Turkey Meatballs

I made these for my husband and he raved about them. I made a double recipe and froze them in single serve packages so he can make a quick meal when I am away.

1 pound ground turkey
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c onion, diced
1/4 cup parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 egg
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

Mix together and form into balls.

You can brown them in a pan and then bake them at 350 F for 15 minutes.
You can cook them in the pan completely or in boiling stock.
I made them into 1 tbsp sized balls and baked them at 350 F for 30 minutes.

Our dog watches the oven while the meatballs bake

White Chili

I cook dried beans in a small crockpot and do not bother to pre-soak them. After rinsing and sorting the beans, I cover them with boiling water, salt, peppers or onions (optional, depending on their intended use) and then put the crock pot on high until the beans are soft. Black beans, peruano beans, red beans and white kidney beans cook the fastest of the legumes I have tried. Today I cooked a pot of white kidney beans for Pasta e Fagioli soup. After mentioning this to my daughter on Skype, she suggested I try making white chili, a dish I have never heard of before. I had cooked chicken on hand and the chili came together quickly. A vegetarian version is included. Adjust the seasonings and hot peppers to your taste.

1 tbsp oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
2-4 finely chopped jalapeno peppers, seeds removed (could use poblano peppers instead)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 -1 tsp dried oregano
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Heat oil in large pan. Add onion, peppers and spices and cook until softened.

Add:

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups cooked white kidney beans
2 cups chopped chicken breast (can use ground turkey or chicken instead) OR
2 cups chopped mushrooms or vegetarian "chicken breast"

Simmer for 10-15 minutes until thickened. I added 1/2 cup mashed white beans to thicken it faster.

Add 1/4-1/2 cup chopped cilantro and serve with salsa verde and grated cheese.

I made burritos with the chili using 10" whole wheat wraps. It can also be served with tostadas or tortilla chips

Rice and Bean Casserole

I modified this Brown Rice and Black Bean Casserole from allrecipes.com. By doubling the ingredients, I made 2 casseroles, one with chicken and one vegetarian. They went together quickly and I set the oven on timer so we had a yummy hot meal when we came home from church.  You need 1-1/2 cups of rice and about 2 cups diced chicken (or turkey) for a single recipe. If you don't have any leftovers, start cooking the rice and chicken before you cut up the vegetables. I used 1 tin of black beans and 1 tin of white kidney beans for a double recipe and the combination was very good.

• 1/2 cup converted rice
• 1 cup vegetable broth or salted water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (add seeds if you like heat)
• 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 cooked skinless boneless chicken breast halves, chopped
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• salt to taste
• ground cayenne pepper to taste
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained
• (1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers, drained)- I used a fresh jalapeno instead
• 1/2 cup chopped or shredded carrots
• 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese

Directions:

1. Mix the rice and vegetable broth in a pot, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes, or until rice is tender.
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in the zucchini, peppers, carrots, and mushrooms. Season with cumin, salt, and ground cayenne pepper. Cook and stir until zucchini is lightly browned.
3. In large bowl, mix the cooked rice, onion, zucchini, mushrooms, beans, chiles, carrots, and 1/2 the Swiss cheese. Add chicken if not making a meatless dish. Transfer to the prepared casserole dish, and sprinkle with remaining cheese.You can add some crushed tortilla chips if you want. I also added fresh cilantro.
4. Cover casserole loosely with foil, and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. Uncover, and continue baking 10 minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Chicken and Rice

This is a fast after-work meal for the meat eaters in the family.

4 skinless chicken breasts, bone in or out
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (or other creamed condensed soup)
3/4 cup parboiled rice
1 cup water (Add 1/3 cup more water for a creamier base)

Mix rice, water and soup together in the bottom of a casserole dish or roasting pan. Place chicken breasts on top of the mixture. Season chicken with paprika and pepper.

Cover and bake for 45 min at 375 F. Remove lid for last 5-10 minutes.

Serve with a salad or cooked vegetables.

Turkey Pie

My sister-in-law gave us left over turkey after Christmas dinner yesterday and I used it to make this pie today. I found the recipe here and modified it as follows. I added more turkey than the original recipe calls for as my pie plate is deep and needs about 6 cups of filling. It is a good way to use up turkey if you do not have any gravy. I made a two crust pie as suggested but this would also work with just a top crust.

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 cup frozen cut green peas

or a total of 3-1/2 cups chopped vegetables

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

3 cups cubed cooked turkey or chicken

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted

1/2 cup regular sour cream

1 pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)

Directions:

In a skillet or wok, saute carrots, mushrooms, celery, thyme and pepper in butter and oil until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add turkey, soup, sour cream and green peas to the vegetable mixture and mix well. Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom crust. Add turkey mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pie; seal and flute edges. Cut slits in pastry.

Bake at 425 degrees F for 12 minutes then reduce temperature to 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

Our daughter in London introduced us to this fast and delicious meal.

2 chicken breasts cut into strips
1 pkg dry fajita or taco mix (we used PC BlueMenu low sodium taco mix)
1 14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 10 -12 0z can corn or cut kernels off 2 cobs of corn
1/2 c salsa
salad greens
grated cheese, tomato, onion, sour cream, cilantro
lime wedges, guacamole, taco chips for garnish as desired

Coat chicken strips in fajita mix and cook then in a lightly oiled frying pan until done. Take the rest of the fajita mix and add it to the beans, corn and salsa. Heat in a pot on stove until warm.

Place salad greens on plate, add bean mixture, top with chicken strips and garnish as desired.

Makes 4 generous servings.

Vegetarian Option: Cut extra firm tofu into strips, coat with fajita mix and fry in lightly oiled pan until crisp. Serve instead of chicken.

Chicken Salad

This is another recipe Stephanie uses in Mexico. She had it at a local restaurant and asked how it was made. It is served cold and keeps for a day or so.

Dice in 1-2 cm squares:
4 large potatoes
2-3 carrots

Boil in salted water until just tender and drain.

Add:
1 can corn
1 diced green pepper (or poblano peppers)
celery (optional)
2 apples
1/2 head shredded iceberg lettuce
2 cups cooked chicken, diced

Dressing:
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/3 cup mayonnaise (change the proportions according to taste)
salt and pepper

Chicken and Spinach Crepes

We created this dish today with ingredients on hand. I cooked 2 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts in 2 cups of salted water and saved the broth for the sauce. Make the crepes using this basic recipe.

Creamed Chicken and Spinach Filling

Saute one onion and one large portobello mushroom in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat. When softened, add 1 pound chopped raw spinach and cook until wilted. Add 6 tbsp flour to mixture and stir in. Slowly add 1 cup of chicken broth and 1 cup milk, stirring until thickened. Add 1/4 parmesan cheese and/or grated cheddar cheese and stir until it melts. Add 2 cups diced chicken if desired.

Spoon into crepe and fold over or roll up before serving.

Makes 8 filled crepes.

May 15/08 -Variation- We liked this filling even better!

6 tbsp flour
3-4 cups milk or soymilk
1/2 tsp salt
curry powder
cumin powder
4 cups spinach
3 chicken breasts grilled and chopped up

Blend milk slowly into the flour, add seasonings and cook in microwave stirring often until thickened. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add chicken. Adjust seasonings as desired.

Marinated Chicken

BBQ chicken is best marinated ahead of time. Here are two marinades that are delicious in their own way. The first has no added salt, but it gives the chicken great flavour for people who want or need to watch their salt intake. It was given to me by my longtime friend and work mate, Rhonda. The second is HOT HOT HOT...lip burning hot, but we love it. It was invented by my Mexican sister-in-law, Marcela.

Rhonda's Chicken Marinade

1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme

Makes enough to marinate 2 lbs chicken. Marinate for several hours or overnight.

Marcela's Chicken Marinade

1/2 cup lime juice (freshly squeezed if available)
1/2 cup pureed chipolte peppers (smoked jalapenos)
I puree a small tin of them in the blender and keep leftovers in the freezer.

Makes enough to marinate 2 lbs of chicken. Marinate for 1-4 hours or longer.

Barbeque chicken or cook on an indoor grill. Serve in buns, on a Caesar salad, or as an entree with vegetables.

Mango Chicken or Tofu Curry

One of my favourite dishes at our local Thai restaurant is Mango Chicken Curry. It is spicy and delicious, and I have come up with a version that is easy to make at home, especially when yellow Atuflo mangoes are available. The first ones of the season are in the stores this week, so I used them for this supper dish.




2 cooking onions sliced
1 tbsp oil
3-4 small chicken breasts, or 250 g extra firm tofu, diced in 1/2 inch pieces

Heat oil and cook onions and chicken until chicken is no longer pink.

Slice

1 green pepper
2 red peppers
4 oz mushrooms
1-2 mangoes, diced or sliced

Add to wok and cook until tender crisp. I sometimes add some chopped spinach or other dark leafy green to this mixture.

2-3 tbsp curry paste ( I use Patak's hot curry paste)
1/3 c coconut milk is a nice addition if you have it on hand.

Add curry paste and mix until everything is well blended with the spices. Serve with rice.
Serves 4-6

Butternut Squash and Chicken Pilaf

I love the spicy flavours in various curry dishes. In this dish, the rice is cooked along with the spices, chicken and vegetables. Most of the ingredients are ones used frequently in Indian cuisine. I often use cubed tofu instead of chicken. This pilaf tastes even better the next day.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or skillet
Add 1 tbsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds and 1/2-1 cup chopped onion
Cook the spices and onion in the oil until the seeds start to pop.
Add 1-2 diced chicken breasts
1/2 a cinnamon stick
Dash of cinnamon, turmeric, saffron and cayenne pepper
Handful of raisins and chopped almonds
Add 1 cup basmati rice and make sure rice gets coated in the oil
Fry the ingredients together for a minute or two, then
Add 3 cups water or broth
1 tsp salt (if you use water)
2 cups of vegetables ( I like to use green beans and/or cauliflower)
2 cups diced butternut squash

Cover with a lid and simmer until done and the water is absorbed, about 20 minutes if you use white rice.

Variations for vegetarian versions-

• I use brown rice if I have extra time as it takes about 40 minutes to cook. I add the vegetables a little later, about half way into the rice cooking time. If I use tofu instead of chicken, I add it with the vegetables.
• Add 2 -3 tsp miso to the water instead of using broth. Add a package of diced tempeh with the cauliflower and fast cooking vegetables.
  

Chicken Parmesan

The two recipes featured today make quick and tasty entrees that are good enough for special dinners. Chicken Parmesan is a favourite birthday supper and I serve it with pasta and a salad.

2 pounds chicken breasts (I usually cut them in half)
Italian bread crumbs,
(or bread crumbs mixed with Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese)
1 egg, beaten
oil for frying pan
1 jar of pasta sauce
grated cheese

Dip chicken breasts in egg and then coat with seasoned bread crumbs. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium frying pan and brown both sides of the chicken
Place the prepared chicken in a roasting pan or covered casserole dish. Pour pasta sauce over the top.
Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes, until chicken is well cooked.
Sprinkle with grated parmesan or mozzerella cheese before serving.