Tasty Thursday: Thanksgiving Post 1

I know I'm a bit late today (loooong day), but here it is!

This week's Tasty Thursday is the Thanksgiving edition, and I've got a few goodies for you!

A few years ago, I tried a version of this recipe that required a whole turkey. The turkey was great, and the leftovers were amazing, but as usual, we didn't eat all of the bird (no one likes dark meat here), and it just seemed that there was a lot of waste. More recently however, we realized that we could order just a turkey breast, getting a whole bunch of white meat, no dark meat, and satisfying everyone at the same time. I was able to adapt the recipe that we've grown to favor, and use it on the breast. This recipe can easily be used on chicken as well, if you're not a big turkey fan.

Garlic Rosemary Turkey Breast

1 or 2 whole, deboned turkey breasts (you have to ask for this at a butcher shop by the way, don't bother with the turkey breasts from the store, if you can even find one)
2-4 garlic cloves, cut in half
Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Fresh sage, finely chopped
1 lemon, halved
Salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a baking dish with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil. Place the breasts, skin side up in the baking dish. Make tiny slits in the skin and insert small pieces of garlic between the skin and the meat. You can use as much or as little as you like. (Too much can be pretty overpowering though, so be careful) Squeeze the lemons over the turkey, and sprinkle with sage, rosemary, salt and pepper (sea salt is great for this, as is a peppermill on a coarse setting). Bake until golden brown, and a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees F. (I strongly recommend getting a good thermometer, because I've never actually timed this, I've always gone by temperature. Though if you asked me, I'd say around an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the thickness, freshness and beginning temperature of the breasts).
Serve with all sorts of goodies, and save some for sandwiches.

**Here is the whole turkey recipe, for those of you that want the whole bird**

Garlic Rosemary Turkey

1 whole turkey (10 to 12 lbs)
6 -8 garlic cloves
2 large lemons, halved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
Salt and pepper

Cut 6-8 small slits in the turkey skin and insert the garlic between the skin and the meat. Squeeze two lemon halves inside the turkey and leave them inside. Squeeze remaining lemon over outside of turkey. Sprinkle turkey with rosemary, sage, salt and pepper. Place on a rack in a roasting pan (not something I've ever done, since I've never gotten around to getting a rack, but the bird will still cook just fine). Bake uncovered at 325 degrees F. for 1 hour. Cover and bake 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours longer or until a meat thermometer reads 185 degrees F. under the thigh.


Don't forget to visit The Pumkin Patch for more great Tasty Thursday Thanksgiving recipes!