Terrific Turkey Chili

2 tbsp. oil
1 lb ground turkey
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili pepper flakes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 (14.5 oz) can beef broth
1 can salsa
1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
1 (7oz) can green chili peppers chopped
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 green bell pepper diced

for topping if desired
1 bunch green onions
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil.  Crumble turkey into large stock pot and break apart.  Seamson with taco seasoning, coriander, oregano, chili flakes and tomato paste until meat is evenly coated.  Cook until turkey is well browned.
2. Pour in beef broth, and simmer to reduce liquid (5 min).  Add salsa, tomatoes and green chilis and continue to cook at moderate simmer for 10 min.  Adjust thickness at any time by adding water.
3.  While chili is cooking, heat 1 tbsp oil in skillet and cook onion and green pepper, stirring occassionally until onion is translucent.  Add to chili and simmer on low.

Heart-shaped chicken nuggets

This comes from one of my favorite recipe for kids books, First Meals by Annabel Karmel. There are many possible variations possible using different fruits and adding veg, maybe using yogurt, cereal instead of breadcrumbs, etc. Jack loved it and it's a little more of that traditional chicken nugget texture. Tommy, of course, did not touch it. Here is the recipe in its true form

3/4 lb chicken cutlets, cut into chunks
1 large onion, diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 small apple, peeled and grated
3/4 cup fresh white bread crumbs
1 chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 oz cheese and onion flavored chips, finely crushed
vegetable oil for frying

1. Put the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and chop for a few seconds until well combined. Shape the mixture into a flat disk

2. Use a 2 1/2 in cookie cutter to press out heart shapes. Mix the bread crumbs and chips on a plate and press the pieces into the coating.

3. Heat enough oil in a large skillet for shallow frying. Add the nuggets and cook for about 6 minutes, turning occassionally, until lightly golden and cooked through

Lasagnequinoa

John and I are both giving this a thumbs up as a good quinoa dish, not necessarily as a good lasagne substitute. The proportions seem off to me as my layers were really thin, but this is the recipe as I got it

1 can peeled tomatoes or 4 roma tomatoes chopped
1lb hamburger or veggie burger (we used a hamburger, turkey mix)
2 8-oz can tomato sauce
3 cups cooked quinoa (1 cup uncooked + 2 cups water = 3 cups cooked)
1/4 lb mozzarella cheese crumbled
1/4 lb parmesan cheese (grated)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 cup onion, minced
1/2 lb ricotta cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until browned. Add hamburger, cook until browned. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, salt and oregano. Simmer. Preheat oven to 350.

Put layer of this sauce in bottom of 13 x 9 x 2 1/2 in baking dish, following with layer of quinoa and layer of cheeses. Repeat two more layers ending with sauce and extra parmesan cheese on top. Bake about 35 minutes. Serves 6-8

Should freeze well, since both lasagne and quinoa do

Garlic Soup - using stale leftover bread

Anna told me today that her post-Thanksgiving challenge is to not let any leftovers go to waste. Here is a nice way to use leftover bread.

Andres made this soup for me for the first time one wintry day when Andrea was in town. I was starting to get a cold, but this soup boosted me up right away.

Garlic Soup

Stale bread (should add up to about 4 cups cubed; if less, scale recipe accordingly)
4-5 teaspoons olive oil
Beef broth
1 head garlic, peeled and cloves smashed, as though someone hit it with a hammer
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pepper

Place a few teaspoons of olive oil and 2 smashed garlic cloves in the bottom of your soup pot, and place over medium heat. While the oil is heating, cut the bread into 1-inch cubes. Fry the bread in the olive oil until it is evenly browned. Add enough chicken broth to create a soup of the desired consistency, adding more if needed as the bread soaks up broth. Add bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes or so.



This soup is slightly reminiscent of French onion soup, and I think it would be awesome to experiment adding onions -- if anyone tries it, let me know how you approached it!

My darling clementine

Crates of clementines are back in stores! I love them so much. Mostly I peel 'em and eat 'em, but I do have an amazing clementine baking tip. Observe:

Place 3-4 clementines in a pot of cold water. Bring to a simmer and let them go at a slow simmer for a while -- say 2 hours or so. Your house will smell wonderful. Drain and let cool.

When they are cool enough to handle, chop them up -- skins and all -- removing any seeds or bad spots. This will turn into a mash of pulp and juice and soft skin.

You can use this mash the same way you might use applesauce to replace oil in baking recipes. Here is one specific recipe that I adore:

In a small bowl or mug, mix 2-3 Tablespoons of No Pudge! Brownie Mix with enough clementine mash to just moisten the mix. Stir until glossy. Pour batter into an individual ramekin. Place a single Hershey's kiss, or another piece of good chocolate, into the center of the ramekin. Bake at 325 until set.

The result: a clementiney and chocolately molten brownie cake.

Another winner is this clementine torte from JoyofBaking.com. It uses ground almonds instead of flour. I use Almond Meal from Trader Joe's.

Easiest Yummiest Chicken

I just made this yesterday, and was SO happy to have it waiting for me when I walked in the door at 7:30!

Four chicken breasts
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 lb of mushrooms
1/2 bottle of Ken's balsamic marinade

Cook soup with one can of water. Remove from heat and add marinade. Combine all in crock pot and cook on low. (Sorry I can't say exactly how long. I have a "probe" that automatically turns it to Warm when the chicken is cooked.)

There is a lot of sauce, so rice might be a good side dish.

This is so yummy - it tastes kind of like chicken marsala, minus the 100 grams of fat!

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