[Contrary Housewife]

Red, I've done teriyaki meatballs, meatballs marsala, wedding soup meatballs, and of course with red tomato sauce. Also used lamb meatballs to make pita sandwiches and kebabs.

 

[RedSpruce]

Thanks @Contrary Housewife ! I’m making notes. I have 4 pounds of ground turkey.

 

[dlrcpa]

I have made turkey meatloaf with apples and sage, I like it quite a bit. Also something you can prepare ahead and freeze to be baked later.

Recipe: Apple, Sage and Turkey Meatloaf

This moist and delicious meatloaf lets the deep, rich flavor of turkey shine through. Shredded apple adds moisture and a light sweetness to the mix, and sage makes it irresistibly fragrant.

www.wholefoodsmarket.com

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Redspruce, I often mix the turkey 50/50 with beef to get lower fat, etc. when making chili, sloppy joes, meatloaf, etc. If it's mixed well when raw it often can't be detected. I also sometimes grind up vegetables like carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, sweet potato, whatever is on hand, cook that mixture until brown, and add it. Adds flavor and nutrition.

 

[hikr00]

@RedSpruce with meatballs I switch between teriyaki sauce, BBQ sauce, pasta sauce. I usually make them ahead and freeze them. When I’m ready for them I put them in the crock pot with the sauce I chose and cook them till heated through.

when I use teriyaki sauce I usually serve them over rice and add chopped pineapple.

 

[RedSpruce]

Thanks everyone! I’m not used to using ground turkey. Often it’s more expensive than lean ground beef here. But the discount meat market has it on sale occasionally for $3.49 CAD per 1 pound chub. I picked up some the last time I was in.

In the end I mixed it half and half with lean beef and made sweet and sour meatballs to serve with broccoli and brown rice. It was very good!

 

[Spirit Deer]

I used to buy Jenny-O ground turkey as closeouts, but the price kept going up while the package size shrank. This was at least 6 yrs ago, pre-covid. When it got to $4/lb (same as steak at the time) I decided that was ridiculous when chicken breast was routinely on sale for $1.19. I bought a meat grinder for the KA and we're never going back. The grinder has paid for itself several times over (and it was the 'spensive metal version). Chicken breast is often on sale now for $3/lb while Jenny-O is now on closeouts for $5/lb. Not hard to figure out that math. I used to buy regular and hot Italian turkey sausage, same brand on closeout, same prices. Then I realized during covid when we couldn't go into the store that ground sausage in crumbles or patties is the same flavor as links and less work to DIY, so we're never going back to buying the turkey links, either. We love the HM version. I found an old pkg of the turkey version we used to like in the freezer recently, and we both hate it now. HM is much more flavorful, lots less salt and grease. Another win for us in the DIY column! 🙂

 

[RedSpruce]

Tried a new Korean recipe tonight. Details in the 2023 Pantry Challenge. It used a lot of fridge items up. We loved it! Will definitely try again. A very versatile recipe.

Spicy Korean Soba Noodles

 

[hikr00]

I’m going to attempt to make air fried potato chips tomorrow. They are an item I can easily go overboard on because I love them but the carbs, fat and sodium is crazy. So I’m going to give the air fryer a whirl.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

How did the chips come out Hikr?

I've been meaning to try this with a packet of spicy tuna I bought last year...

Japanese Spicy Tuna Rice Bowl

Japanese Spicy Tuna Rice Bowl. Warm sushi rice layered with canned tuna, fresh cucumbers, spicy mayo and crunchy nori. Ready in10 minutes

christieathome.com

I used the recipe as a guideline. I started with leftover brown rice. Stirred some regular mayo into the tuna. Put a few drops of sesame oil on the warmed rice. Cut up a little cucumber and diced red bell pepper. Topped with half the tuna, a splash of soy sauce, and a sprinkle of furikake flakes.

I would call this a win for a quick at-home lunch. It's a little bit busy for a work lunch, but if you have time to prep it then it might work. It came out tasting like one of those fancy sushi bowls, without the fancy price. I think it will stave off my sushi cravings for a while.

 

[Spirit Deer]

Potatoes are naturally carby. The best way I've found to DIY potato chips is to use these:
Mastrad Top Chips Maker and Slicer Set Amazon.com

For larger quantities, there are these. The trays can be stacked 3 high. But start with the set above because you need the slicer that slices very, very thin, ten add the 2 pack below later if you need it.
Top Chips Maker Amazon.com
They really work and are quick and easy.

Controlling salt is a different issue. There are lots of recipes for DIY popcorn seasoning recipes that would probably work for potato chips, too. Making your own allows you to control the salt level.

 

[hikr00]

CH the poor chips didn’t happen yet. I cut the potatoes and put them in cold water to soak for 30 minutes and promptly forgot about them! Needless to say by the next morning when I spotted them in the water they were not healthy looking. Lol. Dh asked if it was oatmeal because they looked so mushy. I guess I need to set a timer so I don’t forget them the next time.

SD thanks for the tip. If the air fryer doesn’t work out I’ll see about ordering one of those.

DH asked me if I’d make chicken and rice soup sometime. So I said I’d do it this week. He’s been saying for a couple of days how excited he is for chicken and rice soup. I told him I’d best get out there and get the rice started. He asked me what the rice was for. Huh? The chicken and rice soup you requested. He said “oh I did say that but I meant chicken noodle soup”. He’s lucky I love him. Lol.

I wound up making a Knorr Pasta Side butter and herb packet as directed using low sodium chicken broth. I then mixed in cooked chicken chunks (I had some rotisserie chicken to use up), a tsp or Better than Bouillon and a tsp of poultry seasoning and added more broth and heated it all. It was surprisingly good considering it was all “winging it”. Dh loved it and wants it in the “rotation”.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Hikr, I haven't made chips in a long time, because we gave up fried foods, but I rarely bothered to soak the potatoes. All it does is remove the starch that turns the cut potatoes brown if they aren't fried fast enough. Worse, you have to pat dry Every. Single. Chip. before you fry them. You can actually slice potatoes and put them right into the hot oil. Salt them when they come out.

 

[hikr00]

CH we don’t do deep fried foods either. I don’t even have a deep fryer. I plan to do the chips in the air fryer. Currently we are in the midst of a snowstorm so today is probably a good day to give it a whirl.

 

[dlrcpa]

Made this last night. It was a bit runny because hubby did not read the recipe closely and used entire can of tomatoes instead of half a can. Served with the 2017 grits.

One Pan Spanish Chorizo & Shrimp

This Spanish Chorizo and Shrimp is a great one pan 30 minute dish that uses primarily pantry staples. It's Whole30, Paleo and Keto.

www.everylastbite.com

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Made this last night and warmed it for a quick breakfast today. It's easy and came out well

Sausage Bread

This Sausage Bread is perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack! It's stuffed with ground sausage, cheese and seasonings and comes together easily!

www.thecountrycook.net

I had trouble with the brand of bread I bought, it would not roll to size, even warmed up, so mine is skinnier with thicker crust than pictured, but tastes fine. I added a thin scrambled egg pancake, cut to fit, and left out the garlic and other seasonings. Wasn't able to get the entire pound of sausage into, had maybe 3/4 to a cup left over. Used cheddar because that's what we had.

Will make this again, if for no reason other than I have 2 more frozen dough balls in the package.

 

[hikr00]

CH that recipe sounds good! Another thing you can do with the dough balls is make a stuffed bread. Roll the dough out and brush with olive oil. From there take salami, provolone, ham, sliced mozzarella and pepperoni and layer them on. Roll the whole thing up and pop into a loaf pan and bake till golden. It’s excellent.

 

[Contrary Housewife]

Also want to mention that the folded over ends of dough ended up really thick with no filling. So next time I may just pinch the ends shut, or leave it open and not worry if a little cheese melts out.

 

[hikr00]

Tried this new recipe tonight. It was really good. We both liked it and I will make it again.

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes

Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes are hot, meaty, cheesy comfort food inspired by the ultimate cheesesteak sandwich - but easier and less expensive!

carlsbadcravings.com

 

[Zhoen]

Hikr-- As much as I love cheesesteaks... the addition of cooked peppers to ANYTHING is a no for me... but omitting that, this looks like a good recipe, and now I'm thinking "combine Hikr's filling with CH's dough roller idea..." But it won't be this month... this month is all planned out already

Yesterday I made breakfast sausage from 2 lbs of pork I ground up using this recipe (minus the brown sugar)
Homemade Breakfast Sausage Recipe (allrecipes.com)
I thought it was fine, but tried a couple of variations and the best one doubled the amount of sage. H wanted it peppery-er but I didn't like it that way.


Then today I (finally) took a shot at making rolled biscuits. I used this recipe, but put in buttermilk, since I had some, and left out the sugar, because NO.
J.P.'s Big Daddy Biscuits Recipe (allrecipes.com)
The texture was ok, but I think I patted them too thin and ended up with 11 not-very-thick ones... next time I will: (a) roll them thicker to make only 8 (b)let the dough rest in the fridge and see if that helps (c)use butter instead of shortening, since they cost about the same these days and these were pretty bland on their own (even with the buttermilk (!?!)

I made sausage, egg, and cheese breakfast biscuits and H said "this biscuit looks like a sugar cookie." But after he ate the sandwich, he ate a second biscuit plain,so they can't be that bad...