White Bean Turkey Chili

This is a super easy, healthy, and yummy chili. All you have to do is prep the meat and a few veggies and the slow cooker will do the rest for you.

1 lb. ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1 lb. dried navy beans, soaked and rinsed

1 cup frozen corn

1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp tarragon

1 tsp pepper

3 cups vegetable broth

1 cup white wine

1 cup heavy cream

1. Saute garlic in some EVOO. Add ground turkey and cook until browned and crumbled.

2. Add meat and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot.

3. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Mexican Stew

Here’s another awesome crock pot meal for you. This one is full of great flavors and gluten-free ingredients. You can easily adjust the heat to your liking and even swap out the meat with black beans for a vegetarian meal.

1 lb. ground turkey (or 15 oz. can black beans)

1 onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced

2 large white or gold potatoes, peeled and diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 cup roasted green chiles, chopped*

1 quart (4 cups) chicken or vegan broth

sea salt & pepper, to taste

1 lime, juiced

2-3 T fresh cilantro, chopped

1 -2 tsp organic sugar, as needed to balance the spice

1. Brown the meat in a skillet. Put the cooked meat (or beans) into the crock pot and combine with the onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, squash, potato, carrots (I used bagged matchsticks), green chiles (*I used 1 large jalapeno), salt & pepper, and the broth. Set on low and cook for 7 or 8 hours. Stir occasionally.

2. About 20 or 30 minutes before serving, add the lime juice, cilantro, and sugar. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. You may also need to add a bit more of broth. Heat through.

Turkey Meatballs with Tomato & Roasted Pepper Ragu

If you’ve been following me long enough you know that I have a love/hate thing for meatballs. I love them, but I can’t really make them. Now don’t get me wrong, the taste isn’t the issue. It’s making it into an actual ball that’s my problem. These were wonderful and I enjoyed the whole process knowing that I was feeding my family something equally healthy as much as tasty.

Turkey Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey

3 slices bread*

1/2 cup milk

1/2 onion, finely diced

1 carrot, peeled and finely diced

1 celery stalk, finely diced

1 large egg

3 T flat parsley, chopped

2 T fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 – 1 tsp nutmeg (to taste)

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup flour

3 T EVOO

1. Tear the bread up into small pieces and place into bowl. Cover with milk and let stand  until the bread has absorbed the milk. *I used wheat bread which takes a little longer to absorb the milk; about 20 minutes. If using white it should only take about 10 minutes.

2. In a food processor you can throw the onion, carrot, celery and garlic in at once to chop everything up together.

3. In a large bowl combine the turkey meat, soggy bread, diced veggies, egg, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and paprika. Using your hands and blend the ingredients thoroughly.

4. Form golf ball-sized balls and roll them through the flour.

5. Heat the EVOO over medium heat. Working in batches cook the meatballs for about 10 minutes, browning them on all sides. *One of my few meatball tricks has always been to put the meatballs into the oven to brown before finishing up in a sauce or other cooking process. This method would work just as well as cooking them in oil. However, it may even be better to do both methods since these particular meatballs are so mushy. Next time!

6. Place browned meatballs into sauce and simmer for 20 minutes.

Tomato and Roasted Pepper Ragu

1 red bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

3 T + 2 tsp EVOO

1 lb. fresh tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, finely diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 red jalapeno chili*, finely chopped

2 T tomato paste

1 tsp thyme

2 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf

2 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes

salt & pepper

1 tsp basil (fresh if you have it: 1/3 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 450*. Line a cast iron pan or roasting pan with foil and heat in hot oven for about 5 minutes.

2. Rub the 2 tsp EVOO over the peppers and place into hot pan. Using tongs,cook the peppers for 20 minutes, rotating every 5 minutes, or until the skins are blackened and blistering.

3. Remove peppers from oven, place into bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap for an additional 15 minutes. This will steam the peppers and finish their cooking process.

4. Allow the peppers to cool slightly then peel off the outer skins. Remove the seeds. Cut into strips set aside.

5. In a large pot, heat 3 T EVOO over medium heat. Add the onions, jalapeno (*I could only find green- worked fine), and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. Add the tomato paste, stir in well, and cook for 1 minute.

6. Squeeze the canned tomatoes in your hands over the pot as you are adding them in. This will crush them slightly and add a bit more of their juices to the sauce.

7. Add the herbs. Stir in the fresh tomatoes and the roasted bell pepper strips. *If using fresh basil wait to add until after the first hour of cooking. 

8. Simmer gently over medium-low heat for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, allowing the flavors to blend. Season to taste and add a 1/2 cup water after the first hour. *Or add 3 about ladles pasta water.

*Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and reserve about 4 ladles worth of pasta water (3 for the sauce, 1 for the pasta). Toss the pasta with the pasta water, 2 T butter and some chopped, fresh flat leaf parsley. Serve with ragu and meatballs.

Taco Pizza

It’s no secret that we all love Mexican food in this house. I recently went to a friend’s cooking class where the entire meal had a Mexican theme, and it was right up my alley. I’ve decided to recreate and post everything, so it will take up the rest of this week and all of next week as well. I sure hope you like Mexican food because I’ve got a little something for everyone: A little rice, a little refried beans, a bird with an absolute awesome glaze, an incredible dessert and even some Mexican coffee. IT IS AMAZING!

This particular dish did not come from the class but I made it for the boys’ dinner the same day as the class, along with the awesome Banana Quesadillas for dessert (stay tuned for that tomorrow!) This taco pizza was already on my menu plan for the month so I thought it was a perfect way to kick off this Mexican inspired mini-series.

1 tube (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza crust

1 pound lean ground turkey (or chicken or beef)

3/4 cup water

1 envelope taco seasoning (1/4 cup)

1 can (16 oz) refried beans*

1 – 1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded pizza cheese blend

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

7 cups shredded lettuce

2 cups tortilla chips, crushed

1. Unroll crust onto a regular sized cookie sheet lightly coated with cooking spray (or lined with parchment paper). Build up edges slightly, and bake at 425* for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. In a large nonstick skillet, cook turkey over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in refried beans until blended.

*Since I rarely have canned refried beans in my pantry I simply used a canned of Trader Joes organic pinto beans, mashed them up and then added it to the meat. It worked great, though without the extra fat content it did take a little extra elbow grease to spread the mixture over the pizza crust.

3. Spread meat and bean mixture over the crust; sprinkle with cheese. Place back in oven at 425* for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with crushed chips, tomatoes, and lettuce. Serve immediately.

Additional Suggestions: I served this with taco sauce but salsa or pico de gallo would go great with it. Also other toppings such as black olives, sour cream and guacamole would be delicious.

August Menu ~ 2012

This month’s menu is short one week as I am taking my annual trip to Chicago during the first week of August, but as you can see there is still plenty of recipes to choose from. Below are the meals I have planned for this month with the same idea that Mondays are meatless, Tuesdays are poultry, Wednesdays are Mexican, Thursdays are fish and dessert nights, Fridays are pizza nights, Saturdays are pasta, and Sundays are traditional. There are several new recipes I am working on so links will be added as the meals are posted. I hope you find something you like.

Main Dishes

Black-Eyed Pea Cakes with Adobo Cream

Black Bean Burrito Bake

Crispy Fish

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Dijon Dill Chicken

Pesto Chicken Mostaccioli

Pasta-Lentil Soup

Herb-Butter and Goat Cheese Linguine

Tuscan Herb Salmon

Chicken Schnitzel and Spaetzle

Couscous Stuffed Peppers

Tilapia Newburg

Cheesy Rice and Beans

Meatball Sub Cups

Easy Mexican Casserole

Balsamic Grilled Chicken

Chicken, Black Bean, and Goat Cheese Quesadila

Beef Stroganoff

Fish Tacos

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

Zucchini Enchiladas

Chicken and Rice Pilaf

Sides and Other

Parmesan Corn Pudding

Butternut Squash Bake

Quinoa Salad

Mediterranean Orzo

Granola To-Go Bars

Crepe Quiche Cups

Desserts

Caramel Praline Tart

Chocolate Eclair Crepe Cake

Baklava Tartlets

The Rating System

If you prepare a meal that no one liked you probably wouldn’t make it again, right? There are standby meals that we’ve made for years that are good, and at one time were favorites, but that gets stagnant fast when relying on the same things over and over again. One of the great things about blogging food is that I get to see what other bloggers are making for dinner, and then try them as well. My boys have really enjoyed eating all these new meals instead of the same old things. We decided we’d have a rating system to determine which of these were “keepers” and which were not. I’ve included any desserts and side dishes as well. Based on a 5 star rating, this is what we’ve come up with.

  Apple Butterscotch Cake

Baked Chimichangas

Butternut Squash Bake

Chicken Alfredo Sandwich

Chicken Rio

Chicken Spaetzle Soup

Chicken Tarragon

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cinnamon Apple Tart

Chocolate Mousse Napoleons 

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

Luscious Tropical Dream Cake

Meatball Minestrone

Meatball Sub Cups

Potato Skins

Ratatouille

Rice & Beans

Romano-Crusted Chicken

Turkey Salisbury

Chocolate & Peanut Butter Ribbon Dessert

Cilantro Lime Rice

Corn & Wild Rice Muffins

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Homemade Manicotti

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie

Saucy Joes

Tuscan Herb Salmon

Beef and Cheese Foldovers (These really were good but not fantabulous.)

Lemon Chicken Piccata (Too much lemon but lots of potential.)

Turkey Salisbury Steaks

Oh Me, oh my…..this was SO GOOD! I found this in a BH&G magazine and decided to give it a try. Was I glad I did! This was SO flavorful! Everyone in my house gobbled it up, and then we wished we had more. It was super easy to make, an excellent 30 minute meal, and chances are you’ve already got everything in your pantry right now.

 Turkey Salisbury Steaks with ~White Bean Mash ~

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked ground turkey

1 envelope (half of a 2.2 oz pkg) beefy onion soup mix (divided)

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (divided)

2 tsp. olive oil

1 glove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. butter

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup dry red wine (or more chicken broth)

1/4 cup tomato paste (2 oz.)

1 recipe White Bean Mash

Directions:

1. Combine turkey, 2 T of soup mix, and 1 T Worcestershire; mix well. Shape in 4 oval patties about 1/2 inch thick.

2. In skillet cook patties in hot oil over medium-high heat 3 minutes or until browned; turning once. Remove; set aside. In hot skillet cook garlic in butter 30 seconds. Add mushrooms. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until tender. Add broth, wine, tomato paste, and remaining Worcestershire sauce and soup mix. Stir, scraping up browned bits. Return patties to skillet; spoon sauce over. Cover; cook over medium-low heat for 8 minutes or until patties are 160 degrees F. If desired, serve with White Bean Mash and sprinkle with thyme.

~White Bean Mash~

 Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 15-oz. cans white beans, drained and rinsed

Chicken broth

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. lemon juice

Salt & Pepper

Olive oil

Directions:

Heat up sauce pot and add oil and garlic. Allow to cook for a minute or two. Add in beans and lemon juice; stir. Pour in a little chicken broth (about 1/4 cup or less). Add thyme, salt, and pepper; stir and heat through. Mash beans coarsely. Add more broth and oil for desired consistency. Serve with Turkey Salisbury Steaks and a salad.

*This bean mash was excellent and full of flavor. It was a perfect alternative to mashed potatoes or other starchy side, plus it added protein and vitamins to the meal. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Next time I will have to double it

Happy Cooking!

Stay tuned for the Best Caramel Cake EVER.

 

The Pantry Challenge Journal ~ Week 2

I started off last week struggling with my menu. I don’t know why it was harder. Perhaps it’s because I felt restrained by my Pantry Challenge. Making out my grocery list was also hard, because even though I was not adding frivolous items to the list, I still felt it was cheating by going to the grocery store at all. However, I was out of eggs and that cannot happen. Another thing that makes it hard is that sometimes I am flipping through recipe after recipe but nothing inspires me. Especially since we’ve got so much fresh tuna in the freezer. Finding something yummy to make of it besides the same old tuna casserole or baked fish recipes is really hard. Consequently, I have no tuna recipes to share at the moment. But in an effort to use up what I’ve got and to maintain a variety, here is what I made this week:

Monday, January 9th: Brown sugar and Dijon honey-glazed salmon. See BBQ Salmon for the recipe.

Tuesday, January 10th: Steak Taquitos.  Because I am working solely out of my pantry I wanted an occassion to use up the frozen Steak Taquitos I bought from Schwan’s and because Cory is out of town AGAIN I knew the boys would have a lot of fun with this. For our veggie I mixed together leftover lima beans and skillet corn for a new twist. Very good.

Served with salsa and sour cream

Wednesday, January 11th: Ground Turkey and Olive Ragu. The basis of this recipe came from somewhere else, which originally a veal and olive ragu served with papardelle pasta. Cook up 1 lb. ground turkey meat with 1 small onion, chopped, and 2 cloves garlic, chopped. After the meat is cooked through add 1 Tbsp rosemary sprigs and 3 oz. tomato paste. Mix in well and heat through. Add 1/2 cup green olives, chopped, and 1/2 cup dry white wine, and 1 tsp parsley. Heat through and add 1/2 cup pasta sauce. You could add more sauce, depending on how saucy you want it, but generally speaking a ragu is not a sauce. Top with parmesan cheese. The boys weren’t crazy about the olives but I liked it. I served it over leftover spaghetti noodles.

 

Thursday, January 12th:  Steak Quesadillas. I am a Chicken-eating girl at heart. I rarely ever choose steak anything, but I had 2 packages of steak strips in my freezer and needed to make good use of them. The boys like steak so this worked out good for them. I opened one package and pre-cooked it in a skillet with a little olive oil and some Southwest Chiptole seasoning. After I cut the pieces up, I added them to my tortillas with cheese and tomato. Using my handy little Foreman Grill, I made my quesadillas. I served them with black beans, rice, and salsa.

Friday, January 13th: Chicken Cordon Bleu. This is a healthy version I got from my friend Bekki. She made it for me years ago when I was visiting at her house and I have made it ever since. My whole family loves it. It’s very simple to prepare: take boneless, skinless chicken breasts and sear for a few minutes on each side. Wrap in turkey bacon and bake at 350* for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Top with a slice of swiss cheese (or provolone) and melt. Serve with rice, cous cous, or mashed potatoes and a veggie. Here I mixed leftover risotto and kale with leftover black beans and added a pinch of salt and dried cilantro, and some chopped tomatoes. Delicious!

Saturday, January 14th: Family Night. Bowling and dinner at Applebees.

Sunday, January 15th: Whole Roasted Chicken with, seasoned baby potatoes, collard bake, glazed rutabagas, greenbeans, and whole wheat rolls. Sunday’s are my traditional dinner days.

As you can see, I am on a mission here Though I generally cook dinner most days of the week anyway. The times you see us eating outside of the home is not any more or less than normal for us. We do not have a separate budget for eating out because we don’t do it often. Restaurants are more expensive on the island, plus most of them close down during the winter months anyway. I am thankful there are no fast food chains around here because we don’t normally eat at them and it would be a considerable waste of our money for zero nutrition.

2 weeks left to go!

Head on over to my second post today and read Family Time. Thanks!