"Thank You" Turkey Cakes (AIP Compliant)

I didn't even bother taking a picture of these. They're brown and green and lumpy and bumpy....but tasty enough that my son David declared them "amazing!!"

So, if you're jonesing for the reminiscent comfort of a hearty turkey dinner, these might help you out some.

On to the recipe!

2-ish lbs Jerusalem artichokes
2-3 broccoli crowns (depending on size)
1 lb ground turkey
1/4 c chopped cooked bacon
Spoonful of bacon grease
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 tsp. salt

Clean the Jerusalem artichokes REALLY WELL. This is tedious, and you may have to bust knobs off of them to get to all the dirt pockets. Cut them up so the pieces are small-ish and the skin does not encircle any piece (or they won't cook evenly and will refuse to smash.) Boil for about 20 minutes, then drain.

Cut the broccoli crowns up and boil for 8-10 minutes. You are aiming for smushy. Drain well, then dress with bacon grease.

In a large bowl, season the ground turkey with the salt and seasoning. Add the bacon. Don't omit the poultry seasoning - it is THE flavor for this recipe.

Smash up the Jerusalem artichokes and the broccoli, and add them to the meat and smoosh it all up together well. You might need to use your hands, because the broccoli bits like to crawl up the side of the bowl.

Heat oven to 375° F. Line two half-sheet baking pans with parchment and scoop out well-packed balls of mixture with a 4 oz. scoop. (I got mine at Gordon's Food Service. The pans, too, for that matter.) Flatten the balls slightly into patties, about 1/2"-5/8" thick.

Bake for 50 minutes. I rotate my pans in the oven about halfway through.

Once they're done, you can either serve them immediately, or cool and freeze them for ready meals.

Basically, I decided to explore this concept because I hate coming up with complete meals. Especially when on my Paleo Autoimmune Protocol diet. So I thought - if I could make a patty, kind of like a burger or a crab cake, that was AIP compliant and contained root veggies, green veggies, and meat all in one, that would be the ultimate convenience!

This recipe is #3 in the AIP Ready Meals series. More to come!

- Stell