recipe of the week: simple turkey chili

i'm back!!! we finished the big move and my new kitchen is a palace! my kitchen counter is ginormous and it makes me want to do all sorts of yummy, domestic things like roll out dough for homemade noodles, pizza and cinnamon rolls.

on to the food. i found this yummy chili a few years ago on allrecipes.com. this time i stretched it really far and used it as toppings for taco salad and baked potato bar. it was great on both! though i enjoy it as its own main dish as well.

simple turkey chili (pics are the taco salad i put it on!)
slightly modified from here
8 servings

you're probably asking yourself - "does she eat everything with a quesadilla on the side?" my answer - i'm a very hungry bovine, so yes! (almost everything mexican, that is)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil (i omit)
  
• 1 pound ground turkey (i usually use 1/2 or 3/4 lb and its plenty for us - and cheaper)
  
• 1 onion, chopped (1/2 works fine)
  
• 2 cups water
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (16 ounce) can kidney beans - drained, rinsed, and mashed
• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans - drained and rinsed (my addition)
  
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (this makes it really spicy - adjust according to your liking!)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. place turkey and onion in crock pot. cook until evenly brown and onions are tender.
   
2. add all other ingredients to the crock pot. cook for as long as desired in crock pot.

sneaky meatballs

i love to sneak things into meatballs because you can't even taste it and then you're getting a delicious extra veggie. try these! one my mom used to make and one of the only homemade meals i made when i was single in college. ha!

porcupine meatballs

i used spinach in the sauce this time and actually didn't like it! just put it inside the meatballs.

1 lb ground turkey (or lean ground beef)
1/3 cup uncooked white rice (add a small extra handful if you're using ground turkey to help it stick together better
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
a few dashes of pepper
some grated zucchini or finely chopped spinach (how much depends on you!)
2 cans condensed tomato soup
1 cup water
chili powder, garlic salt and cumin to taste

1. combine turkey, rice, onion, 1/4 cup water, salt and pepper. mix well. add spinach or zucchini and mix again.
2. shape this mixture into 1 inch meatballs. you should have 15 to 20.
3. combine tomato soup, 1 cup water and seasonings to taste in a large pot.
4. add meatballs to pot. bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer (covered or almost covered - depends on if covering it makes it crazy boil for you like it sometimes does for me) for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
5. serve over a yummy grain - i like to serve it over rice, but it would probably be yummy over egg noddles as well.

replicating a favorite

do you have a dish from a restaurant that you absolutely love? i know i do. eating out is expensive, but sometimes you really just want that delicious, professional, mouth-watering restaurant taste... can you have it at home?

i think you can! the trick is just finding, or creating, the right recipe. here are a few tips:

• check the restaurant's website. some restaurants, like olive garden for example, posts recipes on their website. easy as that!
• google it. chances are there is a recipe online for it somewhere! caution: this doesn't mean it will be fabulous, but if you find it somewhere reputable, it's bound to be good!
• check your favorite food blogs. or your friends blogs for that matter. my friend amy recently posted her mom's recreated cafe rio salads and pf changs lettuce wraps. jenny at picky palate recreated one of her restaurant favorites - the pizza pie - and it looked delicious!
• recreate it yourself. check the menu at the restaurant for ingredients first. what is that flavor you just can't identify? it might just say it on the menu - i.e. "a hint of lime", "drizzled with garlic and olive oil", etc. don't forget to share it with the rest of us when it's fabulous!

enough with tips... on to the food. i got really hungry the other day for a favorite from our favorite family restaurant - macayo. not the best mexican food, but for some reason tradition always makes it taste better than it probably actually is. :) either way, i was totally craving albondigas soup, spanish for "meatball" and a macayo specialty, so i googled it and it turns out one of my favorite food bloggers - elise at simply recipes - had a recipe for it. a few skinny bovine modifications and mmmm.... we had delicious albondigas soup for dinner. check it out!

albondigas soup

adapted from simply recipes

serves 6-8

yes... my camera captured the steam coming off of the soup. way cool.

1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 small/medium onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 - 1 cup of tomato sauce (i want to use 1/2 cup tomato sauce and 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes next time)
10 cups beef broth (or chicken, i used beef though) (elise said: "we usually use half stock half water as the meatballs will create their own stock" - i used 8 cups broth 2 cups water since the ground turkey doens't create as strong a broth as ground beef)
2 large carrots, sliced
1 pound ground turkey
1/3 cup of raw white rice + an extra handful
1 raw egg
4 teaspoons dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
dried oregano
salt and pepper

4 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
chopped fresh cilantro

1. heat oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. add onion and minced garlic and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. add tomato sauce and broth mixture. bring to boil and simmer. add carrots.
2. prepare meatballs. mix rice into meat, adding parsley, salt and pepper. add raw egg. form beef into 1-inch meatballs (i used a small cookie scoop - worked like magic!).
3. return soup to gentle simmer. add meatballs to soup, one at a time. cover and let simmer for 1/2 hour. add spinach towards the end of the 1/2 hour. add a few pinches of oregano and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. garnish soup with chopped fresh cilantro.

recipe of the week: shepherd's pie

shepherd's pie is a classic. easy, warm and delicious. but this one is done the skinny bovine way. soooo yummy, lots of veggies, lower-fat substitutes and it's another great way to use all of those potatoes left over from the holidays. (i am the only one with some left still?? that's what happens when potatoes go on sale, i guess... i go crazy!!!) try this one out on your kids too. they should love it!

shepherd's pie

8 servings

mashed potatoes (try mine or make your own)

1 box stuffing mix

1 lb ground turkey

1/3 cup chopped onions

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper

1 1/2 to 2 cups corn (or one can, drained)

1 1/2 to 2 cups green beans (or one can, drained)

1 can 98% fat free cream of chicken soup

grated cheese (i use cheddar jack)

1. brown ground turkey with onions and garlic in skillet until done, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

2. make stuffing according to box directions, but with no butter (yes, just use the water).

3. spread mashed potatoes 1/2 inch to 1 inch (adjust for how many potatoes you have!) at the bottom of a 13x9 in glass baking dish. spread ground turkey mixture over the top, then stuffing, then corn and green beans. spread cream of chicken soup over the top then top with grated cheese as desired.

4. bake at 350 F for 30 to 40 min or until hot throughout (sometimes i make mine ahead and put it in the fridge so i have to bake it a little longer).

go fancy: the art of recipe modification

i used to find myself getting discouraged because i'd see fancy meals that looked soooo delicious in magazines, online or even in restaurants that were just too fancy for me to make for any number of reasons. then i started dappling in the art of recipe modification and realized - "i can cook fancy, exotic things too!". the consequence is that now i'm not capable of following a recipe exactly (which is sometimes good and sometimes...), but here are some basic reasons the skinny bovine modifies recipes and how i work around them (if this post is too long for your taste, skip down to the "total savings for all 6 servings" near the bottom and you may be convinced it is worth your time!):

• the ingredient is too expensive. this obviously happens a lot on my budget. some examples are fancy cheeses, nuts, fresh herbs, etc.
• the ingredient is obscure or strange. do you ever read a recipe and think - "what the heck is that and where would i even buy it?"
• the ingredient is the most unhealthy thing you could possibly eat. that might be extreme, but you know what i mean. example - a whole cup of oil in a cake recipe. barf. how young do you want to die?
• you don't like the ingredient.

work arounds:

• leave it out: you obviously can't leave out a main ingredient or something that will drastically change the taste of a recipe, but there are many things you can leave out. example: my banana nut muffins are still fabulous without the expensive nuts.
• cut it down: if there is something expensive, maybe just use a tiny bit of it. if it is something unhealthy, see if you can use less - it is often just as good with less! example: almost every recipe calls for more oil than is actually needed. cut it way down or you can often leave it out (see example below).
• search out a substitute: so brie cheese or fresh herbs won't fit in your budget either? you want to make a pasta sauce with cooking wine but you don't buy wine? a cake recipe call for 1 cup of oil (barf)? use google or a cookbook in your kitchen to find a substitute. example: chicken broth is a good sub for some kinds of wine in recipes. sub applesauce or plain yogurt for oil. (see an herb example below.)
• use a different ingredient than the undesirable one and then use extra of something else (spices, another ingredient, etc.) to compensate. this takes a little bit of practice, but try it and you'll be surprised how creative you are! (i did this with the spaghetti squash and red sauce - added more of the veggies i like and left out the ones i don't. i also do it in the example below.)

my sweet friend jenny brought me dinner right after i had my daughter and what she brought was sooooo yummy i just had to get the recipe. i was slightly disappointed when i saw all of the fancy ingredients, but have since modified this fancy, exotic recipe to be totally doable, even for a healthy-eating, money saving skinny bovine. it illustrates all of the above modifiying techniques also, so it helps illustrate my point! it also uses some of that coriander i told you to buy when i posted creamy herbed chicken and homemade mashed potatoes!

rachel ray's "moroccan chili and 10,000 grains of sand"

6 servings

(places where i made changes are purple - see list of changes and reasons below)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds ground lamb
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups chicken stock/broth
a handful golden raisins
4 apricots, chopped
1 1/2 cups couscous
3 to 4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
a handful fresh parsley leaves, chopped
a handful fresh mint leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
8 pita breads, cut into wedges for scooping

skinny bovine's "moroccan chili and 10,000 grains of sand"
6 servings

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder + a bit more
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin + a little more
1 tablespoon ground coriander + a bit more
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon + an extra dash
1/2 teaspoon paprika + a little bit
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce, eyeball it
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 teaspoon dried parsley
a handful fresh spinach leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped chives
8 pita breads, cut into wedges for scooping (made from recipe here)

looks the same as rachel ray's, eh?

1. make pita bread and let rise.
2. heat skillet, add meat. season the meat with salt and pepper, to taste, chili powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and paprika. cook until browned.
3. add the bay leaf, onions, bell pepper and garlic to the pan. cook until onions are soft, 8 minutes. 4. add lemon juice and zest, worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce. stir and reduce heat to simmer.
5. bring butter and stock to a boil in a pot with tight fitting lid. add couscous, stir then turn off heat and set lid in place. let stand 5 minutes. add spinach and dried herbs and toss with fork.
6. cook pita bread and cut into wedges.
7. pile chili in bowls, top with "sand" and serve with pita wedges for scooping.


changes:

• eliminated olive oil - there is enough grease in the meat that you don't need it and you're eliminating 28 grams of fat and 240 calories by leaving it out!
• substituted 2 lbs ground lamb for 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey - who has ground lamb? and this makes it 36 grams of fat and 765 calories in 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey instead of 123 grams of fat and 1772 calories in 2 lbs ground lamb.
• added a little bit more of each spice - ground turkey absorbs flavor and usually needs more. (read more.)
• left out half the butter (just 1 tablespoon instead of 2) - saving 11 grams of fat and 100 calories.
• left out apricots and raisins - i don't like apricots or raisins and they are just something else that adds cost to the meal.
• left out pine nuts and mint - i once paid about $2 for 2 tablespoons of pine nuts. never again. these would obviously be a yummy addition, but the recipe is still wonderful without them! also, 3 tablespoons of pine nuts has 174 calories and 18 grams of fat)
• substituted fresh parsley for 1 teaspoon dried - way cheaper!
• added spinach - this way it is still pretty like if you used the fresh herbs and besides, you added a veggie! (read more on adding veggies)

total savings for all 6 servings:

• fat grams eliminated: 144 (olive oil, turkey, butter, pine nuts)
• calories eliminated: 1521 (olive oil, turkey, butter, pine nuts)
• money saved: $12 (about $4 on turkey, $4 on fresh herbs, $1 on fruit, $3 on pine nuts)

okay - that is totally amazing!!!!!!!!! i don't usually obsessively break it down like that, but i'm even shocked now. that is real healthy and budgeted savings!

hope this post was as fun for you to read as it was for me to create! now, go to it - go mess with a recipe! take something out, add something yummy, make it better and make it your own!

adventures in family-friendly cooking

so last week i was in las vegas babysitting my niece and 2 nephews in the afternoons while their regular sitter (a.k.a. grandma) is out of town. i decided it would be fun to be their personal chef for the week (or "auntie chef" as the kids are now calling me), but it has been more of a challenge than i thought it would be cooking for 3 kids and 2 adults that don't necessarily eat the same way i do. i had some success... and some failure and just thought i'd share my adventures with you.

first of all, a quick bio on my eaters last week:

jeremy: my brother, definitely a picky eater, a very finicky palate, often tough to please, spent most of my summer cooking trying to figure out how to do just that
melissa: my sister-in-law, good eater, not tough to please
jacob: nephew, 12, likes plain noodles, plain rice and chicken - as long as you don't season it wrong
emma: niece, 7, can "pound the sushi", a more adventurous eater than i, unless you venture into the realm of "healthy" (which i often do!)
abe: nephew, 4, funniest kid you'll ever meet, prefers hotdogs and doughnuts above all else

next, my menu with reviews (recipes will be last or click links for recipes):

monday: easy baked pasta
jer, mel and jacob: m.i.a.
emma: loved the meat, got sick of the noodles 1/2 way through her plate
abe: hilarious. kept telling me he wouldn't eat it because "i tried it 20 times" and "i don't like it". i promised him i'd make him something else as long as he tried it. he tried it, admitted that he liked it, then caught me in my own promise by reminding me i only said he had to take one bite and then opting for the previous night's pizza in the fridge. funny kid man.

tuesday: turkey chili and corn bread (thanks to abe for "making" the corn bread. he's the most fun cooking buddy i've ever had) (yummiest corn bread ever. seriously. email me for recipe if you're dying for it. it can't go on skinny bovine because it is not... i repeat, not, good for you. :) )jer: liked the chili, loved the corn bread
melissa: loved both
jacob: m.i.a.
emma: loved both - even had seconds of the chili!
abe: loved his corn bread. wouldn't touch the chili. he's 4. what do you expect?

wednesday: chicken tacos and quesadillas
jer: loved them, even raved about them you might say - surprised me and opted for quesadillas, though
melissa: loved them. doesn't usually like chicken, but she loved this chicken. opted for tacos. jacob: m.i.a.
emma: loved the quesadillas. had 2.
abe: talked about the upcoming quesadillas all day, devoured his when it finally came and discovered a new love for sour cream

thursday: orange chicken (click here for recipe on previous post)
jer: m.i.a.
mel: liked it okay
jacob: really liked it
emma: liked it for the first 5 minutes and then changed her mind. haha.
abe: said it was the "best chicken i ever eat". :)

friday: homemade pizza (a frequent request. they love my pizza.) lots of variation is easy with this one to please different eaters - andouille sausage and kalmata olives for jer, chicken pesto for mel and i, and simple cheese for the kids
jer: has since declared this his "favorite food right now" and said he wouldn't hesitate spending another $250 bucks to fly me in if i made the pizza for him again
mel: loved it - "what did you put in that crust?"
jacob: loved it
emma: loved it
abe: loved it - and even had seconds despite the fact that he'd been begging me to make him "shells and cheese" for dinner

simple turkey chili

simple turkey chili (click here to read kid reviews)

1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 cups water
1 (28 ounce) can canned crushed tomatoes
1 (16 ounce) can canned kidney beans - drained, rinsed, and mashed
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (less if you're extra sensitive to spicy)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. brown turkey and onion in large pot until done.
2. pour water into the pot. mix in tomatoes, kidney beans, and garlic. season with chili powder, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper.

3. bring to a boil. reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 30 minutes.

crockpot option: brown turkey and onions. combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook for however long you desire.

recipe and picture from allrecipes.com - with a few variations, of course!

easy baked pasta

easy baked pasta (click here to read reviews)

ziti noodles
mozerella
parmesan
your favorite pasta sauce
ground turkey browned with fresh garlic, salt and pepper

bake at 350 for 30 min

easy as that and it's a sure fire hit with almost any crowd!

update on ground turkey

if i read my comments more faithfully i would have seen this ahead (see comments under homemade poppyseed dressing) , but stacey and clare tell me that ground turkey is even cheaper in tubes in the frozen section of your grocery store! thanks girls! as usual, we're all in this together!!

the other ground meat: discover ground turkey

to most people ground turkey sounds foreign, scary and just plain wrong when compared to ground beef. i hope to change your mind about that. let me introduce you to a much more flavorful, healthy and delicious alternative that will make all of your favorite ground beef dishes even more delicious.

a few reasons why ground turkey is skinny-bovine worthy:

• unlike ground beef, it is a good source of lean protein with very little fat
• it has a yummy flavor all by itself
• you can use it in almost any recipe in which you would normally use ground beef. try the substitution in one of your favorites (see trick below!)
• it's cheaper than good, extra lean ground beef. macey's in provo grounds their own turkey and it is normally $1.59/lb (good lean ground beef on sale might be $1.99/lb). the jennie-o brand is expensive, so call grocers in your area and find one who grounds their own.
• no greasy after taste. is anyone else disgusted by that gross film in your mouth after you eat ground beef?

an important ground turkey trick:

• when using ground turkey as a substitute for ground beef you'll need to know that ground turkey seasons differently than does ground beef. use more seasonings (in many recipes almost double) when using ground turkey.

it's so good. i promise. just try it. you'll be glad you did. here's a fun recipe to start with!

taco soup (4 large servings)

1 lb ground turkey (still yummy with less meat if you like less or if you want to make it extra cheap!)
½ cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15 oz can corn, drained
1 cup water
½ packet western family taco seasoning - more if you like it with more spice! (same taste can be accomplished with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt to taste)

1. spray a skillet with cooking spray. combine onions, garlic, ground turkey, garlic salt and black pepper in skillet. cook until meat browed and onions soft.
2. in large pot cominbe crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, corn, water and taco seasoning. add meat mixture.
3. cook until hot throughout and until beans are hot in center.

fun toppings: cheese, sour cream, cilantro, avocado/guacamole, tortilla chips (not all of these are healthy or cheap, but if you have them laying around they are kind of fun!)

i like to eat mine with cheese quesadillas as shown in the picture! if you’re feeling extra healthy use whole wheat tortillas.

fun modifications:
kid-friendly – use 2 cans tomato soup instead of crushed tomatoes. makes it smooth and creamy!
vegetarian – grill onions and garlic without the meat and add a can of rinsed and drained black beans

this recipe would be easy to throw together and leave in the crockpot all day until you get home as well.

price breakdown:
1 lb ground turkey - $1.59
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes - $0.84
1 15 oz can kidney beans - $0.59
1 15 oz can corn - $0.59
1/2 packet taco seasoning - $0.17
onion, garlic, garlic salt, pepper - $0.25

total (4 large servings) - $4.03

so no more ground beef. your palate and waist line will thank you.

original cow picture from http://nikkislinks.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/eat-more-chicken.jpg modified by me

taco soup recipe inspired by my mother-in-law's taco soup, but recipe is the skinny bovine's