 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, (more of less depending on the texture and moisture of the meat), and 1 teaspoon of mustard, (you don't need much mustard - just enough for a little flavor).

Now stir everything together, incorporating the mayonnaise and mustard evenly throughout the meat.  The mixture will be creamy and smooth.

And here is your salad spread, ready to spread on bread, crackers, tortillas, (as a roll up), or whatever you want.

I like to give mine a quick taste to see if it needs any salt or seasonings.

On crackers, it's delicious!  On bread, with lettuce and tomatoes, (oh be still my heart, I am a small child again sitting at my mom's table reliving my youth).

See how the spread holds it's shape, it doesn't fall off the cracker when you take a bite.  It's smooth, creamy, yet still has a good body.

My husband likes to make lettuce roll ups with the turkey salad spread.  Just layer it along the inside of a large leaf of lettuce and roll the lettuce around the spread, (like a tortilla), and eat away.

So if you still have a little leftover turkey or ham - try making some salad spread.  It's a great lunch idea.

Enjoy!

Turkey Kofta

During our 2011 trip to Turkey, we fell in love with the gorgeous landscape, the history of the people, and we loved wondering through the marketplaces looking at all the wares for sales by the vendors and the spices for sale, (some never heard of in the United States, others very expensive at home, but inexpensive in Turkey).  We were fortunate to share a traditional meal with a family during our trip, to "The City of Cherries", and we will never forget the experience.  Every once in a while when I long to return to the Mediterranean area, I compensate by preparing a dish from the region.  Today, I share with you my version of Koftas, made with ground turkey.

You will need:
1 cup finely grated fresh bread crumbs
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/2 teas salt
1/2 teas pepper
1 teas cumin
1/2 teas allspice
1 teas chopped fresh mint
2 cloves garlic
2 Tabs fresh parsley
1 egg
1 Tabs olive oil

For the 1 cup of bread crumbs, just take approximately 2 slices of bread and grind them in a food processor until they are finely ground, (approximately 10 - 20 seconds).

Next add your ground turkey.

You could also use lamb, (a more traditional meat), or ground beef.

Pulse until well blended.

Rough chop the garlic and parsley.

 Add the egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper, cumin, allspice, and mint.

 Process until a fine texture.

It will look very much like a meatloaf mixture.

 Form into a small palm size loaf, (not to thick).

You will get 6 to 8 loafs.  Place them on a baking sheet.  I then refrigerator mine for at least 30 minutes to set up the meat mixture, (but you can cook them immediately if you want).

In a heavy bottom pan, (I like to use a cast iron pan), heat the olive oil. and cook the kofta until golden brown and cooked thoroughly.

 They will look nice and brown on the outside.  And they are ready to serve.

I am serving mine with stuffed grape leaves, hummus,homemade pita bread, a quick tahini sauce, (1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt, 2 Tabs tahini, 1 teas lemon juice, a dash of red pepper, 1 minced clove of garlic - whisked together until blended and chilled).  Mixed olives with feta cheese, a tossed green salad with a Greek dressing, and as is traditional, a bowl of iced cherries for dessert.

Give these a try.

Enjoy!

Pot Pies

Pot Pies are a great dinner time meal, and they are so easy, inexpensive, and a great way to stretch a little bit of food that would only serve one person into enough to serve 4 or 6 people easily.  This recipe will adapt easily for chicken, turkey or beef.

Preheat your oven 400 degrees

chicken, (about 1 cup chopped), turkey or beef
2 or 3 carrots
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
2 stalks celery
1/2 medium onion
5 or 6 mushrooms
peas, corn, green bean (1/2 cup each)
1 cup chicken stock (beef stock if you use beef)
2 Tabs butter
2 Tabs flour
1 cup milk
dried thyme, paprika, parsley, pepper, and any other spices you like
1 cup Bisquick
1 egg
1/2 milk

First chop your aromatic vegetables, (the carrots, onions, celery, garlic)  Get these ready to saute in some butter and olive oil.  Chop your mushrooms and set them aside for later.

 In a dutch oven pot, saute your aromatic vegetables.  Make sure to add a little salt and pepper to your vegetables to bring out their flavor.  Cook just until softened.  I use about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter.

Next you need to add about 2 tablespoons of flour and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes to remove the flour taste.  This will be the base of your thickener for the pot pie, (so do not rush this step).

Everything will now be a nice golden color and it smells wonderful.  Kind of like Thanksgiving morning.

Now add your broth.  I usually save my chicken stock when I cook my chicken, (it's perfect for these pot pies).  If your making a beef pie you will want to use beef stock, (I also save my beef stock when I cook a roast, there's so much more flavor than what you get in a can, and there's less salt.)

Now add your sliced mushrooms.  Let the stock cook for about 15 minutes until it starts to thicken up.

While the stock is cooking this is a good time to get the rest of your vegetables ready.  Since I garden during the summer - I can pull these vegetables out of my freezer and have them ready for the pot pies.  If you don't garden, you can buy a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, thaw them out and use them.  Or better yet buy some fresh veggies to use.  Yummy, and oh so good when you use fresh.

Add the rest of your vegetables and stir them in.

 Add your chopped meat. ( I had 1/2 of a chicken breast and 1 chicken leg.  By itself it would have only fed one person, but when I am done, I will have enough to feed 4 to 6 people. )

Stir everything and add your milk.  You can use whole milk, (I've used cream, and even skim milk in a pinch).

 Now add your spices.  Thyme, paprika, parsley, anything else that your want to flavor the sauce.  Continue cooking for about 10 more minutes to allow the flavors to develop and meld together.

If your pan is oven proof, you can save cleaning another pan and put the topping right over the filling.

Today, I'm going to put my filling in a non greased casserole dish.  Make sure your dish is deep enough that your have enough room above the filling for your pie topping.

 For the topping today, I'm going to use 1 cup Bisquick, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of milk, 1/2 teas thyme, 1/2 teas pepper

You can make a pie crust topping - VERY GOOD!
You can open a can of biscuits - VERY GOOD!

It's your choice what to put on top of the pot pie, depending on your family's desires and how pressed for time your are.

Mix the pot pie topping

Pour the topping over the pot pie.

Bake for about 30 minutes

 The top will be golden brown and the casserole hot and bubbly.  This smells wonderful!!


NOTE:  In a pinch for time, I have even used a can of cream of chicken soup, a bag of frozen vegetables, chopped meat and a can of refrigerator biscuits to make a quick pot pie.

This is your creation, and you can personalize it your way.

Now this says - Welcome home to dinner.  I'll serve a fresh made salad and this chicken pot pie to my husband, and I can hear him smacking his lips about how good it is.


So next time you have just a small amount of leftover chicken, turkey, or beef and some vegetables - go make a pot pie,  And let me know how it turned out.