Gobble Gobble: Turkey 2 Ways

So I purchased 3 lbs of ground turkey for $6.99 and made 3 different turkey dishes over the course of one week.  Yes, I made 3 and have decided only to show you 2 because one of them is camera-shy.  Fine, I'll be honest ... she wasn't too photogenic, ok?  lol

The first dish is based on a recipe from Steamy Kitchen for Taiwanese Pork Noodles.  Mine didn't come out as beautiful as hers, with the needed colorful garnishes, but I have to say, the recipe was amazing!  I would've never thought 2 teeny weeny star anise, or star-anus as I like to call it, would make such a huge difference in flavor.  It didn't require much time either, which is fantabulous for a long day from work.  This recipe is a must-keep, thanks Jadyn!

The second dish is one that we're all familiar with - lasagna!  The only difference with mine is that it was made with a crock pot rather than an oven ... since we do not have an oven here!  Truthfully, lasagna straight out of the oven tastes better than one made with a slow cooker ... but you have to work with what you got right?  The recipe for crock pot lasagna is just like any other recipe for lasagna.  Needless to say, the only exception is that everything goes into your crock pot rather than a lasagna pan.  Because crock pots are usually round in shape, it is also necessary to break your lasagna noodles so that they fit into the pot.  Set it at low, then forget it for 4 hours!  It came out looking like crap, but I was satisfied!

Pizza? No, Pisa!

How often do people eat pizza?  Better yet, how often do New Yorkers eat pizza?  Frequently I suppose, since the good old "New Yawk Pizza" originated from this city.

Pizza parlors are scattered all over New York.  It leaves me wondering whether there are more pizza parlors than Starbucks, which seem to appear once every three blocks or so!  Has eating pizza become habitual as coffee has become addicting?  Hm!  Well, all I know is while there are those who eat pizza on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, eating pizza is a rare thing for me, but I  DO have occasional cravings for a good pizza!  My most recent craving brought me not one, but two pizzas!

So I offered him ONE bite & this is what he leaves me with

Out of the blue one day, on a train ride back home, I had a huge craving for pizza.  Thoughts came running through my head of good tomato sauce and melted mozzarella cheese, and the perfect last crunch of a pizza crust.  Pizza deprivation is a serious matter, kids!  So my feet walked me to a local pizza parlor to order a New Yawk Pizza and some garlic knots, all for $2.50 + tax.  I felt no guilt at all.  Nothing better than a cheap craving satisfaction and a full tummy! 

Unknowingly, I get home to find out that my beau has arrived home before me.  I wasn't going to give him my pizza, I only had 1 slice!

A couple of nights later, he comes home with a BOX for me.  Very aware of what a big fat foodie I am, what else would he fill a box with, really?  Lol.  Although I'd wish the box was 100x smaller and contain something that could possibly BLIND me, the huge box that contained a whiff of pizza was acceptable, for now.  He brought me some pizza from Adrienne's Pizzabar, which was a lot more upscale than my New Yawk Pizza.  Thin crust and topped with prosciutto, basil leaves and tomato, his pizza brought me back to Italy.  Oh, the days back in Florence, Rome and Venice ... the visit at the Tower of Pisa ...

Speaking of Pisa, Italy had the most amazing, authentic, thin crust pizza.  Here is a pic of us in Italy, with a huge a** pizza:

Pizza craving?  CHECK!

FAT SAT(urday)

I am sitting here typing my blog entry with a full stomach, ugh!  However, I am excited to share with you how the current blob in my stomach looked before it turned into mush!

As usual, I went grocery shopping early this afternoon with my boy toy.  He laid his eyes on some cheap shell steak, which hyped me up because I'm a huge sucker for steak drenched in ketchup =).  Steak also brings me back memories of my deceased mom and all the wonderful dishes that she use to whip up for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Occasionally, she would stray away from cooking a typical Chinese dinner, which almost always consists of a bowl of white rice for each individual, a big bowl of soup, and several other dishes for sharing.  As much as I love Chinese food, it gets a bit boring eating and seeing similar food on the table day after day.  Luckily, my mother realizes this, so once in a while, she'd make us some juicy steak along with other side dishes.  For some reason, I gravitated towards the ketchup as a young girl.  I think the sweetness & sourness of ketchup complements steak very well and isn't too overpowering.

Tonight, I decided to finish up the arborio rice that's been sitting in our cabinet.  Steak paired with risotto, a lot of yummy in my tummy!  Not to mention, I used a lot of catsup!