Fried Turkey and [Stuffing] Waffles

Fried Chicken Turkey and [Stuffing] Waffles
From Longman and Eagle via Daily Candy 

I swear I am being 100% honest when I tell you I was going to post something healthy today.  I had a lovely broccoli saute all cued up to post since I figured people are probably really full from Thanksgiving and could use something refreshingly light.  That was the plan.

Then this recipe found its way to my inbox.  Stupid inbox, gets me every time.

We came back from our holiday adventures in the suburbs on Saturday morning and immediately whipped up two batches of these - one with leftovers of the stuffing we made last week, and one with the leftovers we brought back from John's family.  Then, after we stuffed ourselves silly, we mixed what remained of both batters and made a combo batch the next morning.  See, that's the great thing about this recipe - it totally doesn't matter what variety of stuffing you have on hand.  And all the other ingredients are pretty standard pantry and fridge staples, so chances are you can whip these up without a trip to the store.  Of course you do have to have a waffle maker, but even our crappy $15 Walmart variety one worked just fine.  And if you're really in a bind, you can probably get away with a pancake of sorts instead.

As for the turkey, well, it's buttermilk fried turkey.  Do you doubt it's good?  Maybe it's because neither of our families does the deep fried turkey thing, but we were seriously enthralled with this concept.  We agreed unequivocally that this was the best use of leftovers we have ever tried.  I know it's already been 4 days, but seriously, if you have ANY leftovers still hanging around, MAKE THIS!!!


Ingredients

Fried Turkey

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp seasoned salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (if you only have regular milk, mix 1 Tbsp white vinegar with 1 scant cup of milk, let stand 5 minutes)
• leftover turkey pieces - we think we used about 2-3 cups of chunks of dark meat
• vegetable oil

Stuffing Waffles

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup leftover stuffing
• 2 cups flour
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• butter (for serving, optional)
• syrup (for serving, optional)
• leftover cranberry sauce (for serving, optional)

Preparation

Fried Turkey

1. Mix flour and seasoned salt in a shallow bowl.
2. Set up a dredging station with the seasoned flour and another shallow bowl with the buttermilk.
3. Dip each piece of turkey in the milk, then the flour.
4. Heat enough vegetable oil to thickly coat the bottom of a high sided skillet.
5. Fry each piece of turkey until golden brown, turning as needed to brown each side.  Do this in batches so that you only have single layers of turkey each time.

Stuffing Waffles

1. Mix eggs and next eight ingredients, through vanilla extract, with a hand mixer.
2. Pour batter into waffle maker, according to manufacturer's instructions.
3. Top with fried turkey and serve with butter, syrup, and cranberry sauce, if desired.

Makes about 10 small waffles.

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Turkey Chili

Turkey Chili
From Martha Stewart 

We debated long and hard over what to do for our awesome next door neighbors who just brought home a new baby.  As new homeowners with roughly zero experience with kids or people producing them, we realized we were woefully unaware of what new parents might need.  Then we thought, well, what does everyone need?  FOOD!  Of course that presented the question of what food.  We don't know them super well since we've only been in the house for 4 months, so we decided to hedge our bets with a mixture of meaty, vegetarian, sweet and spicy.

Today's chili covers the meaty and spicy end of the spectrum.  We kept half the batch for oursleves, and with every bite I prayed that they aren't vegetarians because the idea of this chili going to waste brings tears to my eyes.  You'd NEVER know it's turkey because it's so outrageously flavorful and hearty.
I should point out that this recipe makes enough chili to feed an army.  That's fine with us because we love the leftovers, but beware if you don't own a huge pot.  We DO own a huge pot, yet we are two for two on starting this recipe in our medium one and having to transfer it half way when things get crazy.  Planning isn't my strong suit...

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon, cut into half inch strips
• 3 lb ground turkey, 7% fat
• 4 cups white onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup minced garlic cloves (we used jarred, pre-minced garlic, due to laziness)
• 2 jalapenos, chopped (we left the seeds in, which makes it slightly hotter - your call - frankly it wasn't very spicy, so feel free to play it up with hotter chilies)
• 3 Tbsp chili powder
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 tsp cumin
• 2 cans (28 oz each) whole tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp molasses
• 4 tsp coarse salt
• 2 cans (15 oz each) pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• oyster crackers, for serving, optional
• chopped onion, for serving, optional
• shredded cheese, for serving, optional
• sour cream, for serving, optional

Preparation

1. Heat a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat.
2. Cook bacon until crisp and brown, about 6-8 minutes.
3. Raise heat to high, and add turkey.  Cook, stirring and breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes.
4. Add onion, garlic, and jalapenos.  Cook until soft, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in chili powder, cocoa powder, and cumin.  Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add tomatoes with juices.  Break up whole tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
7. Add molasses, 1 cup of water, and salt.  Bring to a boil.
8. Reduce heat to low.  Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
9. Add beans.  Continue cooking, uncovered, about 30 minutes.
10. Serve with desired toppings.

Serves 8 (big, filling bowls).

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