Marisa's Healthy Kitchen

Michael and I made dinner together tonight which was so fun! Thank goodness he was there to help out because my fingers were covered in dredging flour. Plus with him sauteing the turkey, I was able to dredge the pieces at the same time. This would have taken so much longer if I was doing both since there were so many pieces of turkey! I know this is strange, but I loved seeing how these little pieces of turkey became these really wide and flat pieces after pounding. So cool! There is a ton of butter in this dish, but it does serve 4-6 people and every once in a while it is ok to splurge like that! Plus the shallot sauce looked so good! They were so pink and smelled so good!

Turkey Piccata

Ingredients

• 1 whole turkey breast, approximately 2-3 pounds
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

Preparation

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F, or turn your warming drawer on.

Cut the turkey breast crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces. Place pieces of turkey, 1 at a time, between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. Squirt the meat lightly with water and squirt the top of the plastic wrap as well. Pound to no less than 1/8 inch thickness.

Season both sides of meat with salt and pepper and then dredge in flour. Shake off the excess flour. Set aside.

In a large saute pan over medium to medium high heat, heat olive oil and 4 tablespoons butter. Once hot, but not yet smoking, brown turkey scaloppine quickly, about 1 minute on each side, and remove to an ovenproof platter. Place in oven to keep warm. I love my warming drawer for times like these, so that is where my turkey went.

Reduce the heat to low and add the shallots to the pan. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes or until they begin to turn translucent. Add wine and lemon juice to the pan and simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, if necessary. Pour sauce over turkey, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Cauliflower and Swiss Chard over Mushroom Couscous

This could definitely be a vegan entree. It looked really good! Plus I was happy to serve something so healthy next to the turkey.  To me there is nothing like fresh herbs, so if you have them available I would suggest that.
Serves 2 entrees or 4 appetizer dishes

Ingredients
1 bunch of red swiss chard, chopped
2 cups of cauliflower florets
1/2 cup baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup dry whole wheat couscous
1 cup water
1 teaspoon dried tarragon, or fresh
1/2 teaspoon dried sage, ground or fresh
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste

Preparation
Put red swiss chard, cauliflower and olive oil into a pot with a lid and cook on medium heat until swiss chard is cooked down and cauliflower has softened slightly. Add sage, tarragon, lemon juice and any salt. Turn off and let sit covered.

Bring water and mushrooms to a boil, turn off heat, and add dried couscous. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Serve cauliflower and swiss chard over couscous.