DIY: Homemade turkey stock in the slow cooker

Whatever you're doing right now -- reviewing tomorrow's cooking schedule, giving the pillows one more fluff, or showering off the pre-company sweat that's earned from the last-minute cleaning of the house -- I beg of you to stop.

Please.

Stop and make both a mental and literal note to do one more thing tomorrow on Thanksgiving: SAVE THE TURKEY CARCASS!

I'm sorry for yelling.  Forgive me.  It's because you're my friends, and I love you.  And friends don't let friends throw away perfectly useful turkey carcasses.

I'm saying carcass a lot.  Forgive me for that, too.

You're going to want the scraps because I'm about to tell you how to make the quickest and easiest homemade turkey stock ever.

Turkey, black bean & pepper quesadillas with spicy apricot salsa

I don't know how it's possible, but I always seem to forget about quesadillas.

Allow me to pause while you pinch yourself.  You're not dreaming.

Standard bread sandwiches are just more familiar and, therefore, easier for my brain to recall in stressful times.  Stressful times = when my stomach is sending my brain impatient and borderline angry messages demanding sustenance.

But, every now and then, the universe sends me a sign puts an entire show on TV about quesadillas and the nudges me in the right direction.

Fast Friday: Turkey applejack toasties

What do you do when you can't make up your mind?  Don't! 

(Bet you weren't expecting that.)

Sometimes -- okay, often -- I can't decide what I want to eat.  It's usually because I've had too much time to think about the upcoming meal and have roughly 9,322 ideas bouncing around my brain as to what I could make.  With that many ideas, there are bound to be nearly as many (differing) themes.

Cheesy and warm, like a... grilled cheese.

With some spice!  Yeah, spicy would be great.  Not too much, but just enough to make my tongue tingle with a little heat.

Turkey, onion & pesto panini

Somewhere in the middle of top notch chicken dinners and an infinite number of kale salads, I lost sight of one of the most satisfying meals ever: the sandwich.

Normally, a sandwich is the last thing on my mind when it comes to dinner.  Grander visions of soups, roasts, and casseroles monopolize my thoughts instead.  Something that'll stick to my ribs, you know?

Dinner's gotta be ultra hearty to stand up to our my raging post-workout metabolism, not to mention the "I'm so hungry I swear I haven't eaten for days" mentality.  And though it's certainly delicious, a quintessential PB&J that comes to mind isn't going to cut it.

(To be clear, I'm not discounting peanut butter.  Within 30 seconds of walking in the door, famished, I've usually made my way to the kitchen and helped myself to a spoonful of the stuff.  Peanut butter = essential to life!)

Taco turkey casserole

"I want to live inside that!"  That being this:

That's exactly what Laura and Matt said as they took bite after bite after bite of this at dinner recently.  If there's a more satisfying comment about one's own cooking, I'd like to hear it because that one had me grinning wildly and patting myself on the back.  Thanks, you two :)

Having bookmarked the recipe a few weeks ago, I'd pegged it as a Mexican version of classic Italian lasagna.  I was looking forward to making it, assumed it would taste good, put the necessary items on the grocery list, and didn't give it much more thought until I got into the kitchen to cook.

Cranberry, turkey & cheddar panini sandwich

Have I yet mentioned how much I love my new Cuisinart Griddler that I received a few weeks ago at my bridal shower?  No?  Let me count the ways...

1. It's a panini press, grill, and griddle all in one!

2. Cleaning is a cinch -- pop off the plates, wash, and towel dry.  Easy peasy.

3. I feel so gosh darn cutting edge using this.  I once envied Giada every time she'd whip up a panini and press it with ease.  Now look at me!  Giada better watch out, giant smile and all.

4. Storage is a breeze.  No worries about scratching the nonstick surfaces because the whole thing folds up and protects itself.

5. The temperature settings on it are legit.  Some griddles have ambiguous settings of "warm, warmer, hot"... what is that?!  Oh yes, I'd like my burger done "hot" please.  Lame.

All of those are dandy reasons on their own (seriously, you must get your own Griddler), but if you still need more, particularly something visually tempting, this is for you.  100% my new favorite sandwich -- the Thanksgiving panini!

Pepperjack-stuffed turkey burgers

The burger adventures continue and just in time for Father's Day weekend!  Lately I've been dining out quite a bit, and I've noticed a pattern to what I'm ordering day in and night out -- burgers.  Not steaks, but thick, juicy burgers.  Burgers whose buns are slathered with fresh cilantro pesto and creamy avocado.  Burgers topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms eaten on couches.  Burgers with rubs called crazy things like "angel dust" (salt, pepper and garlic powder).  Ground sirloin burgers just a stone's throw away.

Burgers, burgers, burgers!  Makes me squeal with delight :)

(Here I sit eating breakfast and wondering why I didn't plan ahead to have a burger instead of cereal and a banana.  Mega sad face.)

Having enjoyed the chicken burger I made a few months ago so much, I decided to give another non-traditional burger a whirl -- pepperjack stuffed turkey burgers!  As if they didn't sound mouth-watering enough, looking at the source of the recipe (Food Network's The Neelys) totally sold me!

Turkey & rice stuffed peppers

Do you feel it?  I totally feel it!  What is it?  The feeling that I'm totally on the ball this week.  Maybe even... dare I say... ahead of the game.  I don't always feel like this, so I tend to get very excited when it happens.  Do you ever have days/weeks when you are so prepared for everything coming your way?  Doesn't it feel amazing?!  Time for a celebratory dance -- you deserve it.

My to-do list hasn't even had a chance to build up because I'm crossing things off like it's my job (well, some of them are).  The biggest relief is the one that I feel when it comes to dinners for the week.  By now, I know you're bored with hearing how hungry I am after the gym... hate toiling for 45 minutes until food is ready... yada yada yada :)

So, I'll skip that part and, instead, sing the praises of doing a little bit of prep work on the weekend and how it saves literally hours of time during the week!  Every time I grumble about this being my least favorite part about cooking and hey, I can just do it later during the week, right?  Wrong!  Totally worth it, people.  I clean and chop all vegetables, trim and marinate meats, cook basics like rice and pasta, and portion out all of them.  Then, when I'm cooking, I feel like one of the Food Network hosts that I'm watching, grabbing my neatly prepared ingredients and balancing them in a tower of bags and containers as I head to my work play station.

Turkey meatloaf with fontina and mushrooms

Count me in -- I am ready for fall!  That's not to say that I won't enjoy the Indian summer days whenever they arrive.  But, you should know that my stash of jackets and scarves and tights (oh my!) are practically crying out to me, asking when it will it will be their turn to show off.  This, of course, has me incessantly checking the weather forecast for cooler temperatures.  What an absolute tease it has been that the morning air registers in the mid-50s but the days are still creeping into the upper 70s.  So, one must decide between shivering early on her walk to work or getting a bit toasty in the afternoon :)

I've settled for dealing with goosebumps on my walk to work, and it's not so bad if I prep before I leave the apartment.  You'll find me hovering over a big steaming bowls of oatmeal, spiced with vanilla and cinnamon and topped with a sliced banana to serve as a kick-start to my body's heating system.  It's amazing how warm and cozy oatmeal for breakfast can make me feel -- it's like I'm wrapped up in a giant blanket.  The only drawback?  It makes me want to get back into bed, work clothes and all, never to let that feeling go away.

Spicy Old Bay turkey thighs

Ahhh Monday Thursday.  I'm not very accustomed to taking a day off smack in the middle of the week, so a mini vacation is nice.  It was a jam-packed day: dentist appointment, laundry, errands, and a very sweet princess's 5th birthday party.  Am I the only person in the world who loves going to the dentist?  I mean, sure, the staff at my dentist's office is as charming as can be, but I really love reclining in the oh-so-comfy chair and relaxing while my teeth are cleaned to a sparkling finish while I do nothing.  And I get a parting gift of a free toothbrush.  Win win :)  Though when I made a joke about the amount of sugar I eat and it's a wonder I have no cavities, my dentist was a little less charming... woops.

Another favorite of mine is Thanksgiving, mostly because of the no gifts time with family, but also because of the turkey.  I love turkey!  Love love love love.  But sadly, how many of us eat roast turkey any other time throughout the year?  I eat lunch meat turkey and ground turkey, but no roast turkey here.  So, you can imagine my excitement when I spotted a recipe for roasted turkey in a recent issue of Everyday Food.  Just mention Old Bay and you'll get me to jump through hoops galore, but pair it with turkey?  Get outta here.  Prep is a cinch, and the flavor is dynamite.  And, don't worry spicy heat wimps, I count myself among your ranks.  This isn't a hot recipe by any means.  The Old Bay may be intense before heading into the oven, but it mellows out during cooking.  I paired it with the cool and crunchy raw corn and zucchini salad from earlier this week for a sweet side.

Dollars and sense -- I'm not usually one to figure out the cost of a recipe and boast about it, but well, that's precisely what I'm going to do here.  Turkey (2.4 pounds) = $3, four ears of corn = $0.80, two medium zucchinis = $3.  The rest of the ingredients were hanging out in the pantry or refrigerator.  That brings the grand total to $6.80 for four servings.  For you math majors, that's $1.70 per person.  Awesome, just awesome.

Spicy Turkey Thighs
(adapted from Everyday Food, again)
-serves 4

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
5 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 bone-in, skin-on turkey thighs (around 2 pounds total)
Salt
Ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450F.  In a small bowl, stir together butter, Old Bay, and lemon juice until a paste is formed.  Rinse turkey thighs with water and pat dry with paper towels.  Place turkey thighs in a 7 x 11-inch glass baking dish.

Gently slip your fingers between skin and meat, working the opening without completely separating the skin from the meat.  Evenly spread butter mixture under skin of each thigh.  Season thighs with salt and pepper.

Roast in oven 35 to 40 minutes (I went with 40) until skin is crispy and brown and juices run clear when meat is pierced with a knife.  (If you have an instant read thermometer, it should read 165 degrees when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, avoiding bone.  Let rest 10 minutes before slicing.  Enjoy your summertime feast!