Now, let's get one thing straight right off the bat...
It ain't Thanksgiving yet. But that doesn't mean I can't cook fancy. I am, however, cooking a turkey. But it's a small turkey. Just a baby...its life cut short so it could feed me and my husband.
Okay, it's actually a turkey breast. Which leaves one unhappy female turkey walking around somewhere.
Not exactly a win-win situation.
The great thing about cooking these turkey breasts is that it seems fancy, but it's not. And it can feed a small family for a day or two.
I L-O-V-E- leftovers.
So, we're going to do this the white trash, yet absolutely delicious, way. This is a 3lb. Honeysuckle White Boneless Turkey Breast. I chose to do boneless because bones gross me out.
Yuck. Why would anyone prefer to see an animal's skeleton?
Since it's so small, I don't feel the need to cook it in a roasting pan, mostly because I don't own one. But we still need to cook it in something that can catch all the juice.
Cleaning my oven is not my thing.
So, I grabbed a pie tin. I know, it's weird, but it works. For all you rich folks out there, grab a $4 disposable roasting pan.
Do you have any idea what I can buy with $4? I'll pass, thank you very much.
I'm going to let it thaw. Unfortunately, Walmart did not get my letter stating that they need to have some non-frozen turkeys for us folks who want to cook it the day of. So, I took a trip down memory lane and did what my parents always did:
I threw the sucker in cool water.
Is it sanitary? No idea. Does it do anything to the taste? I don't think so. I mean, I'm still here today and they did it every year.
Let's just keep going.
So, it's thawed and ready to go. Rinse the turkey off with cold water.
Now pre-heat the oven to 325 and do a little basting. Now, Tim and I are dieting, so I use chicken stock, salt and pepper. That's it. If you are not concerned about calories, use butta (aka "butter").
Grab a basting brush and rub her down. Just make sure you don't put too much salt and pepper on it.
Wrap the pan in tinfoil.
Throw her in the oven for about 20/30 minutes per pound, or until the meat thermometer reaches 170 degrees. You'll just have to keep an eye on it.
Now, if you don't have a meat thermometer, it's time to get one. I got mine for $6 at Walmart, and it's such a great thing to have around the kitchen. You know, for the two times a year you might get stuck making your own turkeys for holidays.
Please. How good does this look?
Now let's start with the low fat, no calorie/no carb gravy.
Okay, nothing I just said had an ounce of truth to it. But if it made you feel a little better, then so be it.
When the turkey is done cooking, we're going to need all the juice it's sitting in. Transfer it to a pan and put it on medium/high heat on the stove.
Add 2 tablespoons of flour.
The beauty of this recipe is it can change its identity to match whatever mood you're in. If you need something easy and thoughtless, this is it. If you need a traditional Thanksgiving meal because your family lives far away, this is it. Or, if you just need to impress your mother-in-law, this is it.
Yes, it's that easy.
Have a beautiful weekend! I'm dragging Tim to the fair tomorrow, and he's really excited. Wish me luck.
xoxoxo,
Rachael