Mystery Lovers' Kitchen: Ground Turkey

Showing posts with label Ground Turkey. Show all posts

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Easy Enchiladas #Recipe @PegCochran

I found this easy enchilada recipe on the Betty Crocker web site. I followed the recipe pretty closely except I traded ground turkey for the beef and corn tortillas for the flour tortillas--I find they hold up better and also contribute to the taste. Normally I make my own enchilada sauce (it's not hard) but I was in the mood for something super simple. Sometimes you just don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen, you know? These turned out great even with the store bought ingredients! If you keep a couple of cans of enchilada sauce and a package of tortillas in the pantry and some ground meat in the freezer, you can whip up a meal without having to go to the grocery store. Always a plus!

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey

2 cans (10 oz each) red enchilada sauce

1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1 package flour or corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Heat the oven to 375 degrees and spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Sauté ground beef or turkey in a skillet until cooked through. Drain any grease. Add 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and the green chilies.

Spread 1/2 cup enchilada sauce in the baking pan.

Prepare enchiladas: Spread 1/4 cup meat mixture down the middle of the tortilla. Sprinkle with one tablespoon shredded cheese. Roll tortilla tightly and place seam side down in baking dish. **If using corn tortillas you may have to soften them a bit first by moistening with enchilada sauce.

Top with remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

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Cranberry Cove #7 is finally here! Publication date: September 20.

Monica's stepmother wakes up next to a dead man! Did she do it?

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An unscrupulous realtor pays the ultimate closing costs in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!

Autumn is settling in on Cranberry Cove, but things are starting to heat up when Monica’s stepmother shows up at her back door gripped by panic. Gasping out an explanation, she tells Monica she’d been dozing in her realtor’s car when he was shot dead. Refusing to alert the police for fear that the killer will target her next—or that the police will consider her their prime suspect—Monica’s stepmother goes mute, and Monica decides to track down the culprit herself to clear her name and keep her safe.

Finding the killer won’t be so easy, though, as the victim had run afoul of buyers, sellers, and even other realtors at one time or another, and it seems that nearly everyone in the small town had a reason to want him dead. Even more puzzling is that the deeper Monica digs into the background and final days of the victim, the more the clues point to her stepmother. Then a second body is found, and Monica realizes she’s going up against a devious killer who will stop at nothing to put everyone involved out of commission . . .

Saturday, May 29, 2021

Meatballs Marsala #Recipe @PegCochan

This recipe comes from Skinnytaste although I made a few adaptations. You can easily substitute ground turkey for the ground chicken, which can be difficult to find although you can grind a breast or two in your food processor. Also, our store doesn't offer the widest array of mushrooms so I substituted baby bellas for both mushrooms in the recipe. If you can find the others though, I'm sure it would be delicious! And finally, I didn't have any Pecorino cheese but found that Parmesan was just as delicious.

This is a great recipe for meal prep--you can make and freeze the meatballs in advance and then finish the dish the night you plan to put it on the menu.

Ingredients

8 ounces mushrooms – Cremini, regular, baby bellas (divided)
1 lb. ground chicken or ground turkey
1/3 cup bread crumbs with Italian seasoning
¼ cup Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBL chopped parsley
Salt and ground pepper to taste
½ TBL flour
½ TBL unsalted butter
¼ cup chopped shallots
3 ounces sliced shitake mushrooms
1/3 cup Marsala wine
¾ cup chicken broth

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Finely chop half of the Cremini mushrooms (or mushrooms of your choice) and transfer to a medium bowl with the ground chicken or turkey, breadcrumbs, Pecorino, egg, 1 clove of the minced garlic, parsley, 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste) and black pepper, to taste.

Gently shape into 25 small meatballs, bake 15 to 18 minutes, until golden.

In a small bowl whisk the flour with the Marsala wine and broth.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat.

Add the butter, remaining garlic and shallots and cook until soft and golden, about 2 minutes.

Add the remaining mushrooms, season with 1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste) and a pinch of black pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes.

Add the meatballs to the pot, pour the Marsala wine mixture over the meatballs, cover and cook 10 minutes.

Writer-in-residence Penelope Parish will need to use every trick in her quaint British bookshop to unravel a murderous plot that threatens to ruin a ducal wedding.

The wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Upper Chumley-on Stoke has all the makings of a fairy tale, complete with a glowing bride and horse-drawn carriage. But it wouldn't be much of a story without a villain, and as American Gothic novelist Penelope Parish is coming to learn, happy-ever-afters are as fraught in this charming British town as they are in her books.

When the Duke's former girlfriend is found murdered at the reception it's up to Penelope and her newfound family at the Open Book bookshop to catch the killer before they strike again.

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Murder in the Margins has everything: England * Charming town * Book shop * Writer-in-residence * Royalty * Cute detective * Murder!

The plot thickens for American gothic writer Penelope Parish when a murder near her quaint British bookshop reveals a novel's worth of killer characters.

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Saturday, February 20, 2021

Ground turkey and vegetable soup #Recipe @PegCochran

Is it cold and snowy or icy where you are? If so, this soup will warm you right up. It makes a quick dinner--add some crusty bread if you like--and leftovers are great for lunch. And if you are in a state experiencing power outages and lack of water, you have my sympathy and prayers.

The basis for this soup comes from a recipe on the Roasted Root blog. I adapted it to suit what I had on hand. I omitted the potatoes because I was out and added about 1/2 a cup of elbow macaroni to finish off a box I had in the pantry. I also chopped the carrots to make a sort of mirepoix sans celery, which I also didn't have. And I omitted the zucchini because we didn't have any. I would have omitted it anyway because I would be afraid it would get mushy in the soup and create an unpleasant texture. I used lite coconut milk because that is what I had instead of full fat and I can't imagine there's much of a difference.

The recipe below is the original with notes of my changes.

Ingredients

4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped (I used center cut)
1/2 yellow onion, diced (I used a whole onion)
1 lb. ground turkey
3 small yukon gold potatoes, chopped (optional)
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium zucchini squash, chopped (optional)
4 cups chicken broth
1 15 ounce can coconut milk (lite is fine)

1/2 cup elbow macaroni (optional)
3 cups baby spinach
salt to taste

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the chopped bacon. Cook until most of the fat has been rendered.

Add the onion and carrots and cook until translucent.

Push onions to the side of the pot and add the ground turkey. Brown turkey on both sides and break into small pieces.

Add the remaining ingredients except the spinach, cover the pot and bring to a full boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through. (If you are adding elbow macaroni, add it now and cook until al dente--about 7 minutes.)

Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about another 2 to 3 minutes.

Murder in the Margins has everything: England * Charming town * Book shop * Writer-in-residence * Royalty * Cute detective * Murder!

The plot thickens for American gothic writer Penelope Parish when a murder near her quaint British bookshop reveals a novel's worth of killer characters.

Penelope Parish has hit a streak of bad luck, including a severe case of writer's block that is threatening her sophomore book. Hoping a writer in residence position at The Open Book bookstore in Upper Chumley-on-Stoke, England, will shake the cobwebs loose, Pen, as she's affectionately known, packs her typewriter and heads across the pond.

Unfortunately, life in Chumley is far from quiet and when the chairwoman of the local Worthington Fest is found dead, fingers are pointed at Charlotte Davenport, an American romance novelist and the future Duchess of Worthington. Charlotte turns to the one person who might be her ally for help: fellow American Pen. Teaming up with bookstore owner Mabel Morris and her new friend Figgy, Pen sets out to learn the truth and find the tricks that will help her finish her novel.

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Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Our Secrets to Making The Perfect Patty Melt -- A Holiday Buzz recipe from Cleo Coyle

Patty melts are absolutely delicious and (IMO) even better than burgers. The traditional version is made with juicy ground beef, but you can certainly mix it up with ground turkey or chicken. The only drawback to making these instead of burgers is an extra step or two in the process, which is why I make them extra-large—eight big ounces per patty melt. No, I do not eat the whole eight-ounce sandwich myself, and that's the point...

Cut this mondo patty melt in half, and you’ve got dinner for two. Cook two of these big boys, and you’ve got dinner for four.

Less sandwiches = less work.

And less work always helps me eat with joy! ;)

A Note from Cleo

Cleo Coyle has a partner in

crime-writing—her husband.

Learn about their books

by clicking here and here.

The 5-Napkin Burger is a popular eatery here in New York City, which is what inspired our 8-Napkin Patty Melt. Why eight napkins? One napkin for every ounce of meat, of course.

Our readers might recall this sandwich from a scene in our 12th Coffeehouse Mystery, Holiday Buzz. Coffee hunter Matteo Allegro, weary of the healthy but flavor-challenged appetizers served at a string of Manhattan holiday parties, ventures into the December night to bring back a more satisfying snack—this 8-napkin patty melt. He shares it with his partner in the coffee business, Clare Cosi, while she shares the facts (and a cogent theory) behind the murder of a part-time employee.

To see more recipes from the book, click here.

Click here for the
Free Recipe Guide.

AND NOW...

Our Secrets to Making

The Perfect Patty Melt

🍴

To download a free PDF

version of this recipe that

you can print, save,
or share, CLICK HERE.

Click here for Free PDF to -
The Perfect Patty Melt

OUR SIX SECRETS

Secret #1: Be patient with grilling the onions. Cook them long enough to caramelize and you’ll have a much tastier sandwich.

Secret #2: Use large slices of bread and shape the patty long in order to fit the bread.

Secret #3: Don’t make the patty or bread slices too thick, about an inch.

Secret #4: Once your ingredients are ready (the onions caramelized; the burger cooked), build the entire sandwich on a spatula. This will allow you as much time as you need to fix the ingredients just right. Then you can move the spatula to the hot pan, and slip the entire sandwich into the bubbling butter in one quick move.

Secret #5: To prevent your grilled onions from falling out of the sandwich, follow the "building" instructions in the recipe (you'll see it below). The trick is with the placement of the cheese.

Secret #6: Use the spatula to push down on the sandwich during cooking; a simple way to make a delicious “pressed sandwich” without a sandwich press.

And here is the full recipe...

Cleo Coyle's (Perfect)
8-Napkin Patty Melt

Makes two 8-ounce Patty Melts (for four servings)

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion

(a bit of) vegetable oil and butter

4 large slices of bread (see my note below*)

16 ounces (1 pound) ground beef

8 slices of Swiss or cheddar cheese

Kosher or sea salt

*A note on the bread: A patty melt this big requires large (but not overly thick) slices of bread. Fresh crusty Italian or rye bread from a rustic loaf will make a truly amazing patty melt. If using pre-packaged bread, go for the super-sized sandwich-style and not the standard slices.

Directions:

Step 1: Cook the onion – Peel and chop the large yellow onion. Place a pan over low heat, melt a bit of butter, add a splash of oil, and stir in the onions. Slowly cook the onions, stirring often, until they are caramelized (soft, sweet, and dark golden brown), about fifteen minutes. Set the cooked onions aside.

Step 2: Form and cook the patty - The shape of the ground meat patties should fit the bread that you're using, so shape the meat accordingly. Each patty should be 8-ounces in weight and about 1-inch in thickness (or a little less). Cook the patties over medium-high heat, three to four minutes per side. For best results, try to flip the patties only once. When the patties are cooked through, set aside.

Step 3: Build your sandwich – Start by buttering two slices of the bread...

- Place one slice on a spatula, buttered side down.
- Lay one or two thin slices of cheese on the bread.
- Place the cooked ground meat patty onto the cheese.
- Place another slice of cheese over the patty.
- Add half the caramelized onions.
- A final slice of cheese should cover the onions (when it melts this last slice will help to hold the savory sweet onions inside the sandwich).
- Finally, top the patty melt with a slice of buttered bread, but this time you want the buttered side up.

Step 4: Grill and press – Heat a skillet and add a bit of butter. When the butter begins to bubble, use your spatula to transfer the fully-built sandwich to the hot pan. From this point on, treat the patty melt as if it were a grilled cheese sandwich...

Toast one side for 3 to 4 minutes and then flip. After flipping, press down hard on the sandwich with your spatula. Pressing the patty melt as it cooks will help the parts of the sandwich fuse together. Grill for 3 or 4 more minutes, until the cheese is completely melted. (Make the 2nd sandwich exactly the same way.)

Serve hot! A dill pickle is a thing of beauty with a patty melt. The bright tartness of the pickle (not to mention the happy, green color) nicely complements the rich unctuousness of the sandwich. Cole slaw, French fries, or potato chips are tasty sides, too. However you serve it, I certainly hope you will...eat with plenty of joy!