What's better than good food & some Dino? Come on! (Ground Turkey Chili Recipe, Steamed Artichokes)

Yes, I said "Dino". As in Dean Martin. Just filled our bellies and put on my iTunes and it just started playing Dean. Happy sigh.

Tonight, although we have a fridge full of leftovers, we opted to have chili.

Ten years of marriage and cooking and I've tried making a few different chilis. Still open to trying more...but this is the one I can make any day and it seems to come out tasty no matter what I do to it!

First I start with some ground turkey but this could just as easily be made vegetarian.

1 lb ground turkey, brown in oil with onion and garlic
2 cans small red beans
1 can Light red kidney beans (found out I like these WAY better than dark red kidneys)
1 can chili beans (these are just beans already seasoned)
1 small can of tomato paste or 1/2 large can
Some chili powder, oregano, and chipotle powder (if you like, otherwise substitute other hot spice)
1 green bell pepper chopped
After browning the meat, add the beans and tomato paste and spices.
Here's where I usually remember "oh yeah, I bought a green pepper for this!" and start chopping it. So I add the pepper when I'm done chopping. :)
Let it all simmer for about 20 minutes.

By the way, rinse the beans (except the chili beans) and it cuts the sodium way down. And the chili beans do have more sodium than I usually would use but I drain half the liquid and then don't need to add ANY salt to the recipe. So there you go. I'd say it ends up about 650mg per serving. Better than a restaurant, I guarantee it!

I usually serve my chili over cornbread. Trader Joe's (can you tell it's a favorite place of mine yet?) has a really good, easy mix. But if you're adventurous and want to see all the stuff (ie. butter) that goes into REAL cornbread, go for it. However, of course there was a snag tonight. We were out of eggs!!! Just needed one but since my neighbors up and left for Arizona(you know who you are) and I don't know my new neighbors yet, couldn't just go borrow one. Which may have actually worked out to be a good thing. We had TJs beer bread mix which didn't require eggs...just beer. That, obviously, we had plenty of ;) So, beer bread mix with Stockyard Oatmeal Stout.

A slice of beer bread smothered with chili and topped with shredded cheddar. Mmmm. We're good.

Little tip: Legend has it that green bell peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating raw and 4 bumps are firmer and better for cooking. Hubby test taste agrees. Try it.

Oh and had to cook up some artichokes I got today. They were not quite babies, not quite full size, so adolescent artichokes?? Anyway just trimmed tops, bang em top side down to get them opened up a little, trim stem but save it to cook in the pot (it's as good as eating the heart) and then just steam them with garlic and a little oil for about 30 minutes (longer if you have big ones). Too full to eat a whole one now but tomorrow...a reason to get up in the morning!


It'll have to be leftovers tomorrow for lack of fridge space. But we are a home of leftover fans so no complaining here. Friday...pizza party??

I'm so obviously disorganized! (Penne a la Vodka, Stuffed chicken breast)

Welp, if you didn't know this about me before, it will quickly become apparent. I am disorganized. Can't even get my menu straight! But that's one of the things we're working on here in our house and something this writing is helping me become more tuned in to.

Haven't done any of the foods mentioned already. So...we're doing the Chicken Marsala tonite. But last night, for some reason, I got it into my head I wanted Penne a la Vodka. Usually more of a special company dish but, hey, why save all the good stuff for company? ;) I've made it before so not so complicated. But I did learn a valuable lesson last night ~ USE THE GOOD VODKA. I've heard it said before "if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it" but come on! It's expensive! And it can't matter that much. So I admit to you now...I stand corrected. I had "good" stuff at home but didn't want to use it so I stopped off and bought the bargain stuff, but not even the cheapest $6 bottle, on my way home. It wasn't bad by any means. We tasted it beforehand(of course) and it was decent just kinda missing something. Well, whatever that something was...now my sauce is missin' it. :(

Don't get me wrong we still ate it. I, of course, was extremely disappointed that I wasn't enjoying my longed-for, previously-successful pasta dish. But it was still plenty edible. And even a little better today as a leftover snack. (lunch, snack, pre-dinner app, whatever!) So here's how we made it: (just be sure to put in good stuff on the liquor part)

Oil in the pan, add about 6 cloves fresh garlic (I prefer pressed to chopped.) and some onion powder (hate messing with raw onions unless I have to)

Before it turns brown, add two cans of tomato paste and one can crushed tomatoes then fill cans with water and add those too.

Add parsley while simmering (I only had dried. Sorry to all the fresh-herbivores)

After about 10 minutes add 1/4 to 1/3 Vodka. Simmer another 10-15 minutes. Salt to taste. (That means taste it now and see if the alcohol taste has dissipated)

Meantime, start cooking your pasta (preferably penne, whole wheat if your up for it!)

Add about 1/2 cup heavy cream. Stir in and simmer only about 5 more minutes.

When noodles are done and strained, put in pot or serving bowl and add some sauce to coat. Serve and add additional sauce as desired. Top with Parmesan.

In the past I've added about 1/4 cup Parmesan to the sauce before I finished cooking it. Good either way. Probably healthier if you only add it after.

As a meat...because hubzy can't have just pasta for dinner. I know! What's wrong with him? ;) we had stuffed chicken breast:

Preheat oven to 350.
Add minced garlic, chopped sundried tomatoes, tsp oil, tbsp pesto, handful of spinach leaves and about 3 tbsp water to a bowl. Heat in micro for about 30 seconds. Mix so spinach wilts a little. Add a handful of mozzarella and half a handful of asiago cheese. Mix well.

Split two breasts down the middle and try to make a little pocket inside on both sides. Fill each with half stuffing mixture. Cook in baking dish covered with aluminum foil for 20 minutes. Uncovered for another 15. Check for done. (Cooked mine longer. Was a little dry. sigh.)

You can absolutely substitute whatever you want for the stuffing mixture. I was trying to find stuff to go with my Italian pasta sauce. Got the idea for stuffed chicken from walking around Trader Joe's and they had chicken stuffed with Feta and Mozz and it looked like Kalamata olives. Have to try that one another time.


So...we survived a less than perfect meal. Always have the next meal to look forward to better. Maybe that's what I love about food. Even when I'm disappointed, there's always another food to cheer me up. ?? Hmmm.

On to the Marsala!

Currently eating: Nestle mini morsels chocolate chips (guess I needed a chocolate fix to recover from the vodka sauce disappointment)

It's Good! (Tortilla Soup Recipe)

Well, are we any healthier yet? Don't know the answer there but...we ate good!

All Zuppa Toscana leftovers are gone and the beets came out perfect :) Still have one left. But the most surprising thing was the beet leaves. Sauteed them with oil and garlic...OH MY! They were better than any other greens I've had. Very surprised and happy with that. Except that now they are all gone. :(

Made the Tortilla Soup:

Two boxes of low sodium chicken broth
Two boxes of water
Add cumin, chili powder, onion, garlic and oregano to the broth.

While broth is heating up shred chicken. This time I grilled a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts but sometimes I'll just use a roaster chicken already cooked from the store(although that will make it quite a bit saltier so no need to add salt with those)

Add 2 cans of black beans, 1 can of chopped black olives, and about 2 cups of salsa~any kind you like will do, I like a fresh, milder kind. Remember the spicier the salsa, the spicier the soup.

Then add shredded chicken. Let everything simmer for a few minutes till its all hot. Then it's ready!

Serve each bowl topped with shredded cheddar, broken up tortilla chips, anything else you might like (ie. sour cream, cilantro)

Always goes over well in our house...especially with the mexican food-loving hubby.

Next up...chicken marsala, brussell sprouts, chicken scarpariello(had to postpone that one cuz hubby had a cold was going to have friends over for that and didn't want to waste the yummies) and string beans. Hmmm....what else can I do this week?? Laura? Ideas?

Time to head back to the grocery store.