Turkey Stroganoff

I found this recipe for "Poor Man's Stroganoff":

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/02/poor-mans-stroganoff.html

I changed it up a bit to make it slightly healthier, as well as gluten free, although it was almost gluten free without having to do much. I changed the following things:

ground turkey instead of beef

low fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream

organic (no HFCS!) ketchup instead of tomato paste (only because I was out of tomato paste)

regular bacon instead of turkey (it's what I had on hand)

rice flour instead of flour

I doubled the garlic, as usual :-)

I served it to my kids (and myself) over egg noodles, and served it over rice pasta to my husband, who is trying a gluten free diet. It was absolutely heavenly all around. And an added bonus, the house smells like bacon and garlic. Two of my favorite things. Yum.

Savory Split-Pea Soup

And you thought pureed veggies were only for babies. This soup is scrumptious and extremely healthy, and you will want a second bowl, I promise!

I was wandering through the bulk section at Whole Foods last week, and decided to fill up a bag with French split peas. I didn't know what I would do with them, but I figured I could make something yummy and full of vitamins.

I googled split pea soup recipes, but every recipe I found would have required another trip to the store. So, I took some tips from allrecipes.com, and came up with my own recipe using ingredients from my fridge. It didn't take long at all, and we will be having leftovers tomorrow night. YUMMY! (and I'm not a huge fan of soup in general).

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups split peas (soak them in a big pot of water overnight first, so this is 1 1/2 cups SOAKED peas)

2 or 3 T olive oil

1 cup of organic celery, finely chopped

1 cup of organic red and green peppers, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 cup frozen chopped spinach

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 container (four cups) of organic beef broth

1 T Herbes de Provence

A few grinds of black pepper

A few grinds of salt

Put the veggies (celery, onion, and peppers) into a food processor and pulse a few times (or chop by hand).

Drizzle olive oil into a large pot on the stove over medium/high heat, and then add chopped veggies and garlic. Saute for a few minutes, then add Herbes de Provence and stir.

***Keep toddler entertained with a few bowls, cups, spoons, and the extra peas.***

Pour beef broth into the veggie mixture and continue to stir. Add peas and spinach, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, and cook for about an hour and a half, stirring every 10 minutes or so. After an hour, turn off the heat, and let soup sit for 30 minutes with the lid on the pot.

Pour soup into a food processor, and turn it on for about 10-15 seconds. That's it. Now enjoy with some crusty French bread. Mmmmm...

Meatloaf Muffins with Garlicky Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

*I need to preface this by saying that my toddler deleted a few of the photos I took earlier this evening, so the ones I am left with won't do this yummy meal justice.*

I had a freezer of ground beef to work with, along with a bag of potatoes. I decided to make meatloaf for dinner since it sounded like the perfect antidote to this frigid weather. I remember hearing someone talk about making them as "muffins", so I thought I would give it a try.

I used:

2 lbs grass fed organic ground beef

2 organic eggs

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup organic ketchup (not the high fructose corn syrup stuff)

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1 tspn salt

1 tspn ground black pepper

1 tspn onion powder

1 tspn garlic powder

I put everything into my large food processor and did an initial blend, then decided it would be better to transfer everything to a large ziplock bag and mix it that way. You can skip the food processor and just go for the ziplock. As long as I don't have to directly touch the meat with my fingers, I'm good. :) (I used my mini-food processor for the onion. I hate chopping veggies by hand.)

Grease a muffin tin, and add an even amount of the mixture to each spot (I can't think of the name of it, but the hole where you stick the muffin mix is what I'm referring to). :)

Place the muffin tin in a 450 degree oven, and bake for about 20-25 minutes. Then switch the oven to broil, and broil them for 3-4 minutes to get a crispy top.

That's it! They are so easy to make, and so delicious; my favorite combination! Enjoy them with...

Garlicky Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

I used:

4 large baking potatoes, each cut into about 8-10 chunks (leave about half of the skin on)

2/3 cup Greek yogurt

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup milk

2/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 T garlic powder

1 tspn salt

1 tspn ground black pepper

Boil the potatoes for about 25 minutes. Add the cheese and butter first so they melt a little, then mix everything else in, blend together with a hand mixer, and enjoy!

White Chicken Chili

First off, YUM. Seriously, this is so good, and soooo easy. You must make it. You won't be sorry.

We went to the gym after Audrey woke up from her nap this afternoon (her third nap this week, we're on a roll!!!), and hit Trader Joe's afterward when it was super busy with after-work people. I literally tossed a few ingredients into the cart and headed home with both babies.

It's such an easy concoction that I was able to make it in about 15 minutes, while simultaneously feeding an early dinner to my toddler, making a bottle for my six month old, unloading groceries, and catching up with my husband who had just returned home from work.

This is what I used:

shredded chicken (I used TJ's canned chicken. Don't judge. I have never even thought of using it before, but it called out to me from the shelf when it knew how late we were running for dinner/bedtime. Because I used it in chili, you can't even tell.)

1/2 of a white onion, chopped

1 T olive oil

1 can of white kidney beans

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of corn

1/3 jar of salsa verde

1/4 jar of salsa (see picture for size of jar)

about 2/3 cup monterey jack cheese, cubed

about 1/3 cup pepper jack cheese (or jalapeno monterey jack cheese), cubed (to taste...use more pepper jack if you like spice, and use less pepper jack/more monterey jack if you like a more mild flavor)

2/3 cup water

Pour olive oil into a large pot on medium heat, and add the onions. After about a minute, add the chicken and stir. Add the water to the pot, followed by everything else. See, it's easy. :-) Just make sure you stir constantly so the cheese melts evenly and doesn't burn. Turn it down to low heat after the cheese cubes are melted, and let it cook for another 10 minutes or so. Stir every 2-3 minutes during that time. Spoon into bowls and enjoy! I served it with some french bread we had in the freezer. It would also be really good with corn bread or tortilla chips.

Let's Call These "Meat Squares" :)

I am really trying to "shop" from my pantry, fridge, and freezer this week, and came up with a quick and easy (and healthy!) meal for dinner last night. My husband and toddler enjoyed it, as did I, and there are leftovers for dinner this evening. Here is what I used:

1 lb ground beef (we split a cow with a few people and have quite the stash of grass-fed beef in our freezer)

1 package of puff pastry from TJ's

1/2 small onion

a few cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup frozen spinach

few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1 T ground cumin

few grinds of salt

few grinds of black pepper

1 cup of goat cheese, crumbled

Take the puff pastry out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter while you work. Brown and drain the ground beef. Add the onions and garlic to the same pan and saute for about two minutes, then return the beef to the pan. Add spinach, cumin, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper, and stir while cooking on medium heat.

Lay out the two pastry sheets, and spoon beef mixture onto one of them. Top with crumbled goat cheese, and place second pastry sheet on top. Pinch edges together to make a large pocket. Bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes. Check on it occasionally to make sure it hasn't burned, and slice into it to make sure the dough is cooked through.

Cut into four squares and enjoy!

One of My Favorite Dishes~~Enchiladas!

This is a recipe I have been making for years, and every time I make it I change it up a bit. I usually use ground turkey (which I did this time), but the enchiladas are also delicious with shredded or chopped chicken, or ground beef. I also sometimes saute the veggies in butter (this time onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and black beans), but I left out the butter this time.

The best tortillas I have found at the store are the handmade ones from Trader Joe's. They have flour ones and whole wheat ones. This time I used the flour ones. They are so so good!

Ingredients:

1-1.5 lb lean ground turkey

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion powder

Trader Joe's Flour Tortillas

Trader Joe's Enchilada Sauce

One can Trader Joe's Organic Black Beans (I often use dried beans, but they take more preparation)

One small can green chilies

One small/medium tomato, chopped (not too fine)

One small onion, chopped (not too fine)

1/2 cup salsa

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Brown the ground turkey. Drain if necessary.

Add the chopped onion and tomato to the ground turkey, and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the can of black beans (if using dried black beans, add them when you add the onion), and the can of green chilies. Stir for another minute while cooking on medium heat.

Stir in the Greek yogurt and salsa and continue to cook on low heat.

Fill one tortilla at a time with a large spoonfull of the mixture, about 2/3 cup, and sprinkle cheese on top of the meat mixture. Wrap the tortilla closed, and place it on one end of a greased glass baking dish. Do the same 4-5 more times, depending on how full each tortilla is and how many will fit in the dish.

Pour the bottle of enchilada sauce over the enchiladas, and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. After 20 minutes, remove the enchiladas from the oven, sprinkle the remaining cheese over them, and bake for another 7-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Spinach Loaded Lasagna

I decided to make a lasagna last night, but wanted to make it as healthy as possible. My family really enjoyed it. Dan said it had a little too much spinach in it, so next time I might cut out about 1/3 of it. However, my 10 month old, Audrey, wolfed it down, and I knew she was getting her veggies, so that made me feel good. Hopefully she'll continue to enjoy her spinach as she gets older and learns to talk back. :)

Ingredients:

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef (I used beef, which is a rare occurence for us)
1 16 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1 16 oz bag frozen spinach
1 and a half jars of marinara sauce
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 head of garlic, chopped (I chopped it up in a mini food processor)
2/3 of a small yellow onion
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the ground beef, drain the grease, and set the beef aside in a bowl. Using the same skillet (just to make less mess), saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil on medium heat. Add the ground beef back in with the onion and garlic, and pour one jar of marinara sauce in with it. Simmer on low while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, egg, and spinach. Mix until well blended. Set aside.

Grease a 9x13 inch glass dish (I use spray canola oil). Pour about 1/3 of the marinara/ground beef mixture on the bottom of the glass dish, and spread it out in a thin layer.

Place three lasagna noodles on top of the marinara mixture (not overlapping). Scoop 1/2 of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles, and spread it into a thin layer. Top with 1/3 of the ground beef mixture, and spread thin. Top with three more noodles, the rest of the ricotta, and another layer of marinara/beef.

Add the three final noodles on top, pour the 1/2 jar of marinara sauce over the noodles and spread it to completely cover the dish, and sprinkle the mozzarella on top.

Loosely cover the dish with foil (don't set it too close to the cheese or it will stick).

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. When you pull it out of the oven at the end of 50 minutes, let it sit and cool for about 15 minutes.


Enjoy with a salad and some garlic bread. :)

Veggie Loaded Beef Stew

This was my first time experimenting with beef stew, and I have to say it turned out wonderfully! I made sure to add a LOT of veggies and used lean meat to make it extra healthy. I also added a side of homemade whole wheat biscuits, and the meal was a success. Dan gobbled up two bowls, and we'll be having leftovers tonight! :-)

Veggie Loaded Beef Stew


Ingredients:

1 package of Trader Joe's lean stew beef
2/3 cup flour
1 package of pre-chopped onions, carrots, and celery from Trader Joe's (quite inexpensive!)
1 bag of teenie tiny potatoes from TJ's (so cute!) :-)
2 cups of Wolfgang Puck Beef Stock
1 T Herbs de Provence
2 bay leaves
1 T onion powder
1 fresh head of garic, minced (I used a small food processor to make it quick and easy)
1 cup of frozen chopped spinach
1 cup of frozen peas
2 T corn starch (optional--use it if you want a thicker stew, skip it if you want a broth-like stew)
1 tspn salt
1 tspn pepper

I used my crockpot, but you could easily do this in large pot on the stove. You would just need to watch it closely and stir it occasionally over a two hour or so period of time.



Start by placing the stew meat into a large ziplock bag. Add the flour, salt, and pepper, and shake to coat. Place the coated meat into the crockpot. Next, add the potatoes (washed, but not peeled*) and the chopped carrots, celery, onion and fresh garlic. Pour the beef stock over everything and add the herbs de provence, onion powder, and bay leaves. Stir everything together, and turn the crockpot on high for 5-6 hours, or low for 8-10 hours.



About 45 minutes before it is done cooking, stir in the frozen peas and spinach. Place the lid back on the crockpot and finish cooking.


In order to make the stew thick, I mixed 2 T of corn starch with 2/3 cup of water, and poured it into the crockpot. I mixed it all together and let it sit for a few minutes. You can skip this step if you want.


Simple whole wheat biscuits from scratch:


Ingredients:

1 C whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 T butter, slightly melted
1/4 tsp salt
Slightly less than 1/2 cup of milk (3/8)
1/2 cup of flour for the table/cutting board


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking pan with short edges.



Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Using your hands (the fun part!), blend in the butter. Slowly pour the milk into the mixture, while blending with your hands. Place the ball of dough onto the work surface (where your other flour is), and roll it out into a small circle. Use a pizza cutter (or whatever works) to cut it into 5-6 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, flatten the ball so it is about 1/2 inch thick, and place each biscuit on a greased baking pan.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees.

I served the biscuits with a little butter and strawberry preserves.




This recipe yields about 8 servings of beef stew and 6 biscuits. You can eat leftovers one night and freeze the remainder for a night you don't feel like cooking. Your freezer is your friend. Don't throw away leftovers! :)




*I don't peel potatoes ever, even when mashing them. The peels contain most of the nutrition.*