I'm really not terribly fond of turkey. It was one thing when it was "special" meat that you had only on Thanksgiving and maybe again at Christmas. But the minute it became The Acceptable Meat For Dieters, it become this boring, usually dry thing that requires either a lot of mayo (if that's your thing) or coleslaw (if it isn't) to make it even remotely palatable.
This is why I enjoy going out to dinner on Thanksgiving. It's just Mr. Brilliant and me, and as I wrote the other day over at our sister blog, I'd rather eat swiss chard with pancetta, brown butter pumpkin gnocchi, couscous salad, whitefish, and olives.
But if you don't have turkey at home, you don't have turkey leftovers, and if that's your thing (or your spouse's), then you have two choices: Either do the whole thing on Friday and have more leftovers than you'll eat in a lifetime, or else spend twelve bucks and let Trader Joe's do it for you.
Like much of what comes out of the freezer case at TJ's, the Turkey Breast With Stuffing is a bit too salty, but it serves the purpose. The turkey tends to come out dry if you heat it up uncovered (as directed) in a conventional oven, and tough if you microwave it. Perhaps partially tenting it is a good way to go, though I haven't tried it.
Heat up some of the Good Trader's mashed potato discs (really good) and a box of his turkey gravy, add a vegetable, and you have a serviceable, if somewhat salty turkey dinner.
I for one am glad that Thanksgiving is over. Now I'm under no pressure to eat any more turkey for a while.
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