Greek Turkey Panini

Very rarely do I have the opportunity to make dinner just for myself. I typically have three other mouths (two of them small, one of them large) to feed. If I do get an evening to myself, I usually just slap a piece of lunchmeat between a couple slices of bread or graze from the fridge throughout the evening. But recently, on an evening when Joe was working late and I gave in to the boys' cacaphonous pleas for Happy Meals, I decided to treat myself to a really, really delicious dinner. I decided to make myself a sandwich, but not just any sandwich: one loaded with Greek flavors, which are some of my favorite flavors. It's not a flavor profile Joe and the boys are crazy about, so I figured it was the perfect opportunity to make something just for me.

Now, if you happen to be without two small boys interrupting you every three minutes, I imagine this would be a very quick dinner indeed. However, since I do have two small boys interrupting me every three minutes and opting to play RIGHT BY ME FEET WHY DO THEY HAVE TO DO THAT, it took me about 35 minutes. But by the time I finally got to sit down to enjoy this sandwich, it was completely worth it. Sun-dried tomato pesto, turkey, olives, feta, spinach, and a tzatziki sauce on the side for dipping...I really need to make dinners like this for myself more often.

Greek Turkey Panini

For the sandwich:

2 flatbreads

2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto

1/4 pound smoked turkey breast

1/4 cup crumbled feta

1 tablespoon chopped olives (I like Lindsay Naturals California Green Olives)

1/4 cup baby spinach leaves, trimmed

For the quick tzatziki:

Half of a cucumber, peeled and shredded

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat a panini press or skillet sprayed lightly with cooking spray.

2. Spread 1 tablespoon of sun-dried tomato pesto on each piece of flatbread. Top one flatbread with turkey, feta, olives, and spinach, and the other flatbread. Add to panini press or skillet and cook until both sides are browned and crisp.

3. To make the tzatziki, squeeze excess moisture out of cucumber using a paper towel. Combine cucumber, sour cream, Greek yogurt, vinegar and salt and pepper. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Refrigerate until serving.

4. Slice panini in fourths (for two servings). Serve with tzatziki sauce for dipping.

Italian Sub Crescent Bake

This dish was all the rage on Pinterest a few months ago, and whenever I saw it my mouth practically watered. That's almost always a sign that I'm going to be trying a recipe. Although the original looked delicious as-is, I made a few changes to my version: adding banana pepper rings, roasting my own peppers, using provolone cheese, and whisking some prepared Italian dressing and oregano into the eggs.

When I initially read the recipe, the addition of the eggs sounded really strange to me, and I almost skipped that step. I'm so glad I didn't. The eggs don't turn this into a brunch dish in the least; they just serve to make the cheese gooey and bubbly and amazingly delicious. This really is reminiscent of eating a warm Italian sub, and my entire family really enjoyed it. That's really saying something when it comes to the boys, because they're not too crazy about lunch meat. As a bonus, this heated up really well the next day for leftovers -- not that there were many. Serve it with a salad and you've got a delicious dinner!

Italian Sub Crescent Bake

adapted from Mr. Food

1 8-ounce package refrigerated crescent rolls

8 slices deli turkey

8 slices deli ham

12 slices deli hard salami

8 slices provolone cheese

1 jar roasted red and yellow peppers, drained (or about 3 peppers, if you roast your own)

1/2 cup jarred banana pepper rings

4 eggs

2 tablespoons Italian dressing

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unroll crescent roll dough without separating triangles. Separate dough into 2 squares along center cut line.

2. Place 1 square of dough into an 8-inch square baking dish; using your fingertips, press dough to fit bottom of dish. Whisk together eggs, Italian dressing, and oregano.

3. Layer with half the turkey, ham, salami, provolone cheese, roasted peppers and banana peppers. Pour half of beaten egg mixture over the peppers and repeat with remaining meats, cheese, and peppers.

4. Place remaining square of dough over peppers. Pour remaining beaten egg mixture over dough and cover lightly with foil.

5. Bake 20 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 20 to 22 minutes, or until golden and heated through. Let cool 15 to 20 minutes then cut and serve.

Southwestern Ranch Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches

If you’re hosting Thanksgiving this year, you probably know by now what you’re serving on Thursday. But you may not know what you’re going to do with all the food that’s left over. Like the turkey – what are you going to do with all of those leftovers? Well, what you should do is make these sandwiches. As soon as you possibly can. In fact, you should set aside some of your turkey, just so you can make these.

I first saw this recipe as a pin on Pinterest, and I adapted the preparation and ingredients for our family. These have quickly become a favorite in our house. Bread is slathered with a creamy Southwestern ranch sauce, topped with turkey, tons of cheese, and some tomato, and baked until the cheese is melted. Cool, creamy avocado is the perfect finish. These sandwiches have tons of flavor. They’re a wonderful and quick weeknight dinner, and a great way to give your turkey new life!

Southwestern Ranch Open-Faced Turkey Sandwiches
adapted from The Sisters’ Café

6 slices sandwich bread
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 to 1 pound turkey, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup shredded pepper jack or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 ripe avocados, sliced
Juice of 1 lime

1. Toast bread in toaster or under the broiler. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a bowl, combine ranch dressing mix, chili powder, and cumin. Stir in mayonnaise and sour cream.

3. Place bread on an ungreased baking sheet and spread 1 tablespoon of the sauce on each slice. Top with sliced turkey and 1 more tablespoon of the sauce. Top with cheese and tomatoes.

4. Bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted. Top each sandwich with sliced avocado and a sprinkling of lime juice.

Monte Cristos

Who doesn’t love a Monte Cristo? Deli meats and cheese sandwiched between thick bread, dipped and fried like French toast, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served with a side of sweet jam – my mouth waters just thinking about it.

I’ve only made these sandwiches a few times at home, but they’re always one of my favorite things to order for brunch or lunch at restaurants. When I have made them, I’ve always made a classic version with ham, turkey, Swiss cheese, and raspberry jam on the side. I had a few ideas about how I could play with this sandwich to make it a little different and special, though, which I decided to try when I made them recently.

Basically, rather than serving the raspberry jam on the side, I put it right on the sandwich. I also mixed it with a little bit of honey mustard, and it became a spread that was equal parts sweet and tangy, and entirely delicious. I also added bacon to the sandwiches, because I can think of very few food items that aren’t made better by the addition of bacon. My minor little changes resulted in a kicked-up version of this classic sandwich that my whole family really loved.

I’m listing only the ingredients, not the amounts, because they’ll vary according to how many sandwiches you’re making. I used a couple of slices each of turkey and ham, two strips of bacon, and one slice of cheese for each sandwich.

Monte Cristos

Sliced deli ham
Sliced turkey breast
Sliced Swiss cheese
Cooked Bacon
Thick-sliced white or sourdough bread
Eggs, whisked well with a splash of milk and a pinch of salt and pepper
Raspberry jam
Honey mustard
Powdered sugar

1. Preheat a griddle to medium-high; coat the surface with butter or cooking spray.

2. To assemble sandwiches, top a slice of bread with ham, turkey, cheese, bacon, and the other slice of bread.

3. Dip the assembled sandwiches, one at a time, in the egg/milk mixture, then immediately transfer to the griddle. Cook until each side is golden brown.

4. Mix together raspberry jam and honey mustard (using more jam than mustard in your mixture) and spread a small amount on each sandwich. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if desired.

Zucchini Week: Spicy Turkey, Corn and Zucchini Skillet

I’ve been getting recipes e-mailed to me from Campbell’s Kitchen for a few years now, and I think this skillet dinner is the first recipe from their site that I’ve actually made. I was intrigued by the simplicity (a factor which is quickly becoming one of my more common requirements when making my meal plan), and I thought it sounded like a great combination of flavors.

It was delicious.

The use of the boxed soup made this come together quickly and easily, and it added a ton of flavor without a lot of work. I added some additional seasonings to give this even more flavor, and we topped our individual servings with sour cream. This is definitely a meal I’ll make again.

Come back tomorrow, when I’ll be concluding Zucchini Week with a classic: my grandma’s zucchini bread.

Spicy Turkey, Corn and Zucchini Skillet
source: adapted from Campbell’s Kitchen

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 medium zucchini, finely chopped
1 pound lean ground turkey
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 carton (18.3 ounces) Campbell's V8 Southwest Corn Soup
2 cups tortilla chips
2 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat the oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes. Add the turkey and cook until it's well browned, stirring often to break up the meat. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.

2. Stir in the soup and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes or until the turkey mixture is hot and bubbling. Top with the tortilla chips and cheese.

Turkey Pesto Meatballs

I may have mentioned this before, but my son Andrew sometimes has an issue with the texture of certain meats. He's weird about ground meats, especially, so it’s usually difficult to get him to eat things like meat tomato sauce and sloppy joes.

The one way I can get him to get ground meat of any type, however, is to prepare it in meatball form. Like most kids, he loves meatballs. As soon as I saw these pesto turkey meatballs, I knew we would all really like them. We all love pesto, and I loved that these were made with turkey -- a much healthier option than ground beef.

These were a huge hit with all of us, and Andrew ate about six of them all on his own. The pesto gave the meatballs a nice texture and tons of flavor. They were perfect on top of a big pile of spaghetti!

Turkey Pesto Meatballs
source: Weelicious

1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey

1/4 cup pesto

1/4 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups marinara sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place all the ingredients except marinara sauce in a bowl and using your hands, combine until everything is incorporated.

3. Using about 1 tablespoon of the mixture per meatball, roll into balls and place on a plate.

4. Pour the marinara sauce into a 9 x 9 inch baking pan and top with the meatballs.

5. Cover the baking pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Serve.

Hot Italian Turkey Sandwiches

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good turkey and American cheese sandwich as much as the next girl. But sometimes, it’s nice to fancy up a plain old sandwich for dinner. This recipe does just that. It elevates deli turkey to a truly delicious level with the addition of roasted red peppers, sautéed mushrooms and onions, and a creamy pesto mayonnaise. I made all four sandwiches, had one for myself and gave Joe two, and took the fourth with me to work for lunch the next day (and it reheated really well) -- but let me tell you, I had to fight Joe for that sandwich! He could have eaten a third one with no problem, he loved these so much. We’ll be making these sandwiches a lot. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Deborah!

Hot Italian Turkey Sandwiches
source: adapted from Taste and Tell

1 teaspoon oil
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup thinly sliced onion

Salt and pepper to taste
4 hoagie rolls, split
8 ounces sliced cooked turkey
1 cups roasted red peppers, patted dry and sliced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 tablespoons basil pesto
3/4 cup mayonnaise

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onion; saute 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Top half of each roll with turkey and peppers, spoon on onion and mushrooms, and sprinkle with cheese. Bake 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

4. Mix pesto and mayonnaise; spread onto top of each roll.

Burger and Fries Friday: Bayou Burgers with Spicy Remoulade

Okay, okay, I know this post is a few days late for Mardis Gras, but who cares? I promise you these burgers will be good any day of the year.

It's been a while since I made a burger, and it was nice to try a new one. You know that whole twice-weekly vegetarianism thing I'm trying? Yeah, well this burger pretty much canceled out both of the meatless days this week. It's a combination of ground turkey, andouille sausage, and shrimp. But at least it's mostly composed of turkey, so it's still sort of healthy. (Let me believe that.)

Regardless, this is a damn good burger. It's definitely got a Cajun kick, and the spicy, tangy sauce is the perfect thing to compliment all the flavors. The original recipe calls for turkey, turkey sausage, and andouille sausage, but I replaced the turkey sausage with shrimp as a wink and a nudge to jambalaya, and I was definitely happy with the results. Definitely give this one a try!


Bayou Burgers with Spicy Remoulade
source: adapted from Taste of Home, February/March 2010

1 small onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1/4 pound fully cooked andouille sausage link, casing removed, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground turkey
1 cup fully cooked salad shrimp, thawed and roughly chopped
4 slices cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
4 rolls, split
1 tablespoon butter

1. In a large skillet, saute onion in oil until tender. Add andouille sausage; cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the Creole seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, salt and pepper. Add turkey and shrimp to mixture and mix well. Shape into four patties.

2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook burgers for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees and juices run clear. Top with cheese; cover and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

3. For remoulade, in a small bowl, combine the Miracle Whip, lemon juice, pepper sauce, and relish. Spread rolls with butter and sprinkle with remaining garlic powder. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve burgers on rolls with remoulade.

Burger and Fries Friday: Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers

First of all, before we get to this week's burger, I have to seriously apologize for the lack of posting around here lately. You see, I'M PREGNANT, and the first trimester is bringing with it lots and lots of food aversions. For the past few weeks I've been basically shoving my face full of anything my stomach will accept, which has mostly been limited to cinnamon toast and salt and vinegar potato chips. That's also why I didn't get around to making and posting a burger recipe last week; I've had absolutely no energy to cook or really do much of anything. I only have a couple more weeks to go in the first trimester, though, so I'm hoping my nausea and lack of energy will fade quickly once it's over!

Once I actually get back to cooking regularly, I plan to keep this blog all about the food, so if you're curious about the pregnancy or anything else that's going on in my life, you can visit me at my personal blog.

Anyway! Let's get to the burger, shall we? This week's burger is one I've been looking forward to trying for a while now. I thought the combination of flavors sounded fantastic, and this burger has lots of my favorite things: salsa verde, pepper Jack cheese, cilantro and avocado. Apparently, though, avocado is my latest food aversion, which made it hard for me to enjoy these burgers. Joe loved them, though, so don't let that deter you from trying them!

I made a few changes to the recipe: I finely chopped the cilantro and mixed it in with the avocado aioli, and I also added some finely diced red onion to the mayo mixture to give it even more of a guacamole feel. My changes are reflected below, but just click the link to get to the original.

Salsa Verde Turkey Burgers
Source: Every Day with Rachael Ray

1 avocado, halved and pitted
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 of a red onion, finely diced
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Salt
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup salsa verde
4 slices pepper Jack cheese
4 kaiser rolls, split

1. Scoop the avocado flesh into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise, garlic, cilantro and onion and mash with a fork until well combined but chunky. Season with salt and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the ground turkey and salsa. Divide the mixture to form 4 patties.
In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook the patties for 4 minutes on one side. Flip and top each with a slice of cheese; cover and cook for 4 minutes more.

3. Serve the burgers with the avocado aioli.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers

I saw Ellie Krieger make these burgers on her Food Network show a couple of years ago, and they sounded like something I'd really enjoy. I completely forgot about them, but I was pleased to find them in her cookbook when I was looking through it recently. I've had it for a while and never cooked from it, but once I rediscovered these turkey burgers I knew I had to make them ASAP.

I made a compound mayonnaise to spread on the burgers, using the leftover roasted red pepper, some chopped flat-leaf parsley, and salt and pepper. Since the burgers themselves were already so healthy, I didn't feel too bad about butter-grilling the buns and spreading them with the mayonnaise. I'm glad I made those concessions, too, because without them I think the burgers might have been a little bland. Mozzarella is such a mild cheese that its flavor doesn't really come through. I'll surely make these again, but next time I may add some parmesan to the meat itself in addition to the mozzarella to give the burgers a little more flavor. I liked these burgers, though, and Joe did too -- and that's saying something, because he's always said that a burger made with turkey is not really a burger.

Stuffed Turkey Burgers
Source: The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger; recipe also found on Food Network's website

1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped roasted red peppers, divided
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Divide turkey into 4 equal sized rounds. Make 2 equal sized patties out of each round so you have 8 patties total.

2. Sprinkle 4 of the patties with 2 tablespoons each of roasted red peppers and cheese, and top with remaining patties, working the turkey around the edges to seal burgers closed. Season with salt and a few grinds of pepper.

3. Grill or broil until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

Pineapple Chili

Right now, Ohio is in a "transitional phase" in regards to the weather. It's spring, so it's rainy and humid, but winter is still hanging on a little bit and lending a chill to the air. This chili, which Jessie mentioned in her recent meal planning, is the perfect way to bridge the two seasons. Yes, you're eating chili in the springtime, which seems wrong, but it has pineapple in it. And pineapple screams spring. So it's a nice concession.

Joe and I both absolutely loved this chili. It takes no time at all to come together, and I'm consistenly amazed at how so few ingredients and such a simple recipe can produce something so delicious. I decided to use black beans instead of pinto beans because I prefer them, and because I have to be me, I garnished the chili with some cilantro.

I served this with some amazing corn bread I'll post about soon. This is a delicious lighter alternative to my heavy winter chili. So simple, so affordable, and so good. Thanks so much for sharing this one, Jessie!

Pineapple Chili
Source: adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1 pound ground turkey
1 16-ounce jar pineapple salsa
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
Cilantro for garnish, if desired

In a 3-quart saucepan, brown turkey; drain, if necessary. Stir in salsa, beans, tomato sauce, and chili powder. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Garnish with pineapple and cilantro, if desired.

Turkey Reuben Wraps

Sunday morning, my oven stopped working. One minute it was working, and the next minute it just...wasn't. We don't know what the problem is. The repair man is coming on Wednesday. I am irritated with the whole situation. Moving on.

Although I'm frustrated that the oven's not working, I do love a challenge, and putting dinner on the table without an oven -- and without resorting to take-out -- definitely presents one. Thankfully, I have my trusty Griddler to help me out. Last night, I made us warm turkey reuben wraps with it, which were delicious. Joe and I are easy people to please, food-wise, so it should be no problem for us to subsist on paninis and grilled chicken and delicious warm wraps until Wednesday. Now, if the oven needs a part and that part needs to be ordered and shipped and it takes three weeks to get to us -- well, then I may need to get a little bit more creative.

Turkey Reuben Wraps
Source: my oven-deprived brain

1 package deli-sliced oven-roasted turkey breast
4 soft taco-sized flour tortillas
1 cup sauerkraut
8 slices baby Swiss cheese
Thousand Island dressing

1. Heat tortillas in microwave, about 15 seconds or until soft and warm.

2. On one edge of each tortilla, place 2 slices of cheese. Top with a quarter of the turkey, 1/4 cup of sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing. Roll tortilla tightly over filling, tucking in edges so the wrap is secure.

3. Place wraps on a preheated griddle (or in a skillet, if you're lucky enough to have a working oven) and warm over low heat until outsides of wrap are just beginning to brown.