Christmas in July

It's July 25 and retailers, such as the home shopping channel QVC, are telling me it's Christmas in July.  I'm not ready to buy Christmas presents or decorations, but all this talk about Christmas makes me think about turkey and dressing.  What's a girl to do when she wants turkey and dressing in the middle of summer?  When the craving hits, I pull out a recipe I found years ago called Stuffed Breast of Turkey.  It satisfies the craving without heating up the kitchen roasting a turkey.

The only other ingredient you need is hot water.

Instead of a turkey or turkey breast, this recipe calls for turkey breast cutlets.  If the cutlets come four to a package, you can halve the recipe or buy two packages and cook the whole recipe.  The cutlets are stuffed with packaged cornbread stuffing and covered with jars of turkey gravy so there's no additional cooking required.  The cutlets cook in one hour, unlike a turkey which can take all afternoon.

I've been making this dish for a long time so I want to share some tips I've learned through trial and error over the years.

• You really do need to pound the cutlets.  If you omit this step, the cutlets won't be nearly as tender.

• If you can't find an 8 ounce package of stuffing, use half of a 16 ounce package   The larger package comes in handy if you need more stuffing for the top.

• If you spoon the stuffing down the center of the cutlets, it helps the stuffing stay in place when you roll the cutlets.

The stuffing on the turkey breast cutlet.

The stuffed and rolled turkey breast cutlet.

If you serve this dish to company, be prepared for a lot of accolades.  The dish is not only impressive looking, but looks as though you spent hours in the kitchen.  When you tell your guests it really wasn't that much trouble, they'll think you're being modest!

Stuffed Breast of Turkey

8 Servings

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cornbread stuffing, divided

2/3 cup hot water

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

8 turkey breast cutlets, slightly pounded

2 (12 oz.) jars turkey gravy

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups stuffing, hot water and butter; mix well. Put an equal amount of the stuffing mixture in the center of each cutlet; roll each cutlet tightly.  Place cutlets seam side down in a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish.  Pour gravy over the cutlets and sprinkle the remaining stuffing over the top.  Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake 15 more minutes until heated through and no pink remains in the turkey.

© Margaret's Morsels