Low Fat Turkey Option for Thanksgiving

Found this while searching for something new for the Thanksgiving Holidays... Enjoy! Parmesan-crusted Turkey Cutlets Start to finish: 35 minutes (15 minutes active) Servings: 4 Olive oil cooking spray 1 pound turkey breast cutlets 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 2/3 cup unseasoned bread crumbs 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 large egg whites Place a rack in the top third of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Set a wire rack on a baking sheet and coat the rack lightly with cooking spray. Brush both sides of the turkey breast cutlets with mustard. In a pie plate or other shallow dish, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley and pepper. In another bowl, whisk egg whites until frothy and opaque. Dip each cutlet into the beaten egg whites, then in the bread crumb mixture. Place the cutlets on the prepared rack over the baking sheet. Discard any remaining bread crumb mixture. Coat the top of each cutlet with cooking spray, turn the cutlets over and spray again. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the crumb coating is golden brown and crisp and the turkey is no longer pink at the center. Nutrition information per serving: 244 calories; 4 g fat (2 g saturated); 75 mg cholesterol; 13 g carbohydrate; 35 g protein; 1 g fiber; 374 mg sodium.

Steve! I am going veggie for this Thanksgiving, as I ahve had cheese lasagna for the last 5 and my boyfriend said "not if I am cooking this Thanksgiving!"....I am a lacto ovo pesco vegetarian (I eat dairy, eggs, and fish)....so my options are limited. So, I am going to get a Quorn "Turkey Breast"....it's a groovy fungi found in England that they add spices to and has the same texture as turkey to it...we shall see! I told him that was fine as long as I had veggie gravy to go with it! Good news is it is REALLY high in protein!!! www.quorn.com Best, Megan

Hmmmmm... now the cheese lasagna is sounding good to me... So you're another one who is relinquishing control of the cooking for Thanksgiving, huh? I don't think I'll be doing that - too much of a control freak am I. Quorn sounds interesting - I've recently had a mushroom "burger" and it tasted fantastic. Does your BF not eat meats of any kind? It must be TERRIFICALLY difficult to get all the protein in that you need without eating any meats. I was happy to find out that there are 35 grams of protein in the turkey cutlet. Anyway, I have the same challenges that you do - I'm a lacto ovo pesco vegetarian as well... um... except for the occasional turkey, chicken and beef dishes. My rule is that I'll only eat those on days that end in the letter Y. So I guess I'll have to be faithful to my carnivorous nature seeing as how I actually am an animal and stick with the turkey cutlets... But I hope that you and your boyfriend enjoy the Quorn - and each other. And I hope that we all remember, on this day of giving thanks, to thank OURSELVES for giving us back our lives!!! Steve

Turkey day shall remain the same around here. But, I'm definitely reserving a breast or two to try the new recipe Steve. Maybe when they are having turkey sandwiches (bastages), I shall dine on the yummy parmesan breasts. Have to admit, the turkey sandwiches are my favorite part of Thanksgiving, along with the fruit salad. So, I'm actually going to be okay, if I omit the "bread" and replace it with a cutlet, instead. The only change, per se, is I'm not baking a ton of freaking pies this year. They get one, and one only. So they better choose wisely, or I'm making pumpkin and they are screwed (as they all hate pumpkin).

Heather, you just gained several notches on my "coolest people I know" list with your "Johnny Dangerously" reference (bastages). But, for a bonus notch, can you name the character (not his real name, but the character's name) who used the term in the movie? And I thought I had tried every type of pie that there was... never heard of a "freakin pie". Do you peel and boil the freakins or do you buy them skinless in the store?

Believe it was Roman Moroni. Been ages since I saw the movie. Hehe.. we play online MMORPGs around here, so we have quite the terminology that comes from movies and gaming usage.

Winnah Winnah, Chicken-Dinnah... I'm coming to you the next time the conversation stalls with "...what was that guy that was in that movie that time...?"

Steve: Well said! I do think it's a day about appreciating what we have, so it should be fun. My bf was a professional chef for 6 yrs before selling out and getting an IT degree, so he is fully qualified to make the Quorn....and he even makes his own sauces, so I should be sitting pretty with the gravy dealio. And, no, he is a meat eater from Minnesota's North Woods....so I have turned his meat-eating world upside down, and he LOVES it! He enjoyed a wide variety of foods before he met me, he now just had the excuse to eat them more regularly. He actually delights in how we are going to make things work with my dietary needs, so it's been kind of fun to date him post operatively. Anyhoo...have a GREAT day, and if anyone comes up with a healthy veggie gravy, I am ALL EARS!!! Best, Megan

Looking at your wonderful visage, I can imagine that the reason you've turned his world upside down has more to do with the beauty and love that you've brought to his life than with your food choices... He's a lucky guy and you can tell him that I said so!!! And, by the by, I think that the only place you could find a healthy "gravy" would be in Superman's Bizarro World... but if you find one, lemme in on the secret, K?

Steve: Aren't you a sweetie! Thanks...I guess it may have something to do with me, yeah? Bue, I can say that he does *love* the creative ideas I come up with to snag protein, and I love that he is so open....you just can't know....MN is a very pro meat state! I am still searching for a veggie gravy...more to come on that!!! It may end up being a sauce as opposed to gravy M P.S. Here is one that looks promising! Vegetarian Gravy: Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 30 Minutes Yields: 10 servings "Cornstarch or flour can be used to thicken this vegan sauce, whi*****orporates onion, garlic, sage, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast." INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup chopped onion 5 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 4 teaspoons nutritional yeast 4 tablespoons light soy sauce 2 cups vegetable broth 1/2 teaspoon dried sage 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper DIRECTIONS: 1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and garli****il soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth. Season with sage, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.