I heart Fall and I double heart Turkey Chili.

Ahh, Fall is finally here.  I love the leaves, the sweaters, the cider mills, the pumpkins, and most of all, the food.  Chili is one of those warm, comforting, Fall foods and I love how easy it is to throw together.  I typically prepare it in the morning before work, as I love coming home to a house that smells wonderful and a delish dinner that’s already done.  Chili is similar to Chocolate Chip cookies, in that everyone likes their’s a different way.  My chili is a smooth, bean filled, thick, spicy dish that of course, is beef free so that both my husband and I can enjoy it.  With a dollop of fat free Greek Yogurt and a sprinkle of low-fat cheese, you’ve got yourself a warm, fiber filled, protein loaded, low-fat Fall meal.  And now you can have that extra piece of Halloween candy for dessert since you had such a healthy dinner. ;)

 

 

 

Turkey Chili

• 20 oz. Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast
• 1.5 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 cup Chicken Broth
• 1 can Tomato Paste
• 1 can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 can Bush’s Chili Beans, undrained
• 1 can Dark Red Kidney Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can Pinto Beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tbsp Chili Powder
• 2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper

 

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Brown the ground turkey and season to taste with salt, pepper, and chili powder. 
2. Once turkey is cooked thoroughly, drain grease and set aside. 
3. In a crock pot, combine the chicken broth and tomato paste.  Whisk the paste into the broth until smooth.  Add the beans, turkey, crushed tomatoes, and all seasoning to the crock pot. 
4. Cook on the low setting for 8 hours or the high setting for 4 hours. 

Truffle le Oreo. Sounds fancy huh?

Truffles sound really intimidating to make and while many versions are difficult, this has to be the easiest truffle recipe out there.  It’s a very popular recipe and I’ve always heard good things about it, but I was still surprised when I made these for my coworkers and they were gobbled up in record time.  I would definitely recommend doubling the recipe, especially when serving to large groups because they will be in high demand!  The recipe only calls for 3 ingredients, but while they are easy to make, it is a quite labor intensive project to roll each ball, chill, dip, and chill again…especially when you make over 50 of these suckers.  You can also adapt the recipe to make all different varieties of cookie truffles…try these with the Mint Oreos or use Nutter Butter cookies and add a cup of creamy peanut butter to the mix!  The possibilities are endless! 

 

 

Oreo Truffles

• 1 package (1lb. 2oz.) Oreo Cookies
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 package Milk Chocolate and/or White Chocolate bark

 

1. Using a food processor, finely crush the entire package of Oreo Cookies.  Reserve about 1 cup of cookie crumbs for later. 
2. Add the softened cream cheese to the crushed cookies in the food processor and blend until it is dough like. 
3. Chill the dough for 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. 
4. Form the dough into walnut sized balls.  Chill the balls again for 1 hour. 
5. Melt the chocolate bark in the microwave or in a double boiler on the stove.  Dip each ball into the melted chocolate and place on a wax sheet covered baking sheet.  Sprinkle the remaining cookie crumbs over the top of each truffle. 
6. Chill the dipped balls for 1 hour or until firm.  Store any leftover truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

Sale at the Seafood Counter = Shrimp Stir-fry

We eat a lot of seafood in our house and while shrimp is one of our favorites, I don’t love the price.  Especially when my husband can sit down and eat 2 lbs of shrimp all by himself.  I do, however, LOVE grocery store sales.  I seriously channel an elderly woman as I slowly walk up and down each aisle comparing different brands, calculating the cost per ounce, and searching for any coupon that might just save me a few cents or maybe even a couple dollars…I take my grocery shopping very seriously and I have to say that I am darn good at it.  So when I spotted the deal of a lifetime on jumbo shrimp at my local seafood counter, I cleaned them out and came home with over 4 pounds of shrimp.  I was only slightly embarrassed when I ran into a coworker at the market, who looked in my cart at the rather large packages of shrimp and asked if we were hosting a party.  Nope.  We just love us some crustaceans. 

Enough babble about my grocery shopping hobby…this recipe is another “Daniella-ified” healthy version of your classic Chinese Stir-fry.  It uses very little oil and the sauce is very flavorful.  It’s also easily adaptable based on your protein and veggie preferences.  The sauce is a spicy, szechwany, peanutty, soy saucy, tangy deliciousness, so it pairs well with any type of stir-fry that your little creative mind can think of.   As a kid, I always ordered Sweet and Sour Chicken when our family had Chinese takeout and I loved the chunks of pineapple that accompanied the veggies in the dish…so I happen to think that pineapple tastes absolutely delightful with any type of Chinese Stir-fry.  You might think otherwise, but you should really try it at least once.  Didn’t your mother always tell you that? :)

 

 

 

Shrimp Stir-fry

• 2 lbs Shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 2 cups Sugar Snap Peas
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Red Onion, sliced
• 1.5 cups Mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups fresh Pineapple chunks
• 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 tbsp Reduced Sugar Ketchup
• 8 tbsp Water
• 2 tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce
• 5 packs of Splenda
• 1.5 tsp Sriracha Sauce (any Red Chili Sauce will do)
• 1 tsp Natural Peanut Butter (Natural means no Jif or Skippy)
• 1 tsp Red Wine vinegar
• 1 tsp Fresh Ginger
• 1 tsp Crushed Garlic
• 1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper

 

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, water, soy sauce, Splenda, Sriracha, peanut butter, vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper.  Whisk until smooth. 
2. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and add the sugar snap peas, chopped peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  Saute until the veggies are slightly soft. 
3. Add the pineapple, shrimp and sauce to the skillet.  Continue to cook until shrimp are pink and opaque throughout.  Watch carefully so you don’t overcook the shrimp.  (That would be such a waste of a good seafood sale.)
4. Serve stir-fry on top of steamed brown rice. 

The Great Cobbler Debate.

I’ve been wanting to try out a Paula Dean Peach Cobbler recipe for awhile and finally decided to test it out during a Dinner/Board Game Night at our house.  Yeah, I know…we are some wild and crazy party animals.  Before I went to the store to pick up the ingredients, the following conversation happened:

Me: I’m running to the store to buy stuff for Peach Cobbler. 

Husband: Ehhh, Peach? I don’t really like Peach. 

Me: Well, what fruit would you choose? Apple, Blueberry, Blackberry…

Husband:  What about Cherry?

Me: I didn’t name Cherry on purpose.  I hate Cherry.  Who likes Cherry?

Husband:  I love Cherry. 

So what flavor cobbler did I make?  Stinking Cherry.  True love means sacrificing cobbler.  I couldn’t even bring myself to taste the tiniest bit since I hate Cherry so much, but Gus and the Board Game Crew gave it great reviews, so I guess it’s a winner.  It did smell delicious while it was baking and the cobbler part looked very light and moist.  All I know is that I’m definitely making Peach Cobbler next time.  My visit to the grocery store only confirmed this when I discovered they had no fresh cherries available, but plenty of fresh peaches.  Those lovely peaches were just taunting me in their pretty little bin.   I was already committed to Cherry Cobbler though since I love my husband too much to disappoint him with peach, but I hated the idea of using some scary, jello-esque, canned cherry filling.  Ugh.  Just the thought of it gives me the heebie jeebies.  After scouring the baking aisle, I managed to find a somewhat “homemade” looking cherry filling and was convinced to use it since I could see through the cute Ball jar and spotted real, whole cherries in there.  Since it did pass the Gus taste test, I took a picture so I could pass on my recommendation if you ever find yourself in the same dilemma as me…

 

I still haven’t met a Paula Dean recipe that I didn’t like and this one does not disappoint.  It’s super easy to assemble, and even though I questioned her unique way of preparing the cobbler (you’ll understand what I mean when you read the directions), Miss Paula certainly knows her stuff.  She definitely isn’t shy when it comes to using butter, butter and more buttah, so I wouldn’t recommend whipping up Paula recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.  Everything in moderation.  Your arteries will thank me later. 

 

 

Kinda Homemade Cherry Cobbler 

• 1 jar of Baker Cherry Filling (If you are lucky enough to find fresh cherries, 1.) I’m jealous, and 2.) See below for directions on how to prepare the fruit.)
• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 cups Milk
• Ground Cinnamon to sprinkle on top

If you’re using fresh fruit (stinking cherries or any other fruit that your little heart desires): combine 4 cups of fruit, 1 cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan.  Mix well.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat. 

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Put the butter in a 3 quart baking dish and place in the oven to melt.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and sugar.  Slowly stir in the milk to prevent clumping.
3. Carefully remove the baking dish with the melted butter.  Pour the batter over the melted butter. Do not stir.
4. Spoon the fruit on top of the batter, gently pouring in the syrup.  Do not stir.
5. Sprinkle the top with ground cinnamon and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown.  During baking the batter will rise above the fruit.  It’s called Paula Dean Magic.
6. Serve with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.

Chicken Marsala with Extra Fungi

I love me some fungi.  Thankfully I married someone who loves mushrooms as much as me.  This dish is chockful of them and while the chicken is good, the sauce is really the star.  Typically Chicken Marsala is served with a breaded breast of chicken and usually is accompanied with pasta…while that is delicious, it certainly isn’t doing anything nice to our arteries or thighs.  I typically pair this verision with a salad and steamed green veggie…and we don’t even miss the breading or pasta from the original.  Or at least, we just keep telling ourselves that so we can enjoy more of those Best. Chocolate. Chip. Cookies. Ever. 

 

 

Chicken Marsala “Daniella-ified” (aka, the healthy version)

• 4 skinless, boneless Chicken Breasts, pounded 1/4 inch thick
• 3 cups Baby Portabella Mushrooms (I told you we loved shrooms…feel free to cut back this amount or substitute any variety of mushrooms)
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 3/4 cup Marsala Wine
• 1/4 cup Chicken Broth
• 2 Shallots, minced
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• Salt/Pepper/Italian Seasoning

 

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil over medium heat.  Season the chicken with the Salt/Pepper/Italian Seasoning and lightly brown in skillet.  Once both sides are lightly brown, remove chicken from pan. 
2. Add the remaining 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil to the skillet.  Add the shallots and garlic to pan and let them cook for about 30 seconds. 
3. Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook until the edges are golden brown. 
4. Once the mushrooms have cooked down, add the marsala wine to the skillet.  Be sure to scrap the bottom of the skillet, so all the browned bits end up incorporated into the sauce.  Bring the wine to a boil.
5. When the wine has reduced to half, add the chicken broth to the skillet.  Continue to cook until sauce slightly thickens.
6. Once sauce has thickened, add the chicken breasts back to the pan and contine to cook for about 5 minutes.   
7. Season to taste and garnish with chopped basil.