*Mom's Ground Turkey & Peppers

*Not my moms.

Before I get into this new recipe, let me say I have tried to post a few times in the last few weeks but things just weren't working out for me! My most recent attempt was crab cakes. Not only was the flavor bad, but they did not hold their shape. No sense posting a horrible recipe! I am still cooking and still eating however so don't fret. Hopefully I'll have some more successful recipes for you soon.

Now, check out this site I found for some gluten free recipes:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/gluten-free/

As a very visual cook, I love the fact there's a picture beside each and quite often additional pictures of the steps. There's quite a few things in the list that I would like to try. While reading through them, I found that most of the ingredients are things I would normally have in my fridge or pantry. This works well with my project for the next 2 weeks: buy only fruits and vegetables for groceries and use what's already in the freezer in pantry. We have so many dried things and frozen things and pastas kicking around that I need to use up! They aren't going bad but they are taking up space and the collection seems to grow a little bit each time we do our Sunday grocery shop.

Here's what I tried tonight (with a package of already purchased & forgotten ground turkey):

*Mom's Ground Turkey & Peppers

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion, including some chopped greens from scallions or green onions (just had the yellow onion)
• 1 bell pepper (red or yellow preferred), chopped (I used yellow)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Kosher salt
• 1 lb ground turkey, preferably ground turkey thighs
• 1 teaspoon chipotle powder or chili powder (or to taste) (chili powder)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (I used parsley)

Method

1 Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and cook until onions and peppers are softened, a couple minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

2 Push the vegetables to the edge of one side of the pan and position that side of the pan so that it is off the burner, away from the heat. The empty part of the pan should be right over the burner. Add one or two more tablespoons of oil to coat the empty part of the pan. Put crumpled chunks of ground turkey in the pan, sprinkle with salt and chipotle or chili powder.

3 Cook the turkey without stirring until it is browned on one side, then turn the pieces over to brown the other side. Once the turkey is just cooked through, stir in the onions and peppers, and sprinkle with more salt and chili powder to taste. Remove from heat. Stir in fresh chopped parsley or cilantro.
Serve alone, or with steamed rice or noodles.
Serves 4.

To go with the turkey and peppers, I made some Russian Buckwheat (from the Italian Market). Despite the suspicious name, it is gluten free. It's also full of fiber and a nice change from the usual rice or quinoa. Once it's cooked I just add a little salt.

MY REVIEW: This was a good meal! I don't usually cook my ground turkey in that manner but it worked nicely and left the meat in larger pieces than usual. It was a quick and colorful dish.

JASON'S REVIEW: The turkey was hearty and delicious.

Mediterranean Meatballs & *Special* Hummus

I'm in a cooking kind of mood! Today, I tried a Mediterranean meal.

To start, a green salad with tomatoes, olive oil, salt & pepper. Is that Mediterranean? I don't even know:

Now this next dish, I can't take credit for this delicious twist on hummus. I know I read it somewhere, but I cannot recall exactly where as I have so many cookbooks and magazines on the go right now! In one of my books, it suggested topping your hummus with some chopped kalamata olives and feta before putting it in the oven for 30 minutes. I didn't get pita bread so we spread this on normal bread (Udi's gluten free for me!) and used it as a vegetable dip for an appetizer:

I found a great Gluten Free cookbook at the library called "More From The Gluten-Free Gourmet" which is written by Bette Hagman.  There are lots of breads in this book which I'm not quite ready to tackle but there were quite a few main dishes as well. That is where I found this recipe for meatballs:

 Mediterranean Meatballs
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey
1/3cup grated onion (If you actually grate an onion, be sure to wear eye protection!)
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2tbsp chopped raisins
1tbsp chopped walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)
1tbsp minced fresh parsley
dash pepper
salt, to taste
1/2tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp allspice
1/4tsp nutmeg
1 1/2tbsp margerine, melted (We only had the real deal.. butter)
1 to 2tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil & only enough to stop the balls from sticking)

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a medium mixing bowl, knead together all the ingredients, except the oil until well mixed and smooth. With wet hands, form the mixture into 1-inch balls.
In a frying pan, heat part of the oil. Fry about a third of the balls at a time on medium heat, shaking the pan to keep the balls rounded and brown on all sides. Cook until brown all over. Drain on paper towl and then put in a 2qt casserole. Brown the remaining turkey balls in batches, using more oil if necessary.
When all the meatballs are browned, bake the casserole for 30 minutes to complete cooking. If you prefer, refrigerate the casserole to pull out and finish cooking just before serving. Good both hot and cold.

Oh I forgot to mention, it wasn't just Jason and I for dinner tonight. Someone finally figured out how she could be with us at dinner time WITHOUT sitting on the table and getting sprayed with water:

MY REVIEW: Great meal! The meatballs had a very unique flavor... I was hesitant on the raisins but found that I really enjoyed the sweet flavor and all the spices worked nicely together. They were a little time intensive to make but the house is clean and it's about -40 outside, so what else am I going to do? If I were to make these again, I would attempt to make some sort of sauce to accompany them. Jason suggest a chutney (grape was his thought) would compliment them well and I think that's a damn good idea.

JASON'S REVIEW: The spices and texture was perfect. I really enjoyed this meal. I enjoyed it so much, I organized the dish towels.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This evenings meal is a compilation of some random things found in the fridge, on the counter, my moms garden and the pantry.

I had a lovely acorn squash sitting on the counter that I knew I wanted to use somehow. Not much for vegetables in the fridge but I knew I wanted to use up some kale from my moms garden this evening. There was also about a cup of cooked rice from last night hanging around. A peek in the pantry produced a can of tomato bisque and chick peas. Since Jason has been eating mostly gluten free and vegetarian as of late, I scrounged around in the freezer and found some ground turkey to add to my concoction. So let's recap....

1 acorn squash, cut in half (insides scooped out), baked for approx 30 minutes at 450F
ground turkey
1 can tomato bisque soup
half a can of chickpeas
1 cup cooked rice
kale, ripped into small pieces

While the squash is roasting in the oven, brown the turkey on the stove top. Add soup, chickpeas, rice and kale. Cover and let simmer until your squash is ready - the flesh should be nice and soft. Scoop some of the turkey mixture into the squash and voila! Be sure to nibble away at the sides of your squash bowl as you eat the turkey-tomato filling.

MY REVIEW: It doesn't look like much but eating half of an acorn squash is FILLING. Not to mention the insides. This is my comfort food. Warm and simple and the house still smells like there's a good cook in the kitchen! I am very happy with this recipe - especially being gluten-free and lactose free. You don't need to dirty a whole bunch of dishes for this one and there's not any chopping involved... well except for the squash I guess but that's easy. 

JASON'S REVIEW: Jason is shaving his legs right now (it's a cycling thing) but he really enjoyed this! Once he finished round 1, including the acorn-squash-bowl, he went back for seconds. This is how I know he enjoyed it. He said he's lucky to have someone that cares about his antioxidants.

Two meals for you to feast (your eyes) on

Both last nights meal and this evenings were inspired by a book my mom gave me called "Cooking Under the Arch - Cherished Recipes and Gardening Tips from the Rigorous High Country of Alberta's Chinook Zone".

It's just got really simple ideas on how to use the fruits and vegetables from your garden.

Last night, I made something called "Zucchini Ratatouille". Here's the recipe as written in the book:

These vegetables are straight from your garden, not dolled up with eggplant or mushrooms, though there is no law against those.

Cut in chunks into a baking dish: Zucchini, potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, fresh or dried oregano, garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and bake at 180C for 45 minutes. Top with cheddar or mozzarella and parmesan. Bake uncovered a few minutes until melted.

 I followed this recipe pretty closely... the only thing that I found way off was the time! I had to leave it in there for almost 2 hours until the potatoes were cooked. I also added some sweet potato and cooked chicken from the night before. May I also add... the oregano and zucchini were from my garden! The potatoes and carrots were from someone elses garden. The joys of summer! This was a fantastic meal and great leftovers for lunch.

This evening I had to hang up my ring and get dirty! I made a completely original recipe that I am very excited about. It's all natural and completely gluten free. Drum roll please....

Feta Stuffed Turkey Meatloaf with Herbs
1 package of ground turkey
1 egg
1tbsp cornmeal (approx.)
fresh garlic, chopped
1/2cup grated zucchini
fresh rosemary, parsley, oregano, basil all chopped into small pieces
fresh ground black pepper

feta
organic ketchup

Mix the first turkey, egg, cornmeal, garlic, herbs, zucchini and pepper together in a bowl with your HANDS. Spray the inside of your loaf pan with olive oil or cooking spray and put half of the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle some feta on top and cover with the remaining turkey mixture. Top with a squiggle of ketchup and cook for 50 minutes to an hour at 350F.

To accompany the meatloaf, I made garden potatoes mashed with loads of fresh dill and skim milk.

From the "Cooking Under the Arch" cookbook I made some honey glazed carrots. All that consists of is adding a little honey and margerine to your cooked carrots. These carrots were from our garden too!

JASON'S REVIEW: A+. Would eat again. Everything.

MY REVIEW: I am so pleased with my meatloaf!! Using fresh herbs makes a huge difference - so flavorful. The only thing I would do differently next time is sprinkling a little feta on top as well as in the middle. The honey glazed carrots basically tasted like candy.

Turkey Shepards Pie with Garlic Toast

I actually did lots of cooking this weekend, but most of it went straight in the freezer! Once it's defrosted, cooked and consumed I will post the recipes on here.

This evening I made 3 dishes of Shepards Pie - 1 to eat and 2 for the freezer. Here's the recipe I used:

Shepherd's Pie Freezer Cooking Recipe
Can easily double or triple to make multiples for the freezer.

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 carrots, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
1 tbsp flour
1-1/4 cups beef stock (use chicken stock if using ground turkey instead of beef)
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp thyme
salt
pepper
1 lb cooked ground beef or turkey (PLEASE NOTE: COOKED turkey. Good to note before you get started...)
1 1/2 lbs mashed potatoes (i didn't add any of the stuff below to my potatoes, just some skim milk)
2 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp cream
1 egg, slightly beaten (for cooking day) (didn't use this)

In medium saucepan, heat oil and fry onions and carrots until soft. Add flour, creating a paste, cooking for one minute. Add ketchup, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt and pepper, bringing to a boil. Simmer 2-3 minutes, then add ground beef or turkey, simmering until heated through. Add to foil disposable casserole. In a separate bowl, combine mashed potatoes with butter and cream, then top meat mixture with it. Cool and freeze. If you have a small family, split into two casseroles instead of one.

Cooking day:
Thaw overnight in fridge or 4-5 hours at room temperature. Brush top with egg (optional). Preheat oven to 425F and bake for 20-30 minutes (if you split into two casseroles, cooking time may be shorter).

The garlic toast was also special! We often just have pasta or soup or salad for dinner but rarely have any bread to go with it. I found this recipe for make ahead garlic toast and just did the bare essentials. I got a loaf of french bread and cut it into 20 pieces. With margarine, I mixed garlic powder, onion powder and some fresh pressed garlic. I spread it on each piece and put them all on a baking sheet in the freezer for about an hour. They are now all in the freezer in packages of 2. When we want garlic bread all we have to do is take out a package and throw it in the oven for about 6 minutes. It tasted really good too!

MY REVIEW: Yum! Shepards pie was good with a little hot sauce and I'm excited for toast of the future.

JASON'S REVIEW: He's doing laundry but I'm pretty sure he loved it...

Turkey Dill Burgers and Artichokes

First things first, we bottled our wine yesterday. The Tangerine Machine is wonderful.

Second, today was cleaning day and thank god for energy drinks! Jason took it upon himself to organize and clean all of my make-up and hair stuff after consuming his Monster Energy drink. He wiped off every separate eyeshadow container and even cleaned the hair out of my brushes.

Honey, on the other hand, knocked over her very full food dish and sent kibble flying all across the kitchen floor and front room floor (both of which had just been swept, washed and vacuumed). I must say, that cat is a real dream.

Third, this is how I make 2 dinners and 2 lunches at 1 time

And here's dinner! Both the artichoke recipe and turkey burger came from Company's Coming. I'll start with the burger:

lean ground turkey
bread crumbs
1 dill pickle finely chopped
sprinkle of dried dill or freshly chopped dill
1 egg
salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients and form into patties. Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook the turkey burgers on medium heat for about 7 minutes on each side. I put the patty on a whole wheat bun with mozzarella and spinach.

Now the artichoke was interesting. I've never cooked or eaten an artichoke like this before but they were on sale at Superstore (6 for $1) so I thought I would give it a try. Luckily Jean Pare had pretty good instructions in her Vegetable cook book:

Cut the stems off and remove the smaller leaves around the bottom. Cut the tips off all the leaves. Start separating all the leaves and sort of spreading them out. Once you get to the middle there might be a little hairy bit that you are supposed to remove with a spoon. Stand the artichokes up in a saucepan with about 3" of water and a squirt of lemon juice. Boil, covered, for about 30 minutes until it's very tender. For dipping sauce, melt margerine, some lemon and a drop of Worcestershire sauce together. To eat, you pull a leaf off with your fingers, dip the bottom into the sauce then sort of pull the leaf through your teeth and suck out the flesh inside. Once you get to the middle you can pretty much pop the whole thing in your mouth because the leaves are so tender and you're at the heart. If you're interested in the exact measurements of anything, let me know. I just don't have the book in front of me right now.

And here's tomorrows supper! I originally had wanted to try some kind of vegetarian lasagna but Jason started asking questions about why I needed ricotta. One thing lead to another and I was convinced to make a meaty, cheesy lasagna. I used the same lasagna recipe I made on Valentine's Day but about half the size. This will be Jason's Monday dinner and Tuesday lunch! I will not be participating in the lasagna but will come up with something equally tasty for myself hopefully.

MY REVIEW: I didn't eat the turkey burger but the artichokes were pretty good. They do take a little bit of time to prepare but it was worth it. Go to Superstore if you want to try them!

JASON'S REVIEW: Delicious. (The energy drink has worn off)

Tofu OR Turkey Spaghetti

Both a tofu and turkey variety of spaghetti this evening. It was really not that exotic. The sauce was Save-On's organic brand - roasted garlic flavor. I added some chickpeas and kidney beans for an extra boost. I was going to make a spinach salad on the side but instead just threw the fresh spinach right into the pots of sauce. In my pot, tofu cubes. In Jasons, ground turkey.

Poured my sauces onto some whole wheat pasta and voila! In case you're wondering, Jason's garlic toast burnt a little on the sides so I cut it off for the sake of not having burnt toast in my pictures. I don't make a habit of cutting crusts.

MY REVIEW: I wanted to make one of Jason's favorite dinners tonight. He changed the oil in my truck this evening as well as installed a new oil filter and windshield wipers. In return - spaghetti! This was pretty good. Makes for good lunches tomorrow too.

JASON'S REVIEW: It was good. Very filling. (I know he liked it more than this but he's busy looking for lost sunglasses or something?)

Now that he found them, "I can't wait to power up all the hills on my ride tomorrow because I'm full of pasta"

Before I go, I'd like to introduce the newest addition to our kitchen! A Delfino Blender.

I look forward to many smoothies, pureed foods and soups.