Video: How To Carve A Turkey

Recipe: Campbell's Kitchen: Autumn Cabbage Rolls

This hearty and filling dish is an easy to make recipe that I found courtesy of Campbell's Soup.
Cabbage tends to be inexpensive usually going to a few cents per pound. When ground turkey is on sale, I buy it to make this or keep it in the freezer until I have everything ready to make this dish.

10 large cabbage leaves

1 pound ground turkey

1 small onion, minced (about 1/4 cup)

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Tomato Soup

1 slice stale or toasted Pepperidge Farm® Whole Grain 100% Whole Wheat Bread, crumbled

1 1/4 cups water

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 small onion, sliced (about 1/4 cup)

1/2 cup shredded cabbage

1 medium carrot, sliced (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

• Place the cabbage leaves into a 4-quart saucepan and add water to cover. Heat over medium-high heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes or until the cabbage is tender. Drain the cabbage leaves on paper towels.
  
• Cook the turkey and minced onion in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until the turkey is well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.
• Stir the turkey mixture, soup, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup water and black pepper in a large bowl.
• Spoon 1/4 cup turkey mixture in the center of each cabbage leaf. Fold the cabbage leaves around the filling. Place the cabbage rolls, seam-side down, into a 12-inch skillet.
  
• Add the sliced onion, shredded cabbage, carrot and remaining water in the skillet and heat over medium-high heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 1 hour or until the filling is cooked through, basting the cabbage rolls occasionally with the pan liquid.
  
• Remove the cabbage rolls from the skillet and keep warm.
  
• Stir the lemon juice, brown sugar, and cornstarch in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. Stir the lemon juice mixture in the skillet. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture boils and thickens. Serve the sauce with the cabbage rolls.

Recipe: Light Shepherd's Pie

When 10 oz. boxes of frozen vegetables are on sale, stock up on them! I especially buy the frozen spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, and peas & carrots. They come in handy at a moments notice to bulk up a dish or even make my lighter version of the classic Shepherd's Pie!

Still have potatoes from St. Patrick's Day grocery shopping? Left over mashed potatoes? This dish will be a cinch!

Ingredients

• 1 frozen deep dish pie crust
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots (defrosted)
• 4 potatoes, peeled, boiled, and mashed
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Brown ground turkey and sauté onions in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil until golden. Add defrosted peas and carrots and continue to sauté for a minute. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper to taste. Set a side to cool.

Whip the skim milk, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into hot mashed potatoes with a whisk making them fluffy and light.

Fill the frozen deep dish pie crust just to the top with the meat filling then top with mash potatoes. Drag a fork along the top of mash potatoes back and forth or from the center out to make ridges and bake at 350° until potato topping is puffed and browned, and pie crust golden and flaky about 25 to 35 minutes.

Shepherd's Pie is traditionally made with ground lamb and is baked in a casserole dish. It's called Cottage Pie if made with ground beef. I made up this version after tasting my brother's recipe and lightened it up using ground turkey, frozen vegetables, skim milk and omitting the eggs. Using a frozen pie crust makes it easier to take a slice with you to work to microwave for lunch. I like to use Oronoque Brand frozen pie crust (it's made by Mrs. Smith's).

Recipe: Turkey & Brie Piada

A piada or piadina is a very popular Italian flat bread sandwich that is a specialty of the Emilia-Romagna region. I recently visited an Italian sandwich store in the Lower East Side and watched how they were made.

Hope you enjoy this tasty and easy piada recipe that I created inspired by my experience.

• 1 round whole wheat flat bread (Aladdin Bakers brand can be found in supermarkets)


• 3 to 4 thin slices of brie cheese


• 4 to 5 slices smoked turkey breast


• 4 to 5 leaves of arugula (watercress can also be used)

1. Heat a 10" pan over low heat (or use an electric griddle) and warm the flat bread 1 minute on each side.



2. Layer the brie cheese and arugula on one half of the bread and allow to warm up (about 30 seconds or more). Add layers of turkey over the brie and arugula.



3. Fold over in half and with a spatula and press down allowing the melting cheese to hold the sandwich together.



4. Transfer the sandwich to a cutting board and cut in half. Serve immediately.


*Traditionally, the piada is made with white flour flat bread. Experiment using different meats, cheeses, and greens.

Jack's 99 Cent Store in Midtown sells most of ingredients listed so I was able to make 5 piadas for about $3! Pretty good in this tough economy,eh?