Turkle Burgles

We were on a spring break trip in CA last week, and the husband pointed out that I hadn't updated my blog in awhile. I knew he was right, so today I decided to make blog updating a priority. and then I got distracted by Pinterest and going through my picture folders to see what exactly I wanted to blog about, so now I only have time to do one post instead of the two or three I had planned. Oh well! I was amazingly efficient today, so let's hope that carries over to tomorrow. Of course, it helps that Boy #2 is being entertained by an alphabet/phonics video.

This isn't anything we've had recently, but it's super yummy, and Boy #1 keeps talking about them, so I figured I should write a post about them. I have no idea where the name of this came from, but it's something my family has always eaten, especially with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. The sandwiches are so easy to put together, and really tasty! Hey, if my six year old asks for them repeatedly, you know it has to be something good! he even took them for his lunch, cold!

Turkle Burgles
Serves 4

4 hamburger buns or sandwich rolls (I use Oroweat Sandwich Thins)
8 slices cooked bacon
8 slices turkey (or enough for four sandwiches)
4 slices cheese
Thousand Island salad dressing (or homemade with mayo, ketchup, and relish)

Heat broiler. Toast hamburger buns. Place bottom half of buns on a cookie sheet. Top with 2 slices of turkey, 2 strips of bacon (I tore mine in half to get more bacon coverage), and slice of cheese. Place under broiler until cheese begins to melt. Spread dressing on top half of bun and top sandwich.

*****

Seriously, the hardest part of these was mixing up my own Thousand Island dressing. We had these a couple nights in a row when we had leftover turkey after the holidays because 1) they're so easy to put together, and 2) we all loved them. I'm sure they could be made using turkey lunchmeat, too, if you didn't have any leftover turkey meat, I've just always had them with leftover turkey.

Typing this out and looking at the pictures almost makes me want to find a turkey to cook...almost!

Mexican Lasagna

Happy New Year, everyone!! Are you excited about what 2012 has in store for you? I'm hoping it has more blogging in it for me. I've kind of decided to just go forward with my blog here and potentially not go back and fill in the missing posts I had wanted to do. I don't know...I can't decide. I figure I'll start current and then when I have some time I'll add in old ones here and there. Otherwise I just get too overwhelmed and don't do anything.

My childhood best friend posted on Facebook recently about calories for a Mexican lasagna she makes. I asked her for the recipe because it sounded tasty just from the title. She sent it to me, and I had most everything on hand already, so I put it into my meal plan for the week. Worked out great because I was low on grocery money this week. I was excited to try it--and that it was low cal! 2011 was the year I got fit, so now I'm really focusing on staying that way, so tasty and low-cal recipes that come highly recommended are fantastic!

Mexican Lasagna
Source: Adapted from my friend Sarah (who has a really funny blog about Jason Segel)

1.25 pounds ground turkey
1/2 onion, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Taco seasoning
28 oz can enchilada sauce
1 medium zucchini, shredded
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 can refried beans
4 whole wheat tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brown ground turkey and onion in skillet with salt, pepper, and taco seasoning (no more than one packet...use however much you like to taste...or throw in random taco seasoning spices like chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and paprika if you don't have actual taco seasoning). Pour enchilada sauce into skillet and add in vegetables (you can use others, too, whatever floats your boat or what you have on hand). Simmer.

In separate pan, heat can of refried beans.

Coat a 9x13 dish with cooking spray. Spread half of the turkey and vegetable mixture in the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the refried beans, spreading to cover as best you can. Top with two whole wheat tortillas, then half of cheese. Repeat layers.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Cut into eight servings.

*****

I didn't change this a whole lot from how Sarah sent it to me, just added in more veggies and used flour tortillas instead of corn. I had intended on using corn originally, but I ran out of time to make them like I'd planned and didn't have any on hand, so whole wheat flour tortillas is what I ended up using. It worked out fine...I probably could have used a couple more so the tortilla layers were thicker, but no one complained.

This was super easy to put together and SO GOOD. Well, the husband and I both thought so. My kids weren't really fans. Boy #2 ate his up once I mixed some Greek yogurt (in lieu of sour cream, which we didn't have on hand) in it to cut the spice a bit. Boy #1 picked at his even with the yogurt mixed in, but he did end up eating a decent amount of his serving. I will definitely make it again.

Oh, and I calculated it to only be 310 calories per serving! Not bad at all--and it was so filling!

Turkey Tetrazzini

Many, many years ago I bought a special edition of Cooking Light. On the front of the magazine it says "Display until December 31, 2003." There's a recipe in it for Chicken Tetrazzini that always looked good to me, but for whatever reason I never made it. I remember at one point I was going to make it for a friend after she had a baby, but then I think she ended up having to be admitted to the hospital again, so I never took them dinner. A few weeks ago I cooked a whole turkey because it was taking up a lot of space in my freezer, and I remembered this recipe. I figured I'd switch the chicken to turkey and use up some of the meat I had left. Win win!

Chicken Tetrazzini
Source: Cooking Light

1 tablespoon butter
Cooking spray
1 cup finely chopped onion
2/3 cup finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 (8-ounce) packages presliced mushrooms
1/2 cup dry sherry
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 (14.5-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 1/4 cups (9 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
7 cups hot cooked vermicelli (about 1 pound uncooked pasta)
4 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 (1-ounce) slice white bread

Preheat oven to 350°.

Melt butter in large stockpot coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, pepper, salt, and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Add sherry; cook 1 minute.

Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup; level with a knife. Gradually add flour to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly (mixture will be thick) with a whisk. Gradually add broth, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.

Add 1 3/4 cups Parmesan cheese and cream cheese, stirring with a whisk until cream cheese melts. Add the pasta and chicken, and stir until blended. Divide the pasta mixture between 2 (8-inch-square) baking dishes coated with cooking spray.

Place bread in food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs form. Combine breadcrumbs and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; sprinkle evenly over pasta mixture.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove casserole from oven; let stand 15 minutes.

To freeze unbaked casserole: Prepare through Step 5. Cool completely in refrigerator. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Wrap with heavy-duty foil. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

To prepare frozen unbaked casserole: Thaw casserole completely in refrigerator (about 24 hours). Preheat oven to 350º. Remove foil; reserve foil. Remove plastic wrap; discard wrap. Cover casserole with reserved foil; bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 1 hour or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes.

*****

I originally planned this on a night that I was taking dinner to someone from church, but then I found out she's diabetic, so I wasn't sure if this would be the best dish for her to have. i didn't want to come up with something new, so I figured I'd go ahead and still make it for us and take her something different. At first I was going to cut it in half instead of freezing a casserole, so I only got two packages of mushrooms, but then I figured I might as well make it as written and have one in the freezer. I stuck with the reduced amount of mushrooms. My kids aren't big mushroom fans anyway, so it kind of worked out okay. Oh, and instead of making bread crumbs for the top I used some panko I already had on hand.

I was worried it was going to be too bland when I tasted it once everything was mixed together, but I needed to be leaving to take dinner, so I didn't have time to play around with it. It was definitely on the bland side, so with the one I was putting in the freezer I took it out of the casserole dish and added some Lawry's Seasoned Salt to it. I think I've gotten lazy lately because that's my go to seasoning when I think a dish is lacking flavor. It's just easier to throw some of that in there than try and figure out what it really needs.

This is definitely something I'd make again, and it's extra nice that it makes two (or I suppose you could do it all in one bigger pan) because now I have a go to dinner in the freezer when I need something fast.

Claire's Smothered Turkey Burgers

I'm really not sure what else to call this recipe, but I think what I've dubbed it will work. In figuring out my meals for the week I was looking at recipes on the Whole Foods app on my phone (oh how I heart Whole Foods) and saw one that sounded good and easy. It was Mushroom and Swiss Patty Melts with Peas. Somehow, though, I combined that recipe with one I'd seen in a Cook's Illustrated magazine for salisbury steak. I could have sworn there was a gravy of some sort for the patty melts. So much so, in fact, that when I was grocery shopping I was surprised that beef broth wasn't on my grocery list to make said gravy. Although in hindsight I don't know why I thought there'd be a beef gravy with turkey burgers. Who knows. I'm not completely with it if I have one or more kids with me while I grocery shop. If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, when I checked the recipe this afternoon to see how long it was going to take I was surprised there was no gravy included. When it came time to make dinner I decided I'd go ahead and make a gravy on my own. I love gravy, and once I had the thought of it in my head there was no way I was going without gravy tonight.

Claire's Smothered Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey
4 slices Monterey Jack cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 ounce container mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp beef gravy mix
Salt
Pepper
Onion powder
Garlic powder

Coat skillet with non-stick spray and heat over medium high heat. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to ground turkey. Mix well and form into four patties. Place patties in heated skillet. Cook 4-5 minutes per side. When burgers are flipped, place cheese slices on patties and let cheese melt.

Meanwhile, in another skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add mushrooms and onion and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add beef broth to pan, reserving 1 tablespoon. In a small bowl, combine beef gravy mix with reserved tablespoon beef broth. Add to mushroom, onion, and broth mixture. Stir to combine and stir until thickened.

Remove patties from pan when cooked through and top with gravy.


*****

I really liked this. Ground turkey is just so bland to me, so the gravy really gave it a lot of flavor. Only the husband and I had gravy on ours. The boy doesn't like mushrooms or onions, so I figured he wouldn't be interested, but I knew he'd eat just the burger. The baby might have eaten it with the gravy, but he's in love with ketchup, so I figured he'd be fine without gravy as long as he had ketchup on his plate. I had originally planned on mixing some cornstarch with beef broth to thicken it up, but I couldn't find any in my pantry. I saw the container of brown gravy mix and figured that would work great--and it did! This was really easy to make and came together really fast, so it's definitely something I'll make again.

South Beach Stuffed Peppers

I love stuffed peppers. The husband used to not like green peppers (I don't know, he may still not like them, but I love them so he's forced into eating them), so I never had them. I'd buy the Stouffer's frozen peppers and take in my lunch to work or keep on hand at home for when I was on my own for dinner. I've made stuffed peppers a few times (my friend Jen has a really good stuffed peppers recipe), so I was excited to see a recipe for them that didn't have rice or pasta as part of the stuffing.

South Beach Stuffed peppers
From Food.com

4 bell peppers
olive oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 stalk celery, chopped with top
1 -2 garlic clove, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon spike all purpose seasoning (for zest)
28 ounces ground peeled tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded cheese (or more)

Wash the peppers, cut the tops off, and place in oiled glass dish. Cover and microwave the peppers for 5 minutes.

Saute the veggies and ground turkey with a dollop of olive oil. (I chop up the usable remainders of the pepper tops as well). Add the tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes to evaporate some of the liquid.

Stuff the peppers and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the peppers are soft and the cheese is toasted.

Add Ins: you could add cooked rice or stir in extra cheese to the mixture before baking.

*****

I didn't make any changes, other than using different colored peppers. I made five peppers and used yellow, orange, and red peppers. I used reduced fat sharp cheddar for my cheese.

These were some of the easiest peppers I've ever made. I love the idea of cooking the peppers slightly in the microwave first...10 minutes of cooking time at the end is fantastic! Our friend Steve was over for dinner, and we all really liked these. My kids shared one, the adults each had one, but I don't think any of us finished our entire peppers. I had enough filling for another pepper. It's actually still in my fridge because I figured it would be easy enough to just heat up a pepper, stuff it, and bake it in my toaster oven for a hearty lunch. Perhaps that will be my lunch for tomorrow!

I'll definitely make this one again, too...diet or no diet! (Don't you love finding diet food like that?!)

Turkey Sliders

While grocery shopping recently I saw packages of ground turkey on sale BOGO, so I figured I'd buy a couple. The husband is not a fan of turkey, but I'm forcing him to eat it anyway. I think it's growing on him. It's funny, he's a completely different eater than he was when we met. I wouldn't say he was picky then, but he was definitely particular about what he ate, and there were hardly any vegetables he'd eat. I'm so proud of him. :)

I didn't really know what to do with the turkey when I bought it, I just figured since we don't eat red meat very often it would be nice to have on hand. Then I thought of a recipe my friend Jen had made for sliders, so I thought why not do those but with ground turkey instead. Plus sliders are awesome!!

I'll post the link to the recipe Jen used; she modified it slightly from wherever she found it, so instead of a big long "adapted from Jen, adapted from so-and-so, adapted from another-so-and-so" you can go check the post on her blog if you're that interested.

Turkey Sliders
Adapted from Jen's White Castle Style Sliders

1/2 cup dried onion flakes
1 package ground turkey (I think it's 1.25 lbs)
1/2 teaspoon of Lawry's seasoned salt
6 slices of American cheese
12 whole wheat dinner rolls
Dill pickle relish to taste

Combine onion flakes, ground turkey, and seasoned salt in a large bowl and mix together. Spread the mixture in an 11x7 glass baking dish. Press evenly making one giant pattie.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Using a paper towel, pat the excess grease from the top of the pattie. Top with cheese slices, return to oven for 2 more minutes. Remove from oven, let set 5 minutes then cut into patties (I did 12 patties). Slice open and separate each dinner roll. Using a spatula lift pattie onto each bun bottom. Top each slider with some pickle relish on the bun lid and serve immediately.

*****

Oh man. OH MAN, were these good!! I gave the kids each two, and the boy ended up wanting a third. That's almost unheard of around here. And it was slightly disappointing because I was banking on him only eating two so I could have another one. Oh well. The only issue was that my turkey shrank up a lot...there was quite a bit of turkey shrinkage. Haha...shrinkage. Anyway, I figured it would happen, and it wasn't really a problem, just something to note.

These are something I will definitely be making again!

Mmmmm...sliders!


Mmmmm...sliders and baked kale chips!

Jen's Chicken Pot Pie

I thought it had been a really long time since I updated, but I see it was just last Thursday. That isn't too bad I guess. The boy has become obsessed with playing games on the PBS Kids website, so if I so much as turn on the laptop downstairs he is constantly begging to play games. I haven't gotten as much blog updating done as I would have liked. We have a family blog also, and I haven't updated that one in well over a month.

Anyway, I need a quick fix dinner one night last week because the whole chicken I had gotten out wasn't even close to being defrosted. I remembered I had some frozen cooked turkey left from Thanksgiving #2 back in December, and I had frozen pie crusts. Voila...how about a pot pie?! My friend Jen B. has a really good pot pie recipe (she made it for us when the baby was born), so I found it on her blog. It sounded super easy, and I had everything on hand for it.

Jen's Chicken Pot Pie

Pastry for 2 pie crusts (I use frozen)
1/2 cup of chopped onions
6 Tablespoons of butter
1/2 cup of flour
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups cooked cubed chicken
1 10 ounce package of frozen veggies (I use peas, corn, carrot, green bean mix)
1 clove of minced garlic
paprika to taste (1/2 teaspoon or more)
garlic powder to taste (1/2 teaspoon or more)
onion powder to taste (1/2 teaspoon or more)
dried parsley flakes to taste (1 teaspoon or more)
salt and pepper to taste (1 teaspoon each or more)

Directions:
Preheat oven at 450 degrees. Cook frozen veggies according to package directions and set aside.

In large saute pan, cook onion in butter until tender (but not brown). Add garlic and cook for another minute. Blend in flour, parsley, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Add chicken stock all at once. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly. Once thick and bubbly, add cooked chicken cubes and cooked veggies.

Thaw and prepare pastry crust according to package directions. Pour filling into one pie crust. Top with second pie crust, pinch edges together to seal two pie crusts together, and cut vent slits in top. Butter top of pie. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until pie crust is done.

*****

All notes and directions above are Jens'. I used turkey for mine because it's what I had. The only frozen vegetables I had were a peas and carrot mix and about half a bag of frozen broccoli, so that's what I used. Instead of cooking the vegetables separately I just added them in with the meat and let them heat up in the sauce. I thought mine tasted a little bland so I added in some poultry seasoning and Lawry's seasoned salt to kick it up a little. And can I also add that I wish I knew how to make a pretty pie crust edge? I just can't ever seem to get it. Sigh.

I love pot pies. They're so homey and comforting and tasty and good. The husband isn't a super big fan of them, but I really like them. I thought this was fantastic. Everyone ate it really well which for me is a sign of a winning dinner. The filling made enough for two pies, so I froze the other half and will have it at a later time when I need a quick fix dinner. Oh, I forgot...I cut down on the amount of butter to make it a little healthier. I used about 2 Tbsp of butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil. I was worried my roux wasn't going to turn out okay, but it was fine. Or at least I thought it was fine. The decrease in butter may have been part of the reason mine needed a little extra flavor, too. I loved how fast this came together and was ready to eat. this will definitely be my go-to pot pie recipe!!



Hmmm...I should have taken a picture of it sliced so you could see the yummy inside!

Kittencal's Perfected Roasted Whole Turkey

Wow, I had no idea it would take me until Monday to get the recipes for Thanksgiving #2, although I should have expected it since most of Saturday was spent preparing the meal, then most of yesterday was spent at my mom's hanging out with my brother since it was his last day here.

Anyway, I'd only ever cooked a whole turkey once before, but I didn't want to use that same recipe. In case you're interested in it, it was from the magazine Real Simple, Roast Turkey with Sage and Orange Gravy. My friend Benah made it one time for the Supper Club we used to do every month, and it was awesome. But, you have to spread Boursin under the skin of the turkey, and Jen is having a hard time with dairy while she's pregnant, so I wanted something different. I turned to RecipeZaar.com because that's just where I go when I need to find a recipe. I looked at a ton of the turkey recipes on there and thought this one sounded simple and easy...totally what I wanted in a turkey! Kittencal is the name of the person that submitted the recipe; I have several of her recipes bookmarked to try, and they all sound fantastic.

Kittencal's Perfect Roasted Whole Turkey
RecipeZaar.com Recipe #199612

1 (18 lb) whole turkey
1/3 cup melted butter, cooled (can use margarine)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon white salt (or use as much salt as desired)
fresh ground black pepper (lots of pepper!)
2 quarts chicken stock (might use less)
8 cups favorite prepared stuffing (optional)

Set oven to 325 degrees F, convection oven heat set to 320 degrees F. Set oven rack to lowest position.

Remove the giblets and neck from the cavity. Rinse the turkey well with cold water inside and out then pat dry with a paper towel. Place the turkey on a rack on a roasting pan.

In a small bowl mix together the melted butter with oil (add in 1 teaspoon garlic powder with the oil/butter mixture if you are a garlic-lover). If you are stuffing the bird, fill the inside cavity loosley with prepared stuffing (if you are not using stuffing then tie the legs together with cotton butchers twine).

Using clean hands rub the outside of the turkey with the oil/butter/garlic mixture. Season the turkey all over with salt and lots fresh ground black pepper.

If you are NOT stuffing the bird place breast-side down on the rack, if stuffing leave breast-side up. Place/tent a large piece of heavy foil over the turkey. Place the pan in the oven, then pour about 4-5 cups chicken broth in the pan. Keep basting the turkey about every 30-40 minutes with the pan juices on the bottom of the pan (removing the foil and re-tenting every time you baste). If you see the juices starting to evaporate then add in more broth to the pan about 2 cups at a time.

After about 2-1/2 hours of cooking time remove the foil. Keep roasting (325 degrees F) until the internal thermometer reads 180 degrees F (80 degrees C). The total cooking time for this 18-pound stuffed bird should be about 4 hours. Transfer the cooked turkey to a large serving platter, cover loosley with foil and let rest 30 minutes before carving (DO NOT slice the turkey before 30 minutes or all juices will flow out of the bird!).

**NOTE** cooking times for whole turkeys cooked at 325 degrees are as follows.
- For an 8-12 pound turkey, roast for 2-3/4 to 3 hours.
- For a 12-14 pound turkey, roast for 3 to 3-3/4 hours.
- For a 14-18 pound turkey, roast for 3-3/4 to 4-1/4 hours.
- For an 18-20 pound turkey, roast for 4-1/2 to 4-3/4 hours.

*****

See? Totally simple! I wasn't really sure how it was going to work getting the bird out of the roasting pan and then flipping it over, but Jen came up with the brilliant idea of using a big fork and the honing blade for my knives. Smart cookie that one!! The only bummer was that the skin on the breast side of the turkey wasn't all golden and shiny and crispy like the side that had cooked facing up, but the breast meat was really juicy and good.

Actually the cooking time worked out perfectly. The turkey I had was 17 pounds, so I left it in there just a little over four hours, then took it out and let it set the recommended 30 minutes, which was great because most of the sides I needed to throw in the oven needed 30 minutes of bake time! I love when meals come together like that--especially big ones like this!

When the need arises for me to cook another turkey this is definitely the way I'm going to do it! Oh, and I did use the garlic powder in the butter/oil mixture. It smelled awesome, and I'm generally not a turkey skin eater, but I did have a bit, and it was quite tasty!

Turkey Salad Wraps

Did you know that Whole Foods has an app for the iPhone? They do. I heart Whole Foods (although I can't afford to shop there on a routine basis), and I heart them even more after I found that cool app. I needed some dinner ideas for this week and decided to check that out and see what I found. Since it's blazing hot and I don't feel like heating up my kitchen, I searched their sandwich recipes. When I got the new fridge and was cleaning out the old one I came across a bag of diced turkey meat that needed to be used up. Safeway had cooked turkey breasts for $5 awhile back, so I bought one and diced it up and stuck it in the freezer for later use. Honestly I had kind of forgotten about it. When I saw this recipe I thought it would be perfect because it would be a light summer dinner and use up the turkey I have!

The husband, however, is not a fan of turkey, so if he asks (since I don't think he checks my blog anymore), I'm telling him it's chicken. Same goes for the boy so he doesn't blab that it's turkey!

Turkey Salad Wraps

Salt to taste
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless turkey breast fillets
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup lowfat yogurt
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Pepper to taste
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1 cup frozen yellow corn, thawed and drained
1 jalapeño pepper, finely chopped
4 tortillas, preferably red chile variety
1 pint alfalfa sprouts

Bring 2 quarts water and 1 teaspoon salt to a simmer in a medium pot over low heat. Add turkey and simmer 10 to 12 minutes, or until cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside to let cool for 15 minutes, then cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, lime juice, and cumin in a small bowl; season with salt and pepper. Add cooked turkey, celery, onions, corn and jalapeños and toss to coat.

Spoon about 1 cup of the turkey salad onto each tortilla, then top with a generous handful of sprouts. Roll up and serve immediately.

*****

I'm only making a couple variations. In the past when the husband has gone grocery shopping for me, he's been unable to find plain yogurt, so instead of making him go through that rigmarole again I'm going to use sour cream instead. And I forgot to put red onion on my grocery list, so I'll have to make due with a regular yellow onion. And I don't like frozen corn, so I don't buy, which means I'm going to use canned corn instead. And I don't have alfalfa sprouts, so we'll deck out our wraps with lettuce and possibly tomato if I think it would work after tasting the final product. There's quite a bit of the pasta salad from yesterday leftover, so I think we'll just have that on the side and call it good.

*****

This was really yummy!!! We all really liked it, although the boy really just picked out the turkey. The husband had the leftovers a couple days later and said it was definitely a lot better the first time around. There wasn't a whole lot left anyway. I will definitely make this again, and I think chicken could easily be substituted for the turkey. Oh, the red onion. Flavor-wise I don't think it would add a whole lot, but it would be nice for the color. And we did have them with lettuce and tomato. Man, just typing this makes me want to have it again!

Wafflewiches

So the husband has been out of town this week at a conference in Vegas. He left Monday morning, so that night we went over to my mom's for dinner. My grandma came home with us and has been staying with us. I figure this is my chance to eat things we don't normally get to because of John's diet.

I had made these sandwiches some time ago, but John doesn't eat lunch meat anymore, so we haven't had them even though they're so good. It's a Rachael Ray recipe from her "Express Lane" cookbook. My grandma really liked them. Will's not so much in to sandwiches, so he didn't really care one way or the other.

Wafflewiches
2 tablespoons softened butter
4 tablespoons honey mustard
8 waffles, lightly toasted (such as Eggos)
1/2 lb sliced ham (deli-sliced)
1/2 lb sliced smoked turkey or honey roasted turkey breast (deli-sliced)
1/2 lb sliced swiss cheese (deli-sliced)
3/4 cup prepared cranberry sauce

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat; add in the butter; let melt.
Assemble the sandwiches by spreading the honey mustard on 4 of the waffles, then top with equal amounts of ham, turkey, and Swiss cheese. Spread the cranberry sauce liberally on the remaining 4 waffles and place them atop the sandwiches.
Fry the assembled sandwiches in melted butter and cook for a few minutes on each side until they are deeply golden in color and the cheese melts.

*****

It's kind of like a Monte Cristo sandwich, which I LOVE but can never find in restaurants (except for this one place in Seattle). Anyway, they were really good. My grandma really liked them, like I said. I let them go a bit too long in the frying pan, but you couldn't really tell from the taste of them.

I just realized I didn't review any of the recipes I just added. Oh well. They were all good and nothing super spectacular.