TURKEY AND DUMPLINGS .... a new take on Chicken & Dumplings

 I have discovered the cheapest MEAT you can find  without having to wait for a sale - just everyday lowest price ....

Fiesta Ground Turkey in all its varieties - regular ground, Italian, Breakfast sausage, and even Taco Sausage.

Fiesta is a subside of Jenni-o-O meats (completely GLUTEN FREE, they don't play with the FDA numbers the way some others do - I'm looking at you Butterball!) 

Now I will admit, you will have to be willing to give up a couple of things - like how they get the meat .... it is "mechanically" obtained, and no this doesn't mean they have some AI machine doing it ... basically, it's been in the news before.  But I believe Jenni-O has learned and is just using water - shut up - I choose to believe this!

So, it costs (currently) $1.98 LB -- that's cheaper than ANYTHING else in the store.  And it tastes really good, in my opinion.

so - let's get into the recipe ....

TURKEY & DUMPLINGS for 4-ish (we are big eaters when hubby is out of town)

You will need:
1 pound/LB of Turkey - I used a roll of the Italian Sausage
1 quart broth/stock - I used chicken stock because it's what I had at hand.
1 package mixed veg, frozen - or a can of veg of your choice
2 Tablespoons of flour
spice to taste - I used garlic powder, minced onions, and salt, the turkey was peppery enough for me.
1 can biscuit dough - I used Grands thwack biscuits, but any kind will do.

Let's cook this thang!

In the INSTANT POT - there was a reason for this, which you likely won't need, so it's optional - cook the turkey until cooked but there is plenty of fat in the pan (you're going to want this in a second), add your spices.
Sprinkle in your flour over the turkey, don't just dump it in or you will get clumps.  Stir and cook the flour, turkey for a few minutes to darken the flour just a little bit and cook out that "flour" taste.

SLOWLY add your broth while stirring.  when it gets to a consistancy you like - add in your veg.
This will thing it out just a little bit, but you're going to want that too.

Open your biscuits, or better, have some homemade dough close at hand - cut each biscuit into smaller bits (4-8 pieces, choice is yours).
throw them in the pot one at a time, giving them a slight dip with the spoon when they enter the pot - this will keep them from clumping together.

cover - let boil for 15-30 minutes.

Tada - your done - get out the bowls.

How I felt about this

Well, I found that after SLOW COOKING this for 1/2 hour after adding the biscuits - they were still quite doughy - which is why I like the Instant Pot - I threw on the sealing cover and Pressure cooked the whole thing for 4 minutes and they were great!

The biscuits puffed up fluffy.

I would say if you do this in a regular crock-pot, put the biscuits in about 1/2 - 1 full hour before you sit to eat.

Will I do this again?  Yup ....

BEEF BROTH: NOT MY VIDEO

Okay - this is NOT my video, but I love watching Homesteading wih the Zimmermans (YouTube) .... she lives a life I can only dream of ....

And if high prices hit hard - she will be fine, while I will be struggling a bit (you wouldn't believe the prices where we're at) .... anyhow ....

She had a video on MAKING BEEF BROTH ...

This really hits home .... you see about 20 years ago - wow, has it been that long already? - we had a Siberian Husky .... OMG, he was such a card, but he would only howl if there was an ambulance or the tornado siren going on - otherwise, he was the quietest thing .... anyways - he LOVED bones ....

So, when we got a cow from my husband's cousin & her husband, we made sure we got the bones as well - but we kept them LARGE ... like 18-24 inches long .... and he loved them .... a little too much though - the first growl at one of the kids, and they were gone.

So - we pitched them out .... this was PRE-canning era for me .... all my canning was HWB (boiling water) and you HAVE TO pressure can meat products ....

So now, watching her do this ... almost makes me want to get another cow .... and the bones.

One thing I do not understand though - she cooks her bones in the oven .... that's actually not the issue ... but she then transfers them into her roaster oven ....

That makes me wonder .... why???

Why not either:
(A)cook them on 450F in the roaster oven itself
~or~
(B)roadst it in the regular oven but use the insert from the roaster oven, to bein with??

To me, it would just make more sense -- that way no flavor will be lost .... all he fons will be retained ...

But the best part ... at least to me ... is LESS DISHES.

Watch how many dishes she gets from doing it his way .... and if she was doing it in a crockpot or a big pot on the stovetop - then yes, I can see it .... but for a roaster oven?

I think she is making herself more dishes than is necessary.

Enjoy her video though - and it is a good video, it's just this one part I have an issue with ... so far (I haven't finished watching it all the way through yet)

BROTH: BUSTED

Ok, okay, okay ... paint me stupid .... but I never got around to canning, nor freezing, the turkey broth I made ...

Alas, alack ...

But - since it was made with SCRAPS of items which normally get tossed out .... I'm not too heartbroken.

My issue becomes - what to do with it?

Since it has fat and protein in it - from the bones - I can NOT put it on the compost pile ...
But I also cannot put it down the drain because it is likely to gum up the works - fat coagulates ....

Even if I take off the "fat cap" it is likely to still cause some major issues ....

But the broth itself - I should have been using it ....

Actually .... it would have been better if I had jumped on i in the beginning .... never put off, type of thing .... but I have let it go way too far now.

I will have to figure something out ....

Sigh.

RECIPE: SAUSAGE POASTA HOTDISH

We love pasta ... especially my husband, his absolute favorite is Lasange - but it has to be made "right" and I just can't do that .... his best friend, Jeff, can make what he calls "a really good Lasange" ... to me it's  ... okay, just okay .... my moher made a really good one in my mind, but she never shared her recipes for some reason.

But - I have learned his SECOND favorite is Tri-Colored Rotini .... he just loves the diffent tastes.

This is an Instant Pot recipe which I made up yesterday - and it will last me for at least 2 days.... so it will be left-overs tonight! Yay.

So let's jump into this ... there are 3 different times the Instant Pot is used ... but I cut it down to 2 last night - I was lucky I didn't get a "burn" notice, which simply means the liquid has been completely absorbed .... usually the food itself isn't burnt, but pasta needs the moisture in order to cook ...

Let's get to the Pig Killing ....

Ingredients))

1 lb sausage (I used breakfast sausage rounds which my daughter had bought by mistake)
2 cans diced tomatoes, do not drain! (although if I had some, I would have preferred stewed tomatoes because I like them)
1 box Rotini (but almost any shaped pasta will do)
1/4-1/2 Cup Dry Onion (I like dried onions because a. I don't have to cut them, and b. they don't tend to go bad before I use them up ... I can't tell you how often I find the ones in the stores haven't been cured enough - they either go soft or soggy by the time I get to the bottom of the bag)
1 T - 1/4 C Italian Seasoning (start small, you can always add but you can't take away)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

Okay - first brown your meat .... I used the "Saute" setting on my instant Pot ... it will heat up fast so keep an eye on your meat ... if you get crusties on the bottom of the pot, it's okay ... it's called "Fons" and it's GOOD flavor.  Once ALL the pink is gone, remove the meat from the pan and turn it off.

Yeah - I know, it seems silly because you are just going to turn it back on again - but you want it to cool before or your noodles will end up gluey.

Dump in your box of noodles - 1 lb or less - if you use a larger amount, I suggest you use method 1 ...

METHOD 1: cover your pasta with enough water to cover by and inch, add 1 T saltt .... "Pressure Cook" for 4-5 minutes ... then drain pasta.
Add all ingredients back into pot, heat through on "Saute" 

METHOD 2: (the way I did it) .... add 2 cups cold water & 1/2 T of salt to pasta in pot, give it a stir making sure all the pasta gets wet - don't skip this part!  
Now on top of the noodles layer the sausage, tomatoes with the juice, and the spices ....
Cook for 5 minutes
When finished - let stand for a few minutes, hen quick release - give it a stir

Either mehod works - and it's easy to make this on your stove top as well .... but I just can't get the knack of doing pasta in a Slow Cooker or Crock-Pot ...

Enjoy!

RECIPE: LEFOVER MAKEOVERS, TURKEY PASTA HOTDISH

Yes, I had some of the hotdish left over ... but not enough to feed two ... my son and myself (hubby is in the cities) ...

So I made what I had into a Leftover Makeover dish ...

First, I opened a box of Mac & Cheese - but I didn't use the cheese, I put that aside for a different time ...

I cooked it in the Instant Pot, in COLD water, just enough to cover the noodles .... but don't drown it.

Give it a nice pinch of salt - maybe a teaspoons worh, and mix it about.

Pressure cook it for 3 minutes ... it will be al dente ...

When this was done, I found there was not a lot of water left, maybe little over a cup.

I added in the rest of the Turkey Hotdish, and gave it a stir ...

I added a little more pepper - and if I had thought of it, I probably would have added a can of sweet peas.

Then I pressure cooked it for 0 minutes ... it will take the cooker up to where the timer would normally start, but it shuts off ... just long enough to heat itt through.

It was so good - I topped i with Parmesan cheese this time.

This will go on the Leftover list from now on.

BROTH: STILL WAITING FOR ME ...

Oh my - I just don't have any energy .... so my broth is still siting in the refridgerator waiting for me to get off my duff and can it up ...

I have a feeling, I will likely be freezing it - but we will see.

My son's work schedule has gotten thrown off this week ... and it seems to change quite a bit as it is ... but he had yesterday morning off - he parks in front of the fridge where the broth is at.

Tuesday, I took meds for my sinuses Monday night, so I way overslept ... so I didn't get it done, I was dragging tail something fierce.

Today is Thursday ... he was supposed to have today off ... parked in front of the fridge -- BUT - he got called into work ...

But I am involved today with the news ... the fires in California are just enthrolling me ... so I haven't done ... NOTHING today ... except watch news, Youtube, and blog ...

So - my broth is just sitting ....

This weekend, hubby comes back up from the city - so likely, I won't work on it then either ....

So that means NEXT WEEK .... ugh ... next week I will HAVE TO jar my broth up .... or freeze it.

NO RECIPE TODAY

Oh, I have thrown my back out somehow ... so son made supper last night (his day off work) and he made his super yummy Pizza.

I don't know the recipe for his dough - nor for his pizza sauce ... but I really like the crust, and this I have observed ...

A) it is a yeast dough - but it takes only 1 1/2 tsp of yeast. 
B) he lets this rest in a non-metallic bowl for 1 1.2 hours
C) he kneads it until it "panes" - that is, when you hold it by the edge, you should be able to see light through it when it stretches ....

I've been making bread for some 30 years, maybe a tad more, and I had never heard of "paneing" before - I have worked with both yeast and sour dough breads ... it has to be a "new" term.

D) he spreads the dough out into cast iron pans - he will only use cast iron.  He lets this set in the cold oven with only the lightt on (it's a trick I taught him when I am rising my yeast dough for bread)
E) he then removes the pan from the oven, and puts it on the stove top with the flame on medium ... yup he begins cooking the dough on the stovetop!
When one side is done, he flips the dough, cooks it just a little longer.
F) Then he will put on the sauce and toppings ...
G) the pans go under the BROILER of the oven .... until the cheese gets bubbly.

Once its done - he removes the pizzas from the pans and lets them cool on the cooling racks for a bit.

Then he slices it up and it is ...

Delicious!!!!

Oh my goodness - I can easily eat 4 pieces at a sitting ... maybe more, but I stop at 4 ... lol.

But this isn't a "recipe" so to speak .... just instructions.