Ground Turkey Shepherd's Pie

I can't even tell you how long this post has been a draft on my blog.  We have made this recipe at least three times since Thanksgiving.  Each time we make it, we gobble it up BEFORE I get a chance to take a photograph.  Well this post is finally ready. 

It was originally a Rachael Ray recipe, which we tweaked.  We do not use the broth or the banana.  When we used the broth it was too watery, and in our opinion, the ripe banana makes this dish too sweet for dinner.  We add corn and peas, several dashes of hot sauce, and a handful of whatever cheese we have on hand to the potatoes.  M and I also add sour cream and cream cheese to the sweet potatoes, like in our party potatoes.

Thanksgiving Turkey Breast

Our Thanksgiving dinner was delicious!  Everything was from scratch - stuffing, party potatoes, cranberry sauce with pomegranates, and turkey. We even made butternut squash soup for our appetizer. 

For the turkey breast we used a recipe inspired from Ina Garten; surprisingly she did not include any butter to her recipe, so we added some in ours.

Serves: 6 

You'll need:
6 lb. turkey breast 
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup red wine
1 cup orange juice
1 cup beef broth

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, in a roasting pan.

2. In a separate bowl, make a paste for the turkey by combining the garlic, mustard, fresh herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, butter and lemon juice. Smear the paste under the skin and on top of the skin.  You may have to gently loosen the skin away from the meat. 

3. Pour the wine, orange juice, and broth into the roasting pan.

4. Roast the turkey for 2 hours (20 minutes/pound) uncovered.  At the one hour mark, baste the turkey with the wine/broth/juice mixture that is in the bottom of the roasting pan.  Baste the turkey again every 15 minutes.  (We basted our turkey four times.)

The turkey skin was a beautiful brown from the red wine.  It was also super moist and flavorful.  I highly recommend this turkey breast recipe for your next turkey dinner. 

Party Potatoes

Party Potatoes are a traditional side dish in M's family.  Boil, mash, and then bake the potatoes.  What's not to love about potatoes, sour cream, cream cheese, and butter! They're a party in your mouth!

For party potatoes, you'll need:
5 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into equal-size pieces
4 oz. cream cheese
4 oz. sour cream
4 tablespoons butter, plus a few pats of butter for the top
salt and pepper

About 8 servings 

Directions:
1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft, about 15-20 minutes. 

2. Smash or mash your potatoes.  Add butter, sour cream, cream cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Blend together.

3. Place the party potato mixture in an oven-safe casserole dish, adding a few pats of butter on top.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F.  Then we broiled ours for a few minutes on high to get a golden brown top layer.