Turkey Legs & Rice Casserole

Hi! Are you wondering why I’m here on a Sunday?

This wonderful girl named Paola, author of World on a Plate, asked me to consider joining her cooking group, World on a Plate, once a month by cooking up something from my neck of the woods. Or my ex neck of the woods, but always in my heart neck of the woods, Macedonia. I had to accept. Anything to talk about my home country and about its awesomely delicious food.

World on a Plate is a monthly blogging cultural exchange where a group of bloggers from different corners of the world get together once a month to “interpret a food through the lens of their home country cooking”.

For this month’s challenge, and I call it a challenge because Macedonia and turkey (the bird) are two very different concepts, the group decided on a turkey for obvious reasons.

Um. What? I don’t remember my grandma serving a turkey. I know my Mom does, but that’s only because we moved here to the States. Before that she didn’t even know that turkeys were edible. Her words, not mine.

After some “what am I gonna make… who should I ask, where will I go…”, a light bulb went off! Bela Tava! Repeat Bella Ta-Va. Which means, White Casserole. Normally you would make this with chicken drumsticks, but I’ve added turkey legs instead. So, it’s Turkey Legs and Rice Casserole instead of chicken drumsticks. I hope my ancestors aren’t turning in their graves because of that switch up. Sorry guys.

Surprisingly, this was very very good. The turkey legs took longer to cook, but other than that I didn’t have to change much of anything. This would be a really good Thanksgiving Dinner for a smaller group of people, don’t you think?

ENJOY!

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Turkey Legs & Rice Casserole

8 8 8

WW Freestyle: 16

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Total Time2 hrs

Servings: 4

Calories: 256

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Turkey Legs
• ▢ Water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 medium-sized onions , diced
• ▢ 1/2 tablespoon salt
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves , minced
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried parsley
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ▢ salt & pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 cup long grain rice

Instructions 

• Place the turkey legs in a 4-qt. soup pot and cover with water; bring to a boil over medium-high heat and continue to cook for 45 minutes.
• Pour the olive oil in a casserole dish and place it in the oven; turn the oven on to 425.
• Dice the onions; take the casserole dish out of the oven and add in the onions and the salt.
• Put back in the oven and continue to cook until soft; about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Take out the casserole dish, take the broth from the soup pot and pour it over the onions.
• Stir in the minced garlic, parsley, thyme, and nutmeg.
• Taste for salt and pepper.
• Mix in the rice.
• Place the turkey legs on top.
• Bake in the oven for 45 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.
• Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Turkey Legs & Rice Casserole

Amount Per Serving

Calories 256 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 1g5%

Cholesterol 0mg0%

Sodium 877mg37%

Potassium 133mg4%

Carbohydrates 42g14%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin C 4.5mg5%

Calcium 28mg3%

Iron 0.6mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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