Versatile Turkey!!!

Chorizo Burritos, Taco’s, Chile Beans, Tostada’s, Enchiladas, Taco Salad, Sloppy Joe’s… YUM

But do you not eat any of the above because it’s so unhealthy and fattening?

Here’s how to enjoy all of the above with one simple change.

TURKEY!!!!!

Ok before you gag and say “I” can’t even use Ground Turkey instead of ground beef let alone get my famiily to, let me show you how!!

NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW, I Promise!

Does this look like Turkey?

This is 99% Fat Free Ground Turkey – all dressed up so no one will know.  I use this in all my recipes above.  And this is also my disguised chorizo!!  I married a Hispanic man who was raised on Tortillas and refried beans and one of his favorite meals is a good unhealthy chorizo and egg burrito.  When I made this turkey one night I was going to make a turkey veggie omelet but I poured the eggs in and forgot to treat it like an omelet so I scrambled them and added the turkey meat, slapped it in a burrito and my husband and kids thought I had lost my mind and prepared a traditional chorizo and Egg Burrito.  I used salsa and fat free plain greek yogurt and they were completely fooled.  It is now requested on a regular basis.  When the brown/red juice was spilling onto my husbands plate he said almost disgusted… “are you sure this isn’t grease”???  I said no – it’s water!!  But keep reading…don’t stop here.

About a year ago I begrudgingly switched to ground turkey instead of ground beef.  I gagged my first few bites of every meal trying to get used to the stuff that looked like white mushed up cotton balls in my chili and thought there has to be a better way!!  So I set out to perfect it and this is what I came up with.

In order to get your meat to be small, ground looking, crushed (like taco bell’s meat) you start out with water.

1)  put about 1 to 1 1/2 Cups water in your pot.

2) cut up your turkey criss-cross all the way through before you take it out of the package like this:

The thing that grossed me out about ground turkey was it looking like rabbit pellets (or Fiber cereal) in my food.

3) Now as you take the turkey out, take about 1/2 cup at a time and smoosh between your fingers (you can wear food grade rubber gloves if this grosses you out – but if your hands are wet the meat really won’t stick too much) and put it into the water in the pan.  You’ll need something to grind the meat with – I personally use a potato masher or I found this nifty little masher that I like a lot.

(see the juice in the pan?  That’s not grease – it’s water)

4) add your seasonings:

1/2 Cup Chili Powder ( I use a variety of Dark Chili Powder, Ancho Chili Powder and Traditional Chili Powder)

1 TBS Cup dried onion flakes

1 TBS dried Cilantro

1 TBS garlic powder

1 TBS onion powder

1 tsp Pepper

1 TBS Cumin

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 tsp Emerils Original Seasoning

(per jelly jar)

**tip**  I use Jelly Jars and make up 2 or 3 jars at a time so I have them ready the next time I want to make turkey meat.

5) if it’s too dry and not mashing well add a little more water.

6) MASH, MASH, MASH, stir, stir, stir!

7.  Cover with a tight lid and simmer on low for about 15 mins and it will be so tender and juicy and full of flavor when you’re finished.  Stir and Mash more if you can or depending on the consistency you want.

Now you have Versatile Turkey that you can use for just about any recipe that calls for this type of seasoned meat.

**tip** I even use this recipe with spaghetti and pasta meals, I just use a little less chili powder and substitute an envelope of Spaghetti Sauce Seasonings and change out the dried Cilantro for Parsley and add Italian Seasoning instead of Cumin!!  Super Yummo

Here’s the final product in one of my recipes: