Turkey & Sausage Gumbo

(from the New Orleans School of Cooking)

(serves 10-15)

1 c oil

1 chicken cut up (I used one 11 lb turkey and made three recipes)

1 1/2lb andouille sausage

1 c flour

4 c onions

2 c celery

2 c green pepper

1 T garlic, chopped

8 c water or stock (I used homemade stock from the turkey frame)

cayenne pepper, salt & pepper to taste

1 c green onions

1 c chopped parsley

cooked rice

1. Saute sausage in oil (just enough to brown).  Remove from pot.

2. Season and brown chicken, remove from pot.

3. Add oil to bring to ~1 cup.  Mix in flour, stirring frequently, and let simmer on medium heat.  Roux is finished when it turns to a peanut butter color.

4. Add onions, celery, green pepper and garlic.  Stir and cook until glaze forms on vegetables (vegetables tender).

5. Return meat to pot.

6. Stir in stock gradually.

7. Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for an hour or more. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

8. Approximately 15 minutes before serve, add parsley and green onions. (I omitted this step b/c the green onions and parsley do not freeze well.  I always thrown some green onion and parsley in as I heat it up on the stove).

9. Serve over rice.



Brown Bag Burritos

Our family loves this recipe because it is very versitile.  You can eat them room temperature (thus the Brown Bag title), heated up, or even cold (they actually are really good cold!).  You can eat them for lunch or spruced up with sour cream, avocado and salsa for dinner with some rice.  Just thaw them out over night (or in the microwave) and heat them up... either in the oven or the microwave. I am posting the actual recipe, and then putting what I did (I kind of doubled the recipe to make more) in red.

2 lb. ground beef (I used 4.5lbs of 93%lean turkey)

2 cans refried beans (5 cans of fat free refried beans)

1 1/3 c. enchilada sauce (3 cans)

1/2 c. water (1 cup water)

1/3 c. minced onion (2/3 c dried minced onion)

1 Tbsp. chili powder (2 Tbsp)

1 Tbsp. garlic powder (2 Tbsp)

1 tsp. salt (2 tsp)

1 tsp. dried oregano (2 tsp)

3 c. shredded cheese (5 cups cheddar cheese)

20 flour tortillas (60 tortillas)

Brown ground beef; drain. Add remaining ingredients (except tortillas). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. 

Heat 3-4 tortillas at a time (will make them easier to roll). Spoon 1/4 c. beef mixture down the side of each tortilla.

Roll up. Wrap each burrito in a paper towel, then wrap in foil. (I only wrapped in foil as I find the paper towels unnecessary)

When ready to eat, remove foil and microwave for about a minute. The paper towel keeps the burritos moist. If you don’t use a microwave, skip the paper towel and just wrap in foil. Then heat burritos in the oven with foil. For a sit down meal they are nice topped with lettuce, cheese, salsa, and sour cream. If you’re eating on the run, though, just grab and go!