I am a big fan of crock pot cookery — especially since I got my new crock pot with the removable, uh, ceramic crock? It’s great because I don’t have to try and soap it all out and what-not without getting the cord all wet and damaged. Just lift the ceramic part out, rinse and into the dishwasher with it! Ha!
Another nice thing about crock pot cooking is the pour-everything-in-and-then-leave modus operandi. That can be nice. Especially if you set it all up in the morning and come home to a wonderful smelling house and a hot, tasty dinner.
This recipe is kind of based on one from Mable Hoffman’s Crockery Cookery but I’ve added and changed some stuff (surprise!) Actually, I’ve changed a lot but it still has turkey, sour cream and wine.
I think browning the turkey first gives it more flavor, as does sautéing some onions, garlic and mushrooms. Originally, the recipe called for leeks and watercress. I had neither. I really didn’t let that stop me. Here’s what I did.
Turkey and Arugula Over Noodles:
1 1/2 tsp Better than Bouillon chicken base, or one cube low-sodium chicken bouillon
1 tbsp olive oil
1 pckg skinless turkey breast tenders or about 3/4 – 1 lb of skinless turkey breast
1 big handful arugula leaves (uh, about 1 cup loosely packed)
12-15 button mushrooms, halved
1 small onion, sliced into rings, then halved
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp corn starch
1/2 non-fat (or low-fat) sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Cooked noodles or parpardelle pasta, buttered and with a litle chopped parsley
Heat olive oil in a large pan or skillet and sauté onions, garlic and mushrooms over medium heat until they get a little golden, 6-7 minutes.
Add to crock pot with the bouillon paste (or crushed cube) and cover with arugula leaves. Return pan to high heat. Salt and pepper turkey breasts very lightly (there’s already salt in the bouillon). Add a bit more olive oil if needed and add turkey breasts. Sear on each side (about 2 minutes each).
Lay turkey in crock pot over the arugula. Pour wine over turkey and cover. Cook on High for 4 hours. You could also probably do it on Low for 8 hours, but I didn’t try doing that, so experiment with that option if you’d like. Also, after about 2 hours, I lifted off the lid and kind of submerged the turkey under all the wine/juices, then replaced the lid. I’m probably not supposed to lift the lid off and let heat escape, but oh well. It turned out fine.
After cooking time, remove turkey and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep pot on High. Stir cornstarch into sour cream and add to crock pot. Mix in with the wine, juices and onions/mushrooms. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
To serve, I placed the pasta on a platter, put the turkey down on top and covered it all with the sauce. On the side, a big green salad (spinach or more arugula works well, with an oil and vinegar dressing).
The arugula made the sauce slightly greenish (it breaks down while cooking) and a bit peppery/spicy. The sauce was also all creamy due to the sour cream, which is always a plus in my book.
And hey, check out the turkey moistness! It just kind of fell apart.
That looks seriously delicious and, yes, VERY moist! Yum!
Can I ask what kind of crock pot you have? I got the beautiful new All-Clad one for Christmas but ended up returning it, as it was way too big (7 quarts). I’ve read conflicting reviews of Rival, Hamilton Beech, West Bend, etc. cookers, and am not sure which to buy. I’d love to know you think of yours, and if you have any recommendations about what to look for when buying one.
Thanks!
Okay, I just went and looked. 🙂
It is indeed a Rival, this very one in fact. It’s 4-quart which is very nice size for 2 people (with lunch-leftovers for the next day).
I’ve actually been pretty happy with it. I’ve used it a few times (I just got this one about 6 months ago). I love the “lift-out” feature and there’s a Low, High, and Warm setting.
Probably size and ease of cleaning up influenced me the most on this one. Oh, and price. I got it for about the same price as Amazone is showing, but at Fry’s.
Oh and I like red.
If all crockpot cooking looked that good, I think more people would be fans of crockpots!
My compliments to the chef!
Just bought a crock pot last week at Costco. Your recipe will break it in nicely this weekend.
Couple of questions:
1. How many pics do you take, that we don’t see?
2. Do you knit?
;~)
Ivonne: Thanks! Yes, this one was especially aesthetic looking on the screeen. I love it when that happens (and the food actually tastes good too).
Marci: Have fun with your crock pot!
1. Hmmm, sometimes a lot. Sometimes I get many blurry shots if I’m not holding steady when I take the pic and also a lot of lens-covered-in-steam shots. It really depends. I probably take about 10 pictures (on average) of each thing I post about. Some are a lot more (for instance if I have a lot of pictures of different steps), some less (if there’s only 1-2 pics posted).
I was thinking it would be fun one day to post a bunch of blurry/steamy/unattractive pics I’ve taken and also pictures and descriptions of recipes that didn’t turn out so well.
2. I wish. I want to learn how, as I really love yarn and hats and afghans. I do crochet though!
I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had time to check back for your crock-pot recommendations. Thanks so very much! Four-quart sounds just around the size I would need. I will head on over to Amazon to check it out!