Wednesday: Turkey Protein Bites, Taco Lunch & a Big Batch of Grilled Chicken

Got up this morning and made our regular breakfast: fresh bacon, bagels and some of the leftover waffles from yesterday.

Then we got to work finishing up Project Day preparations and schoolwork.

Tomorrow is the big day, so we’re trying to get everybody’s projects finished and ready to present.

And naturally, in the middle of all that, I decided it was a good time to experiment with ground turkey.

Because apparently we didn’t have enough going on.

My Ground Turkey Experiment

Remember the ground turkey I bought at Costco on Sunday?

I mentioned it on Stories yesterday and asked everyone what I should do with it.

And you all had opinions.

The overwhelming consensus was that ground turkey is bland and needs a LOT of flavor.

Fair enough.

And quite a few of you suggested incorporating cranberries, which I thought was a really interesting idea, especially since I’m thinking about making something that could work as a Thanksgiving appetizer.

So I combined some of your suggestions and started experimenting.

I filmed the whole thing for a Reel, and I think we have a winner.

Savory Turkey Protein Bites

For this batch, I used 1½ pounds of ground turkey and built the flavor with seasonings and the other ingredients from my experiment.

I started by adding a generous tablespoon of bacon grease to a large sauté pan, then added my herbs and seasonings to build the flavor.

GROUND TURKEY CRANBERRY PROTEIN BALLS

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1 big Tbsp bacon grease
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
A generous mix of dried herbs — I used rosemary, marjoram, thyme, sage, basil + whatever else looked good
Salt + pepper
Garlic powder
About 1/2–2/3 cup fresh cranberries
1 applesauce pouch

2 Glugs Maple Syrup
About 1/3–1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used GF)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Heat the bacon grease in a large sauté pan and add the onion, dried herbs, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

TIP: Add those dried herbs early! Letting them warm up in the fat helps them rehydrate and toast a little and gives you so much more flavor.

Once the onion has softened, add the cranberries and keep cooking, smashing them as they soften, until they’re almost a paste.

Stir in the applesauce, breadcrumbs and Dijon. Taste and season as needed, then transfer the mixture to a bowl and let it cool enough to handle.

Add the ground turkey and mix everything together. Roll into roughly 2-teaspoon-size balls and place on a sheet pan.

Roast at 400°F for about 10–15 minutes, or until the centers reach 165°F.

I finished mine with a little salt and dipped them in BBQ sauce.

And PLEASE use what you have. Cranberry sauce instead of fresh cranberries? Try it. Different herbs? Absolutely. Regular breadcrumbs? Of course. The whole point of this recipe is that I basically threw your ideas and what I had in my kitchen together.The idea was to make something savory, flavorful and easy to eat in little portions.

And here’s something else I’ve been thinking about.

So many recipes marketed as protein bites are made with peanut butter, oats, nuts and similar ingredients.

And those are all perfectly good foods.

But a lot of those recipes are also incredibly calorie-dense, and while they contain protein, they aren’t necessarily what I’m looking for when I want a protein-focused snack.

These turkey bites are actually built around meat.

Actual protein bites.

And I think they turned out really well.

They’re flavorful, easy to grab and would be fun to serve as an appetizer.

I even tried some with a little barbecue sauce, and they were delicious.

I’m definitely going to keep playing around with this idea.

Taco Lunch, Again

For lunch, we went back to the taco meat I cooked Monday night.

Remember, I made about four pounds.

This is why.

The kids made taco platters with whatever toppings they wanted, and I made myself a taco salad.

Easy.

Everybody gets something they like.

And we still have a decent amount of taco meat left.

I’m thinking tomorrow, when we get home from co-op and everyone is hungry, that taco meat is going to make a fantastic snack or early dinner option.

Afternoon Prep: Do the Thinking Before Dinner

This afternoon, I knew we had a sewing lesson and other things going on with the kids.

So rather than wait until we got home to start dinner, I got as much done ahead of time as possible.

I prepped potatoes and put them into water to soak.

I cut up vegetables for roasting.

And I got the chicken breasts ready with my favorite Dijon marinade.

My Dijon Chicken Marinade

I don’t typically measure this one, but here’s what I use:

• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder
• Plenty of smoked paprika
• Italian seasoning
• A generous amount of Dijon mustard

The Dijon is important because it helps emulsify the marinade and makes everything cling beautifully to the chicken.

I really load it up with Dijon.

Then the chicken went into the refrigerator to marinate while we went about our afternoon.

The goal was simple: come home and execute dinner, not start planning dinner.

Still Grilling in October

It’s October.

It’s in the 80s.

So apparently we’re still grilling.

And I’m not complaining.

When we got home, I put the chicken on the grill, got the potatoes into the oven and started roasting the vegetables.

I also made corn on the cob.

A very straightforward dinner, but everything was already prepped, which made the whole thing so much easier.

My Trick for Extra-Crispy Smashed Potatoes

I love doing potatoes this way because you get so many crispy edges.

First, I cut the potatoes into smaller pieces and let them soak in water.

This helps remove some of the surface starch.

When I’m ready to cook them, I drain the water and dry the potatoes really well.

That’s important.

If you put wet potatoes into the oven, they’re going to spend time steaming instead of crisping.

Then I toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Into a 400°F oven they go.

Once the potatoes have softened enough, I pull out the pan and smash each piece with the back of a metal measuring cup.

Now instead of having one smooth potato surface, I’ve created all these little craggy edges.

More surface area.

More contact with the hot pan.

More crispy bits.

Then they go back into the oven until they’re beautifully browned.

I also roasted a tray of vegetables in the same oven with olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder, tossing them a couple of times as they cooked.

Dinner Is Served, and So Is Future Dinner

So tonight we had grilled Dijon chicken, crispy smashed potatoes, roasted vegetables and corn on the cob.

Everybody could take whatever combination they wanted.

But the most important part of this dinner wasn’t actually tonight’s dinner.

It’s all the grilled chicken I have left over.

I cooked a big batch because I knew we could use it over the next few days.

Sandwiches.

Salads.

Wraps.

Quick lunches.

Maybe another stir-fry.

And with Project Day tomorrow, having cooked chicken and taco meat waiting in the refrigerator feels especially useful.

So heading into Thursday, we’ve got our projects ready, a bunch of cooked protein, and hopefully a relatively easy afternoon once we get home….Oh! and we always have pizza delivered for lunch on Project Day, so all I have to pack are some sides/snacks!!!