Whaaat’s happenin’…
![lumbergh[1]](http://iowagirleats.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/lumbergh1.jpg "lumbergh[1]")
Not much going on here except, oh yeah, we’re making history in the IGE household… A bag of Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels has lasted an ENTIRE WEEK in our pantry without being completely demolished!
How has this even happened? One will never know. I made up for lost time by having some as a snack while I cooked dinner tonight. 
Vegetarian Teriyaki Fried Rice!
Made with more Trader Joe’s goodies – like this Extra Firm Tofu.
This extra firm ‘fu blows all other extra firm ‘fus out of the water! I only pressed the block for 10 minutes or so and it came out insanely firm!
Not only does extra extra firm tofu make for good eats, but it’s great to cook with too. Falls apart less = happy chef.
I started my fried rice by heating up some Trader Joe’s Sesame Soy Ginger Vinaigrette in a skillet. This stuff is awesome for marinades, stir fry’s etc. If you don’t have a TJ’s near you I’d use teriyaki sauce (notice previously mentioned snackeage in the background…)
I sautéed the tofu in the vinaigrette until it got a little color.
About 1-2 minutes.
Took the tofu out and put the sesame oil in! Just a couple dashes.
Once the oil heated up, I added one serving brown rice, which I added some chopped broccoli to during the last 2-3 minutes of cooking, some sweet corn and the tofu into the skillet.
Sirfry, stirfry, stirfry!
Stirred in a couple more tablespoons of the vinaigrette, and a splash of soy sauce, then I created a well in the center of the pan.
In went a few more dashes of sesame oil,
then a whisked egg.
Scrambled until set and serrrrved! 
Sweet, salty, and fabu textures! Fried rice is especially great because you can pretty much just put whatever you want in it. Got some leftover steak and veggies in the fridge? Throw ‘em in. The more the merrier!
In other news, I humbly present to you my entree recipe for the Breakstone’s Triple Churned Sour Cream Blogger Challenge – Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast with Creamy Wild Rice Stuffing!
In case you’ve just tuned in, I’m in a contest to incorporate Breakstone’s Triple Churned Sour Cream into three family-favorite Holiday/Thanksgiving dishes. My appetizer is Sweet & Spicy Pepper Jelly Dip and I’ll be posting my dessert recipe, Pumpkin Spice Whoopie Pies, on Sunday!
I’m up against 2 other bloggers for the win and voting starts next Monday. I’ll fill you in on the deets later! Until then, enjoy this twist on the star of the Thanksgiving day table: Turkey!
Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast with Creamy Wild Rice Stuffing
Serves 4.
Bacon Wrapped Turkey:
1 10oz boneless, skinless turkey breast
Salt & pepper
6 slices center cut bacon
Stuffing:
1 6oz package wild rice mix
2 Tablespoons butter
1 rib celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons dried cranberries
2 Tablespoons walnut pieces
1/2 cup sour cream
Directions:
1. Prepare wild rice mix according to package directions. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat and sauté celery and onion until soft, about 6 minutes.
2. Add dried cranberries, walnut pieces and sour cream to the skillet. Heat until sour cream has melted then add cooked wild rice and stir to combine. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butterfly turkey breast by slicing horizontally across the length of the breast, being careful not to cut all the way through, and open like a book. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top and pound until 1/2 inch thick.
4. Season butterflied turkey breast with salt & pepper, then mound 1 cup wild rice mixture onto one side of the breast, leaving 1/2 inch clear around the edge. Fold the other side over and secure with toothpicks.
5. Lay 6 slices of bacon out on a cutting board. Place the stuffed turkey breast in the middle and fold bacon slices over, trimming any overlapping pieces.
6. Place bacon wrapped turkey breast on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes or until internal stuffing temperature reaches 160 degrees.
7. Allow turkey breast to rest for 10 minutes. Remove toothpicks, slice and serve!
These days, the size of my family’s Thanksgiving fluctuates. With a little brother in Colorado and a sister-in-law whose family live in another state – it’s getting harder and harder to get everyone around the same table on the same day.
By roasting turkey breast instead of a whole bird, you still get the tastes of turkey day, but with a whole lot less effort – and fewer leftovers too (which, I guess, may or may not be a good thing! 
)
Now, I’m a huge fan of sauce. Sauce of any kind really…I just think it adds a little somethin’ somethin’, know what I mean? Try drizzling this Cranberry Chutney over your stuffed turkey slices – it’s sensational!
And ridiculously easy!
Cranberry Chutney
Ingredients:
1 14oz can whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 small Granny Smith apple, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled
Juice of 1 orange
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
That’s it! Combine and boil!
American style chutneys usually incorporate fruit, sugar and vinegar (thanks Wikipedia) and my recipe also adds exotic flavors like ginger and garam masala into the mix. So good – give it a try, will ya’?
Voting is now open and I’d so love your support!!!
With that – I’m to enjoy my FAVORITE night of the week. That’d be Thursday – the last day of my work week and 30 Rock/The Office night!
See ya’!
~~~~~
Do you live close to your family? Have you ever hosted Thanksgiving dinner?
I’m lucky to live less then a MILE from my parents and my brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew also live nearby. My little brother is in Colorado 
my in-laws are in D.C. and my extended family is all in Ohio!
Ah I love those peanut butter pretzels! I go to college about an hour away from my family (literally my ENTIRE family)- so it’s nice, just the right balance
Your dinner looks great!! I need a tofu press.
I have an extremely small family, and most are out of town. Thanksgiving usually is just about 7 or 8 people at my house. But this year ALL the relatives are flying in for a big thanksgiving bash! I’m so excited..haven’t seen some in 10 years!
I can’t believe those TJ’s pretzels made it a whole week. I’m completely addicted to them now. And have you to thank…(or maybe curse.
And good luck in your contest. That looks amazing!!
I chuckled like a middle schooler at the phrase “insanely firm.” Thanks for the smile! Also, that chutney sounds amazing! I’m trying to think of other ways to use it, since we’re not really meat eaters in this house.
All of your food looks so delish! I’m hosting this year, but I’ve got lots of help. I’m lucky because my fam lives close!
My parents are in Massachusetts (and I live in Iowa) so I dont usually make it home for turkey day. Luckily my boyfriends family is happy to have me.
I live about 50 miles from my parents, but with the DC/Baltimore traffic it can take up to 3 hours to get home. Crazy huh?
I love reading your TJ reviews, those peanut butter pretzels are soo addictive. They need a disclaimer!
My boyfriend’s and my families are both in Iowa, while I’m in Northern Virginia and he recently moved to Central NY. Last year he and I had a quiet, but food infested, Thanksgiving together here, and we’re planning to do the same this year although we might invite a few friends over.
Have you considered coming out here to visit Ben’s parents? You could have an IGE happy hour; you seem to have a lot of readers out here.
I’m so addicted to the TJs pretzels… mmmmmm.
I’m lucky that my parents are only about 30 minutes away and the hubby’s parents are in the same state (though the opposite side of it.) The rest of my fam is a different story though. A trip down I-65 can hit just about all of ‘em though
I made my first trip EVER to Trader Joe’s today! It was fabulous! I got some awesome loot including those PB stuffed pretzels! And I got the orange chicken you made the other night!
My parents, grandparents, brother, sister (and brother-in-law and niece) and most of my aunts/uncles all live within 30 miles of me. My littlest brother is away at college at UND so he is the farthest – I think like 5 hours away. I am very blessed to have my family so close! The in-laws are scattered around Minnesota and Texas.
i love those pretzels! yum! and the eats look fantastic as usual. i’ve never hosted thanksgiving. we live 2 hrs from my parents and sister, and 5 hrs from my husband’s family but it’s all drivable so it’s not as bad as it could be.
You have me completely hungry now! Yum! Believe it or not, I STILL haven’t made it down to Trader Joe’s. I need to as I am hearing nothing but amazing things about all they have!
Ahh, my boyfriend would seriously love you for that bacon!
Verynice. I’m so ready for Thanksgiving!
Have you tried the chocolate covered peanutbutter filled pretzels from trader joe’s??they are AMAZING! I just got my bag two days ago and it’s almost gone…
I am loving your method for cooking fried rice. I need to make this more often. I always forget how easy and delicious fried rice can be.
Love the THanksgiving recipes. I’ve been doing some research as to what I want to bring to the table this year. Thanks for some great ideas hun!
Since the vast majority of my family’s in Ohio, we rarely have Thanksgiving with them (9 times out of 10, I have to work the day after anyway). We’ll have a meal with my in-laws (they live in town), but that usually hinges on when my sister-in-law & her family have the time to drive up from Omaha. After we got married, my husband & I decided that we’d do our own Thanksgiving just for us on Thanksgiving Day itself. It makes for a lot less stress (at least for me!) since I just view it as me cooking a slightly fancier/more labor-intensive dinner!
Holy delicious. This looks so good!!
I am quite lucky to live close to my family. I can’t imagine ever moving away from them!
I live close to the Trader Joe’s in St. Paul and love it! I tend to buy the same things though so I really enjoy reading your reviews of their products and hope for more to come to give me new ideas of what to try
BTW, their organic red grapes and organic strawberries are the best around.
I live about 5 hours away from my family (they are in SD). I wish I was closer but at least it is within a weekend visit distance. My bf’s family lives in Omaha so we have to split holidays with our families.
I’m hosting my first Thanksgiving this year. Getting nervous, but I have mapped out the menu and shopping list already. And I made a sweet centerpiece last night – haha. Let’s hope all goes well and we don’t end up eating take out
P.S. Totally stealing your Cranberry Chutney. Thanks!
That turkey looks amazing, Kristin! What a great recipe idea. You always have great ones!
I don’t have any family in town but my FIL, BIL, SIL and neice and nephew are nearby. My family all lives about 5 and 1/2 hours away so we don’t see them all that often.
As for Thanksgiving, we have been traveling for the past 5 years and have enjoyed turkey on another continent.
That looks amazing!! I cannot wait to make it.
I like less an a mile from my parents, but the husband’s family lives over 3 hours away, so it always makes the holidays a little stressful
TGIF!!! Your bacon turkey roll looks awesome! I just wish I had more time to cook like that… I have to keep it super simple and super fast ’round these parts.
I live 1000 miles from family, but I have lots of friends and my daughter. My family visits because I live in So. Cal and they like it visit!
I am looking forward to T-day this year because I am leaving it to the restaurant! Wheeee…. I haven’t done that in years!
The turkey and the cranberry chutney? Look awesome!
We live 30 minutes from my BIL, SIL, and niece, an hour and a half from my father, and 3.5 hours from my MIL and grandparents-in-law (and about half a country away from my FIL). Before my mother died, we skipped Thanksgiving with my parents (since it was never a big deal in our family) and just celebrated with his side of the family. But now that my mother’s gone, I feel more of a need to make sure that my dad is included in the holiday. So we’ll be heading to see the ILs on Wednesday afternoon, returning Thursday evening, and then my father will spend the weekend with us. (Last year, we traveled to see both sides, but we were in the middle of moving into our new house and weren’t ready to entertain.)
So … I’ll be hosting my first Thanksgiving this year. Along with my father, we’ll have a couple of friends who have been staying with us since September. That’s a total of five. Dad doesn’t do turkey and initially asked for steak and potato salad for dinner! (I said Thanksgiving wasn’t a big deal on my side!) I’ve negotiated to beef tenderloin and baked potatoes. I still feel a bit left out of all the turkey talk, as I’m not doing a turkey.
I’m about 3 1/2 hours from my family, my boyfriend is pretty far from his. This year will be our first hosting for his family at our place and my first time with them for a holiday. Kinda nervous!
[...] I mixed it with savory wild rice and stuffed it in a bacon wrapped turkey breast for my Bacon Wrapped Turkey Breast with Creamy Wild Rice Stuffing [...]
I used your turkey recipe for our Thanksgiving today and LOOOVED it!! The bacon makes all the difference. That, along with your roasted brussels sprouts = perfection. Thank you, thank you for the lovely recipes–I am most definitely thankful to have IGE in my life! Hope you’re enjoying your day!
You bet! I’m so thankful you liked it!
I made the cranberry chutney for Thanksgiving today and it was FABULOUS!
YAY! So glad you liked it! Here’s my fave way to use it for leftovers!
http://iowagirleats.com/2010/11/02/can-i-get-a-helllll-yeah/