Pantry Chili

This chili was created out of necessity. I had a pound of ground turkey in the fridge, and I had to do something with it quickly before it turned. So chili it is. Unfortunately, it did not have the flair of my regular chili, which contains a ton of peppers and greater depth of flavor, but this was pretty good for what I had around the house, not prepared to make chili. Luckily I had a can of Chili peppers in adobo, which essentially saved my butt in making this. It adds a really nice smoke flavor and just enough heat.

1 pound of ground turkey

canola oil

4-6 minced shallots

5 cloves of garlic minced

1 can black beans

1 can red kidney beans

2 cans of diced tomatoes

1 can of tomato sauce (regular can, not mini)

1/2 box of chicken stock

1/2 can chipotle peppers in adobo

1/2 bag of frozen corn

1 fresh hot pepper - no idea what kind it was, it was red and green and form the yard

1 teaspoon cumin

2 heaping tablespoons of chili powder

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 tablespoon Montreal steak seasoning

Saute the ground turkey with canola oil, and add minced garlic and shallots while browning. When cooked through drain the beans, do not rinse, and add them in. Season with steak seasoning, chili powder, parsley, oregano. Then add the tomatoes and sauce. Now add in 1/2 a box of chicken stock and bring to boil. while that is going open the chipotle peppers and pull out half the can. dice them and scoop them up, sauce, seeds and all and place that in the pot. add in cumin to taste. Place the corn in a coriander, and run some water over it to quickly defrost, then add into the pot. Bring to boil. Serve over rice. This will thicken as it stands.

Asian Fusion Goes Vegan

I was thinking of making a vegetarian dinner, but it turned out vegan. There is no country of origin to this dish. It's just asian fusion. I forgot to add the shelled edamame, but this still had plenty of fresh veggies in it.

1 package of udon noodles
1 pack of firm tofu
EVOO
1 bundle of thin asparagus, trimmed
2 red peppers
1 bundle of green onions
7 cloves of garlic, minced
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
Cayenne pepper
red pepper flakes
sesame oil
hot chili oil

Boil a a few quarts of water. Cook udon noodles as directed and drain. Pour into a large bowl. Drizzle over the top sesame oil and hot chili oil. Toss to coat so the noodles don't stick. Crack over some black pepper, sea salt (easy on the sale) and a splash of tamari. toss to coat again.

I started by pan frying a pack of firm tofu. I didn't think extra firm was necessary. pour enough EVOO to coat the bottom of the pan. We're not deep frying or anything, but just enough to pan fry, maybe about a 1/4 cup or so. Brown the tofu on all sides. Once browned remove from pan and set on top of the noodles.

I used the same pot that I boiled the water in and drizzled a bunch of olive oil. Let that heat for a minute then add the garlic. Allow that to cook for about 30 seconds or so shaking the pan to infuse the garlic into the olive oil. Toss in the oyster mushrooms and allow to cook. Add the ginger and a splash of Tamari. Then add the asparagus allow to cook for a couple minutes. Add a few pinches of red pepper flakes. Next add the red pepper then the green onions. add about a 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper. add another splash of Tamari and season to taste.

To plate: create a bed of noodles, then top with veggie mixture and tofu. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve with a side of peeled sliced cucumbers, baby carrots, and a dollop of hummus.

Turkey Penne

This is my quintessential, what to make when I feel like making food but don't want to make anything very complicated or chop many things dish. Pasta with meat sauce! It saves really nicely, plus it has two things runners always need: carbs and protein. I know how to make my own sauce, but sometimes we all gotta take short cuts. Start to finish, this takes less than 30 minutes.

get a pot of water to boil. Add a pound of penne (TJ's Organic is terrific) and cook as directed. Drain.

Meat sauce:

EVOO (olive oil with extra virginity)

1 pound lean ground turkey

1 onion

6 cloves of garlic minced

italian seasonings

red pepper flakes

dried marjoram

sprinkle of montreal steak seasoning

1 jar of organic marinara sauce

1 can of organic tomato sauce (the regular can, not the mini one)

1/4 cup of half and half

in a very large pan, drizzle enough EVOO to coat the bottom and begin browning the turkey. Season with some steak seasoning and italian seasonings while browning. In the meantime, mince the garlic and dice the onion and add while browning. add in the rest of the seasonings. Stir and break up the meat until cooked all the way through. Add the marinara sauce and tomato sauce. The tomato sauce basically stretches the sauce out, without having to open another jar. Now pour some half and half into the empty jar of marinara sauce and screw the lid back on. Shake it all about to collect the rest of what's in that jar and pour in the pot. Simmer until bubbly and/ or your pasta is done cooking. Pour your drained al dente pasta in and stir. Top with fresh grated parm. mmmm

Green Chicken Enchilada Casserole

I'm Finally back! It's been forever since I posted, and am looking forward to sharing some new things. My work had a Cinco De Mayo potluck, so the food was Mexican themed. I've made enchiladas the regular way, and I find it's much easier to feed a crowd when you make it into a casserole. This Enchilada is basically an Enchilada Lasagna. Layered deliciousness. This makes two 9 x 13 pans... the second 9 x 13 is a litte smaller but still is a lot.

1 30 pack of corn tortillas (need about 20 or so)

1 whole cooked rotisserie chicken

1 habenero pepper

1 can of diced tomatos

2 small onions - or 1 whole

6 cloves of garlic

2 green peppers

2 jalapeno peppers

1 anaheim chili

1/2 bag of frozen corn, defrosted in water and drained.

1 can of black beans, drained

1 can (regular not mini) of tomato sauce

1 massive can of green chili enchilada sauce

1 block of pepperjack cheese, shredded

remove skin and shred the chicken and place in a bowl. add in the can of tomatos and let that hang out. Just like the general rule in life, when you work with things that are small and fiery... use protection. Put on a pair of rubber gloves to cut the Habanero, remove the seeds, and dice into teeny tiny pieces. Put that in the chicken bowl and stir.

Get out a very large bowl. Dice your onions and mince your garlic. Place in the bowl, then dice the rest of the peppers. Again, use protection when you cut the hot stuff. Otherwise when you will try to put on your contact the next morning and it feels like your eyes are on fire. Not cool. Add the corn, black beans, and tomato sauce. mix well.

Cut the tortillas into one inch squares. Stack up about 4 at a time, and cut 1 inch strips. Then cut them the other way. Repeat until you have a big pile.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter up a 9 x 13 pan. or use pam. add a splash of green enchilada sauce and spread. Place a single layer or tortillas, covering the bottom of the pan. Then add the veggie layer over the tortillas. then layer some chicken - it's ok to space this out. Then add a layer of cheese. Then cover with a single layer of tortillas. Cover that layer with a generous splash of enchilada sauce. be sure to spread. Now repeat the process one more time finishing with a layer of tortillas and sauce. Then just sprinkle some cheese on top. Cover with foil. Bake for 35 minutes, uncover the foil, then place back in the oven and bake for 10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Arriba!

Three Cheese Almost Margarita Pizza

Three Cheese Pizza. Because Sometimes you just want a plethora of cheeses in your mouth. But then sometimes you have other stuff around to make it better... and you end up making a something that's kinda margarita too. The thing that impressed me the most was that it only took me 15 minutes of prep time to put together this thing. And if you knew me, I never take 15 minutes to cook anything ever, unless it's raw like salad. and that usually takes me about 15 minutes. And I just about always parbake the Trader Joe's pizza dough. Otherwise the dough ends up raw and the ingredients are over cooked. If you parbake your dough is perfectly cooked=)

1 premade dough - Trader Joe's herb dough

1/3-1/2 jar of tomato basil sauce in a jar

1/2 a chunk of mozzarella

a handful of parm

goat cheese - about 1/3 of a small log

4 garlic cloves

a handful of fresh basil

Make sure your dough is almost room temperature by leaving it out about a 1/2 hour before you start. preheat oven to 450.

Roll out the dough on a board and spray a pizza pan or cookie sheet with Pam spray. Place the dough on the board and drizzle with olive oil. Par bake this crust for about 6 minutes. then pull out of the oven. While it is baking:

shred the mozzarella, mince garlice, and wash, dry, and slice the basil.

Now. Once the dough is par baked, spread the tomato basil sauce over the top. Top with the Parm. Then layer the mozzarella and goat cheese. Be sure to chunk out the goat cheese to distribute. Sprinkle the garlic then basil. Pop in the oven for 11 minutes. Done.

Dark Meat and Veggie Red Curry

Curries are awesome one pot meals that you can throw together with lots of staples. I decided to use dark meat to be more economical - there was a 5 dollar difference between organic thigh and breast meat. And I think you get richer flavor from dark meat anyway. My mom swore that this was a little too spicy for her liking, but I begged to differ on that one. I didn't even use cayenne, which I typically do. Musta been the jalapenos. Overall I thought it was pretty tasty and it saves very well. and I think I made enough for about 6 people

in a rice cooker or seperate pot, cook up 1 cup of brown rice in double the water.

spices used:

Salt and Pepper

cumin

tumeric

red pepper flakes

2 bay leaves

ginger powder

1 pack of dark meat chicken.

1 medium onion diced

4 cloves of garlic minced

2 potatos, peeled and cleaned - chopped into 1 inch cubes

5 carrots - peeled an sliced

4 - jalapenos - seeded, white ribs removed

1 mini bag of cauliflower - equivilant to about a 1/4 head

2 handfulls of frozen peas = about 3/4 - 1 cup

1 can (14 oz or so) coconut milk

1/3 box of chicken broth

3 tablespoons of red curry paste

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of fish sauce (patis)

a large handful of fresh cilantro for garnish

heat to medium a large pot. add a generous amount of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Slice the meat into cubes then drop in. season with salt and pepper. Also season with a teaspoon of cumin, a generous sprinkle of tumeric, a 1/2 tsp or so of red pepper flakes, and a sprinkle of ground ginger. Start peeling and chopping the rest of the veggies and add them in as you go. Be sure to add the potatos pretty early as they would take longer to cook. After the last veggie has been added, pop a can of coconut milk and pour in, soon to be followed by a chicken broth. add paste in, into one section. be sure to break it down thoroughly and stir very very well. Then sprinkle in the brown sugar and fish sauce. heat to boiling. mix in a large handful of fresh chopped cilantro at the end. mix to wilt. Serve over brown rice.

This Beet is Going Greek

I am now on a quest to be thin. I got 8 weeks until memorial day - beach season - and I need to get skinny. Let's see how well I can hold the heavy whipping cream for the next two months. Don't worry, I wont get boring on the blog. The body still wants the extra 3500 calories a week I burn on the runs, so I gotta satisfy somehow.

I actually really enjoyed this salad. it was very easy to assemble and the beets were a nice contrast to the mediteranean flavors. I guess spinach isn't very greek, but neither are beets, so I guess this is more of a Greek inspired meal than a greek meal.

The tomatos were grown indoors in Carlsbad, so they were still local even though they were out of season. Even though it was local and I let it ripen for a week, I think tomatos are still best over the summer. The taboulie salad I got in a tub from Baba Foods at the OB Farmers market. it already has lemon juice in it, but the extra lemon juice just makes it spectacular.

2 massive handfuls of baby spinach
3 precooked beets - Yea TJ's - sliced and set aside
1/2 cup of prepared Taboulie salad (if you are feeling extra motivated make your own: parsley, bulgar wheat, tomatoes, red onions, lemon juice, olive oil, and some spices)
1 tomato
1/2 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar

lay out the spinach and arrange beets in a circle. plop the taboulie salad in the middle and slice up a tomato and also place around hte taboulie. juice the lemon over everything. dress with oil and vinegar. easy on the vinegar because there is already acid with the lemon juice.