Slow-Cooked Turkey Legs with Mushrooms

This past weekend was my last weekend in Indiana before going back to Texas for another semester. I was able to get back to my element, however, because my family and I went to a local winery and vineyard in Illinois called Castle Finn. I hadn't been their yet, but I had tasted their wines before and had heard about how pretty their location was. I enjoyed every wine I tasted; I had not had wines made from French-American hybrid vines in a long time. I like their wines because they remind me of when I first began to enjoy wine when I took a wine appreciation class as an undergrad. Besides dry, semi-sweet, and sweet wines, their selection includes both sparkling and fruit wines, which I find to be refreshing. We picked up their "Moonlight Minuet," a sweet, white table wine made from Niagara grape, which I imagine would be great for a party, especially if there are people there who claim not to like wine; it would win many people over. I also selected the blackberry wine, because blackberries are probably my favorite fruit in dessert; it's a fun change if you want to have a sweeter wine.

 

Also this weekend, I prepared a nice dinner based on a request from Chow Bella's Facebook page for some slow-cooker/crockpot meals. I realized I hadn't posted a crockpot recipe since February 2011! So for this meal I decided to use a cut of meat that I haven't ever posted a recipe for...turkey legs...with a really flavorful sauce made from broth and tomato paste with mushrooms, onions, garlic, and herbs. It was a really great winter supper, especially served alongside onions and cabbage, which became slightly sweet and browned from being sauteed. This is a really easy, but elegant, high-protein meal.

Slow-Cooked Turkey Legs with Mushrooms
Printable Recipe

2 lbs turkey legs (about 3)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 8-oz package button mushrooms, quartered
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
salt and pepper

1. Season the turkey legs with salt and pepper. In a large, dry skillet over medium-high heat, brown the turkey legs on all sides. When they are browned, remove them from the pan and set aside. Immediately add half of the chicken broth and scrape up the browned bits. Stir the tomato paste into the broth  to loosen it up.
2. Add the mushrooms, onion, and garlic to the crock of a slower cooker/crockpot. Layer the turkey legs on top, then add the tomato-broth mixture, the remaining broth, then sprinkle over the herbs. Set the slow cooker/crockpot on low for 8-10 hour or high from 6-8 hours.
3. Remove the cooked meat to your serving plate and pour over the tomato-y sauce and vegetables. The meat should be tender enough to pull off the bone with a serving spoon.

• Servings per recipe: 4
• Per serving:
• Calories: 330.7
• Fat: 9.6 g
• Saturated fat: 3.1 g
• Cholesterol: 229.0 mg
• Sodium: 475.3 mg
• Carbohydrates: 4.3 g
• Sugar: 0.8 g
• Protein: 54.1 g