turkey

One Pot Turkey Taco Chili

May 2, 2017

Do you have those recipes that happen on complete accident? I have lots of them. Some of them are goods, some of them are definitely not good. Actually there is really no in between.

This taco chili happened on accident when I started making chili and realized that I didn’t have any canned diced tomatoes. What I did have was a jar of salsa….which is pretty much just a bunch of diced tomatoes (and a few other things).

I was skeptical at first, not knowing if the salsa (I used my favorite pico de gallo) would totally over power the salsa. But then I just decided to lean in and go with it, adding my favorite taco seasoning and turning this into a taco chili. The result: fantastic!

I had every intention of showing you every detailed step of this chili, starting with chopped veggies and every step along the way until you have a nice bowl of chili.

Well, my husband called and I got distracted, so instead I have a picture of chopped veggies and a bowl of the finished chili. You can fill in the blanks, right?

If you have made chili before, this is exactly the same. Except that you will be adding salsa in place of diced tomatoes and taco seasoning instead of your normal chili seasoning.

You could also add some black beans and corn, like I did, to really round out the taconess (Mariam-Webster, I have a new word for you!) of this taco chili.

Then to kick it up even more, you could add your favorite guacamole, maybe a few tortilla chips!

Thats exactly how I ate it. I ditched the spoon and dug right in with a handful of chips. It was just like eating a crunchy taco out of a bowl!

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:156]

Cornbread Stuffing and Turkey Bake

November 21, 2016

Ok, let’s clear something up. I realize I have titled this post “Cornbread Stuffing and Turkey Bake”, when most people would not consider this stuffing. It has not been stuffed anywhere. The cornbread and sausage mixture was baked in a baking dish, which most people would consider “dressing”. Who the heck came up with those rules, anyways? Why can’t we all just come together and decide to call it one or the other. And if I have a vote in this proceeding, my vote is for “stuffing”. Dressing sounds like something we should be putting on a salad.

Whatever you call it (I am going to call it stuffing from here on out), I’ll venture to guess that it is one of your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. It is certainly mine! Which is why I decided to make my husband and I a little pre-Thanksgiving feast that is basically 75% stuffing, and 25% turkey.

My favorite kind of stuffing is cornbread stuffing. One that is slightly soggy, but still has some drier chunks, and loaded with lots of savory vegetables, some sausage, and some slightly sweet fruit, like apples or (in this case) cranberries.

I could literally forgo all other Thanksgiving foods and just eat a plate of stuffing. Okay, maybe I will save some room for green bean casserole. Those little crispy fried onions are delicious!

But I digress…

As for the “turkey” and the “bake” of this cornbread stuffing and turkey bake, I first seared off some large turkey breasts that had been marinating in the same herb mixture I used for the stuffing. Then I just stuffed the turkey right into the stuffing (see what I did there?), so they were almost completely covered.

I find that cooking the stuffing/dressing this way gives you the best of both worlds. You have the stuffing that is directly around the turkey that soaks up all the turkey flavor and stays nice and moist. Then you have then stuffing around the edges of the pan that is drier, and a little bit crispy.

When it comes out of the oven, you basically have your entire Thanksgiving meal in one pan. I should have called this “One Pan Thanksgiving”. Oh well, I’ve already come this far….

This would not only make a delicious Thanksgiving meal for just a small group, but it would also make a great diner for those days when you are just craving some comforting turkey and stuffing. Which for me, is about once a month.

[amd-yrecipe-recipe:99]

Healthy and Hearty Turkey Chili

November 2, 2016

As soon as the temperature gets below 70 degrees, I break out my stock pot and make a batch of chili. I love chili. I could eat it year round, but I can really only enjoy it when it starts to get a little cold and you can tell that Fall is right around the corner.

This particular chili recipe is one that I have been tinkering with for years. I made my first batch of chili using the recipe on the back of the seasoning mix you pick up at the store. Over the years, I have made a quite few changes. Mainly, trying to make it more healthy and more flavorful. Not that there is anything wrong with that classic chili.

But just because I have made this chili a bit healthier, doesn’t make it any less filling and satisfying. Every spoonful is packed with lean ground turkey, kidney beans, tomatoes, and other delicious veggies. I personally like to sneak in any extra veggies I can find into my chili. I almost always make mine with onion, bell pepper, tomato, and jalapeno. Sometimes I will sneak in some carrot, spinach, or kale. And if I have an extra sweet potato lying around, I will dice that up and throw it into the pot as well.

But it wouldn’t be chili without the spices. I use 5 different chilies and peppers to spice my chili: chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, and a jalapeno. To compliment the chilies, I like to add a generous amount of garlic, a touch of cumin, and a splash of Worcestershire.

I let all of those flavor meld together over the stove for at least 30 minutes, then when it’s ready I spoon an very healthy serving into a bowl and top with some of my favorite chili toppings: cheese, sour cream, and avocado. I will also sometimes toss on some cilantro, chives, maybe even some oyster crackers! And of course, I always have a piece of corn bread on hand to sop up all that extra chili goodness.

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[amd-yrecipe-recipe:91]

Turkey and Apple Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

September 26, 2016

You know what is an awesome, unexpected addition to a grilled cheese? Apples! A little random, I know, but it is apple season after all. I’m not totally sure what inspired this sandwich, other than the abundance of apples at the grocery store and the brie in my fridge. I was just going to eat the apples and brie on their own, but why not put them in between some bread.

I made one version of this sandwich with brie and another, for my husband, with cheddar. If you don’t like brie or cheddar (um, you are crazy!), you can make this sandwich with any cheese that pairs well with cheese (Munster, white cheddar, Gouda, blue cheese).

The key to a good grilled cheese sandwich is butter. I like to make sure that my pan is heavily coated in butter before toasting the bread. I’m already eating a grilled cheese sandwich, why should I be worried about a few extra calories.

Once the bread is nice and warm, I layer on the cheese and other toppings, in this case apples and turkey. When the cheese starts so get a bit melted, I put the two sides together. To help the cheese along, I will sometimes cover the pan until the cheese starts to ooze out the sides.

This sandwich would also be excellent as a panini! Just be careful if you make it with brie, because that brie will be melted all over the place. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

So if you are looking to mix up your grilled cheese sandwich, add a few slices of apple. It adds a little bit of a crunch and some sweetness to balance the salty from the cheese. At the very least, I am pretty sure adding apple slices qualifies this sandwich as health food. That’s how it works right?

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[amd-yrecipe-recipe:79]

Naked Turkey Burger

January 15, 2016

Naked-Turkey-Burger-Title

Okay, so today is day twelve of the Whole 30 (I’m sure you’re just as sick of me talking about it as I am), and while I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, I am also really missing certain foods.

Pizza. Cookies. French fries.

But fortunately when I get those cravings for a cheesy slice of pizza or a big juicy hamburger, I can make something that’s almost as good, like this naked turkey burger with a side of baked sweet potato chips.

Naked Turkey Burger - b-1

Of course a classic beef burger patty would have been even more indulgent and satisfying, but we keep turkey on hand, so this is what we made. While turkey is healthier and leaner, since you loose the fat you also loose a bit of the flavor. To make up for that, I season the turkey pretty generously with some salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and red pepper flakes.

Naked Turkey Burger - b-4

Now if this were the summer, I would be outside cooking these on the grill. But around here it’s been about 30 degrees so I am staying inside, thanyouverymuch. Instead I just cook these in a cast iron skillet.

Sweet Potato Chips

While the hamburgers are cooking, I slice up a sweet potato and crisp them up in the oven. This is about as close as I am going to get to french fries or potato chips for the next couple weeks, so I savor every single bite of them. I just wish I could dip them in some ketchup.

Naked Turkey Burger - b-7

To put everything together, I stack up a burger patty, tomato, and a heaping dollop of guacamole. Basically enough guacamole to make me not miss cheese. Which means I put a lot of guac on this baby.

Then I wrap up the whole thing up in some iceberg lettuce. I mean, iceberg lettuce will never be a sweet sesame seed bun, but at least it’s some sort of vehicle to keep my burger and all the toppings together.

Even without the yummy carb-loaded bun and salty french fries, this is a very satisfying meal. And as much as I complain about not being able to eat all these wonderful foods, I will say that I feel the benefits of this “clean” eating. I haven’t felt bloated, gross, or tired after any meal. And overall I just feel more energized and better, like my body is actually working like it should. So now I just need to remind myself of that every time I think of cake. Or cookies. Or cheese.

Oh boy.

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Lasagna Cups

August 13, 2014

My husband and I love lasagna but we rarely make it because it is so time consuming. The assembly is only one part of it, but the baking seems to take forever, especially when you are hungry. Even a store bought frozen lasagna takes time to thaw and then cook.

But not these little lasagna cups. Sure, they still need to be assembled, but they take half (or less) time to cook. Which to me is important when I am making dinner after work and I don’t have a lot of time or patience.

I start with wonton wrappers, forming two of them into a cupcake tin. Then I spoon in some marinara sauce (I just made up a quick sauce, but store bought would work perfectly), top with cooked ground turkey, then some ricotta, more marinara, and finish them off with mozzarella cheese.

The beauty is that you can really make any kind of lasagna recipe using this method. Instead of turkey, you could use beef. Or if you prefer an all veggie lasagna, you could substitute in zucchini, cauliflower, or the vegetable of your choice. It can be as basic or as complicated as you like!

After baking for only 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the wontons are golden brown, I let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing just in case they feel the need to fall apart.

Then we just served them along side some veggies and dug right in. My husband didn’t even feel the need to use a fork. He kept referring to them as “meat cupcakes”, and since you don’t need a fork for a regular cupcake, you don’t need a fork for a meat cupcake (obviously).

What is your favorite lasagna recipe?

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Baked Mini Chimichangas

May 21, 2014

This little recipe has several different names in our house. Mini burritos, burritoitos (small burritos, if you will), and the most recent favorite, mini chimies (for mini chimichangas). We make a version of this recipe quite often. Then beauty of it, is that you can really play around with the filling and make it to fit your taste or whatever you have in your pantry. For this particular recipe, I just used lean ground turkey, onion, bell pepper, taco seasoning, and tomato paste.

The wrap is just an egg roll wrapper that you can get at your local super market near the refrigerated produce or dairy (look for the tofu or vegan foods and it is probably nearby). They are easy to work with if you work quickly, because they can dry out. First I place the filling in the center, fold in the sides, then roll it up. To make sure that the roll stays together, wet one end with water using your finger and press it together.

To ensure that they get egg roll wrapper gets nice and crispy, I like to bake them on a wire rack placed on top of a cookie sheet and brush them down with olive oil. And because the filling is already cooked, they only need to bake until the wrapper gets nice and golden brown.

As I mentioned, these can be filled with just about anything you want. Below are some of the combinations that I have tried that are always a big hit with my husband.

Bean & Cheese

Black Beans, Onion, Cheddar Cheese, Taco Seasoning, Tomato Paste

Pepperoni Pizza

Mozzarella Cheese, Pepperoni, Green Bell Pepper, Basil, Marinara Sauce

Apple Pie

Diced Apples, Lemon Juice, Cinnamon & Sugar

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Veggie and Turkey Meatloaf

April 21, 2014

Meatloaf is having a bit of a renaissance. At least here in the South were “Down Home Cooking” is the latest trend. There are several high end restaurants around us that have their own (dressed up) version of mom’s go-to recipe. Even I have hopped on the bandwagon in the past couple years making a bison and a vegan version, both of which got rave reviews in our house. Today I am posting my latest experiment on the meatloaf front: veggie stuffed turkey meatloaf.

What exactly is that? Well, I basically took a normal meatloaf recipe, exchanged the beef for turkey, the breadcrumbs for carrots, and added in some spinach for good measure. Sure, it’s not the sexiest dish on the planet, but it pretty tasty and healthy.

Because I am limiting the fat in this recipe, it was pretty important to me to add in a lot of additional flavors. To the meatloaf mix I added cilantro (Yes, that is rosemary in the picture. Forget you ever saw that) and loads of garlic. Then to the ketchup basted on top, I added some paprika, garlic powder, and chipotle chili powder. If you like things spicey, you could also add in hot sauce to either the meat mixture or the ketchup or both.

I baked the meatloaf in the mini loaf tins because they are the perfect individual size. You could of course use a normal loaf tin and cut the meatloaf into slices. We served ours with a side of steamed veggies to complete the meal, but these little meatloaves would be great with some smashed cauliflower, too!

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