Simple Turkey Dinner

Spice Roast Turkey Breast

Yield: 4

A recipe is merely words on paper; a guideline, a starting point from which to improvise. It cannot pretend to replace the practiced hand and telling glance of a watchful cook. For that reason, this is also an account of what happens when I make this dish, so you’ll understand each step. Of course when you cook it once, it becomes yours, so personalize it a bit. Add more of an ingredient you like or less of something you don’t like. Try substituting one ingredient for another. Remember words have no flavour, you have to add your own!

I really enjoy the flavour of roast turkey but I don’t always have the time to deal with the entire bird so I often buy just a plain turkey breast. It’s so easy to work with that I can prepare it with out any time-consuming special occasion fuss. To add a flavour boost I often throw together this simple spice rub and roast away.

Ingredients:

Spice Roast Turkey Breast

• 1 tbsp of ground sage
• 1 tbsp of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 1/2 lb. turkey breast, boned
• 3 x whole carrots, peeled

Directions:

Spice Roast Turkey Breast

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place the spices, brown sugar and salt into a resealable plastic freezer bag. Shake until mixed well. Add the turkey breast and shake again, rubbing in the spice mixture until well coated. Let rest for a few hours or overnight if you have the time. You may also begin roasting it immediately.
3. Place the carrots into a 9-inch by 13-inch roasting pan overlapping to form a triangular rack. Set the turkey breast on the carrot rack. This will help the breast roast quickly and evenly by allowing the hot air in the oven to easily flow around the meat. Roast for 45 minutes or so, until the meat reaches an internal temperature of exactly 165 degrees F. By using an accurate meat thermometer you’ll guarantee that the meat won’t dry out from overcooking. Rest for fifteen minutes before slicing. This allows the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat. The heat of the oven will have driven them to the center of the breast under high pressure; if you cut into the meat then they will flow out and be lost.

Brown Rice and Lentils

Ease of Preparation: Easy
4 Servings

Rice is a grain, lentils a legume. Combine the two and you have a perfect source of vegetarian protein. Of course, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy the wholesome, tasty richness of this healthy duo.

Brown Rice and Lentils

One-half cup of brown rice
One-half cup of green lentils
Two cups of water
A sprinkle or two of salt and pepper

Pour the brown rice into a small pot with the water and a pinch of salt. Slowly simmer over a medium-low heat for fifteen minutes.

Add the lentils and continue cooking until both the rice and lentils are tender and fluffy, another thirty minutes.

Fruit Crisp

Ease of Preparation: Easy
4-6 Servings with leftovers

Just about any fruit can be cut, tossed with a bit of sugar, and baked with a crisp topping. There are as many ways to make that happen as there are cooks. Here’s mine. It’s perfect for experimenting and works year round with whatever type of local fruit is in season.

Fruit Crisp

For the fruit, pick one of the following or use your favourite:
Six peaches, pears or large apples
Eight small apples
Twelve plums or nectarines
Six or eight cups of blueberries, strawberries or raspberries

A few spoonfuls of brown sugar
A few spoonfuls of cornstarch

For the crisp topping:
A cup or so of oatmeal
A cup or so of brown sugar
Two sticks of frozen butter (eight ounces)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the fruit with the brown sugar and the cornstarch. Load the works into a casserole dish.

Grate the frozen butter into the brown sugar and oatmeal; mix with your hands until the mixture comes together into a crumbly mass. Crumble over the fruit evenly covering it. Place the dish on a pan to catch any drips then bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 45 minutes to an hour.



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