turkey Archives - The Midnight Baker

Orange and Thyme Butter Turkey Breast

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 10 Nov 2019 00:00:28 +0000

Here’s a turkey breast fit for your Thanksgiving or Christmas table.

Turkey Breast For The Holidays

Turkey is such a traditional thing to serve during the winter holidays.

Of course, it’s de rigueur for Thanksgiving in the USA. It’s also the more-modern traditional for Christmas in the UK replacing the older traditional goose. My mom used to serve turkey at Thanksgiving as well as Christmas because we just loved it.

Now, if you are not a big fan of dark meat and aren’t serving any who are, then why not consider a turkey breast (aka “crown” in the UK) instead of a whole turkey? For one thing, it’s done faster and this particular one has interesting flavors as well.

Oranges Go With Thyme

Thyme is a natural for poultry. I use it quite often in chicken dishes along with lemon. Citrus works well with poultry too–especially very acidic citrus fruit such as lemon.

But what about oranges? Well, all you have to think about is one of the most famous recipes for duck to get the answer and that would be orange duck. So why shouldn’t it also work with turkey? That question is answered with this recipe and the flavor is delightful.

Just make sure your orange slices are pretty thin, but not so thin that you could read the newspaper through it (as my mother-in-law used to say).

Lift That Skin

The skin on top of a turkey breast is pretty easy to separate from the breast itself. However, you do have to be careful not to poke through the skin.

I have pretty short nails because with all the cooking and washing up that I do, no manicure would survive. But if you have longer, manicured nails, be they natural or the gel kind, the best thing you can do is wear a pair of latex gloves to accomplish the task. Either the ones sold for food service or the good ole Playtex-type ones worn years ago for dishwashing will do.

Also make sure you separate the skin from the cavity all the way up to the wishbone because the thyme butter is going to baste the breast meat and you need to fit three orange slices on each side.

The Recipe

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Orange & Thyme Butter Turkey Breast

Easy peasy turkey for Thanksgiving or any time

Prep Time46

Cook Time2

Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Christmas recipe, rurkey recipes, Thanksgiving recipe, turkey breast

Servings: 8

Calories: 343kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

5 lb turkey breast
2 tsp fresh thyme chopped
2 tbs butter softened
1 tbs oil
2 small oranges

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400F/200C.
Loosen skin on the top of the turkey breast, making 2 “pockets” being careful not to break the skin.
Mix the thyme and the butter and spread it on the meat under the skin.
Slice 6 thin slices off 1 orange and place 3 sliced under the skin on each side of the turkey breast. Cut up remainder of the orange and stuff it in the neck cavity. Slice the other orange in half and place under the bone side of the turkey underneath. Brush the turkey breast with the oil.
Roast for 1 1/2-2 hours or until juices run clear. If the skin is browning quickly, tent with foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

Nutrition

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Butter Herb Turkey Breast

Judith Hannemann — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 23:00:52 +0000

Turkey breast basted with butter and herbs is wonderful for your Easter table.

An Everyday Treat Fit For A Holiday

Turkey breast is on sale a lot lately–at least in my neck of the woods. Recently, I got a two-for-one sale that was a great deal because the price per pound was awesome.

I love turkey and eat it often so this was a boon for me. This time I wanted to try something a little bit different that just plain old roasting. Well, this is plain-old-roasted but with a little kick.

Julia Child did something like this on one of her old shows but with bone-in skin-on chicken breasts with the wings attached. I recently remembered that and decided to try it with this turkey breast.

This is so good and juicy. It has a wonderful flavor too so this is something that’s “every-day” but really good enough to be the star of your Easter or Thanksgiving meal.

Herb Butter

The secret to this turkey’s flavor is a simple herb or “compound” butter.

I used a combination of fresh thyme and sage in this butter along with a must-have of mine: garlic. If you’re not that into garlic, then it can be totally eliminated.

As for the herbs I used, I prefer more thyme than sage–which I find a bit medicinal if there’s too much of it. However, these are the most traditional herbs to use with poultry so they work very well. Another good one to use is rosemary. It imparts a fine flavor to chicken and turkey, even though I think most people associate it with lamb. You can use any fresh herbs you like and if you use different herbs each time you make it, it’s always a different dish!

Naturally, you must start with room-temperature butter so it will be easy to mix and to spread. I highly recommend using unsalted butter–in any cooking. That way, you control the amount of salt and left out entirely, this turkey breast is perfect for anyone eating a low-sodium diet.

Lift The Skin But Don’t Remove

The flavored butter goes between the skin and the breast flesh.

Just gently run your fingers between the skin and the flesh to separate it from the membrane. Then you rub the butter on the flesh and pull the skin back over to cover it up. I did save back a little butter to initially baste the turkey breast after about 40 minutes in the oven. After that, there should be enough rendered butter and fat in the roasting pan to baste throughout the cook time.

The Recipe

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Butter Herb Turkey Breast

Turkey breast basted with butter and herbs is wonderful for your Easter table.

Prep Time10

Cook Time2

Total Time2 10

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: turkey breast

Servings: 8

Calories: 523kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

6 lbs bone-in turkey breast
1/2 cup butter softened
2 tbs finely chopped fresh thyme OR fresh sage, OR fresh rosemary
1 clove finely minced garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a rack in a large roasting pan.
In a small bowl, mix the softened butter, garlic, pepper, salt and the herb you chose to use.
Gently separate the skin on the turkey breast from the meat, but do not remove the skin.
Rub half of the butter mixture over the breast meat. Gently pull skin back into place. Rub the remaining butter mixture over the top of the skin.
Roast for 2- 2 1/2 hours or until internal temperature is 165 degrees F. Baste periodically with pan drippings.

Nutrition

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Chicken or Turkey & Stuffing Supreme Casserole

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Chicken & Stuffing Supreme Casserole

A complete Thanksgiving meal for empty-nesters and singles! Without the chicken or turkey, it’s one of the best stuffing side dishes you’ll ever eat.

You’ve got it all right here in one casserole: turkey or chicken, green bean casserole and delicious stuffing!

Most empty nesters or couples don’t want to bother with a huge turkey–or deal with endless leftovers because the bird is just too darned big. So here’s the solution!

Perfect for empty-nesters!

For those who do have families and/or company and make the large bird, leaving out the poultry part of this dish leaves a wonderful combination of stuffing and the traditional green bean casserole–and that saves oven space too! For larger crowds, double or triple the Stuffing Supreme recipe and use a 13×9-inch dish to bake it in.

As I say in the recipe, if you want to use turkey parts, use SMALL parts only because the stuffing part would just dry out with the long cooking larger parts or thighs would need. I highly recommend it with smaller drumsticks as you’d only have to add maybe 15 minutes total time for the casserole. Breast cutlets would probably be done in the same amount of time as the chicken.

Dressing and green bean casserole in one!

Even though this is perfect for the holidays, it’s also good other times of the year–a little bit of Thanksgiving throughout the year does wonders!

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Chicken or Turkey & Stuffing Supreme Casserole

A complete Thanksgiving meal for empty-nesters and singles! Without the chicken or turkey, it’s one of the best stuffing side dishes you’ll ever eat.

Prep Time10

Cook Time50

Total Time1

Course: Chicken, Comfort Foods, Everyday Meals

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken casserole recipes

Servings: 4

Calories: 2045kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 chicken or turkey** pieces
3 tbsp melted butter
salt/pepper to taste
1 cup french-fried onions i.e. Frenchs

STUFFING SUPREME

2 cups seasoned poultry stuffing i.e. Pepperidge farm
1 10.75 oz cream of mushroom soup
1 14 oz cut green beans, drained
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup milk

Instructions

*Equivalent amount of fresh or frozen may be substituted
**I do not recommend turkey thighs as they take too long to cook. If using turkey, use only smaller drumsticks, wings or breast cutlets.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray or grease lightly a 1.5-2 quart baking dish.
In a large bowl, combine the soup and milk, stirring until smooth. Add the dry poultry stuffing and the green beans. Stir to combine.
Transfer stuffing mixture to prepared baking dish.
Pat chicken/turkey parts dry. Drizzle melted butter over poultry and stuffing (the parts of the stuffing that are visible). Sprinkle salt & pepper (to taste) on poultry only.
Bake for 45-50 minutes (for chicken, turkey will need longer) or until internal temperature is 185 degrees F or juices run clear.
Top entire casserole with french fried onions. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until onions turn golden brown.
CROCK POT DIRECTIONS:
Proceed as above, but cook on low 6-8 hours, high 4-6. Check chicken for doneness as each slow cooker cooks differently

Nutrition

Chicken & Stuffing Supreme Casserole

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Cream of Turkey & Brown Rice Soup

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Cream of Turkey & Brown Rice Soup

This cream soup is full of brown rice, veggies and turkey. So flavorful and comforting. It’s a meal in itself!

I had an accident with a tooth a few days ago–which makes chewing a little bit difficult to say the least. Not painful at all, just a very weird sensation, however, I have to wait about a week to see my dentist because this isn’t really an emergency.

However, I want to eat something BESIDES pudding LOL–and I don’t think I’d fare too well with a diet of that for a week, so I decided a soup may be a good idea (and one that could be pureed a bit with an immersion blender) and a soup that contained a bit of fibre and veggies.

I love cream soups! Plus I love brown rice. I also had 2 turkey drumsticks I’d roasted in the slow cooker for a post I was writing for a friend who edits the food section of Bon Bon Break. Great deal because I couldn’t manage eating those leftover turkey legs with this tooth so I was glad to use them AND I had a hankering for that turkey to be honest.

This soup is a complete meal!

I pureed it some with the immersion blender purely to go down easier. My pics, however, was before that process so you can see how yummy and chunky this soup is.

It tasted wonderful and hit the spot. This is a complete meal–so just a green salad as a side would be very good with this!

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Cream of Turkey & Brown Rice Soup

This cream soup is full of brown rice, veggies and turkey. So flavorful and comforting. It’s a meal in itself!

Prep Time15

Cook Time2

Total Time2 15

Course: soups

Cuisine: American

Keyword: brown rice, soups, turkey

Servings: 4

Calories: 421kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 1/2 cups cold water
1 cup sliced baby carrots
1 tsp olive oil
2 tbs butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 envelope Swanson's Flavor Boost chicken flavored stock
2 cups water
1 cup cooked diced turkey or chicken
1 1/2 cups light cream or half and half**

Instructions

NOTE: I prepared the rice and carrots in my rice cooker. For stovetop method, after rinsing and soaking the rice in the saucepan, add the carrots & olive oil, bring to boil, reduce heat, cover tightly and simmer until liquid is absorbed.
*I love the flavor that the Swanson Flavor Boost imparts, but you can use 3 standard chicken stock cubes in it's place or 2 cups of homemade chicken stock (omitting water if using homemade).
**Evaporated milk may be substituted for less fat
Rinse brown rice and drain. Place rice in the insert of a rice cooker. Add the 2 1/2 cups of water and let it soak for 45 minutes.
Then add the sliced carrots and the olive oil. Set to "COOK". This should take about 40 minutes, but check the water level. I try not to let it start to brown on the bottom (although that would taste nice in this).
When rice has completed the cooking cycle, heat the 2 tbs of butter over medium heat in a 4-5 quart dutch oven or stock pot. Add the celery and the onions. Cook until onions and celery are soft, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Add the Flavor Boost (or stock cubes) and water--if using homemade stock do NOT add the 2 cups of water!! Add the turkey or chicken and heat to boiling.
Add the cooked brown rice and carrots, stirring well.
Reduce heat and add cream, stirring until heated through. Add salt and pepper if needed--I needed no extra since the Swanson product is well seasoned.

Nutrition

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Holiday Lasagna

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Holiday Lasagna

Lasagna is a classic holiday-time meal. Also great to serve at a holiday buffet party.

Holiday Lasagna was a traditional Christmas Eve dinner when I was growing up.

Holiday Lasagna is loaded with cheese, meat and sausage

My mother always made turkey for Christmas Dinner and used to serve lasagna the night before because it was so radically different from turkey!

This classic casserole is also a buffet party favorite. Slice it up in serving portions, and let guests help themselves.

I tend to buy the solid lump of mozzarella and cut it up in chunks or thick slices. This melts EVER so much better than pre-shredded. Slicing it is also easier than shredding the lump, but if you don’t mind, then by all means!!! I try to save time and it’s so wonderful to get a nice melted lump of mozzarella….well, you know what I mean

And this one is loaded with meat–ground beef and sliced sweet Italian sausage! You can always use ground Italian sausage meat if your store carries it. Hot or sweet doesn’t matter…use what you like! This is a “man-pleasing” meal because of the good amount of meat and the combination of meat. Oh, and don’t forget the copious amount of cheese too!

Ground pork, chicken or turkey can easily substitute for the beef and you can certainly leave out the sausage or ALL the meat for that matter and go strictly vegetarian on this. If you do, try adding some spinach or broccoli to keep it interesting.

Like the baker? It’s Revol Belle Cuisine in Slate. My go-to pan!

You just can’t get too close to a great lasagna!

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Holiday Lasagna

Lasagna is a classic holiday-time meal. Also great to serve at a holiday buffet party.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: holiday party food, lasagna

Servings: 9 people

Calories: 526kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles no-boil (oven-ready) noodles*
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
16 oz mozzarella cheese slices or 4 cups shredded
8 oz Italian sausage
8 oz lean ground beef
26 oz pasta sauce
1 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. You will need a deep 11 x 7-inch or 13 x 9-inch pan.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef, breaking up large clumps. Drain and set aside.
Place Italian sausage in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Slice in 1/8-1/4-inch slices. Set aside.
Mix ricotta, parsley, oregano and parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
Mix pasta sauce, water and ground beef in a large bowl.
Place 1 1/2 cups of sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan. Lay 3 lasagna noodles across the bottom.
Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over noodles. Spread 1/3 of the mozzarella slices or shredded mozzarella over the ricotta mixture. Distribute 1/3 of the sausage slices over the top of the cheeses. Drizzle with 1/3 of the sauce mixture. Repeat 2 more times. Top with the last 3 lasagna noodles, spreading remaining sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with additional shredded mozzarella if desired.
Cover with greased aluminum foil and place the baking dish on a baking tray and bake at 375 degrees for 55-60 minutes.
Remove foil and test noodle doneness with a knife. If noodles are soft, replace the foil cover and let stand for 10 minutes. If noodles are still "al dente" then return to oven for an additional 10 minutes.
Makes 9 servings.

Notes

*The same method should work with regular lasagna noodles. I used oven-ready in this but I've made this without cooking the noodles even with the "regular" lasagna. Of course you can cook the regular noodles first, but eliminate the 1 cup of water that is mixed with the sauce and it will only require about 30 minutes in a 350 (yes, different temp) oven.

Nutrition

A great lasagna should never be “neat.” ENJOY!

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