AROMATIC TURKEY & RICE ONE PAN DINNER

Does anyone else have those family meals that don’t really have a name they’re just known as “that” dish? Well, we have one in our family that my mom has been making for years and we literally call it “that lamb dish”. In fact, my mother-in-law made me a cool family cookbook for our wedding and one of the recipes in there from my mom was that dish, and the title in the book is…you guessed it, “That Lamb Dish”. Anyways, it’s one of those one pan meals that you crave every so often because the flavor is so distinct and so nostalgic once it becomes part of your repertoire. And the best part is, it works. It works every single time.

For this variation, I changed up a couple of things, mainly because I swapped out turkey instead of the lamb and I had to adjust just a couple of quantities since my mom used to make this for a family of 6 instead of a little household of 2!

I thought about calling this dish the super generic name of North African Turkey & Rice because I THINK maybe that’s what some of these spices could add up to be, but truthfully I felt a little uncomfortable with that random title so instead, it’s aromatic. Becuase it is. It smells as good as it tastes. So without further ado, the recipe!

What I used:

• 1 lb ground turkey thigh
• 1 package trader joe’s frozen jasmine rice
• 1 cup better than boullion turkey stock (you could use chicken stock)
• 3 small zucchinis diced
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 1 14 oz can of tomatoes (I used whole peeled ones and then crushed them by hand, keeping the juice)
• 2/3 of the Spice Blend Below (you could probably use the whole thing, but I used 2/3 and saved the rest for a later date)

Spice Blend:

• 2 Tbsp dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper

How to:

1. Measure out the spices and mix them together in a small bowl
2. Add all of the diced veggies to a hot pan with oil and saute until golden
3. Add in the ground turkey and brown
4. Once the turkey is cooked, add the spices and cook until aromatic and fragrant, mixing in with the veggies and meat
5. Add the tomatoes & mix
6. Add in the package of rice, keep FROZEN if you’re using the Trader Joe’s one or add in 1/2 cup of uncooked rice
7. Add the 1 cup of broth, give it all a big mix. Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes occasionally checking and stirring.
8.