Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Turnip Green Bites

My husband goes to Georgia Blue a lot. One of their trademark dishes is "Turnip Green Bites", and I was so excited to try to make them this week. I was unable to find a recipe for them, but started to look
at pictures and the menu description and found that I had everything on hand to make up a recipe. Since I have been trying to "reuse" my leftovers, I thought this was the perfect dish to use twice. One night last week, I made turnip greens. Then, I turned the leftover turnip greens into Turnip Green Bites.
To make the Turnip Greens, I sautéed Onion and Turkey Bacon (We don't eat Pork) in a tablespoon of butter. Once the bacon was cooked, I added a cup of homemade Chicken Broth and the head of Turnip Greens. I also cut up 2 turnips and added them to the mix. (I used to remainder of the turnips in "Roasted Root Vegetables". I covered them and let the simmer (Medium Heat). Once the liquid was almost gone, they were done. It was a simple and delicious side for our meal. After we ate, I took the rest of the Turnip Greens, put them in the blender and added a half of a block of cream cheese. I blended all together, added breadcrumbs to the mixture, to get it dry enough to roll in a ball. If it is too wet, add breadcrumbs, if too dry, add a little broth. I rolled them in a ball and put them in the freezer. I (accidently) let them freeze to the plate.. so parchment paper might be good. Once they were frozen, I mixed egg and milk together, and rolled them in the egg and milk mixture. Then, I rolled them in the breadcrumbs I had laid out. Once they were covered, I fried them in  a pan filled with oil. Once golden brown, Turn, and put them on a plate with a napkin to soak up the remainder of the grease.
They turned out really good. Here's a picture and a recipe:
Turnip Greens
Head of Turnip Greens (Wash really well)
2 Turnips
4 slices of Turkey Bacon
1/2 Onion
Tablespoon of Butter                                                         
1 Cup of Chicken Broth (I used Homemade)


Turnip Bites

(Leftover) Turnip Greens
Cream Cheese (1/3 Cream Cheese)
Breadcrumbs
1 Egg
1 Cup of Milk

To Make Turnip Greens:

1. Cut up slices of Turkey Bacon and Onion. Melt Tablespoon of Butter, and sautee turkey bacon and onion in butter until brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Add a cup of broth and turnip greens.  Stir and cover, letting simmer for about 10 minutes. Most of the liquid will be gone. Once the liquid is gone, they are done. Add salt as needed. (If you use regular bacon, you probably won't need too much salt).

To Make Turnip Bites

1. Take the turnip greens and put in blender. Once blended, Add cream cheese, and blend. Then, add breadcrumbs to make it drier. You want it dry enough to roll in a ball. Once I rolled them in a ball, I put them on parchment paper and put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes. This way, they are easier to handle when you are breading them.
2. Pour about 1 inch of oil into the pan, over medium heat. To bread them, I used one egg, and 1 cup of milk (Egg mixture) , and 1 cup of breadcrumbs. I dipped them in the egg mixture and then dipped them in the breadcrumbs.
3. Be sure the oil is hot enough, and I put them about 6 at a time. I fried them until they were brown, about 5 minutes, and turn over. Put them on a plate with a napkin, and serve with Ranch or "Kumbac" Sauce.


CSA: Week 2

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). I am excited to be supporting local farmers and providing fresh veggies to the family. I have found that we get in a rut of eating the same stuff, so I pay a small fee, and get a bunch of new veggies to try.

This week, my box had:

-Arugula
- Green Onion
- Turnip
-White Turnips
-Radishes
- Mustard Greens
- Dill

With it, I made:

- Salad
- Turnip Greens
- Turnip Green Bites (Georgia Blue Knockoff)
- Bok Choy Stir Fy
- Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables
- Chicken Soup

I will update as the week goes with the recipes. The one I am most excited about was the Turnip Green Bites!