Turkey Hash

Since Ben and I are only two people, we don't usually eat Thanksgiving dinner at home.  This year, I was inspired by an article I read in the Union Tribune and decided to make a Thanksgiving Hash. 

I should warn you that I don't measure anything, ever, so I'm just guestimating amounts.  But one-pot meals are hard to screw up and they can always be modified to suit your tastes.  So here goes:

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh rosemary
salt & pepper
1 cup of turkey or chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 large red potato, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 apple, cut into 1/4 cubes
1 cup cooked turkey, shredded or chopped
1 Tbs.  butter
1 cup savory herb stuffing breadcrumbs
turkey gravy (optional)

Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet.  Add garlic and spices and heat for a minute or two.  Add chicken broth, potatoes, green onions and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer, uncovered, about 5 minutes.  Add celery and apples and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.  Add turkey and butter and cook for about 2 minutes, just until the turkey is heated through.  Remove from heat.  Stir in stuffing breadcrumbs until moist.  Serve with turkey gravy, if desired. 

Serves 2

(Note: I think this would taste great with dried cranberries added.  Also, some thyme would probably be divine ;) but I didn't have any on hand when I was concocting our meal this afternoon, so I opted to leave it out of my recipe.)

Caprese Bites

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes
• Small bunch of basil leaves, stems removed
• 8 oz. size container ciliegine (cherry size) mozzarella balls
• Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• Balsamic vinegar for drizzling, optional
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Skewer tomato, folded basil leaf (half of a large leaf or one whole small leaf), and mozarella ball with a toothpick or wooden skewer.

Drizzle moderately with olive oil, vinegar, and salt and pepper right before serving.

Mediterranean Cucumber-Feta Salsa

White Salsa

Ingredients:
1 cup (4-ounces) crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 medium cucumber, seeded peeled and cubed (1-1/2 cups)
1 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Pita chips
Lemon wedges

Directions:

Combine feta, lemon juice and pepper in a medium bowl; lightly mash with fork. Add cubed cucumber, onion, mint and dill; mix well. Serve with chips. 8 servings.

Red Salsa

For the red variation, add about
1 cup of chopped tomatoes and 2 generous tablespoons of chopped black olives.

(Note: Half the recipe would be more than enough for two people.)