Mom's Artichoke Cheese Balls

Ingredients
16 ounces artichoke hearts, drained and mashed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions

• Mash 2 cans drained artichoke hearts.
• Put olive oil into frying pan.
• Saute cloves.
• Add mashed artichokes and eggs.
• Saute and stir about 5 minutes.
• Mix bread crumbs and cheese in bowl.
• Remove mix from heat, roll into balls, roll in bread crumb and cheese mixture.

Quartered Artichoke Hearts

I used canned artichoke hearts, though you should be able to use frozen or fresh ones you marinate yourself. (Google recipes for marinated artichoke hearts.)  I believe the canned ones come in marinades using things besides oil as a base.  Get the ones with the best nutritional stats.  I really don’t think it matters.  I did choose quartered hearts, as it made for quicker mashing.

Do the Monster Mash.

Though I used real eggs, I’m willing to bet that egg substitute would work just fine. For the garlic, I used chopped from a jar. I always keep a jar of chopped garlic in the fridge. I love fresh pressed, but these are a real timesaver for me much of the time. As for parmesan cheese, I believe we originally used the grated stuff in the green can. However, I never use anything but fresh shredded from the cheese case. I believe I used Sargento.

The breadcrumbs and cheese look on as the artichoke mash cools down a bit.

Pick whatever breadcrumbs sound good to you. Normally, I use Italian style. I picked a garlic & herb variety this time. Anything works. This is a key way to add unique flavor, though, so be creative. Plain will work, but it will probably bore you.  Add your own seasonings, if you so desire.  Don’t know how panko or ground up Fiber One would work here.  Might try that for a friendlier “throughout the year” recipe.  Wouldn’t dream of it for delighting Thanksgiving feasters.

The Artichoke Cheese Balls await their fate which lies down the gullets of fine Thanksgiving company.

Mom managed to get 24 Artichoke Cheese Balls out of this recipe.  Somehow, I only got 18.  I rolled them just a tad too big.   (Yes, we ate three at home.  Sorry. lol)

The red stuff is Suzy Q’s no sugar added cranberry sauce.  It just happens to be in the picture.  I don’t think I’d recommend it as a dip for the Artichoke Cheese Balls.  It is so yummy, though, that I made a batch to bring along.  I did offer up some healthier items to the cause, and that was one.  :)

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes Recipe Box.
Also find this recipe in my public recipes on RecipeZaar.
It was also included in my Thanksgiving 2009 Brainstorm menu on RecipeZaar.

Thanksgiving 2009 Brainstorm – This is a collection of recipes I put together on RecipeZaar for your viewing pleasure. I believe I have tried every recipe on there at one time or another. I may add more throughout the weekend.  The Cheeseball with Everything is always a crowd pleaser.  Not a bad thing to keep in the fridge for nibbling, either.  This is a photo of one I made for New Year’s Eve a couple years ago.  I submitted it to RZ, and you can find a blurb from me among the reviews.  (Be sure to read through the reviews on the recipes that interest you!  All kinds of ideas and inspiration to be found there!)

Cheeseball with Everything!

I am pleased to make public for the first time two of my mother’s favorite recipes. Thanksgiving was a very special time for us and we loved to cook together. I miss her bunches.  The brownie recipe was a dessert she made throughout the year, and the artichoke cheese balls were made on special occasions. If you are looking for a simple, yet different kind of appetizer… I highly recommend the artichoke cheese balls.

Thanksgiving Recipe Collections

• RecipeZaar Thanksgiving Headquarters
• RecipeZaar Thanksgiving 2009 Menu
• Hungry Girl – These all look good. For those of you who followed my sweet potato souffle saga… the I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sweet Potato Pie seems to have accomplished what I could not. Haven’t tried it, but I sure plan to.
• Two Week Countdown to Thanksgiving – GoodHousekeeping’s Thanksgiving site.
• Flatten Your Belly at Thanksgiving – While I’m not a big fan of any particular commercial diet plan, I do borrow recipes from the Flat Belly Diet now and then.
• Wegmans Everything Thanksgiving
• Bloom’s Thanksgiving
• Food Network’s Thanksgiving Site
• SparkPeople’s 500-Calorie Thanksgiving Feast
• HealthyEats Blog

Tradition, Moderation, Simplicity

• All of my Thanksgiving tagged entries.
• My Recipe Index

Tips for Thanksgiving Moderation

• Hungry Girl’s Turkey Day Cheatsheet
• Hungry Girl’s 7 Ways to Avoid Thanksgiving Weight Gain
• Your Stay-Slim Holiday Survival Plan from Prevention Magazine

Last but not least… some random tidbits. My friend Yoshiko came by for tea and talk today. I whipped up a batch of the No Sugar Added Cranberry Sauce for her using PEACH jello mix. What a great combination this turned out to be. I also added just a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of ginger while it was simmering.

Cranberry sauce stirred into Fage Total Greek yogurt made a wonderful breakfast.

I also threw together a batch of the Yorkshire Pudding for Miss Yoshi.

Miss Yoshi gave me the beautiful Thomas Kinkade plate.

Yoshi's Yorkies!

It was a wonderful day.  I also had lunch with my friend & neighbor, Sharon, this week.  What a pleasant week it has been.  It’s almost like I have a real social life…  ;)

Often overlooked, yet wonderful cranberries!

Ingredients
12 ounces (one standard bag) unsweetened fresh cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup Splenda
1 packet Crystal Light Orange Sunrise powder
1 packet sugar free strawberry jello powder (.3 oz)

• Rinse cranberries.  Place cranberries in 2-quart saucepan with 1 cup water.
• Stir in Splenda, drink mix, and jello powder.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
• Turn heat to medium-low and simmer, smashing and stirring every few minutes until cranberries have all popped and sauce has thickened.
• Serve warm, or place into covered container and refrigerate.

When I went into the kitchen to clean up for the night, I basically dumped all the ingredients into a pan and monitored them as I filled up the dishwasher and wiped down the counters.  I turned the stove off just shy of the desired thickness and stirred once in awhile as it cooled down right on the burner.   That’s how quick and easy this is to make.  In fact, once I make it for Thanksgiving, I remember just how tasty it is and continue to make it weekly throughout the winter.  It is WONDERFUL stirred into greek yogurt or just eaten by itself as a snack.  You can certainly freeze some bags of cranberries to make this throughout the year.  I like to leave it as a seasonal treat.

Fall scented simmer!

You can play with this recipe a bit.  The original recipe calls for raspberry gelatin, but I already had strawberry on hand.  It turned out great.  I am trying out peach on a friend a bit later.  Can’t wait to see how that comes out!  You can also swap out Crystal Light flavors.  The original recipe calls for orange.  I had Orange Sunrise on hand, so in it went.  Yes, I “went rogue” by swapping out Orange for Orange “Sunrise”.   By the way…  one of the new style long Orange Sunrise packets, intended for a 2 quart pitcher of Crystal Light, comes out to exactly 1 tablespoon.

Suzy’s recipe calls for cinnamon.  A pinch of cinnamon is a fantastic addition.  Be sure you don’t overdo it.  A pinch will do.  Not everyone in my house likes cinnamon, so I leave it out most of the time.  Suzy’s recipe also says you can make this in a crock pot.  How I overlooked that, I have no idea.  What a wonderful recipe to have simmering on the counter all day.  I just love recipes that double as holiday potpourri.  You can bet I will try that soon.  I will probably need to double the ingredients to make it in my slow cooker effectively.

Also, I have never tried, but I am betting this cranberry sauce could make a wonderful top layer for some sort of cheesecake or cream cheese based pie.  It is so easy and has many many uses.  I recommend you try it at least once, even if you don’t care for traditional cranberry sauce.

Ready for Snackin'

There it is in all its saucy glory.  It’s still pretty warm there, but it continued to thicken in the refrigerator overnight.  I just had some, mixed into Fage Total, for my breakfast.

Served some weeks back with Prime Rib.

Wikipedia Article on Yorkshire Pudding
Wikipedia on Popovers

Be sure to google both terms when looking for the perfect recipe.  OR, just use this recipe I found on RecipeZaar! Definitely check out the original, but here it is with my preferred options.

Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
4 large eggs
1 cup skim milk
dried herbs or spices
morton lite salt
12 tsp canola oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Grab a 12-muffin baking pan and place a teaspoon of canola oil into the bottom of each tin.
• Place pan into oven for 15 or 20 min until oil is nice and hot. If you look carefully, you will see smoke. However, it takes much longer for canola oil to really start smoking than is needed to get it hot enough for these purposes.
• While pan is in the oven, beat the rest of the ingredients together to a nice creamy consistency.  Add herbs and spices to mixture as desired.
• When oil is hot enough, remove the pan from the oven and pour batter evenly into the 12 tins. DO NOT OVERFILL. These will puff up to at least twice what you place into the tin. They barely need to be half full.
• Place pan back into oven for 20-25 minutes until popovers are puffed up and crisp.
• Serve with gravy or butter or anything you think would be tasty when placed into the holes of the popovers.

The original recipe says to beat the mixture into the consistency of double cream.  I don’t think I get quite that consistency probably due to using skim milk.   Also, the original recipe calls for 1 cup of eggs.  I usually have large eggs on hand, so in my case that works out to 4 eggs.  Google for whatever size eggs you have.  (Did you know you can also google for standard conversions that will come up at the top of the search results??)

Sometimes I don’t add any herbs to the mixture, and other times I add savory herbs such as parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.  (She was once a true love of mine…)  I’ve often thought it would be fun to add cinnamon or something to these… perhaps cheese… but my men won’t have it!  Since I only partake in these once a year or so, I just make em the way they like em and serve with brown gravy.  I do fantasize about some sort of whole flour / eggbeater type combination, but I have yet to try.  (Yes, I have odd fantasies.  What can I say.)

Alas, this is not a recipe I can indulge in on a regular basis.  I will be enjoying one at the upcoming Big Meal.  :)

This recipe was given to me years ago by a good friend. Unfortunately, we’ve fallen out of touch. Still, I remember her each year when I make this. It’s become a Thanksgiving staple. Here is the recipe in its original form…

Ingredients
One 18 ounce can sweet potatoes, drained
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon margarine or unsalted butter
1/4-1/2 cup miniature marshmallow (not colored)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
One 8 3/4 ounce can peach slices

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In one bowl, stir ginger into brown sugar.
• Cut the butter up into tiny little squares on a separate plate.
• Drain and slice sweet potatoes into their own bowl.
• Drain and place peaches into yet another bowl.
• In a 1 quart casserole dish, layer half the potatoes, half the brown sugar mixture, and half the peaches.
• Repeat layering to use up remaining ingredients.
• Bake uncovered in 375 degree oven. Spoon liquid from bottom of dish over top of potatoes once or twice during cooking. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until potatoes are glazed.

To start with, I usually double this recipe into a 2 quart dish and use an equivalent amount of fresh boiled sweet potatoes cut into chunks. I also use Splenda brown in lieu of regular brown sugar. This year, I might try Whey Low Gold. Typically, I can find a can of peaches with a Splenda base instead of heavy syrup. Fresh sliced peaches also work. I never use the marshmallow option. In spite of them still being in the list of ingredients… what to do with them has disappeared from my archives. I assume you would just throw the marshmallows on top during the last 5 minutes of cooking. Honestly, though, I think marshmallows would just wreck the unique and subtle peachy ginger taste.   This year, I also may try an earlier suggestion from NanaLinda to swap out a portion of sweet potatoes with butternut squash.

This recipe is not in my SparkRecipes database yet. It is in my RecipeZaar repertoire though. I just put in a request to have it made public. Check back later for the URL! I will also be creating my own Thanksgiving menu on there and will make that URL public. In the meantime, here are 220 other public Thanksgiving menus on RecipeZaar. Remember to sort by rating. THESE ARE FULL THANKSGIVING MENUS… not individual recipes. If you don’t already have a set of favorites, have a look through these. It may save you immeasurable amounts of time.

Souffle #1 Before

Souffle #2 After

Yes, that topping tastes as decadent as it looks.  Recall that I swapped out the Splenda brown for some Joseph’s maple flavored maltitol syrup.  This wound up tasting just as good as the Splenda brown, but it didn’t make for a nice presentation.  I could have probably halved the amount of syrup.  I don’t know if that would have improved the presentation, but it surely would improve the stats (and the tummy discomfort some experience from consuming maltitol.)   If you should decide to make this recipe, even though I’ve concluded that sweet potatoes aren’t worth these kinds of stats, go with the Splenda brown.  It’s a more traditionally “crumbly” topping.  You’ll still need to “drop it’ across the top, but it will be much easier to deal with than this and prettier to look at.

This is a tasty recipe in its original form.  I just don’t think I can eat it in good conscience… not even on a holiday.  I would rather splurge my calories on a couple cookies.  But, that’s my overall opinion on any sweet potato casserole at this point.  After attempting sweet potato souffle #2, I’ve concluded that sweet potatoes are by far their best when tossed in a little olive oil and roasted alongside some butternut squash.  So, make of that what you will.

Ingredients
1 cup sweet potato puree
8 oz heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup Whey Low Gold
2 tbsp margarine
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tbsp ground flax
1.5 tbsp warm water
2 tbsp margarine
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c Whey Low Gold
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 c chopped pecans

Directions

• Blend sweet potatoes, whipping cream, 1/2 c whey low gold, 2 tbsp margarine, cinnamon and ginger until smooth and whipping cream has somewhat thickened.
• Pour souffle mixture into an 8 x 8 baking dish sprayed with a little butter flavored non-stick spray.
• In a separate bowl, stir together flax and warm water. Add 2 tbsp melted margarine and the vanilla. Stir until blended. Add 1/4 whey low gold, oats, and pecans.
• Evenly top souffle mixture with the oat mixture. Bake at 350 for 45 – 50 minutes

Action shot!

Souffle #2 Before

Souffle #2 After

This recipe also had its presentation issues.  As you can see, the evenly distributed topping wound up sinking into the middle.  I believe this had to do with the souffle itself, and I will probably try a similar topping on something else one day.  It was good… kind of like granola.

I was not pleased with the outcome of this recipe.  It seemed pretty thin compared to what I was expecting.  I don’t think I could serve it right from the oven to the table.  However, something good came out of this.  I scooped it into a small round tupper and threw it into the fridge, deciding that it was a pretty decent mashed sweet potato recipe – though still higher in stats than a mashed recipe needs to be.  Overnight, it thickened and turned into a wonderfully decadent sweet concoction that I will very purposely use as a sweet potato pie filling one day.  I imagine a low carb nut meal crust, but it really doesn’t even need that.  If this were sitting beside a pumpkin pie on the dessert table, I would go for it.   Give me 1/4 cup and a spoon, and I’ll be off to the races.   And the stats probably are not so bad when considered as a dessert.

You can, of course, find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.

I have to run for now, but I do have a go-to sweet potato casserole recipe that I’ve been making for the masses for several years now.  I will make it again this year.  It is more like a traditional casserole… not a souffle.  Not that the souffle was much like a traditional souffle.  (Confused yet?)  It involves ginger and peaches, and I will post it very soon to conclude our little Sweet Potato Souffle Saga.

AH… one last note.  NanaLinda left me a comment suggesting I swap out a portion of the sweet potatoes with some butternut squash.  What a terrific idea.  I’ve had butternut in sweet potato’s stead, but it never would have dawned on me to sub some out here.  I may still try that with the ginger peach casserole.

I prefer sweet kittens over sweet potatoes. (For cuddling, silly!)

Ingredients
3 cups sweet potatoes (fresh or canned)
4 eggs
1 cup Splenda granular
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar blend
1/2 cup flour

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Blend first 3 ingredients, 1 stick of margerine, and vanilla until smooth. Place in casserole dish.
• Blend last 3 ingredients and 1 stick of butter. Crumble evenly on top of sweet potato mixture. It may sink in a bit. That’s perfectly ok.
• Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
• Have a serving and be done. Try not to pick at the top all week!

I finally did up the nutritionals for it on SparkRecipes and was not very pleased.  They’re off the charts, and I can think of many things I’d rather have for the cost.  Having said that, this is a pretty tasty recipe.  If you make it as stated, it’s suitable Thanksgiving fare.

I tried to give this recipe a makeover by swapping out the Splenda brown in the topping with Josephs sugar free maple syrup, among other things, but I think I wound up with something too sweet for normal human consumption.  So much so, that I apparently pitched my notes in disgust.  Disgust that I didn’t come up with a makeover worth blogging about.  I was not too disgusted to eat some of it.  ;)   Unfortunately, for me, I think this recipe is just an excuse to eat the topping.  I’d probably be better off just making some cookies.

I endeavored to fashion a much healthier sweet potato souffle recipe with which I could try again using my leftover sweet potato puree.  I will reveal the recipe tomorrow.  Suffice it to say, I came up with a nice alternative to mashed potatoes… perhaps even a festive one.  Ultimately, though, I think I’ve decided that I will stick with a more typical sweet potato casserole when it comes to Thanksgiving.  I have one I like that involves ginger and sliced peaches.  You may well see that one next week.   Overall, I think I like simple roasted chunks of sweet potato w/ olive oil… or a baked potato with some Splenda and cinnamon.  I’m just not a big enough fan of the sweet potato casserole to warrant the less than stellar nutritional stats that seem to come with it.

Photos and notes for both recipes to follow tomorrow.  Always leave them wanting more… isn’t that what they say?

Sweet Potato Puree. More orange stuff!

I purchased 5 medium to large sweet potatoes.  I scrubbed them clean under running water with a vegetable scrubber then dried them off with a paper towel and tossed them on a foil lined cookie sheet.  I did pull off some obvious strands, but I didn’t fool with cutting off the “woody” bits and all this.  I take care of that later.  Meanwhile, the oven was preheating to 350 degrees.  Once I had them all clean, into the oven they went.

Ready to be baked!

I let them bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes until I could slide a knife easily into the center.  While this was sufficient, I think next time I will bake them to that point + 15 more minutes.

Next, I took them out of the oven and moved them to a plate where they cooled down until I could comfortably maneuver them in my bare hands.  Then, one at a time, I cut a little bit off each end and sliced them in half vertically (the long way).

Isn't that just lovely?

What you do from here depends on the recipe in which you intend to use them. At this point, if you so desire, you could simply serve up a half to each guest for a perfectly sufficient side dish.  Cut a shallow criss-cross into each half, then pinch them up a bit like you would with a regular potato… or mash slightly in the jacket with a fork… and top with a little butter or margarine and some cinnamon & Splenda / Truvia / sweetener of your choice.

If you wish to use them in a casserole or souffle, go ahead and slide them out of their jackets.  When cooked sufficiently, the flesh should basically slide right out when you gently squeeze the skin.  From there, cut each half into 6 or so cubes and place into a medium to large bowl.  If you plan to use these in a basic casserole, just trim off any bits that look inedible as you’re cutting the cubes and you’re now good to go.

If you have a souffle in mind, or any recipe calling for mashed or pureed sweet potatoes, start mashing a bit with a big fork.  As you mash, inedible pieces will become apparent and can be picked out.  At this point you could add a little milk or butter, beat them with a hand mixer, and serve mashed sweet potatoes.  Nothing like a good slab of nut meal or panko crusted chicken served atop mashed & peppered sweet potatoes.   I plan to use these in a souffle, so I pressed on…

I started to process them a little at a time in a small food processor which didn’t work too well.  I don’t have a full size food processor which would probably work very well.  I put all my cubes in a regular blender, added just a couple tablespoons of water, and began to pulse and scrape.  This didn’t work too well, either.  In fact, I tried several settings to no avail.  I should have had faith, you see, for I finally said !%#$ it… set my crappy cheap blender to the timed “ice crush” setting… and went to check my email.  When I came back, I had near perfect puree.  I had been trying too hard!  I think it would have been perfect had I left them in the oven for that extra 15 minutes.  In any case, here is what I wound up with…

Just over 5.7 cups.

My souffle recipe only calls for 3 cups of sweet potato, so I will have about 2.7 cups to play with in something else.  Anyone got ideas??  The average sweet potato pie calls for about 2 cups, so I am thinking about toying with a reduced sugar pie recipe that would use a nut meal based crust.  I have hazelnut meal in the cabinet I think I could mash nicely into a crust with some butter and Splenda.  Another option might be sweet potato custard, but I think that might be pretty similar to the souffle.  The souffle recipe is probably more like custard than real souffle anyway.

I think I would estimate about 1 cup puree per average sized potato when buying them at the store.  I overestimated, though I have learned over time that this is much better than underestimating.  Duh.

So, you can prepare your own sweet potatoes in a number of ways.  One year I boiled them.  Just make sure you get them really tender before you slip the skin out of the jacket, and you’ll be ok.  It really is easy.  And now you will know what you are working with…  some fresh, clean sweet potatoes with no added sugar nor unfamiliar preservatives.  Splendid!

Stay tuned for the reduced sugar Sweet Potato Souffle!

The sweet roasty goodness of Autumn veggies. Yum!

Ingredients
3.5 cups cleaned and cut acorn squash, raw
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 large portabella mushroom cap, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon pumpkin seed oil
morton lite salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, toss squash, onions, and mushrooms with salt, pepper, and olive oil.
• Place into shallow roasting dish or on baking sheet. Roast in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until squash is tender and sweet.
• Drizzle with the pumpkin seed oil.  That’s it!!!!  Enjoy.

This is the ultimate comfort food. Sweet, healthy, and simple! A little bit of fiber, the benefits of olive oil, and just a hint of protein. Squash is a veggie that is a little higher in carbs, but you’re clocking in just 12g or so per serving with this fine dish.

As you read above, I bought the pumpkin seed oil at Wegmans. You should be able to find it in the same section as olive oil in your grocery store or among the gourmet foods.  If you’re lucky, you can access a Wegmans and buy some pre-prepped acorn squash.  This allowed me to toss this together in record time.

Could I earn money as a Pumpkin Squeezer?

Even if you can’t get to a Wegmans, you can click those links to see the nutritional stats of each ingredient.

The original recipe called for shallots.  Alas, my shallots went off before I had a chance to use them.  No matter.  I threw in some regular white onion, and I added the sliced portabella cap, while I was at it.  You can add just about any vegetables you want.  Beets… carrots… potatoes… other kinds of squash.  Go ahead and clean out the veggie drawer.  Make sure the vegetables aren’t toooo overcrowded.  If you increase the overall amount of the vegetables, you might want to add a bit more olive oil.  (I don’t need to remind you to take into account the nutritional stats of any changes you make, right?  Especially potatoes will up the carbs.)

I love all kinds of roasted Autumn root vegetables, but the acorn squash was surprisingly sweet and warmed me up on a particularly chilly Maryland night.  I think you will love it, too.  The pumpkin seed oil added a lovely and tasty touch, but if you can’t find it… don’t let that stop you.  I find a shallow baking dish easier to deal with than a lined baking sheet.  Even with the oil, they still kind of stick.

Squarshies!

Find this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.

We call our carving knife Big Pete to pay homage to my father. He calls his Old Tom.

Ingredients
A turkey breast, bone-in, approx 6 pounds.
1 packet onion soup mix

Directions

• Rinse turkey and pat dry.
• Cut off excess skin, but leave the skin that covers the breast.
• Rub onion soup mix evenly over outside of turkey and under the skin.
• Place in slow cooker, breast side down.
• Cover and cook on high for 1 hour.
• Switch slow cooker to low setting and cook for 7 more hours.

Prepped for the pot.

You may or may not be aware that you can usually buy a whole bone-in turkey breast from your grocer’s meat case, as opposed to an entire turkey with the legs and whatnot.  Our Walmart always has them.  This particular one came from Safeway.

It is important to leave the skin on, as that’s what seals in the herbs, spices, and moisture.  You can remove the skin easily enough at carving time.  If you are into eating the skin, this recipe is not for you.  The skin does not get crispy, nor is it aesthetically pleasing.  I avoid the skin in any case.  To me, it is not worth the extra calories, fat, and cholesterol.  I assume cooking the turkey with the skin on makes for more calories and fat than would otherwise be there had I removed it to begin with, but eating the skin itself is a whole new level of crap.  This is a fair compromise for getting a nice moist turkey out of a slow cooker.  If you are careful when cutting off the excess skin from the ends, you can provide yourself with a couple nice slits through which to cram the soup mix underneath.

I did miss the dark meat, but I can do without that, too.  That is something I will certainly be eating at The Big Meal.  I don’t need it bad enough to cook an entire turkey for two people.  As with regular oven roasted turkey, cooking breast side down allows gravity to pull moisture down into the bulk of the meat.  Do not overcook.  I actually took this out of the slow cooker after about 6.5 hours on low.  I can often remove meat in far less time than a recipe states.  If I go the full 7 or 8, that’s when I end up with something dried out and unworthy.  Having said that, MAKE SURE IT IS DONE.

The man of the house still gets to do the carving.

Any onion soup mix will do.  This time, I used Walmart’s brand.  If you are concerned about sodium, look for a low sodium mix… or, make your own.  Really, it does not matter what herbs and spices you use.  You will probably want a little bit of salt to help keep the turkey tender, but I don’t think the recipe would be a great loss without it.  Morton Lite salt is a nice compromise, or you can find many salt-free herb & spice mixes on the shelf.  The dried onions add a nice touch, though.  I recommend you include them in whatever you do.

Can't you just smell the aroma from your office chair? (Get back to work!)

This is a recipe I make several times throughout the year.  Turkey is hardly the worst thing one can eat, so I didn’t mind making it the other night so that I could share it with you and also to make sure it would provide everything to make our Thanksgiving traditional and festive.  Indeed, I had wonderful aromas, a nice moist turkey breast, and plenty of leftovers for sandwiches.  This recipe makes about 6 to 8 normal-sized servings.

Gravy cheat!

There are drippings left in the crock that could probably be worked into a homemade gravy, but the point here is to keep things simple.  I used a packaged gravy I found at Wegmans.

I served it with some roasted acorn squash drizzled with pumpkin seed oil.  (That was luscious and a recipe for posting another day!)

As usual, I have this recipe in my SparkRecipes recipe box.  However, the nutritional analysis is likely a bit off kilter.  I calculated for 6 pounds of turkey breast meat.  In the end, the total amount of meat would be a bit less since the bone is factored into the weight of the turkey on the label.  Also, I put the soup mix in as a custom ingredient.  Sugar, fiber, protein, etc. are all listed as less than 1 on the label, but I always round that up to 1.  Better safe than sorry, though I’m sure there are far less carbs and sugar per serving that the nutritionals indicate.  For the purposes of tracking, you are better off to weigh your own personal serving and enter that into your tracker.  One thing is certain, turkey has tons of protein!