Turkey Bean Chili

This was a nice twist on regular chili. The broth was lighter and the lime juice added some tanginess.

Ingredients (Note: this made about 8 servings)
-3 cans white Northern beans
-4 cups chicken/vegetable broth
~1 lb ground turkey
-2 medium yellow onions, diced
-4 cloves of garlic, diced
-3 plum tomatoes, diced
-2 T chili powder
-1.5 tsp cumin or taco seasoning
-2 limes
-fresh cilantro
-salt and pepper (to taste)
-2 T oregano (optional)
~2 T EVOO
-dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Steps
1. Heat EVOO in a dutch oven or large stock pot. Add onions and saute for about 4 minutes.
2. Add turkey and brown, breaking up into small pieces with a wooden spoon.
3. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano and saute until turkey is browned.

4. Add beans and chicken stock, bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes.
5. After soup has been simmering for about 10 minutes, taste soup and add cayenne, salt, and pepper to taste. Add diced tomatoes.

6. After 25 minutes, take a potato masher and mash up beans in the pot.
7. After 25 minutes, add the juice of two limes to soup. Serve soup and top with cilantro.

Lasagna Rolls

I saw a picture of these online and thought they looked like they would be super easy to make. They weren't difficult, but they weren't a piece of cake, and without my husband helping assemble the rolls they would've taken a long time to make. However, I think these guys are worth the effort.

Ingredients
-1 bag of baby spinach (sometimes I get "grown-up" spinach b/c it's cheaper; however for this recipe you'll really want the smaller sized leaf)
-1 box of lasagna noodles
-1 C shredded mozzarella
-16 oz part skim Ricotta
-1 jar marinara sauce (we used Vodka sauce)

Steps
(Preheat oven to 400)
1. Cook about 20 lasagna noodles al dente (about 9 minutes).
2. Once noodles are done, rinse them under cold water and then lay them out on a cutting board or foil so they don't start sticking together.

3. Grease a 9X5 pan.
4. Add about 2 T of ricotta to each noodle, and spread it down the middle of the noodle.
5. Add about 1.5 T of sauce on top of the ricotta.
6. Top all of that with several pieces of spinach.

7. Carefully roll up your noodles. Wait to put them in the pan until you get about 4 done, otherwise if you just stick one roll in the pan it will come undone. They tended to stay together better if they had other rolls to support them.

8. Once all your rolls are in the pan, top them with the remaining sauce and sprinkle the mozzarella on top.
9. Cook for about 25 minutes.

Pesto Pasta Salad

This is a really easy recipe that can also be very easily be modified by adding or subtracting ingredients. Want it vegetarian? Leave out the pepperoni. Want it fancier? Sub prosciutto for the pepperoni. Like it salty? Add some kalamata olives and/or artichoke hearts.

Ingredients
-1 box wheat penne pasta
~4 oz pesto
~8 oz mozzarella, cut into small pieces
-2/3 package turkey pepperoni, cut into fourths
~8 oz sundried tomatoes
-1 green pepper, diced
~1/3 red onion, diced

Steps
1. Cook pasta al dente. Once done, run pasta under cold water for a couple minutes.
2. Add pesto to pasta and mix well.
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Grilled Portobello Sandwiches

So my husband thinks he hates mushrooms and refuses to eat them. However, he also once said he would never eat tofu or drink soy milk. We now consume both on an almost daily basis. I was able to get him to come to accept, and even request, these once "off limits" food by:

1. Being in charge of the grocery list. If no milk was bought and he really wanted cereal, he had to use the soy.
2. Using small amounts of tofu served with other flavorful ingredients, and slowly increasing the amount of tofu used in a recipe over time...thus, he built up a tolerance for it, much as did Wesley to locane powder in the Princess Bride.
3. Being in charge of the meals. If the only thing I made had tofu, then my husband either needed to try it or make something else.

I have been using the same approach with mushrooms with much slower progress. However, I finally was able to combine tactics in this recipe with great success--not only did I get my husband to try the mushroom of all mushrooms, but he admitted he liked it! 

Ingredients (makes 4 sandwiches)
-4 kaiser rolls
-4 portobellos
-8 oz of reduced fat Boursin cheese
-1 red pepper, julienned
-1 yellow pepper, julienned
-1 red onion, julienned
-fresh basil (optional)
Veggie Marinade
-1/3 C balsamic vinegar
-2 T EVOO
-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Steps
1. Mix your marinade in a large bowl.
2. Toss your peppers and onion in marinade.
3. Heat a skillet, add a little EVOO, and begin sauteing your peppers and onion in the skillet over medium.

4. After veggies have been cooking for about 5 minutes, baste your mushrooms with the marinade and throw them onto a grill (we used a Foreman, but you could use a regular grill or even a toaster oven). Grill for about 5 minutes.

5. While your mushroom, peppers, and onions are going, toast your buns and then spread some Boursin cheese on the buns.

6. Once mushrooms are done, stick them in the bun, add your peppers and onion, and top with basil.

Bacon Pierogi Bake

I got this recipe from Cooking Light and it was awesome. Comfort food at its best. Also, super easy.

Ingredients (I doubled the original recipe)
-2 (16oz) packages frozen potato and onion peirogies, such as Mrs. T's
-4 slices of turkey bacon
-4 garlic cloves, chopped
-2/3 C (6oz) reduced fat cream cheese
-1 C chicken broth
-1 C shredded cheddar cheese
-one bunch of green onions, sliced diagonally
-1 C cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
-pepper to taste

Steps
(Preheat oven to 400)
1. Arrange frozen pierogies in two casserole dishes coated in cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Cook bacon until crispy. Remove from pan, crumble into pieces, and set aside.
3. Add garlic to bacon drippings and cook for about 30 seconds on medium heat.
4. Add cream cheese to pan and cook for a couple of minutes or until cream cheese begins to melt. Stir frequently.

5. Gradually add chicken broth to pan, stirring with a whisk until smooth.

6. Pour the cream cheese sauce evenly over pierogies and top with shredded cheese.
7. Bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes dump the cherry tomoatoes on top of the pierogies. Cook for another 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and top with bacon and green onion.

Note: These were great leftovers the next day.