White Turkey Chili

It's fall and that means lots of soups and chili's in my house. This is one of hubby's favorites.It's from one of my favorite healthy chefs, Ellie Krieger. It's spicy so my boys don't eat it. This weekend I served it with jalapeno cornbread.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 medium poblano peppers, seeded, white ribs removed, and finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, plus more to taste
1 pound ground lean turkey
2 15.5-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 15.5-ounce can hominy, drained and rinsed
3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and poblano peppers and cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are soft. Add garlic, cumin, coriander, and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and cook, stirring about 30 seconds.
Add ground turkey and cook until meat is no longer pink. Add white beans, broth, and oregano. Cook, partially covered and stirring, for 25-30 minutes.
Add hominy, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and more cayenne pepper to taste and continue cooking for about 10 minutes.
Ladle into individual bowls and top with sour cream.




*Makes 4 servings.
* Jalapeno cornbread recipe coming later this week.

Chicken Mushroom Quesadillas

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
8 ounces white button mushrooms, coursely chopped
3 cloves garlic
2 cups shredded rotissire chicken
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped (The best way to chop leaves is to gather a bunch, roll like a cigar, and chop.)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4 10 inch whole wheat flour tortillas
1 cup shredded sharp cheese
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup sour cream

Directions:
Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms, and onions stirring constantly until muchrooms begin to brown (about 5-7 minutes). Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder, and oregeno and stir until all spices are incorporated. Stir in spinach, salt, and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted.

Lay tortillas on a flat surface. Sprinkle half id each tortilla with about 2 tbls or cheese. Spoon 1/4 chicken mixture on top of the cheese then top with 2 more tablespoons of cheese.

Fold tortillas over into half moons, pressing down lightly to seal then closed.

Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and preheat over medium heat. Place quesadillas in the pan and cook, turning once, until lightly browned and the cheese is metled, about three minutes per side.

I serve this with sides of salsa and sour cream and spanish rice. My oldest really likes this one too. He thinks I leave the mushrooms and onions out of his, though. Not true.

One thing about this recipe is the prep work. With a toddler tugging on my leg and his big brother running around the house, I can't stand in the kitchen chopping veggies before I even start cooking. Whenever possible, I pick a time when all is quiet (usually toddler's naptime) and chop veggies for dinner. I store in fridge until I'm ready to use which makes preparing the meal so much quicker! For this recipe, I also shred the chicken before-hand.

Baked Spaghetti

This is recipe is on a heavy rotation lately. It's simple and inexpensive. I can prepare the entire dish for about $5.00. We also have plenty for leftovers.

3/4 pound lean ground beef
1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 pound spaghetti
1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
onion powder


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large skillet, cook hamburger until brown seasoning with onion powder. Mix spaghetti sauce into skillet. Reduce heat and simmer.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Mix in pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

Mix together spaghetti and meat mixture, pour into 9x13 pan. Top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

I originally would add peppers and mushrooms but my son won't eat those things thing if he can see them. I love leftover spaghetti more than just-prepared spaghetti and baking it in the oven gives it a great flavor, similar to leftovers.

Breakfast Smoothie

I make this smoothie about 2-3 times a week. The original recipe makes 2 serving so I cut it in half unless hubby wants one too.

1 ripe banana, cut into chunks, frozen

6 medium strawberries  (fresh or frozen)

2 cups skim milk

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/4 cup almonds

2 tablesppons honey

1 cup of ice

Combine all ingedients in a blender and blend until smooth.