Healthify Me! “Healthified” Hot turkey sandwiches
When I asked on Facebook for family, friends and fans to let me know what recipes they would like “healthified” this was one of the requests, and a great one! Hot turkey sandwiches were the first leftover turkey meal my parents would make for us growing up. It was so good and comforting, the bread sop’s up all of the gravy, the turkey is hot and tender, it is just delicious! Hot turkey gravy over mashed potatoes is another great variation, you can keep it gluten free that way. Or serve it over mashed sweet potatoes to keep it Paleo! My favorite variation? Pork roast…ah, this makes the best “gravy” in my opinion!
This isn’t really a recipe, it is more of a technique. Your “gravy” is actually pureed vegetables that have roasted under your meat of choice. It makes a thick, rich, delicious sauce that is a little bit sweet and savory, a perfect healthy sauce. I have also included a recipe for traditional gravy, healthified, if you would rather have the traditional gravy made with some flour (whole grain flour in this case). Give it a try! You will need an immersion blender for this, I HIGHLY suggest you pick one up! They are great. Otherwise you will need to transfer the hot vegetables and liquid to a blender…if you do this, be careful!
Roast of your choice – turkey tenderloins, turkey breast, pork loin roast
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1/4 cup white wine
1 bay leaf
2 Tb healthy oil/fat of your choice
Seasonings for the roast of your choice (dried thyme, garlic, salt and pepper are my favorites)
Coat the bottom of a large oven proof skillet with the oil. *Optional tip – if you’re using a pork roast I recommend browning the roast completely before baking* Layer the vegetables in the bottom. Put the meat on top, add the wine and bay leaf. Bake until done (turkey tenderloins take about 30 minutes in a 425 oven, pork roast, 3 lb takes almost an hour). Check the liquid level half way through cooking, if there is not much liquid add about 1 cup of water. When finished roasting, remove the meat to a cutting board, discard bay leaf. Using your immersion blender, blend the vegetables with the juices until smooth. Taste and adjust your seasoning.
To assemble the sandwiches layer on top of good quality, whole grain or sprouted grain bread, slices of your roast and a lovely bathing of your gravy. Or, use a bed of mashed potatoes as your vessel of choice.
To make a traditional gravy, simply heat 2 tb healthy oil/fat of your choice in a saucepan over medium heat. Add 2 tb whole wheat flour, whisk until smooth. Let this cook about one minute then add 3 cups of homemade turkey or chicken stock (or a good quality, preservative free organic variety). Bring to a boil, that is it!
Enjoy!
Check out the video on Youtube: http://youtu.be/o5j9-TNrhRg or on this page!
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