Turkey Escalopes

I think it is long enough since Christmas to share a tasty turkey recipe that is a firm favourite in our household. And if you’re wondering what is the vegetable at the front of the photograph, it is Romanesco, slightly similar to a cauliflower.

Turkey Escalopes

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 turkey steaks
2 slices of stale bread
1 egg
25g plain flour
salt and pepper
30ml sunflower oil

Method

Cut the bread into pieces and put in blender.
Use the blender to make bread into crumbs.
Tip the breadcrumbs into a flat dish.
Crack the egg into another flat dish.
Beat egg with a fork.
Season egg with salt and pepper.
Place turkey steaks on a chopping board.
Flatten with a rolling pin.
Spoon the flour into a third flat dish and spread to the edges of the dish.
Place a turkey steak in the flour.
Turn to coat both sides.
Place the turkey in the egg.
Again turn to coat both sides.
Place the turkey in the breadcrumbs.
Again turn to coat both sides.
Repeat for each turkey steak.
Heat oil gently in 2 large frying pans.
Add 2 escalopes to each pan.
Once the escalopes are golden underneath, turn them over to cook the other side.
Serve with your choice of vegetables and enjoy.

I’d love to hear your favourite turkey recipes.

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Top Herd High Protein Snacks review

My other half announced a few months ago that he wanted to eat less carbs. I’m now finding it quite challenging to come up with meal ideas for the whole family as the boys’ favourite meals are pizza and pasta, so carb loaded. And since they tend to turn their nose up at a large piece of meat or fish, I usually stick to cooking what they enjoy. So my poor other half ends up more often than not with a plate of carbs. And if he chooses not to eat it, there is unlikely to be an alternative prepared.

So I was pleased to receive a box of high protein snack packs, free to review from Top Herd Snacks.

I received 1 each of the following varieties.
Tangy Tomato Beef Jerky
Smoky BBQ Beef Jerky
Sweet Pickle Beef Jerky
Honey Mustard Pork Jerky
Zesty Lemon Turkey Jerky
Chilli & Lime Turkey Jerky
Tomato & Paprika Skinny Salami
Chilli Pepper Skinny Salami

Son2 as usual was very skeptical and refused to taste them, but the rest of us tried every variety and gave them a thumbs up all round. I liked all of them, but my favourite is the Honey Mustard Pork Jerky. I did find that the salamis are very chewy, but there is a warning on the packet stating that the snack is only suitable for strong teeth. Meanwhile son1 liked both the salamis best, whilst my other half opted for the same as me – the Honey Mustard Pork Jerky.

These snacks are all high in protein ranging from about 38g – 50g per 100g depending on the variety. They are also gluten free and made from 100% natural ingredients. Another big plus point is that they are long-life products which do not need to be refrigerated.

At present, these snacks are only available to purchase via the Top Herd website, but they plan to be in supermarkets later this year. They are sold in packs of 8, either 8 of the same type or a mixed flavour bundle, currently retailing at £15.92 which equates to £1.99 for each individual 35g packet of jerky or 40g packet of salami. I highly recommend that you give them a try. I’ve already placed my first order and can say that checkout was simple.

And I’m hosting a rafflecopter competition to giveaway a mixed flavour bundle of 8 high protein snack packs courtesy of Top Herd to one lucky winner. A yummy prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway – Please click on the link to enter.

And you may see my other giveaways here.

I’d love to hear your favourite savoury snack?

And finally I have a new discount code FS0250 to share with my readers which will give you 50% off one mixed flavour bundle pack of Top Herd Snacks. Valid until 21st February.

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Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

Freezing a Cheesy Turkey Cobbler

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  All opinions are my own.

When I’m cooking a meal, I like to cook additional portions to freeze to use later. Not only is this more energy efficient by filling the oven, it also means we have a supply of home-cooked food in the freezer. This is great for days when I’m working as I can get something out of the freezer ahead and it is ready to heat when we arrive home. So much more tasty than relying on shop-bought ready meals and as I’ve mentioned previously, it is vital in our household that we always have an early evening meal, since son1 has to have a food-free hour either side of his daily chemotherapy every night.

So I was very pleased when Just Catering Supplies offered to send me a selection of my choice of their products free to review.

I received the following items.
A pack of 9 Kingfisher medium foil food containers & lids
A double portion size foil container and matching lid
A mini portion size foil container and matching lid
A circular foil container and matching lid
Roasting bags
Non stick baking paper
Cling film

I was very pleased to see that they offer a wide range of foil containers from mini to bulk catering. Prices are very good, starting at 5p for some sizes and even lower per unit when you purchase in bulk.

First I chose to cook a Cheesy Turkey Cobbler. With the different size foil containers, I was able to vary the ingredients slightly according to everyone’s taste. Son1 prefers raw vegetables on the side rather than cooked whilst son2 is happy with broccoli only. So two individual portions for the boys, a double portion for me and my other half plus an extra single portion ready for freezing.

Ingredients (serves 5)

300g turkey mince
1 medium onion
100g broccoli
40g frozen sweetcorn
40g frozen peas
1 tbsp olive oil

For the cheese sauce:-
50g plain flour
50g margarine
500g milk
100g cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

For the cobbler topping:-
200g self raising flour
50g margarine
150ml milk
50g cheese
salt and pepper

Method

Chop the broccoli into florets and then cut further into small pieces.
Chop the onion.
Grate the cheese.
Preheat fan oven to 200 deg C.
Add olive oil to a wok and heat gently.
Add the turkey mince and cook for about 10 minutes until browned.
Remove 2 portions of turkey and place in individual foil containers.
Add onion to the wok and continue to cook until soft.
Place in 1 double and 1 individual foil containers.
Add broccoli to all bar 1 of the individual foil containers.
Meanwhile cook cheese sauce as follows.
Melt margarine in jug in microwave.
Mix in plain flour.
Gradually stir in milk until smooth.
Heat in microwave until thickened stirring at 1 minute intervals.
Season with salt and pepper.
Mix in grated cheese.
Pour cheese sauce over turkey.
Meanwhile make cobbler topping as follows.
Sieve self raising flour into a bowl.
Add salt and pepper.
Rub in margarine.
Add grated cheese.
Mix in sufficient milk to draw mixture into a ball.
Divide ball into small balls and flatten into rounds.
Place 2 or 3 rounds onto each dish.
Place foil containers onto a baking sheet.
Cook in preheated oven for approx 20 minutes.
Serve hot and enjoy.

I froze the extra portion after the sauce had cooled prior to baking in the oven, but alternatively you could bake it before freezing. Just remember to let it cool first.

Secondly I find the most economic way to purchase chicken is to buy a whole chicken. Cook it, use what we require for that day’s main meal, remove the rest from the bones and split between fridge and freezer according to meal planning. The carcass can then be made into stock and frozen too.

So I placed the raw chicken into one of the roasting bags and cooked in the oven. Once it was cooked I cut a corner off the bag in order to tip out the juices. I used some of the juice in gravy whilst the rest was put aside for making the stock. I then removed the chicken from the bag, served what we needed for our meal, whilst leaving the rest to cool. I later shredded the rest of the meat. A little went in the fridge but most was frozen as follows. I laid baking parchment over a chopping board, folding it over the ends of the board. I then spread the chicken out in a single layer over the baking parchment and wrapped cling film right round the board and popped it in the freezer overnight. The next day I took it out of the freezer. It was nicely frozen in individual pieces. The mini foil container was a good size to hold a portion ready to go back in the freezer for later use.

And watch out for another post soon when I share my salmon and pesto pie recipe. The circular foil container was ideal for this.

In summary, I was very pleased with these products, both for quality and price. Do take a look at the Just Catering Supplies website. They have lots of other products in their range like plastic containers, cake cases, paper plates, napkins and tablecloths. There are some nice Christmas and New Year party themes.

So do tell me what meals you cook extra and then freeze?

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at TamingTwins and KerryCooks

 

Winner of 2015 British Turkey Awards Best Blogger Recipe

Wow. Amazing news to share on the blog today. My Flotilla of Pirate Ships was judged the winning entry in the Turkey Blogger Challenge sponsored by Red Tractor. And I was asked to attend the British Turkey Awards to collect my certificate and trophy. I invited my very proud mum along as my +1, because I have my mum to thank for sparking my interest in cooking from an early age when I would help her in the kitchen.

It was a very posh black tie event held at The Dorchester in London. And as expected, turkey was on the menu, but not just for the main course. The starter was a Thai turkey salad, followed by turkey wellington for main. These dishes followed the pirate theme and were also both prize winners for Student Chef of the Year Award. And then a flaming crème brûlée for dessert.

We were entertained by comedian Mark Watson who also presented the awards and by former snooker player Willie Thorne who hosted the charity auction and raffle. I should have bought one more raffle ticket, as I was one number short of winning a holiday too.

Captain Jack Sparrow lookalike was also in attendance.

Here are some photos of my winning entry. See my original post for the recipes.

The pirate flags and sails are designs from Cottage Industrialist and Paging SuperMom, used with permission.

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Disclosure: I was reimbursed for the cost of the turkey and Red Tractor products for my entry for the British Turkey Blogger Recipe Competition. 

Cooking up a flotilla of pirate ships

Avast Me Hearties! Shiver Me Timbers!

British Turkey and Red Tractor have invited bloggers to take part in a competition to find the British Turkey blogger of the year 2015. They have challenged us to cook up a “Pirate” themed dish. I was pleased to be invited as I enjoyed cooking Turkey Pasta Special for this challenge back in 2013.

You can find the Red Tractor on a wide range of seasonal British ingredients. It’s an independent sign to show you that your food has been produced to responsible standards and is traceable back to independently inspected assured farms in the UK. You can see a list of Red Tractor approved ingredients here.

British Turkey and other Red Tractor products used in these recipes

So in line with the theme, I decided to make a fleet of pirate ships to sail the seas. And the largest two ships also have a hold full of treasure – gold apricots and turkey pearls hidden amongst the broccoli seaweed.

Stuffed Pepper Pirate Ships

Ingredients (serves 4 as a starter or side or serves 2 as a main)

100g diced British turkey breast
125g bag of fresh spinach (red tractor assured)
100g greek yoghurt (red tractor assured)
50g parmesan cheese
75g wholegrain rice
2 peppers
salt and pepper

Method

Chop the turkey into small pieces.
Boil the kettle.
Spray a wok with oil and heat on hob.
Add the turkey to the wok and cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
(You may cook 500g turkey for both recipes at the same time if you wish).
Meanwhile add the rice to a saucepan.
Cover with boiling water and bring back to the boil.
Simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, adding extra boiling water if needed.
Meanwhile pierce the bag of spinach and cook in microwave according to packet instructions.
Grate the parmesan.
Add the spinach and rice to the turkey and mix together.
Mix in the natural yoghurt and parmesan.
Season with salt and pepper.
Cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds.
Stuff the peppers with the rice mixture.
Place on a baking sheet and cook in preheated oven.
Decorate with flags and sails.
Serve and enjoy.

Turkey, Broccoli and Apricot Pirate Ship Pies

Ingredients (serves 6 – 8)

400g diced British turkey breast
200g broccoli (red tractor assured)
200g apricots
50g margarine
50g plain flour
600ml milk (red tractor assured)
100g mature cheddar cheese (red tractor assured)
salt and pepper
olive oil spray
500g shortcrust pastry

Method

Chop the turkey into small pieces.
Chop the broccoli into florets.
Cut the apricots in halves, removing the stones.
Grate the cheese.
Spray a wok with oil and heat on hob.
Add the turkey to the wok and cook gently for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile melt the margarine in a jug in the microwave.
Mix in the flour.
Gradually mix in the milk, reserving a little for brushing the pastry.
Microwave for about 5 minutes, stirring at 1 minute intervals until the sauce has thickened.
Season with salt and pepper.
Stir in the grated cheese.
Arrange the broccoli, apricots and turkey in the bottom of two oval pie dishes.
Cover with cheese sauce.
Roll out the pastry to make lids for both pies.
Cover the pie dishes with the pastry lids, pressing the edges down and trimming off any spare pastry.
Use the spare pastry to make 2 sets of skull and cross bones.
Brush the underside of pastry decorations with milk and stick onto the pie lids.
Make a few holes in the lids to allow steam to escape.
Then brush all of the pastry lids with milk.
Cook in preheated oven.
Decorate with flags and sails.
Serve and enjoy.

I had some pastry and quite a lot of pepper filling left over, so I combined the two for a couple of extra ships for the fleet. I gave these “X marks the spot” lids for where the treasure is buried. My peppers were quite small, so for small peppers, I recommend that you use 3 rather than 2 to avoid having leftover filling.

And I hope you like the pirate flags and sails. I have used designs from Cottage Industrialist and Paging SuperMom with permission.

I’d love to hear your ideas for pirate food, especially if they use turkey.

Update on 25/9/15
Fantastic news. I’m really pleased to have won. See details of the awards here.

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Disclosure: This is my entry for the British Turkey Blogger Recipe Competition. I will be reimbursed for the cost of the turkey and Red Tractor products.

Cooking with Lee Kum Kee Chinese sauces

What a nice feeling when a brand approach you saying that they have seen your blog and love the way you write your recipes. That is what happened to me recently. I got a DM on Twitter from Lee Kum Kee, a chinese sauce brand saying they would like to work with me on a recipe feature. This was after I tweeted them a photo of my pumpkin muffins for their Halloween competition, with no link to my blog. So they must have searched for my blog via my Twitter profile. I didn’t win the competition though!

So I received a selection of six of their sauces free. They also sent a key ring. The sauces comprised:-
Hoisin Sauce
Plum Sauce
Chiu Chow Chilli Oil
Char Siu Sauce
Premium Oyster Sauce
Soy Sauce

They were well packed in bubble wrap, but several of the safety buttons on the lids had popped up, I assume in transit.

Lee Kum Kee wanted me to come up with some traditional English festive recipes to showcase that their sauces are not limited to just oriental cuisine.

So first here are my recipes for Turkey Dippers and Mini Prawn toad in the holes which along with vegetable crudites, I served with all the sauces as dips, even those which are not commonly served as dips.

Turkey Dippers

Ingredients (makes approx 20)

2 turkey breast steaks
1 slice of stale white bread
1 egg
50g cheese
salt
pepper
mixed herbs
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp olive oil

Method

Cut the turkey into strips.
Tear the bread into pieces and whizz to crumbs in food processor.
Grate the cheese.
Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, salt, pepper and herbs together.
Beat the egg.
Spread the flour on a chopping board.
Roll the turkey strips in flour.
Then dip in the egg.
Then roll in the cheesy breadcrumbs to coat.
Heat oil in frying pan.
Cook the turkey dippers on a moderate heat, turning occasionally.
Serve either hot or cold with dipping Chinese sauces and enjoy.

Mini Prawn toad in the holes

Ingredients (makes 24)

1 bag of frozen king prawns
200g plain flour
1 egg
300ml milk
salt

Method

Defrost the prawns for about 3hrs at room temperature.
Preheat fan oven to 180 deg C.
Grease a mini muffin tin.
Put one prawn in each muffin hole.
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.
Beat the egg.
Mix in the egg and sufficient milk to make a thick paste.
Gradually beat in remainder of milk.
Pour the batter into a jug.
Allow to stand for 15 minutes.
Heat the muffin tin in oven for 1 minute.
Pour the batter into the muffin holes.
Cook on middle shelf of oven for approx 15-20 minutes.
Serve either hot or cold with dipping Chinese sauces and enjoy.

 

Then I used some of the Hoisin sauce for glazing a roast gammon joint.

Roast Gammon with Hoisin and honey glaze

Ingredients

1 gammon joint (approx 1.1 kg)
1 tbsp Lee Kee Kum Hoisin sauce
1 tbsp honey

Method

Preheat fan oven to 170 deg C.
Wash the gammon.
Mix the hoisin sauce and honey together for the glaze.
Brush the gammon all over with the glaze.
Place gammon in a roasting tray and cover loosely with foil.
Cook for 1 hour on middle shelf of oven.
Rebrush with more glaze.
Turn temperature down to 150 deg C.
Continue to cook for a further 45 mins to 1 hour.
Test that it is cooked with a skewer.
Rebrush with remainder of glaze.
Allow to stand for 15 minutes.
Carve into slices.
Serve hot with your choice of potatoes and vegetables.
Enjoy.

And finally I drizzled plum sauce over my apple pancakes.

Apple Pancakes with Plum Sauce

Ingredients (makes 6)

1 large Bramley apple (approx 250g)
200g plain flour
1 egg
300ml milk
salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp Lee Kee Kum Plum sauce

Method

Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.
Beat the egg.
Mix in the egg and sufficient milk to make a thick paste.
Gradually beat in remainder of milk.
Pour the batter into a jug.
Allow to stand for 15 minutes.
Peel the apple.
Grate apple until just the core remains.
Mix grated apple into batter.
Heat the oil in small frying pan.
Pour sufficient batter to cover base of pan.
Cook over moderate heat.
Flip pancake over when underside is golden brown.
Continue to cook until 2nd side is also golden brown.
Transfer to a plate.
Drizzle plum sauce over the pancake.
Serve and enjoy.

Since the toad in the holes and the pancakes use the same basic batter recipe, I made a double batch of batter for both.

Everything was delicious, although in retrospect I would have just used the plum sauce, hoisin sauce and chilli oil as dips. And the chilli oil had a wonderful fiery kick. Certainly 3 dips would have been sufficient, but I wanted to try all the products and didn’t have time to come up with additional recipes. I usually use soy sauce or oyster sauce in stir-fry dishes like my Tofu & Rice Stir-Fry. And Char Siu sauce is best known for marinating pork.

Most of these products can be purchased in major supermarkets. According to My Supermarket, prices currently range between £1.80 for either Hoisin or Char Siu Sauce to £2.90 for Chiu Chow Chilli Oil.

So what dishes would you make for Christmas using Chinese sauces?

Disclosure.  This post is a review of products I was sent for free.  And I have been reimbursed for the purchase of the other ingredients. All opinions are my own.

Turkey Pasta Special

British Turkey and Red Tractor have invited bloggers to take part in a competition to find the British Turkey blogger of the year 2013!

You can find the Red Tractor on a wide range of seasonal British ingredients. It’s an independent sign to show you that your food has been produced to responsible standards and is traceable back to independently inspected assured farms in the UK. You can see a list of Red Tractor approved ingredients here.

Turkey Pasta Special is a quick easy tasty recipe, enjoyed by my family that I have created myself. I used the innovative combination of creme fraiche and grated cheese, to avoid the potential disaster of a lumpy roux sauce. I have chosen to serve with macaroni, as this is my children’s favourite, but you may substitute any pasta of your choice.  Similarly, the choice of vegetables can be varied, such as broccoli, red peppers and mushrooms.  The recipe is very versatile, as the Turkey Special could be served with rice or salad instead of pasta.

Ingredients (serves 2 adults and 2 children)

500g diced British turkey breast
150g carrots (red tractor assured)
100g dwarf green beans (red tractor assured)
75g leeks (red tractor assured)
1 clove of garlic
600ml creme fraiche (red tractor assured)
150g cheddar cheese (red tractor assured)
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil
250g macaroni (75g per adult and 50g per child)

Method

Chop the carrots, baton style.
Top and tail the beans. Cut any long ones in two pieces.
Chop the leek and garlic.
Grate the cheese.
Bring two large saucepans of water to the boil.
Add a tablespoonful of olive oil to one of the pans.
Add the macaroni to this pan of boiling water and cook for 10-12 minutes.
Add a pinch of salt and the carrots to the other pan.
2 minutes later, add the green beans to the carrots.
Cook carrots and beans until they are al dente.
Meanwhile, heat a tablespoonful of olive oil in a wok and brown the turkey with the garlic.
After 4 minutes, add the leek to the turkey and cook for a further 4 minutes.
Season with salt and pepper.
Drain the carrots and beans and add to the turkey.
Stir in the creme fraiche and the grated cheese.
Continue to cook for 2 minutes, to allow the sauce to heat through.
Drain the macaroni and serve.
Top with the turkey special.
Enjoy.

British Turkey

Red Tractor Assured Dairy

Red Tractor Assured Veg

Brown the turkey

Add the leek

Add the carrots and beans

Add the creme fraiche and cheese

Serve with macaroni

Disclosure: This is my entry for the British Turkey Blogger Recipe Competition. I have been reimbursed for the cost of the turkey and Red Tractor products.