mid-week meal: turkey in july?!

last week i started looking for some easy dinner recipes that used pork and turkey. we eat a lot of chicken in our house, mostly because i'm not a huge fan of red meat, and i realized very quickly in my cooking adventures and meal planning that i need some variety in my meat selection!

i stumbled upon two great recipes, both from real simple. last friday, i tried these slow-cooker pulled-pork tacos. not only was this meal incredibly easy to prepare (anyone can throw a bunch of stuff into a crock pot!), but the pork had that great spicy/sweet flavor that you'd find in a restaurant. i also had a ton of cilantro left over, which i used the next day to make black bean & corn salsa--yum! there was plenty of leftover meat, which we took advantage of for the next few days. i recommend pairing these with leinenkugel's summer shandy--a great summer beer with a hint of lemonade flavor.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pulled-pork-tacos-00000000008021/index.html

tonight, after my husband and i took our 10 week old puppy izzy for her first run at the park (she did awesome and is totally pooped now--yes!), i made real simple's roasted turkey breast and cheddar-stuffed potatoes. i know most people are throwing salmon, steak, and summer veggies on the grill at this time of year, but who said you can't have a little turkey in july? it's so funny to me how we tend to only eat turkey at thanksgiving, as if it's a culinary rule. last weekend, at my husband's great aunt's 85th surprise birthday party, a family member prepared an entire thanksgiving feast--scandalous! it was amazing and everyone was raving about how great turkey is year round. plus, we aren't allowed to have grills at our condo, so i've gotta be creative.

this meal was a hit. the turkey was tender and flavorful (i used dried thyme and it was still very good!), and the potatoes were delicious. i added about a 1/2 cup of light sour cream to the potato mixture before baking. i also used 3 potatoes rather than 2, and therefore adjusted the ingredient amounts slightly. be careful after you take the potatoes out of the microwave to scoop out the inside--they will be HOT (think: "hot potato"). it all makes sense to me now.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/roasted-turkey-with-cheddar-stuffed-potatoes-00000000052641/index.html

for dessert, i made martha stewart’s banana bread with sour cream and a brown-sugar glaze (i got the recipe for the glaze from my neighbor at one of my bridal showers). i’m the kind of person who sits around waiting for bananas to get over-ripe just so i can make banana bread, and this recipe proved to be a keeper! the addition of sour cream to a simple banana bread recipe produced some amazing results (way to go, martha!). it smelled so delicious, especially after adding the glaze, that i had to help myself to a slice before jake got home—i usually have much more self control.

http://www.marthastewart.com/312772/banana-bread

recipe for brown sugar glaze*:

6 tbs. brown sugar

2 tbs. cream (i just used lactose-free reduced fat milk, because that’s what i had)

2 tbs. butter

1 tsp. vanilla (i used 1/2 a tsp.)

powdered sugar

in a small saucepan, boil the first three ingredients together for one minute. add the vanilla and the powdered sugar to thicken. spread quickly, as it dries quickly!

*this glaze is intended for banana cake. however, we both found it VERY good on banana bread! it added to the overall moistness of the bread, and it was just good. need i say more? :)

sleepy puppy. well-fed husband. happy wife!