the treadmill diaries

This time of year, all of us can get our hands on quite a bit of turkey for a pretty reasonable price.  So I decided to get some recipes going featuring this protein ahead of the Turkey Day schedule.

Last week, I gave Panko Turkey Cutlets a shot.  My every day beef, pork & chicken cutlets (Italian-style of course) are usually a big hit with the family.  I was curious to see how this dish would fare. 

To get started, you’ll need these ingredients: 1 lb turkey cutlets, ½ egg whites, 1 cup panko seasoned bread crumbs, 1/3 c wheat flour, 2 tsp paprika, salt/pepper to taste, cooking spray, 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 roma tomatoes diced, 2 cloves of garlic minced, ½ tsp red crushed pepper, and a fennel bulb thinly sliced.

Let’s get the cooking going by prepping our cutlets and readying the stove or oven. If you prefer to bake these to cut down on the fat, preheat your oven to 375 degrees (this is what I did). Or if you prefer the traditional frying method in cooking spray/olive oil, heat your pan to medium-high heat.

You’ll need 3 bowls filled with flour for dredging, egg whites for dipping, and panko breadcrumbs for coating.

Then, simply take your turkey through this 3 step process.

Stack your cutlets on top of each other on a big plate until you’re ready to cook them up. (If needed, they could be prepped ahead of time, refrigerated and used later in the day). Then, place them either on a cooking sheet to bake (7-10 minutes per side) or fry them up in a pan ( 3-5 minutes) with cooking spray or oil.

While the cutlets are doing their cooking thing, heat up your olive oil and cooking spray in a pan at medium –high heat. Add your fennel slices and sauté for 3-5 minutes until softened. Then, pour in your tomatoes and garlic and continue cooking for 5 or so minutes until ready.

When the cutlets are finished cooking, place them on top of the fennel and tomato mixture and you’re now ready to serve them up.

We heaped the cutlet, tomatoes, and fennel in a pile over ½ cup of Jasmine rice to make a tasty meal combination. The panko breadcrumbs really brought an extra crunch to this dish – much more so than my usual cutlets. Though I prefer the old school Italian version, this was still a great midweek dinner recipe because it was easy to pull together and had some really good flavor.