J.B.
We use ground turkey more than ground beef. Sometimes I will also ground up chicken breasts using my food processor too.
Favorite recipes are:
Meatloaf
2 lbs. ground turkey or ground chicken
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce (I use the no salt added)or 2 C of marinara (depends if I have any of this made already)
2 egg whites
1/2 C shredded Romano cheese
1/2 C plain dried bread crumbs
1/2 t salt
1 small onion sauteed in water (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 13"x9" pan with foil and spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
In a bowl mix all of the ingredients except the chicken, 1/2 C of the marinara and the onion. In saucepan, saute the onion in water (or nonstick cooking spray if necessary). Mix in the onion thoroughly and then add in the chicken. Mix just until the chicken is combined with the other ingredients.
Form the meat into a meatloaf into a loaf in the pan and then pour the remaining 1/2 C of the marinara along the top. I also sometimes will garnish with a little more Romano cheese for presentation.
Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 5 or 10 minutes. You want the internal meat temperature to read at 165 degrees.
Turkey burgers
2 lbs. ground lean turkey
1 package of Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
Blend all together and either broil, grill, or pan fry in a nonstick cooking spray for the appropriate amount of time to reach 165 degrees internally in the meat. Makes about 8 patties and is really good.
Turkey (or Chicken) Chili
2- 2-Alarm Chili Mix Packages
1 serrano pepper (diced)
1 large jalapeno (diced)- (take out seeds if you want milder)
1 small white or yellow onion (diced)
1 clove minced garlic
4 lbs. lean ground turkey
Brown the meat in a pan. Don't forget to spray the bottom of the pan with nonstick cooking spray first.
In a separate saute pan, saute the peppers, pnion, and garlic. I just add about 1/4 C to 1/2 C of water to the mixture to keep it from sticking to the pan but no oil is needed.
Drain the fat from the meat before you put in the peppers, onion, and garlic mixture as these ingredients aren't on the chili mixture instruction box. Follow the rest of the 2-Alarm chili mixture prep. to complete the recipe.
My husband likes his chili on a bed of white rice but I like mine with just a little shredded cheese. The recipe I provided above is doubled as I make a big pot so he can take for lunch throughout the week and it actually gets better with age.
Good luck.