The other night, what started as highly improvised cooking experiment resulted in a dish not only edible, but actually pretty delicious. It's a light but hearty stew with some of my favorite fall flavors, such as butternut squash, cinnamon, and, of course, turkey! If it sounds good to you, I encourage you to give it a try. (It's a great way to trick yourself into eating vegetables.)
(Note: I'm estimating the measurements, because I didn't measure when I made it. It's a stew, so you can eyeball it. Oh, and I definitely took a shortcut, because the butternut squash base is not made from scratch. But I bet if you did make it from scratch, it would be even better. Why don't you try that and I'll come taste it? Sounds like a plan.)
Ingredients:
½ lb lean ground turkey
½ yellow or Vidalia onion, chopped
4-5 carrots, sliced (or, substitute baby carrots)
2 c. peas (fresh or frozen)
1 box of V8 butternut squash soup (yup, I cheated)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1-2 tbps butter
cinnamon, to taste
black pepper, to taste
(Idaho potato or sweet potato, optional)
Directions:
1. Boil 4-6 cups of water in a large pot.
2. Add carrots and peas, boil until carrots are tender.
While carrots/peas are cooking:
3. In large frying pan, saute chopped onions in butter and garlic; when onions appear soft, add ground turkey, and, if you want, a little pepper. Cook until meat is completely white.
4. Drain carrots/peas and place back into pot.
5. Add turkey/onions to pot.
6. Dump in the entire box of butternut squash soup.
7. Simmer on low-med heat for 3-4 mins, until soup starts to bubble.
8. Stir in cinnamon (trust me) and black pepper to taste.
...and enjoy.
You can eat the stew by itself, but it's also good over a baked potato, either regular (Russet) or sweet. And I bet it's awesome with cornbread, if you can swing that.
Happy eating (I hope)!
