Microwave turkey dinner for one
Turkey in gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberries, a whole holiday plate from one microwave and a kettle in about half an hour.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 1
- About $3.38 a serving
- 510 calories
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 1 servings.
- ½ cup stuffing mix
- 1 tbsp butter, divided
- ½ cup instant mashed potatoes
- 2 tbsp milk
- ¾ cup frozen green beans
- 1 tbsp brown gravy mix
- 4 oz sliced deli turkey, thick-sliced if you can find it
- 1 tbsp dried cranberries
From your pantry
- 1¼ cups water
- 1 pinch salt
Each serving has about 510 calories, 28 g protein, 64 g carbs and 17 g fat, and costs about $3.38 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
1 cup of the water in the kettle.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Stir the stuffing mix and 1 tsp of the butter into ¼ cup of the hot water in a small bowl, cover with a plate, and leave it 5 minutes.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: It fluffs up on its own under the plate. No microwave needed.Stir the potato flakes, the rest of the butter, the milk and salt into ½ cup of the hot water in a second bowl until fluffy, then cover it.
Put the green beans in a mug with of water, cover, and microwave 2½ minutes until hot.
Splash. A splash is a small, quick pour, about a teaspoon to a tablespoon. It’s there to loosen or brighten a dish, so the exact amount doesn’t matter.
How you’ll know: The dish looks a little looser or tastes a little brighter, not soupy.
Timer: 2 min 30 sec
the gravy mix into the last ¼ cup of water, cold, in a big mug until smooth.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: Cold water first, then heat. Gravy mix stirred into hot water goes lumpy.Microwave the gravy 45 seconds, , then microwave 30 seconds more, until it bubbles and .
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Timer: 45 sec
the turkey slices into the hot gravy, cover, and microwave 1 minute, until steaming.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Timer: 1 min
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Fluff the stuffing with a fork and warm the potatoes and stuffing for 30 seconds each if they’ve cooled.
Timer: 30 sec
Pile everything on a plate with the turkey and gravy over the potatoes, and scatter the cranberries over the stuffing.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
