The northeastern part of the country had a cooler and rainier summer than usual, so I am feeling like we got gypped, particularly since the temperature plummeted right after Labor Day. So as I pack away swimsuits and shorts, bemoaning all the summer activities we didn't get to, I am also looking forward to turning my oven on whenever I please and the aromas of cinnamon and pumpkin and beginning to plan for the holidays.
This month, Allrecipes was also saying goodbye to summer with 3 new challenges for us. Bison, Butterball Turkey, and Sunday Supper.
I am no marketing maven, but I would have to guess the Bison campaign was very successful. All of the Ambassadors I interacted with really liked the bison meat product we tried, from Bison Bacon through roasts and steaks to Bison Pepperoni. The most common comments were about how tender the meat is even though it has a lower fat content than the comparable cut of beef. I was assigned the pepperoni and very pleasantly surprised. I can take or leave standard pepperoni and if I take it is is in very small quantities. The Bison Pepperoni was mildly spiced, but very flavorful, reminding me more of summer sausage. I was assigned this recipe
And while we enjoyed it, I kept thinking Bleu Cheese would work better than Feta, so I remade the salad changing the dressing and adding more elements to make it a light meal.
I saved some of the Pepperoni and have ideas for using it for football snacks.
Turkey is another thing I can take or leave. I have been known to serve Leg of Lamb in its place for Thanksgiving. But Butterball posted some recipes that make me rethink turkey. I started with http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Maple-Basted-Roast-Turkey-with-Cranberry-Pan-Gravy/Detail.aspx
Now I know my family will only eat the white meat so I had my butcher pre-cut the bird for me leaving me with what is known as a hotel style breast roast, legs and wings for me to smoke and use in other recipes and the rest of the carcass which will make several soups.
The leftovers from my roasted breast made an unusually delicious sandwich, which left me wishing I had reserved a few more slices of meat for another, but I don't have to wait until I roast another turkey - I can buy it in the deli! How neat is that? http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cranberry-Thanksgiving-Turkey-Sandwich/Detail.aspx
I also made a great luncheon salad from some of the leftovers. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Mediterranean-Turkey-Pasta-Salad/Detail.aspx
And wait! There's more! One more use: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Southwestern-Turkey-Soup/Detail.aspx
This was beyond a doubt one of the most economical purchases I have made recently. Six of us dined on the original roast, I made 2 generous sandwiches, salad for two, and soup for two - a total of twelve generous servings, and I still have the rest of the bird frozen for future use.
We'll see what Sunday Supper looked like in another post.
Disclaimer: I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com. Products received from advertisers are only used for experienced-based reviews by BigShotsMom. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely that of BigShotsMom.
