Homemade Chicken (or Turkey) Noodle Soup

The ultimate comfort food. Who doesn't like Chicken Noodle Soup?

I was  sitting in my office at work the other day when one of my staff walked into my office with a cup of instant chicken noodle soup. The smell was so comforting and I instantly wanted some.  So on the weekend, I went to the grocery store and wandered down the soup isle until I found the cup-a-soup. But I just couldn't bring myself to buying it. I knew if I wanted tasty, satisfying Chicken Noodle Soup, that I would need to make it myself.

As I was buying all the ingredients, I noticed that there were turkey parts available in the poultry section, so I thought I would put a little twist on the classic, but of course, you could make it with a whole chicken or chicken parts as I usually do.

The result was so delicious, and honestly, it is quite simple to make. You could make a whole stock pot and then freeze the stock for later use as well.

Spaghetti and (Turkey) Meatballs

 

Who doesn't love spaghetti and meatballs? It is comforting and delicious, and has some sort of romantic quality (yes, too much time watching Lady and the Tramp....). But seriously, it's a home and restaurant favorite for so many people, including myself.

I love making spaghetti and meatballs. You can pan brown them or bake them, and you can make them traditional or you can spice things up with a variety of flavour combinations. In this case, I made my meatballs with ground turkey and lots of yummy, flavourful ingredients including feta cheese and basil. If you prefer other types of meat, you could use beef or a combination of beef and pork. You can even turn this mixture into a meatloaf (just bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 45 minutes, until the meatloaf is cooked through).

Turkey Meatballs

Makes about 36 meatballs

Meatball Ingredients

1 Small Onion, finely chopped

3 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Large Egg

1/2 cup Bread Crumbs

2 tbsp Ketchup

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Dried Basil

1/4 cup Crumbled Feta

Salt and pepper 

500 grams Ground Turkey

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 cups Marinara sauce or Pasta sauce of choice

1/2 cup Water

Cooked Spaghetti

Mix together all meatball ingredients except the turkey. Add the turkey and lightly mix by hand until all is incorporated. Shape into about 1" balls.

Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs (you might need to do this in batches). Cook until nicely browned on all sides, 3-4 minutes. Drain off excess oil from the pan. Reduce the heat to medium low.  With all of the browned meatballs in the pan, add the tomato sauce and water.  Simmer until the meatballs are fully cooked, about 5-8 minutes. Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with spaghetti or pasta of choice

Easy Puff Pastry Pot Pie

I previously wrote that you can't have a pot pie without top and bottom crust.

And I really do believe that the best pot pies have both crusts. However, I also understand that sometimes, we are pressed for time and can't make our own pastry to line our pies.  The best option in these cases is usually frozen puff pastry. You just thaw it, roll it out over your pie filling, brush it with an egg wash, and put it in the oven. No fuss whatsoever. The down side? No bottom crust, as the puff pastry will be soggy and doughy.

So, sometimes we have to give a little to take a little. Compromise that crust we love so much for the conveniences of frozen pastry. And while I still believe that both crusts are best, I am okay with the compromise once in a while.

How to Cook a Turkey? Happy Thanksgiving!

I first referred to cooking a turkey in one of my earliest posts called How to Cook a Chicken? And in this post, I actually reference turkey as being the bird that introduced me to the method I now use frequently: Breast Side Down.

What, breast side down?? Yes, that's right. Regardless of how you season your turkey, if you stuff it or don't stuff it, cooking a turkey (or a chicken) breast side down is the key to the juiciest bird you will ever eat. 

As I said in my earlier post... "I love turkey, but as a child, I never really liked the breast meat (unless I smothered it in gravy) because I always found it too dry. That is, until one day, I asked my mom to cook the turkey breast side down. My mom asked me why I wanted her to do this. After all, having a nice, golden breast sitting up on a platter is generally how you serve, then proceed to carve, a turkey during the holidays. It's tradition! I explained to her that I thought if she flipped the bird over, the breast would soak up all the juices dripping through the turkey and into the bottom of the pan, and would soak up the flavors of all the aromatics she used to put in the roasting tray. So, she trusted me and she tried it. The result? A very tender, juicy breast and since then, neither she nor I has ever looked back!"

That was probably almost 15 years ago. And every bird I have cooked since then has been breast side down and amazing.