Ellen, here I rarely see any ground turkey except those frozen one pound "chubs" and it's about $3 a pound ON SALE! I do use ground turkey, I just don't buy ground turkey already ground. I grind my own in the food processor, usually from turkey thighs, but I peel off the skin. If you cut it into pieces and put it in the freezer until it's just starting to get really firm and freeze, it chops up realy well in the food processor. Beef too, and pork for sausage. At least I know what's in there that way. I know nearly everyone here loves the "crispy skin", but I won't even eat poultry skin fried or roasted, I peel it off, always. I can usually get turkey parts around the holidays, i.e. from Thanksgiving to Easter. My local (very small and independent) grocer gets turkeys from local farmers by the truckload and sells them fresh for holiday dinners. Anything that isn't sold or that gets bungled up during the processing becomes "parts", sold by the pound in packages. The owner says that parts actually sell better than the whole turkeys, although most people want turkey breast, so the thighs are a lot chepaer. i don't try to grind legs, too many little bones, cartilege and such in there. Annie

I didn't say it should be ignored. I think I said, "if any given restaurant, market or producer is proven to be negligent, go after them." Every day it seems that there is yet another thing that we have to either eat or not eat, another inconvenience we must go through, another reason we should eat a more highly priced food item rather than the less expensive version of the same thing. Somebody died here, somebody got sick there, so we all should be terrified into doing whatever it is that some group or other likely has a vested interest in our doing. What is never mentioned in these reports about one or three or a hundred people in well over 300 million Americans does not a high risk make. By the way, with a quick Google, I found a recent study that says "organic and naturally raised beef cattle are just as prone to E. coli O157:H7 as conventially raised animals." Sometimes, we just have to accept that no matter how careful we are, people sometimes get sick, and sometimes die. Does this mean we shouldn't take reasonable precautions? Of course not. But neither does it mean, at least for me, that we should spend our life fretting and worrying over every alarmist claim made by people with their own agendas. Here is a link that might be useful: E. coli Prevalent in Organic Beef

In Minnesota it's a hotdish, Hamburger hotdish, macaroni hotdish, church supper hotdish or any number of variations. We had it at home, it was on the school lunch rotation and was one of the first dishes I started cooking for myself when I went on my own. It's still a favorite in comfort foods for me and seriously, what's there to not like? Meat, tomato, seasoning, it's a variation of baked ziti, spaghetti with meat sauce or any number of other dishes and it doesn't matter which name you give it. I've made it with beef roast, pork roast, turkey, chicken, sausage and more. You can use up leftovers and have a remake. It's fast, simple and economical. It can take on a Mexican flavor, Italian flavor, pizza flavor, Tex Mex, BBQ or any other flavor you like. There's no recipe needed, it's a throw-together, easy to increase or decrease size for the number of servings desired. It reheats great. Cheese is optional but for me, bacon is not. Eat it hot or cold, it's great both ways. Probably one of the most versatile dishes around.

When I was in high school we toured a beer brewery. The smell about knocked me off my feet; 50 years later I still can't drink it. Belonging to a horse rescue group taught me more than I ever wanted to know about slaughterhouses. Horrible. We live now in an area where there are several large poultry processors. Every time I see a big truckload of chickens I feel so bad for them. But we have to eat. I do miss the days when we raised our own beef & pork, or bought 'on the hoof' and took them ourselves to a place. They lived good normal lives and only were there for a few hours waiting their turn. No place that will do that where we live now. :-(