- 6 minutes ago
Ground turkey can do a lot more than fill a taco. In this video, Nicole shares five easy dinners with different flavors for different kinds of nights, from a cozy white turkey chili and comforting shepherd’s pie to albondigas, Spanish-style meatballs packed with flavor.
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00:00Ground turkey, it's affordable, versatile,
00:02and about to get a lot more exciting.
00:04These five recipes cover everything
00:05from busy weeknight dinners and comfort cravings
00:08to a meal that's dressed to impress.
00:10Because we're in cooler weather,
00:11I'm starting with a white turkey chili.
00:14You've heard of white chicken chili.
00:16We're gonna do it with ground turkey,
00:17and it's a top-rated recipe,
00:18so you know it's gonna be delicious.
00:19What's different in white chili versus regular red chili?
00:24Obviously, it's the color.
00:25It's also the kind of beans we use.
00:27We are going to use cannellini beans here,
00:30and I have a little trick
00:30that's gonna make this chili really creamy.
00:32Also, when it comes to the ground turkey,
00:34my preferred kind is the ground turkey
00:37that includes the dark meat, not just turkey breast.
00:40The mixed ground turkey that's like an 85-15,
00:42it has more fat, so it's going to be able to do
00:44more of the things that ground beef can do.
00:47And because it has that extra fat,
00:48it stays more moist and tender.
00:50You'll see.
00:51All right, so just get your pot ready, heat it up.
00:54I'm adding in a little oil.
00:55You could just go straight in with your meat,
00:57but I like to add a little more of a carrier of the flavor,
01:01and the fat does that for me.
01:02All right, we're gonna cook this
01:03until it's browned and crumbled.
01:04I'm doing two pounds in here.
01:06Ground turkey's also really high in protein.
01:09That's a good thing these days.
01:10I'm gonna cook it kind of undisturbed,
01:12so it will get some of that brown color.
01:13Once your turkey starts to get brown,
01:15I'm going in with the onion and garlic.
01:16Besides the beans, of course,
01:18the difference in white chili and regular traditional chili
01:20is that this chili doesn't have any tomato.
01:22If you want to make this in the slow cooker,
01:24get through this step,
01:25and then you can dump everything in the slow cooker.
01:27But this is not a chili that has to cook all day.
01:29You can have this on the table,
01:32start to finish in an hour, maybe less.
01:35All right, now I'm gonna go in with my spices.
01:37This white chili is cumin heavy.
01:39It doesn't have any chili powder in here.
01:41We are gonna use chilies,
01:42but cumin is our main spice here.
01:45And also some oregano.
01:46Of course, a little cayenne for heat.
01:49Woop!
01:51And then this recipe has some cinnamon.
01:53It just kind of balances out that little kick
01:54and just kind of offers something in the background
01:56that you're like, what is that?
01:58And I'm going in with some salt.
02:00I like to add the spices before I add the liquid.
02:02That way they can toast in some of that fat.
02:05And then I'm using regular pepper.
02:06The recipe calls for white pepper just to keep it white,
02:08but white pepper, so much better.
02:12Now, you can see I've built some flavor
02:14that's kind of sticking to the pot.
02:16We're about to lift that up.
02:17First way I'm gonna do it
02:18is by adding in diced green chilies.
02:21There's some acid in here,
02:23and that's gonna help start to lift this flavor off,
02:26especially when I combine it with the liquid,
02:28which I'm just using chicken broth.
02:29And when you add your liquid in,
02:30go in with your wooden spoon
02:31and start scraping up any flavor
02:33that is stuck to the pot.
02:34And this is also the way to clean your pot.
02:36Like, you thought that might be hard to clean later.
02:38We'll clean it out right now.
02:40In goes two of our cans of white beans.
02:42I've drained them, but I didn't rinse them.
02:45To make this chili really creamy,
02:47for the third can of beans,
02:48I'm gonna puree it really quickly in a blender.
02:50You could also just mash this up with a fork if you want.
02:52I'm just gonna pop it in here, puree it,
02:55and then stir it into the chili.
02:56And now we're talking,
02:58and you didn't have to add heavy cream or cream cheese in,
03:02although you could if you wanted to.
03:03At this point, I'm just gonna bring it up to a simmer,
03:06let it cook for about 15 minutes.
03:07We'll stir in our cheese and we'll serve it up.
03:09Simmered for about 10 minutes,
03:11the flavors have come together.
03:12Now I'm gonna stir in Monterey Jack cheese.
03:14I'm gonna stir in most of it here,
03:15and then I'll save some for the top.
03:17At this point, you wanna turn your heat down,
03:19and let it just go for about another three to five minutes.
03:22Smells divine.
03:25Perfect for toppings.
03:27I'm adding in some more of that Monterey Jack cheese,
03:29some cilantro, a little bit of sour cream too,
03:33some Fresno chilies, and a little pop of color.
03:36A flavorful bowl of white turkey chili on your table,
03:40start to finish in under an hour,
03:42and you've got a huge batch.
03:43Enjoy some tonight and some down the road.
03:48The flavor from those green chilies and that cumin
03:52and those spices that we added adds so much flavor
03:55in such a short amount of time.
03:56I can't believe there's this much flavor in here,
03:58and we cooked it for like, what, 20 minutes?
04:03That is really good.
04:05The ground turkey really shines here,
04:06and I love that it's not really heavy.
04:08This feels like a really fresh and light bowl of chili.
04:12Excellent recipe and a perfect excuse
04:14to pick up that pack of ground turkey.
04:16Next up is your comfort meal for the day,
04:18and this is a perfect example
04:20of just substituting ground beef for ground turkey.
04:23We're making turkey shepherd's pie.
04:25So I am gonna start by making some homemade mashed potatoes.
04:28You could also just do some store-vought ones if you want.
04:31Just cut up three or four potatoes.
04:33Get them going in some boiling salted water.
04:35Something you can make completely ahead of time.
04:37You can do this the day before or even the morning of,
04:39and then when you're ready or when you get home from work,
04:42you can just pop it in an oven.
04:43Don't forget to salt the water.
04:45So I'm just gonna get that boiling,
04:46and then we'll start our turkey mixture.
04:49I'm grating some carrot.
04:50That's gonna add some nutrition.
04:51I mean, it's a classic ingredient in a shepherd's pie,
04:54but it also kind of bulks up the meal.
04:56I'm also chopping up some onion.
04:57Everything else happens at the stove.
05:00Get my skillet hot.
05:01I'm gonna go with the onion first.
05:03The recipe calls for canned mushrooms.
05:04I'm gonna use some fresh and just saute them here.
05:07These will cook way down.
05:08Also add some more meatiness in addition to the ground turkey.
05:12Okay, once those start to get a little brown,
05:13I'm going in with the ground turkey.
05:15We're just kind of building those flavors
05:16like I love in a one-pot meal.
05:19Let it do its thing.
05:20Now we're going in with the bulk of the flavor.
05:22Some garlic, some thyme, a little salt, a little pepper.
05:26And then I'm also adding in some chicken bouillon.
05:29We want to have like a little gravy at the bottom of your shepherd's pie.
05:33That's what's gonna go so great with the mashed potato topping.
05:36Gonna add in some flour.
05:37The mushrooms are giving off some moisture,
05:39but also I'm about to add in the carrots,
05:41and they're going to also let out a little liquid.
05:43So we've made a little roux by adding that flour in with any residual oil from that olive oil.
05:49It's absorbing any moisture, but I am going to go in with a little bit of water
05:53just to start creating that sauce.
05:56And again, scrape up the loose bits that have stuck because that's all that flavor we're lifting up.
06:02And you don't want it too saucy because you want it to be able to scoop out at the end,
06:06but just enough to add some moisture and coat all of our ingredients in there.
06:10Got our saucy turkey mixture.
06:12I'm gonna add in some fresh parsley.
06:14You could also add some peas in here if you want frozen peas.
06:17There aren't really any strict rules.
06:19My potatoes are done.
06:20Just mashing them with some butter, a little milk, salt, and pepper,
06:24and I'm going to put those right on top.
06:25And then I don't like it to be too smooth because I want some of those little peaks
06:29to get brown when I put it in the oven.
06:30And then not in the recipe, but in every shepherd's pie that I make, a little cheese on top.
06:37This right here is comfort 100%.
06:40And like I said, this can all be done ahead of time,
06:42and then it's ready to go into the oven when you are.
06:44For us, we're going straight in, 375, until it's all browned.
06:49Probably take about 20 to 30 minutes.
06:51Now this is a pretty dinner.
06:55It's good looking.
06:56It's one of those dinners that looks more complicated than it was to make.
06:59And a little more parsley, cracked pepper.
07:02This is one of those that you're going to want to let sit for a while before you dig in.
07:06If you can wait.
07:07I'm just going to serve it with a simple green salad.
07:10This is one of my kids' favorites.
07:12Can't go wrong.
07:14Every bite's the perfect bite.
07:15I know it's going to taste good because I can already smell all the flavors.
07:18And my mouth just started watering.
07:24Tons of flavor in this pan right here.
07:25I love that there's still a little bit of a bite to the carrots and the mushrooms.
07:29It's not all mushy inside.
07:31The mashed potatoes on top is really what makes it feel like it came from grandma's kitchen.
07:35It's one of those meals that feels like it took all day to cook, but you saw how fast it
07:40was.
07:41This is the meal I consider the fancy dinner of the day.
07:44We are making turkey and rice meatballs known as albandigas.
07:48And they're slowly simmered in a tomato sauce, topped off, served with some rice, a veggie.
07:53It's just a good way to upgrade this inexpensive pack of turkey.
07:56I'm starting with the ground turkey.
07:58These meatballs are heavily spiced in a good way.
08:01Going in with lots of garlic.
08:03And then we've got some smoked paprika.
08:05Cumin, which is also kind of smoky and really earthy.
08:08Of course, salt and pepper.
08:09And then a little oregano and cayenne.
08:12I'm going to add in a little olive oil to just kind of bring this all together.
08:16As well as an egg.
08:18Just going to get that mixing.
08:19I forgot the parsley.
08:21Generous handful of chopped parsley.
08:23I'm telling you, you haven't had ground turkey so fancy.
08:26Oh, I'm over here like something doesn't feel right.
08:32I forgot to add the rice to the turkey and rice meatballs.
08:36Hello.
08:37So it just calls for a cup of cooked white rice.
08:41Taking a shortcut here.
08:43So the rice is the binder with the egg.
08:46And it's the replacement for breadcrumbs that you would normally get in your other meatballs.
08:51And the flavor from the turkey as these cook is going to absorb in those grains of rice.
08:56Ground turkey is always a little bit looser than ground beef.
08:59So these meatballs are going to be best just scooped out with an ice cream scoop.
09:04And you're just going to scoop them onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
09:08Because we are going to bake these at a high temperature before we simmer them in the tomato sauce.
09:14Just to kind of help set them so they don't fall apart in the sauce.
09:17We're going to talk about entertaining on a budget.
09:19But with all those warm spices in here.
09:23Smoky cumin and paprika.
09:24It's going to taste really elevated.
09:26All right, these go into the oven 450 degrees for just about 10 to 15 minutes.
09:30While the meatballs are going, going to get the sauce going.
09:33It starts out with just store-bought prepared tomato sauce.
09:36And also some chicken stock.
09:39I'm going to put it in the can to rinse out any leftover residual tomato.
09:44And then also creme fraiche.
09:45You could also...
09:48Also a little creme fraiche.
09:50If you want to use sour cream instead, you can.
09:53Just stir it in more towards the end.
09:56After it heats up.
09:57This makes it really like luxurious.
10:00We've saved so much money by using the ground turkey.
10:03You can splurge a little bit.
10:04And then a little sherry vinegar.
10:06You can also just use a red wine vinegar here.
10:08Or even balsamic.
10:09And then just some regular paprika here.
10:11Or you can do some more smoked paprika if you want.
10:13So you just want to get that all mixed together.
10:15And then in go the meatballs.
10:17Meatballs have come together.
10:19Everything smells so good.
10:20Now you're going to bring this up to a simmer and let it cook for about an hour.
10:24The longer you let it cook, the more flavor seeps into those meatballs.
10:27This is great for entertaining because you could do all this ahead of time.
10:30And it can just sit on the stove and then it'll be ready when you are.
10:33As this cooks for that long, the sauce is going to get rich and thicken up a little bit.
10:37If it gets too thick, you can always add a little more chicken broth or even just some water.
10:42Just wait.
10:43This is going to be delicious.
10:44This is a Chef John recipe and he wouldn't steer us wrong.
10:48I'm going to taste it and then just season to taste with salt and pepper.
10:51You can see how the sauce has really concentrated.
10:53It's gotten deeper in color.
10:55Can't wait to see how tender these meatballs are.
10:58Smells good.
10:59Parsley goes in.
11:01You could have put it in at the beginning, but I feel like it cooks down to nothing.
11:04So I'm just going to add it at this point.
11:06Serve it with some yellow saffron rice.
11:09A little green veggie.
11:10My first albondigas.
11:17The meatballs are so tender.
11:19They have absorbed that sauce.
11:21The way all those warm spices come together, it changes the whole flavor profile.
11:25And I'm sorry, but when you look at that, you think that is ground beef.
11:28This one transforms ground turkey to ground beef more than any other recipe.
11:33It is moist, it is tender, and it is packed with flavor.
11:37All that's missing for me right now is the glass of white wine.
11:42It's a 10 out of 10.
11:43And now we're going straight from fancy to lazy.
11:46A twist on a classic and your lazy meal of the day, lazy girls turkey stroganoff.
11:52Like beef stroganoff, but faster, cheaper, and easier.
11:56I've got a pot boiling for my egg noodles because everyone knows you've got to serve
11:59stroganoff with the egg noodles.
12:01And then everything else comes together in one skillet.
12:04So I've got to heat it up, and then I'm going in with some finely chopped onion.
12:08And then down with the star of the show.
12:10You always need a good lazy meal in your weekly rotation.
12:13Probably better for you, and definitely cheaper than going through the drafting.
12:17But essentially just as lazy.
12:19Maybe even lazier, because you can stay in your pajamas.
12:21Our base is done.
12:23Going in with a little more chicken bouillon.
12:25I'm also going to add in some water.
12:27But you could just do chicken stock in place of both of these ingredients if you want.
12:30And our lazy ingredient, some cream of mushroom soup.
12:34And then I'm going to fill this can about halfway with water.
12:38Don't tell me this isn't real stroganoff.
12:40Like I don't know that.
12:41But it will satisfy the craving, I can promise you.
12:44And with the cooler temperatures, you just want cozy food.
12:47All you have to do at this point is simmer it for just about five minutes,
12:51which is about how much time I have on my noodles.
12:54And then I just add it all in the same pan.
12:56Check for seasoning.
12:57Then you go in with a little salt, pepper if you want, and a little paprika.
13:00I'm just going to strain the pasta and add it straight into the sauce.
13:04That way it can absorb some of those flavors.
13:08Reminiscent of that hamburger helper.
13:10Easy as that.
13:11Let's dish it up.
13:12I know there's nothing fancy about this dinner, but this is my kind of dinner.
13:16Meals that bring you back to your childhood.
13:18I'm here for it.
13:19Just a little garnish to show we're not that lazy.
13:25I know it shouldn't be that good, but it is.
13:28It's creamy.
13:29It's savory.
13:30It's comforting.
13:31It is not as rich as if you had made it with ground beef, but sometimes that's what you want.
13:38And in that meal, I didn't break a sweat.
13:42My final trick is the fun meal for your Friday nights.
13:45A little more indulgent, but it's got those fun flavors.
13:48You're going to love it.
13:48So we are doing a Southwestern Turkey Smash Burger.
13:52You need something handheld.
13:54Okay, we're done with the casseroles and the soups.
13:57So I've got my ground turkey.
13:58You definitely want to use your dark meat ground turkey for this.
14:02You need the fattier option as if you were doing ground beef.
14:06And I'm going to grate in some onion.
14:07This gives it flavor and moisture.
14:09A little bit goes a long way when it's grated.
14:11The flavor is a little more concentrated, so you don't need that much.
14:14And then I'm going in with hatch green chilies and some seasonings,
14:17a little garlic powder, a little cumin, and a little chili powder.
14:21A little salt and pepper and mix it up.
14:23Sort of similar vibes to how we started with that turkey chili.
14:27Because the turkey meat is a lot looser than ground beef,
14:30sometimes people will add in a binder like some egg and breadcrumbs.
14:34We're not going to do that because the smash burger is,
14:37it's okay if it kind of breaks apart a little bit.
14:40You want it thin with a good like brown crust on it.
14:42Because our turkey is a little leaner, you could use a nonstick skillet here if you want,
14:45but this is perfect for your outdoor blackstone griddles or your pancake griddle,
14:50or I'm just using a cast iron skillet.
14:52I'm not even going to bother with patting these up.
14:55They are smash burgers, which means we smash them in the pan.
14:57Remember, you want them kind of small because we're going to stack them.
15:00Once they go down, give it a smash.
15:03And then you need to leave it alone.
15:04Spread it out as thin as you can get it without breaking it apart.
15:08Leave it alone.
15:10At this point, they're almost cooked all the way through because they're so thin.
15:13So I'm just going to top with cheese and you know it's a double decker.
15:17So this one's going to come over here.
15:18Our green chili southwestern turkey burger coming right up.
15:22So now we're going to have all those textures on.
15:24We've got like the little crispy bits.
15:26You've got some creamy with the cheese and some avocado, some cold crunch,
15:32a little red onion.
15:33You could throw on some jalapenos here if you want to.
15:36We've got those chilies in there and the pepper jack cheese.
15:39And then the buns, I like to toast in the pan in some of the drippings because it just adds
15:45another layer of flavor.
15:46You've never had a turkey burger like that.
15:48You know, I think turkey burgers, people just assume they're like kind of boring,
15:52kind of dry, kind of too healthy.
15:55I don't think so.
16:00For sure the best turkey burger I've ever had.
16:04Because you walked away and left the burgers to get crusty around the edges,
16:09that gives it so much flavor.
16:11You could taste the little pops of chili in there, that creamy like pepper jack cheese.
16:17We're ending on a big happy note right here.
16:20Now you've got five new recipes I bet you've never tried before.
16:23So don't underestimate the power of that pack that's sitting in your fridge,
16:26freezer, or on the grocery store shelves.
16:28You'll be very pleased you gave these a try.