Cranberry Glazed Turkey Breast - From The Gluten Free Slow Cooker

Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Step out of your normal traditional comfort zone and try this spectacular glaze for your turkey breast straight out of my new cookbook, The Gluten Free Slow Cooker. The sweetness of the cranberries mixed with the savory onion and other seasonings make this turkey breast superb.

Cranberry-Glazed Turkey Breast

DAIRY-FREE

Ingredients:

1 fresh turkey breast (5½ to 6 pounds, 2.5 to 2.7 kg), giblets removed if yours contains them, rinsed, and dried

1 can (14 ounces, 395 g) whole berry cranberry sauce

3 tablespoons (15 g) dried minced onion

1 teaspoon parsley flakes

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cornstarch

¼ teaspoon celery salt

¼ teaspoon granulated sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

» Spray your crock with nonstick cooking spray.

» Place the turkey into the slow cooker, breast side down.

» In a bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce, onion, parsley, onion powder, turmeric, cornstarch, celery salt, sugar, and pepper. Pour the mixture all over the turkey breast.

» Cover the crock and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 4½ hours.

RECOMMENDED SLOW COOKER SIZE: 6½ to 7 quart (6½ to 7 L)

YIELD: 6 to 7 servings

Want to try more delicious recipes from my new cookbook?
Find out where you can buy "The Gluten Free Slow Cooker" here.

Oven-Baked Turkey Meatballs - Gluten-Free

I honestly think these are the world's best meatballs.  Seriously.  They are DELICIOUS!  My husband says they're the best meatballs he's ever had....and if you know my husband, he doesn't say it unless he means it.  In fact, he likes them so much, it's taken my 5th batch in order to photograph them because they've been eaten so quickly!

I first made these for a family Christmas party.  I had to bring a dish to pass and I knew there would be nothing at the party my gluten-free self could eat (there was mac n' cheese, fried chicken, sweet and sour meatballs, mostaccioli and cheese and crackers....on the same tray.)  So, I made my incredibly delicious Italian Balsamic "Gravy" and put my meatballs in it.  I cooked it on LOW for a 6 hours and then put some shredded mozzarella cheese on top at the end.  I actually partially cooked them at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes and let them finish cooking in the sauce.  They were so good, everyone asked if the recipe was on my blog.  LOL  They've been patiently (or not) waiting for a month now!  

I've made these for 2 other occasions in the Italian Balsamic "Gravy," but have also made them twice just as plain old meatballs.  We actually store them in a freezer bag and defrost a few at a time.  They're incredible on a salad, as a meatball sandwich, or my husband loves them on nachos!  They're extremely versatile.  On they're own, they're just delicious and moist.  I'm sure they would be amazing served with any other type of sauce you can dream up!

Now go whip yourself up a batch of these!

Servings: Makes about 40 meatballs

Ingredients:

3 lbs. ground turkey

2 eggs, slightly beaten

3 Tbsp. Tastefully Simple Onion Onion OR use 2 Tbsp. minced onion mixed with 1 tsp. garlic, 1 tps. sea salt, 1/2 tsp dried parsley and 1/2 tsp. dried chives

3/4 cup Gluten-Free pankow bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, place all your ingredients.

Mix them up!

Form the meat into about 40-1" balls

Bake them in your preheated 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.

Freeze them for later, put them into any kind of sauce of your choosing, or eat them as is!

Enjoy!

Leftover Turkey And Veggie Tray Soup - Gluten-Free

After the holidays, I grow very tired of wasting food.  I mean, there's leftover cheese from the cheese tray, leftover veggies, leftover fruit, leftover turkey, stuffing, and the list goes on and on and on.  You can only freeze so much, eat so much, and send so much home with your guests.

A few weeks ago, I found my refrigerator overwhelmingly packed.  By overwhelmingly, I mean, you look inside, you see EVERYTHING and you have NO idea what you can possibly eat, or want to eat.  You also don't know how you would even begin to put anything else into your refrigerator because it would take great precision to get anything else in there; a balancing act if you will.

So, I grabbed the amble leftover veggies, the leftover turkey that was about to go to waste and a couple cans of beans from my pantry for some extra goodness.  Turns out, leftovers = success.  My husband loved it, the kids loved it and my neighbors loved it (I took the leftovers over there so it would get eaten up right away.....I didn't need anymore leftovers in my fridge!  LOL)

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped turkey

15.5 oz. can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed

15.5 oz. can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

2 onions, chopped

4-5 carrots, chopped

2-3 celery stalks, chopped

3/4 cup chopped tomatoes

3 cups turkey broth, unsalted

3 cups water

1 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash's Original Seasoning

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. onion powder

Directions: (Use a 5 quart or larger slow cooker for this recipe)

In your crock, place the beans,

 onions,

 carrots,

 celery,

 tomatoes and 

 turkey.

 Next, add the turkey stock (mine was frozen, but it makes no difference,)

 water, Mrs. Dash seasoning, salt, onion powder and garlic powder.

 Give it a stir.

Cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 2.5-3 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Chili - Gluten-Free

Wow!!!  Every now and then I have a crazy amazing idea.....not all of them work (if you've been following me on FB, you know I've recently had two non-successful crazy ideas!)  You win some, you lose some.  THIS was definitely a WIN!

Not only is everything in this chili good for you, but it's also super easy to throw together and INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS!  This was a serious HIT in my house!  Ella, my 5 year old, had 3 helpings of this!  3!!!!!  What?!  Home run for mom!!!  My husband thought it was fantastic, and Gavin, well he eats whatever I put in front of him!  LOL

You know what really makes the difference in this chili?  The fresh tomatoes!!!!  My mother-in law gave me tons from her garden and this was a great way to use them!  Hit up your local farmers market if you don't have any of your own!  It's amazing what a home-grown tomato can do for a recipe!

Tis the season for pumpkin, so grab your homemade pumpkin puree, or a can and get cookin'!  You will LOVE this chili!  And you'll love yourself afterward too because it's NO GUILT chili!  Nothing bad for you here, folks!  ENJOY!

Servings: 8-10

Ingredients:

16 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

16 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

1 lb. ground turkey

15 oz. can pumpkin puree

4 cups fresh chopped tomatoes

3 Tbps. garlic powder

1 Tbsp. Ancho Chili Powder

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. pepper

4 beef stock cubes (I used Massel)

5 cups water

(If you can't find beef stock cubes, use beef bouillon cubes, or beef stock instead)

Directions:

In the bottom of your crock, place the beans, onion and green pepper, and chopped tomatoes.

Crumble the uncooked ground turkey on top and add in the pumpkin puree.

Add in the garlic powder, ancho chili powder, salt, cumin, pepper and beef stock cubes.

Pour the water on top

Give it a stir.

Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours, or on HIGH for 3.5-4 hours.

Enjoy!

Three-Bean Turkey Chili - Hamilton Beach Recipe

It's still pretty darn cold here in Michigan, which means it's still time for Chili!  This Three-Bean Turkey Chili sounds delicious!  It's packed with lots of things that are healthy for you, and has a little bit of a "kick" too!  Did I mention, it just "looks" delicious too?!  I can almost smell it.......

For this hearty Three-Bean Turkey Chili recipe, click here.

For more great Hamilton Beach slow cooker recipes, click here.

Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Ala Mamma - Guest Post from Mamma Maria's La Cucina

I've always made Cabbage Rolls just the way my grandma taught me, but thanks to Mamma Maria, I'm going to have to venture out!  These look absolutely delicious!!!!!

A little bit about Mamma Maria......At the age of 10, Maria began cooking with her father and quickly developed a love for it!  She enjoys mix-matching different spices and ingredients in different combinations to make unique tastes. Maria is a work at home mommy who LOVES to cook!  Lucky for us, Mamma Maria has agreed to share several of her slow cooker recipes with us over the next few months!  I'm excited to share the first one with you!

Once you make this, please come back and let me know how it was!  And go give her facebook page a "like" and let her know I sent you!!!! ;)

Slow Cooker Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Ala Mamma

Ingredients:

1 Head of Cabbage, core cut out we prefer Savoy Cabbage 
1 package of ground turkey 
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
2 stalks celery, shredded 
8ounces, mushrooms, chopped 
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely 
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped finely 
2 cans of your favorite pasta sauce ( short cut method ) 
1-2 cups rice ( precooked ) 

seasonings I used : garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, basil, onion powder & oregano ( you may use what you want to suit your own taste ) 

Directions:

Boil your water in a pot large enough to fit the head of cabbage, then start your ground turkey cooking in a large fry pan, about 3-4 minutes, when 1/2 way done add the garlic, onion, parsley and other veggies, & seasonings, cook approximately 5-7 minutes with the lid on over medium high heat. Stir well to blend all the flavors. 
Turn off the heat and mix in your rice. Cover and then drain your cabbage. ( This should only take about 10 minutes from start to finish) 

Remove the leaves, lay flat and scoop about 1 1/2 to 2 scoops of mixture in the middle of the leaves and fold. ( i fold sides in then roll to the end leaving the harder stem of the leaf on the outside * Set aside as you assemble the roll. Once done, then to your slow cooker add 1/2 can sauce, then later the cabbage leaves, you want to cross lay them so that they are easy to remove. Add the remaining sauce over top. 

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 !!!! Serve with a side of ricotta cheese. * my choice for flavorful goodness ! Or just sprinkle some grated locatelli or parmesan cheese on top !!! 

Amazing flavor and deliciousness. 

Also if you choose to skip the rice you can use couscous or quinoa instead. Also you can use ground beef if you prefer. This is just our choice, cooking times will vary, so adjust accordingly when prepping the beef mixture. 

For the original recipe, with step-by-step pictures, please click here.

Tasty Turkey Chili

Wow, was this ever yummy?!!!!!  It's cooled off here in Michigan as Fall has officially rolled in.  I bought some ground turkey on sale and I needed to use it up.  Chili it was!  I'm SO happy I decided to make this.....and that it turned out so good!

This is really very inexpensive to put together, and you can really adapt it to what you have in your pantry so you don't have to buy anything special if you don't want to.  I used a Zesty Tomato Sauce I found by Ro-Tel, but you could use regular tomato sauce.  When I tasted the Zesty Sauce, I decided to only use a little bit, but honestly, I could have used more.  You can use your own judgement for your family.

You can put whatever your family likes into this Chili.  I used carrots because I had them, and my kids like them.  It was a great way to "sneak" those veggies in!

Tasty Turkey Chili

Ingredients:
1lb. ground turkey, uncooked

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp. chopped garlic (or 4 cloves)

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

3 medium carrots, sliced into rounds

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

1 bay leaf

2 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. ground mustard powder

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. basil

1 Tbsp. onion powder

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 Tbsp. Sugar

28 oz. can Petite Diced Tomatoes

15.5 oz. can Dark Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed

6 oz. can Tomato Paste

4 Tbsp. Zesty Tomato  and Green Chili Sauce (Mine was Ro-Tel brand)

2 cups water

Directions:

In the bottom of your crock, place the onion, garlic, sund-dried tomatoes and carrots.

Here's how I sliced my sun-dried tomatoes.

Next, add the pepper, salt, bay leaf, chili powder, ground mustard, oregano, basil, onion powder, bouillon cube and sugar.

Now, add your diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and kidney beans.

Crumble the RAW turkey meat into your crock.

Add the water.

Cook on LOW for 7-9 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

ENJOY!

Zesty Cowboy Turkey Loaf

Ground turkey was on sale last week, so I picked up a couple of packages.  I knew I wanted to do something with one of them, so I left it out of the freezer. I had an open can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce in my fridge from a DEEEE-licious dip I made the other day (spread cream cheese out on a plate, cook 1 cup strawberry preserves with a little bit of minced onion and 1 finely chopped chipotle pepper in adobo sauce and pour in the middle of your cream cheese!  MMmmmmmm!) that I wanted to use again.  This is what became of that!

This delicious and spicy Turkey loaf was very good.  Mine was a bit on the dry side, but only because of the consistency of my beans (I didn't have canned and mine weren't cooked quite properly.  Ooops. Oh well!)  My daughter told me this was too spicy.  My 1-year-old son ate 3 helpings without any complaints, LOL!  While it didn't make my nose run, there was a definite COWBOY kick to it!  Hahahaha!!!!  You could choose to make this with ground beef and I'm sure it would be scrumptious!

I served our Zesty Cowboy Turkey Loaf (the first meal I've made after coming home from the Double JJ Ranch and Resort!) with some mashed potatoes with sour cream and fresh chives and some super yummy zucchini, cooked in olive oil, with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  I LOVE Zucchini!!!!

P.S.  I tried something new with the foil, but it didn't work out so hot since I forgot to spray my crock with non-stick spray.  You won't forget, so you won't have this problem.  We pretty much just spooned our Zesty Cowboy Turkey Loaf out with a spoon!  LOL  Oops again!

Zesty Cowboy Turkey Loaf

Ingredients: (I used a 3-Quart Slow Cooker for this)

1 lb. ground turkey

1 cup black beans (canned would be more moist, make sure to drain and rinse them)

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced

1/8 tsp. adobo sauce (from the can you opened for the chipotle pepper)

1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder

1 Tbsp. Onion Powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp.pepper

1 egg

1/2 pkg. Ritz type crackers, crushed (about 15-20 crackers or so I'm guessing)

1/2 cup salsa

Directions:

I used foil to make handles to remove the meatloaf with, but forgot to spray them with non-stick spray. They were useless to me, LOL!  Personally, I usually just serve my meatloaf straight out of the crock, but if you want to cut it outside the crock, you can follow these directions on how to make the fun handles.

So, spray your crock with non-stick spray.

In a bowl, place your ground turkey, black beans, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.

Add in the egg, crackers and salsa (which I forgot to take a pic of, sorry!  My aunt was here and we were chatting!) then mix!

 Form this mixture into a loaf and then place it into the bottom of your crock.

Cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.

Enjoy!

White Lasagna

I've been wanting to make a White Lasagna for forever!  I have a hard time justifying Alfredo sauce as part of my diet, but I thought, you know what?!  I'm going to put lots of "good-for-you" stuff in there to make up for it!  So, that's what I did!

This turned out really well!  It was extremely tasty!  All four of us cleaned our plates.....Gavin was a mess, but a happy little dude after eating this!  Ours was over-cooked, but that's because we were gone longer than I had anticipated, so this was on warm for almost 4 hours.  Not the best scenario!  This won't happen to you though, because we eat over-cooked food so you won't have to! LOL

I hope you give this a try!  It's really neat to make Lasagna in the slow cooker.  I made my own alfredo sauce, but if you want to shave off some prep-time, just buy jarred sauce.  It will be fine! :)

White Lasagna

Ingredients: (I used my 6.5 Quart for this)

12 (or so) Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles

8 oz. Mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup red onion, chopped

10 oz. frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed out (You can use fresh)

10 oz. Ricotta Cheese

1 lb. ground turkey

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Alfredo Sauce (See recipe below)

Alfredo Sauce: (Here is a link to the original recipe on AllRecipes.com)

1 cup butter

2 8oz. packages of cream cheese

4 tsp. garlic powder

4 cups milk

12 oz. grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

Start out by making your alfredo sauce.  If you don't have time, have 2 jars of Alfredo Sauce ready to go.  To make your alfredo, start with meliting your butter over medium heat.  Once melted, add your cream cheese.

When it's melted, whisk in the garlic powder.

Add in the pepper, Paremesan and whisk.

Add the milk little by little and keep whisking.

Done :)  Great job!

In a pan, brown your ground turkey with a little salt and pepper.

In another pan, brown your onions and mushrooms until your onions are translucent.

Spray your crock with non-stick spray!!!!

In the bottom of your crock, pour about 1/2 cup of your alfredo sauce.

 Cover the bottom of your crock with lasagna noodles.  I used about 4, but break them to fit your crock.

Spread half of your ricotta on your noodles.  I found it easiest to place some dollops around and then spread it with the back of a spoon.

 Spread half of the onion and mushroom mixture over the top 

and half of the onion and mushroom mixture.

Spread half of your ground turkey over the top.

Pour about 1 cup of your alfredo sauce over that.

Repeat this process for one more layer.

Top with a final layer of lasagna noodles, about 1/2 cup of your alfredo sauce and the shredded parmesan cheese.

Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or on HIGH for 3-3.5 hours.

Enjoy!