Tag Archives: Iowa Turkey Federation

Food & FamilyGive Thanks!

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You know Thanksgiving is getting close when the grocery store shelves are fully stocked with everything you could ever need for your holiday dinner preparation. This season always serves as a good reminder to thank the people and the industries that make it possible to create a feast on Thanksgiving and any other day of the year. We are truly blessed by the bountiful supply of food produced by America’s farmers. #foodthanks

As promised last Friday, today we’re featuring more recipes from proud Iowa turkey producers. Pam Larson, a turkey producer from Ellsworth, Iowa, shared with us her recipe for Easy Turkey Salad. I have to admit that I was practically doing the happy dance in my office when I received this recipe. If “easy” is in the title, I know I’ll like it! Another reason I’m going to enjoy making this salad is because it will give me a new use for holiday leftovers. I’ll simply cut up any uneaten, cooked turkey, measure 2 cups into each bag and freeze it. Future meals will be made with minimal preparation time.

Some weeknight after work, I’ll unthaw a bag of turkey and whip up some Turkey Reubens. Julie Jensen of Belmond, Iowa, told me about her tasty sandwich creation when the two of us met during a tailgate luncheon before the ISU v. Nebraska football game in Ames earlier this month. 

Special thanks to Julie Jensen, Pam Larson and the Iowa Turkey Federation for providing the following recipes. Enjoy!

How are you showing thanks for the food we enjoy this Thanksgiving season? #foodthanks

Easy Turkey Salad

Recipe from: Pam Larson, Ellsworth, Iowa

Makes 8 servings

Pam Larson

Ingredients:

2 cups diced cooked turkey

1 tablespoon minced onion

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup salad dressing

2 ounces shell macaroni, cooked and drained

1 cup diced celery

1 cup halved green OR red grapes

½ cup slivered almonds

1 (11 ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained

Directions:

1. Wash hands.

2. In a large bowl toss ingredients together except the mandarin oranges.

3. Add the mandarin oranges and gently stir until combined.

1 serving: calories 239, protein 13 g; fat 13.3 g (saturated 1.9g), cholesterol 36.6 mg; sodium 577.9 mg, carbohydrate 16.8 g, fiber 1.6 g

Home-Made Turkey Reubens

Recipe from: Julie Jensen, Belmond, Iowa

Ingredients:

1 head of red cabbage, diced (cook down with about 1 T. white vinegar, a pinch of salt, ¼ c. or less of sugar, and a small amount of water; sweat out the moisture)

Marble Rye bread

1 package of Oscar Meyer® rotisserie turkey (or thinly sliced turkey left from your holiday meal)

Swiss cheese

Grey Poupon’s Mild & Creamy Dijon Mustard made with white wine

Directions:

1. Spread Dijon on a slice of bread and layer with turkey, a cheese slice and cooked cabbage.

2. Wrap all sandwiches in foil and place in 350-degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Turn up the heat to 425 degrees for the last 10 minutes to toast the bread.

 

Turkey Reuben

Some Turkey Facts: 

  • Turkey sandwiches account for 48% of all turkey consumption.
  • Hormones and steroids are not used in any turkey production. It is illegal. Their use for any turkey production was federally banned in the 1950s.
  • A newly hatched turkey is called a poult.

(Source: Iowa Turkey Federation)

 

Food & FamilyGobble Up!

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Did you know when you enjoy a turkey sandwich from SUBWAY® or Jimmy John’s®, it’s more than 80 percent likely the turkey in your sandwich came from Iowa? The Iowa turkey industry is incredibly important to our state, adding significant economic activity and creating employment in rural Iowa (www.iowaturkey.org).

As we work to honor farmers in our Friday family recipe posts, I couldn’t think of anyone more fitting to feature this month than the turkey producers who help feed our families and put a delicious turkey on the table at Thanksgiving.

Turkey is a fitting meal for just about any occasion and any day of the week. So now that the weather is getting a little cooler, I’m going to add Becke Dorenbush’s Southwestern Turkey Soup to my list of “go to” meals. My mouth was watering just looking over the ingredients, so I can’t wait to give it a try. Even better, it’s low in calories and fat (something I wish I could say for all of my favorite winter recipes). Becke also recommends this soup as a great dish to accompany football festivities, so perhaps this year I can serve it on Soup-er Bowl Sunday. (Hope you’ll forgive my bad pun here, but I couldn’t resist!) 

I’m also looking forward to making Rich Hogrefe’s recipe, “Shoot the Turkey.” This recipe is named so because you inject the marinade to “shoot the turkey” with great flavor. With butter and garlic, it can’t help but be good!

Be sure to stay tuned for next Friday’s post when we feature more recipes from proud Iowa turkey farmers. A special thank you to the Iowa Turkey Federation for providing the following recipes submitted by their members. Bon appétit!

Southwestern Turkey Soup

Recipe from: Becke Dorenbush, Jewell, Iowa

Becke & Mark Dorenbush

Makes 10 servings.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups turkey OR chicken broth
  • 1 (14 ½ ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (14 ½ ounce) can diced tomatoes
  • 3 cups cubed cooked turkey
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
  • 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
  • 2 to 3 cups frozen whole kernel corn

Directions

1. Wash hands.

2. In large Dutch oven combine all the ingredients except the frozen corn. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.

3. Stir in frozen corn and return mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the corn is tender.

Serve with: coarsely crushed tortilla chips and Mexican shredded cheese over soup.

Shoot the Turkey

Recipe submitted by Rich Hogrefe in memory of Don Eaton, Albert City, Iowa.

Makes 16 – 24 servings (1 pound turkey per person)

Ingredients

  • ½ cup margarine
  • ½ cup lemon juice
  • ½ Tablespoon garlic juice
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce
  • 1 (16 to 24 pound) whole turkey, fresh or frozen (thawed)

Directions

1. Wash hands. Remove giblets and neck; reserve for stock or discard.

2. In medium saucepan melt the margarine. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the turkey. Heat to lukewarm.

3. Using an injector, inject marinade into all parts of the turkey. Place turkey in large, turkey-sized plastic oven bag. Wash hands. Refrigerate overnight.

4. Place turkey, breast side up, on a wire roasting rack in shallow pan with approximately 2-inch sides. Roast turkey in a preheated 325ºF. oven for 3 ¾ to 5 hours (depending on weight).

5. The turkey is done when the thermometer reaches 180ºF. in the deepest part of the thigh and 170ºF in the thickest part of the breast.

6. Remove turkey from oven. Allow turkey to rest, covered, for 20 minutes before carving.

Make ahead tip: Roast turkey 2 – 3 weeks in advance. Shingle turkey slices in a shallow layer in a roasting pan. Cover it with the reserved strained pan drippings and freeze it. When ready to serve, reheat the turkey at 325º F. in an electric roaster for a couple of hours or until it reaches 165º F.

Rich Hogrefe

Some Fun Turkey Facts:

  • Economic value per turkey is about $20.00. (Farm – processing)
  • Yearly, all of Iowa’s turkeys will eat about 62,000 acres of corn and 69,000 acres of soybeans.
  • A female turkey is called a hen and a male turkey is called a tom. Toms and hens are raised separately. Most Iowa turkey growers raise toms.