Turkey Veggie Chili

Sorry there aren't many pictures... forgot to take them while I was making the chili.  

Anthony and I use double the amount of red pepper flakes and throw in some cayenne pepper because we like things spicy.  If you use canned beans, I would suggest not adding any salt until you're ready to eat because we use dried beans in our recipe and don't need any salt.

We usually top off our chili with a little bit of cheese and greek yogurt... totally taste like sour cream and adds a super nice creamy taste to the chili. 

Ingredients:
(this recipe makes about 8 servings)

• 1 tabelspoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1.5 lbs. ground turkey
• 1 can (15 ounce) no salt added diced tomatoes with chilies
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup dry kidney beans (or 1 15-ounce can kidney beans)
• 3/4 cup dry black beans (or 1 15-ounce can black beans)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tabelspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper
• salt to taste, but I skipped on the salt and you can't tell the difference
• whatever veggies you have lying around that need to be used like TODAY (I rolled with half a zucchini, a hand-full of mushrooms, half a red bell pepper, and about 5 cups of baby spinach all chopped)

1.) If using dried beans, rinse well and soak kidney and black beans overnight.

2.)  In a medium pot, boil enough water  to cook your ground turkey (this is not the 2 cups of water called for in the ingredient list.  After draining out the water you used to boil the ground turkey, you still need to add 2 cups when you combine all ingredients).  Yup, boil it. 

I learned that this is the best way to get ground meat to cook in the smallest pieces as possible... so you have more meat pieces in your chili.   Thank you, Food Network!

3.)  Drain out the water and throw ALL ingredients into a slow cooker (don't forget your 2 cups of water).  Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or cook on high for 4-5 hours.

4.)  That's it!!

Before cooking...

... after cooking.

Nutrition info (will be different if you use canned beans and different veggies) for one serving: 269 cals, 9g fat, 2g saturated fat, 56mg cholesterol, 352mg sodium, 21g carbs, 9g fiber, 22g protein.

40 garlic chicken

Ingredients:
(makes 6 - 8 servings)

• 40 cloves of garlic, whole
• 3 - 4 lbs. of chicken (any part)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tbs. olive oil
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt

1.) Chop onions and place in bottom of crock pot.

2.) Peel garlic (yes, all 40 cloves!) without crushing cloves too much.

3.) In a large bowl, mix together chicken, olive oil, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper.

4.) Pour chicken mixture on top of onions in crock pot and cook on low 6 - 8 hours, or high for 4 - 6 hours.

5.) ENJOY!

Mini-Review
If you love garlic, this recipe is for you! It was really good! I know I used chicken legs (instead of the ever-healthy-constantly-raved-about chicken breast) but I tried this recipe with skinless/boneless breasts before and the chicken came out extremely dry and crumbly. I used chicken drumsticks with the skin ON and it made such a big difference! Chicken came out super moist and falling off the bone! The only negative... I think I cooked it too long because the bones were so brittle, they broke apart if you tried to eat the drumstick with your hands. No biggie.

Will try this recipe again with chicken breast but maybe add a cup of chicken broth to keep things moist.

Homemade marinara sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. mushrooms, chopped
• 6 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 onion, half chopped and half diced
• 3 tbs. olive oil
• 3 tbs. Italian seasoning
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

1.) Add olive oil to large pot set over medium heat. Add diced onions and cook till clear. Add chopped onions and celery to pot and cook for about 6 minutes.

Whenever I make sauces or soups, I dice half the onion and cook that half first.
That way they get REALLY well cooked and pretty much disintegrate into the sauce/soup.
It's a flavor thing.


2.) When onions and celery are cooked through, add chopped mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.


3.) Add in the salt, pepper, garlic and Italian seasoning and stir well. Cook till fragrant about 2 minutes.


4.) Add in chopped tomatoes and cook till veggies have released most of their water content. When sauce is liquid, turn up heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower heat and let sauce simmer, covered, for about 20 more minutes or until all the tomatoes have cooked down to a sauce consistency.


5.) ENJOY!

Mini-Review
Good but could use a lot more improving. For instance tomato paste would have been good to thicken this up... the sauce came out kinda watery. Little more salt and little less herbs. And throw in some red pepper flakes to kick it up a notch and it would be good to go! I'm gonna try this one again for sure!

Check out how big these mushrooms were!

Quinoa egg bake

Ingredients:
(this recipe makes 8 servings)

• 0.5 cup uncooked quinoa
• 8 eggs
• 1.25 cups milk
• 1 tbs. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. chopped thyme (0.5 tsp if using fresh thyme)
• 0.5 tsp. salt
• 0.5 tsp. pepper
• 2 cups packed baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 cup shredded Romano or Parmesan cheese
• cooking spray

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.  Wash quinoa and drain well and in a large bowl, whisk together quinoa, eggs, milk, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper.

2.) Stir in spinach then pour into baking dish.  Cover tightly with foil and shake dish so quinoa settles on bottom of dish.

3.) Bake until just set, about 45 minutes.  Remove cover and sprinkle with cheese.  Return to oven and bake uncovered until cheese is golden brown, about 10 - 15 minutes.

4.) Cool about 15 minutes then slice and serve.

Mini-Review
This was really good and even the boyfriend liked it!  Couple of things I would change next time:

• I would soak the quinoa in water for about an hour or two before making this dish.  The quinoa was actually cooked perfectly, but I like my quinoa on the softer side so this is only a preference.
• Before baking, I would use a spoon or fork to gently stir quinoa mixture around in the baking dish.  This should allow the quinoa to settle in a more even thickness on the bottom of the pan and disburse the seasonings more evenly.  Because I used dried thyme, it floated to the top and kind of massed together in the center of the dish so when you ate a slice of the quinoa bake, the pointed end of the slice had lots of herb flavoring, but not so much as you worked your way to the outside of the slice.

I'll definitely be making this again and probably add different kinds of veggies.

Food porn!

Nori wrapped port tender loin

Eggplant parmesan

Ingredients:

• two large globe egg plants, cut into 3/4 inch slices
• olive oil spray
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 0.75c whole wheat panko or bread crumbs
• 6 tbs. low-fat Parmesan cheese
• 1.5 tsp dried Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 0.25 tsp. sea salt
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 6oz. no salt added tomato paste
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbs. dried basil
• 1c mozzarella cheese, shredded

(1 serving = 2 2-layered eggplant 'towers')

1.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray two baking sheets with olive oil spray. Pour slightly beatened eggs in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, combine panko/breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt.

2.) Dread each eggplant slice in the egg then in the breadcrumb mixture. Arrange coated slices on the baking sheets (two large globe eggplants should take up two baking sheets). Bake until eggplant is tender, about 25 minutes.

3.) While eggplant is baking, combine diced tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and basil in a small sauce pan and cook on medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer about 10 more minutes.

4.) When eggplant is done baking, leave oven on but take out baking sheets of eggplant. Spoon a little bit of tomato mixture over each slice and top with mozzarella cheese. Being very careful, place one slice of eggplant on another until you get two-layered egg plants (when I made this, I ended up with 13 slices of eggplant, so a total of 6 two-layered eggplants).

5.) Place back in the over until cheese is melted and golden brown. ENJOY!

Mini-Review
This was good... really good! The only improvements I can think of is to use a more flavorful/pungent cheese instead of mozzarella. That would add a whole 'nother flavor pallet to the dish. Another suggestion is to get some protein in this meal! The original recipe (from Clean Eating magazine) called for bulgar (which I didn't make) but throwing some grilled chicken on the side would have really made it filling.

Jalapeno tomato chicken

***Sorry no step-by-step pictures for this one. I had Anthony cook this when I wasn't home and I forgot to have him photo the process for the blog.***

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 3 lg. garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 whole med. sized chicken breasts, skinned and halved
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1 14oz. can whole tomatoes
• 1/4 c. minced shallots
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1.) Set pan over medium-high heat. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, garlic, cayenne pepper and jalapeno and when pan is hot, add oil.

2.) Salt and pepper the chicken. Add lemon mixture to pan and immediately place chicken breast in pan as well. Cook until each side is brown, about 4 minutes each side.

3.) Remove undercooked chicken from pan and set aside. Pour red wine vinegar into pan and loosen drippings. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and stir.

4.) Bring to a boil and add chicken back to pan. Turn hit down to a simmer, cover pan, and let the chicken cook until well done, about 15 - 20 minutes. ENJOY!

Mini-Review
Ahh... this was so-so. I got this recipe from some site on-line (can't remember... I just googled 'jalapeno and chicken' and this is what came up). Anyway it would have been better with more veggies - think mushrooms and onions - and taco seasoning! I liked the kick of spiciness the jalapeno and cayenne added but it could have been better with a little bit more. Anthony wants to try it again this weekend so hopefully we will.

Homemade 'stuffed' miso soup

Please be warned that ingredients for my miso soup is eye-balled so nothing is really measured. I'll try to be as accurate as possible.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• half a head of Chinese cabbage, roughly chopped
• one bunch mustard cabbage, roughly chopped
• one bunch bok choy, roughly chopped
• one block firm tofu, cubed
• 16 oz block of kamaboko (fish cake)
• one package hon-dashi soup stock
• 0.25 cup miso paste or to taste

1.) Dilute miso paste in warm water and pour into a large pot of boiling water (about 6 cups water). Add hon-dashi and stir until dissolved.

2.) Roughly chop all leafy veggies and add to pot.


3.) Add cubed tofu to pot and bring soup back to a boil.

4.) Once soup is boiling, lower heat and slowly pour in whisked eggs while stirring the pot. This creates strands of cooked egg (think egg drop soup style).
5.) Enjoy with some rice at the bottom of the bowl.

Mini-Review
I have grown up eating miso soup so I LOVE it! You can substitute almost any veggie that you want in this recipe, but the ones I used are 'traditional' in my family. I usually use fresh cubed daikon also but forgot about it when I was making it this time!

Dijon crusted halibut

WARNING: Check out my mini-review before you attempt this recipe! Let's just say not one of my proudest meals.

(1 serving = 1/3 recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs. halibut
• 0.25c lemon juice
• 3 tbs. dijon mustard
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 0.25c fresh parsley, chopped fine

1.) Mix together lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, and parsley.

2.) Pour mixture over halibut fillets in a baking dish - I only have cake pans!

3.) Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 30 minutes or until flesh flakes with a fork.
ENJOY (or try to)!

Mini-Review
So dijon is not favorite thing to eat. AT ALL! I absolutely hated this recipe because of the dijon flavor. If you like dijon mustard, then this recipe should be a winner! Couldn't really taste the lemon or parsley and I bet the fish would have tasted exactly the same if we just baked the fish, plain, then slathered it with dijon mustard. EWWWW!!! Anthony and I had to scrape off as much of the sauce as possible then drown the fish in hot sauce to eat it. The only good thing about the recipe: it was F.A.S.T and E.A.S.Y! But it really doesn't matter when it comes out this bad!

Stuffed cabbage

I've had stuffed cabbage once in my life and actually really liked it! So when I found a recipe for it, I tweaked it a little and made it healthier. This recipe is pretty simple, but requires a lot more time in preparation and cooking than most of my other 'easy' recipes. Save this one for the weekend.

So why cabbage? Besides the fact that I've never cooked with it before, the cabbage family such, as head cabbage, kale, and collard greens, contain phytonutrients known as glucosinolates that help increase the production of detoxifying enzymes in your body. More information can be found here, here, and here.

Ingredients for filling:
(makes 6 servings; 1 serving = 2 stuffed cabbages)

• 1c cooked brown rice
• 10 cabbage leaves
• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 ripe Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• garlic to taste
• 1tsp. dried oregano
• 1tsp. cinnamon
• a dash of cayenne pepper
• 0.5c bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs
• 10 toothpicks, pre-soaked in water

Ingredients for sauce:

• olive oil cooking spray
• 6oz. unsalted tomato paste
• 10 white mushrooms, diced
• 0.5c water
• 0.25c apple cider vinegar
• garlic to taste
• 1tsp. oregano
• 1tsp. cinnamon
• a dash of cayenne pepper
• 0.5tbsp. dried thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

1.) Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Turn off heat and blanch each cabbage leaf for a few seconds, until leaf is pliable and won't tear when folded.

2.) Set a large pan over medium heat and cook turkey until no longer pink. About 5 minutes. Add all except about two tbs. of the chopped onions and cook till onions are clean. Set aside the two tbs. of onions for the sauce.

3.) Add diced tomatoes, cinnamon, oregano, and cayenne and cook till fragrant. About another 3 more minutes.

4.) In a separate bowl, mixed together the bread crumbs and cooled brown rice. When thoroughly mixed, add the rice mixture to the turkey mixture. Take off heat and mix well.

5.) To stuff cabbage, place about 0.25c worth of filling in the middle of a cabbage leaf. Roll like a burrito, starting with the two side edges, then the bottom edge. Continue to fold away from you until cabbage leaf is completely sealed. Secure with wet toothpick. When all cabbage leaves are filled, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

7.) To make sauce: Using same pan as filling, set over medium heat. Mist with olive oil cooking spray and add reserved two tbs. of onions, garlic and mushrooms. Cook until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.

8.) Add in tomato paste, water, apple cider vinegar, oregano, cinnamon, cayenne and thyme. Cook until fragrant, about 2 more minutes.

9.) Remove from heat and put about two spoonfuls of sauce on the bottom of a casserole dish (or cake pan if you have no dish, like me). Lay stuffed cabbages in dish and pour remaining sauce over cabbage.
10.) Cover dish with foil and bake for 45 minutes. ENJOY!

Mini-Review
Okay... this recipe has major potential to be good and the only thing I would change: the sauce. The apple cider vinegar was WAY too strong and both Anthony and I didn't like it. The only time I had stuffed cabbage it was more of a marinara sauce so that's kinda what I was expecting. I think toning down on the vinegar and adding in more tomato flavor will totally make this recipe good.

Other than that, adding in a couple of egg whites to the filling mixture for more 'binding' power would totally make this recipe work better. Actually, eggs where called for in the recipe - there in my ingredient picture! - but I totally forgot to use them.