Kiddo Turkey Steaks

This is my recipe for a meat dish that these kids love.  And by love I mean it is gone quickly and they ask for more!  It is a simple Salisbury Steak type recipe that only takes a few ingredients and very little time.

Turkey Steaks

1 pound ground turkey
1 egg
1 small onion chopped (or a teaspoon of onion soup mix, or minced onion)
1 beef bullion cube (or 1 teaspoon granules) dissolved in 3/4 cup water

Mix turkey, egg and onion.  Sometimes I do this ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator.  Shape into patties and brown over high heat in skillet, drain off any fat.  Pour in bullion and simmer uncovered for 5-6 minutes, turning patties to soak up some juice. 

That's it!  Next to turkey dogs, this is the favorite meat at the day care.  Shaun doesn't think it's bad either.  I usually have meat left over that I take home for supper.  So it's a win win for me!

I had actually mixed in some sausage too today.  It is very forgiving.

I heat the water to help the bullion dissolve better.

Turn once or twice.  If the juice cooks too long it will cook down.

 

 Got to love that Monsters Inc mac-n-cheese!  I'm more of a Spongebob MNC myself.

 

 Not an unclean plate in the house!

 Dig those sweet incentives!  Chopped apple with rainbow sprinkles.

Sweet Incentives

Sometimes it is difficult to get a kid to clean their plate.  Maybe there is too much on their plate or maybe it is just something they don't like or are afraid to try.  Around here, I try and keep lunches in the realm of what the kids will eat.  Pretty much bite sized foods including a meat, vegetable and fruit.  But even when there are items on their lunch trays that they like they still won't eat it all. 

Most of the time I offer a dessert after lunch.  It is usually something like sugar free jello or applesauce.  Even that sometimes doesn't work to get the plates cleared.  Until recently.

I had the idea of letting them see the dessert.  I spoon out the desserts in little cups before lunch.  Then I place them on a pretty plate, along with the spoons.  I put the dessert plate in the middle of the table, just out of reach but definitely not out of eye sight, where it can be seen throughout the entire meal as something that they want but know they have to finish lunch to get.  For the last two weeks this has worked like a charm.  I even used bananas in cups with rainbow sprinkles on top.  Something that would have normally been on their plates (minus the sprinkles) but eaten first over the green beans.

At first, I went easy on them.  "Ok, two more bites and you can have the dessert."  Still leaving food.  (By the way, I don't overload the plates to start with)  By the end of last week I still felt like I was being too easy.  So this week I got a little tougher and said "plates have to be cleared before dessert" and it still worked.  Clean plates.  Vegetables, fruit and all was gone.  Since this trick, no one has gone without the treat at the end of our meal.  They see it, they want it.

 That blue jello is just beautiful!

 Just out of reach.

 Almost done!

Aahhh, a clean plate!