Turkey Taco Meatloaf

A week or so ago, I made this meatloaf for dinner while Marcella was working late. It's from the Hungry Girl cookbook my mom had an extra copy of. I had never made a meatloaf before, but it seemed easy enough. To start, cook the chopped peppers and onions in a small skillet for three minutes. Then combine them in a large bowl with the ground turkey (a healthy substitute for ground beef), corn, and taco seasoning. In a 9"x5" pan spread out half the mix. You can easily fit two slices of cheddar cheese on top of this, then add the other half of the turkey mixture. Cover that in salsa and bake at 375 for half an hour. After this time has elapsed, top the meatloaf with the shredded cheese and bake it for another fifteen minutes. Done! This much makes a good-sized meal for two with a bit for leftovers.
Turkey Taco Meatloaf ingredients:

• one pound of raw, extra-lean ground turkey
• two slices of (fat-free, I guess) cheddar cheese
• half a cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• half a cup of sweet corn kernels
• a quarter cup of chopped green bell peppers
• a quarter cup of chopped onions
• half a cup of salsa
• a packet or so of dry taco seasoning
  

Roasted Peppercorn Turkey Panini

A few weeks back, my mother and grandmother came to spend the weekend with me. Not one to miss an opportunity, I enlisted them in choosing and helping me fashion a lunch for the three of us. After a long weekend of cleaning and shopping, nothing hits the spot like a delicious, not-exactly-healthy panini. This particular recipe came from a book on cast-iron grilling, but applied equally well to my less antiquarian cooking methods. That is to say, I used a panini grill and not two pieces of ribbed metal. I wonder if George Foreman has a panini grill, as it really is the trendy version of his famous "grilling machines".
I had to highlight the sliced avocado, as it something to behold. These paninis are made in fun sections. For each one, butter a side of its two pieces of multigrain bread (for serious, multigrain actually tastes good here). Prepare a mixture of the mayonnaise, sour cream, chipotle pepper, lime juice and zest, and cilantro. Spread this on the non-buttered side of each slice. Spread the turkey breast between the paninis, laying it along one side each, and then top with the cooked bacon. Put the paninis together and grill them until the cheese has melted, about 7 minutes or so. Once removed from the grill, add the sliced avocado in the middle, slice, and serve. To slice an avocado, by the way, peel it, pull out the core, and then cut length-wise until it's in thin slices, being careful that they don't fall apart. This my mother taught me and she did it fantastically.
The ingredients to make four are as such (please don't sue me):

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1 tablespoon of sour cream
• 1 teaspoon of "chopped chipotle chile in adobo"
• 1 teaspoon of lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of lime zest
• 1 tablespoon of cilantro (if you want)
• 2 tablespoons of softened butter (for each side of the paninis)
• 8 slices (or 2 * n) of whole wheat or multigrain bread
• 8 slices of provolone cheese
• a pound of deli-sliced peppercorn turkey breast
• 8 slices (or more!) of smoked, cooked bacon
• a ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut in 1/4" slices
  

The chilis in adobo sauce you can find in the Hispanic section of your grocery store (did I say that unracistly?). The sliced provolone can be found in your fresh dairy section.

Gruyère Turkey Burgers

What do you do when summer arrives and you've spent all winter eating and hibernating? When you've got some extra pounds to lose before beach-bound sunbathing, but you just can't pass up the opportunity to grill out? Try replacing your double-stacked bacon cheeseburger with one of these!
Fresh ground turkey (extra lean) is a great, healthy substitute. Aim for half a pound and cook for five minutes or less per side. Make your patties too large and they won't cook through quick enough. Dry turkey is no good. While the burger is grilling, we'll go ahead and throw on everything else: some sliced mushrooms and sourdough bread to use as a bun. Before the turkey is completely finished, cover it in grated Gruyère and let the cheese melt for a few minutes.
Gruyère is a hard cheese, imported from Switzerland, and is generally expensive and exquisite. Once the cheese has had time to melt, move the turkey burgers onto the sliced pieces of sourdough bread. Cover with the mushrooms and enjoy your healthy alternative to the normal American excess. How easy was that? Fancy!

Turkey Chili

Ah, Super Bowl Sunday. What other day sends everyone to the supermarket in the morning, to their friends' homes in the afternoon, and drunkenly to the interstate that night? Though I had plans to do basically the same thing, this party would interfere with my Sunday cooking. Or would it?! A quick trip to Food Network's website revealed a simple chili recipe I could bring with me to poison feed my friends!

The trip to Price Chopper was not without incident. I nearly got in seven accidents on the way and the store was absolutely packed. I was surprised to find ground turkey already packaged for me and Goya's chiles chipotles was a great way to get a chili pepper with its own adobo sauce. But when looking for kidney beans, I came across giant hole left in the canned vegetable section. As I stared at the markèd absence, a large woman rolled up and, ninjaing two of the last three cans, said, "Not a good day to be looking for kidney beans". Chuckling - and pretending like I knew what the hell she was talking about - I replied, "It sure is". Pause. "I wonder why". She looked at me, exasperated. "Chili," she said, in a voice that let me know my ruse had been exposed for the sham it was. All hopes of pretending to know something about cooking evaporated like the weight she wished she could lose.

Anyway, this cooking thing is getting easier. Chop up some garlic and onions, sauté in olive oil, and add some spices. Smells great. Add the chili and tomato paste, ground turkey, kidney beans, and crush the whole tomatoes. Let cook. Eat. Win. OK, I didn't mention my challenge this Sunday. Jeremy called at 2pm to say that we were getting together at 5. I immediately bolt to buy ingredients, get home and start cooking, and throw the chili into my crock pot to transport down to Delmar. I remembered, then, that I had neglected to take a picture of the finished meal before putting the crock pot in the floor of my car. That photo turned out less than appetizing so I'll spare you.

However, the chili was really great. I made some more tonight, ate half, and bottled the rest for lunch this week. Fuck yeah, bitches. Ooops, sorry. On my mother's suggestion, combining the chili with Fritos and shredded cheese (sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack jalapeño) was a fantastically delicious and healthy(!) dish. Well, I won't be home next Sunday to cook. I'll be spending the weekend in and around sunny San Francisco. Maybe I'll post some photos and stories from my trip? Maybe I'll ignore you because I'm tired and lazy? Maybe both!