I put together this concoction for dinner last night and it was pretty good. I want to remember it for another time.

Ingredients:
1-2 c. brown rice – note, we used a 2-serving size packet of Trader Joe’s frozen brown rice. You could also prepare some in a rice cooker, but you’ll need to start that first since it will take longer than the rest of the dish.
1-1.5 lb ground turkey
2/3 bag Trader Joe’s “Brittany Blend” frozen veggies, with green beans, wax beans, baby carrots
1 medium onion
2 T. dijon mustard
1/2-3/4 c. dry white wine (I used Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc)
2 t. dried tarragon
2-3 T. flour
olive oil
salt
pepper

The Process:
Heat about 2T. of olive oil in a large skillet. Add turkey and brown most of the way through. Drain fat, remove turkey to separate dish and set aside.

Defrost vegetables in a microwavable dish for 1-1 1/2 minutes, until mostly thawed.

Slice onion. In same skillet, add about 1 T. olive oil and saute onions until golden. Salt and pepper to taste.

Push onions to the side and add about 2 more T. olive oil and the flour. Combine, stirring in with onions until you have everything coated with flour. Start adding some of the wine and stir. The flour will thicken this sauce as it finishes.

Add vegetables and turkey back to pan. Stir in dijon mustard and remaining wine. Add dried tarragon, additional salt and pepper to taste. Incorporate all ingredients and continue cooking over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, until flour has time to cook and the everything is lightly coated with the mustard-wine sauce.

Spoon rice onto each dish, then add turkey and vegetables on top. Enjoy!

I made up this dish for dinner last night, and it turned out pretty well. We enjoyed it with a semi-sweet German Auslesse white wine (a $5 bargain at Trader Joes!), which I also recommend 🙂

Baked Chicken with Apple Raisin Dressing

Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. I used 6 pieces from a bag of frozen tenders for 2 people.
1 stick of butter or margarine
4 slices of bread – I used the wheat sandwich loaf I had on hand
1 small or 1/2 of a medium red onion
2 apples (I believe mine were golden delicious)
1/4 cup golden raisins
4 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
water

Preheat the oven to 375. Prepare a 13″x9″ or other baking dish.

Heat a small mug or bowl of water in the microwave, approximately 1 minute. Add your raisins to the hot water so they will plump a bit during the prep.

Core and slice the apple into segments, then chop into 1/2-1″ chunks. Next, peel and slice the onion. Add apples and onions to the pan.

Dice bread into 1/2″ cubes. Melt about 3/4 of the stick of butter/margarine in a microwave-safe dish. Toss the bread cubes in with the melted butter until all are coated.

Layer the ingredients in the pan as follows:

Apples and onions on bottom.
Drain the raisins and sprinkle throughout the pan. Add about 2 T. of water, just enough to moisten the bottom of the pan.
Salt this layer, then add some ginger and nutmeg allspice. Dot the apples and onions with remaining (non-melted) 1/4 stick of margarine or butter.
Next, lay the chicken breasts across the top. Season this layer with salt, pepper, ginger and nutmeg allspice.
Finally, place all the bread cubes all over the dish. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and a bit of salt.

Cover dish with foil, and place in pre-heated oven. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked and the apples reach desired softness. I recommend starting the pan uncovered or finishing it uncovered at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes in order to crisp the top layer of croutons.

Notes: Since this was the first time I made this, the recipe could use some tweaking. For example, it might be best to start the dish covered, and then remove the foil, stir contents, and turn it up to 400 for the last 10-12 minutes in order to crisp the croutons on top. Feel free to try it and let me know if you have any suggestions 🙂