Asian Turkey Lettuce Cups

I got this recipe, which I tweaked a bit (basically by adding more of the spices and herbs), from Cooking Light. These turned out to be really flavorful, and have almost zero fat.

Ingredients:
~1.25 lbs of ground turkey (you can sub tofu to make it vegetarian)
~12 medallions of ginger, finely diced
-1 bunch of green onions, chopped
~3 heaping T of mint, chopped
~3 heaping T of cilantro, chopped
~1 T diced jalepeno (I wish I would have added more)
~2.5 T ketchup (recipe called for fish sauce, but I've found ketchup works fine as a substitute)
-2 T brown sugar
~3 T EVOO (recipe called for 2 T EVOO, and 1 T dark sesame oil, but I didn't have dark sesame oil)
-Head of Napa cabbage (I couldn't find this so I used Romaine, which worked fine)

Steps:
1. Chop up all your herbs.

2. Brown turkey with ginger in a pan for ~7 mins. Break turkey up into small pieces with back of spoon while browning.
3. Add turkey to large bowl.

4. Mix in all other ingredients (except lettuce)

5. Spoon turkey mixture into lettuce cups.

Italian Spinach Pie

To all my vegetarians out there, this one goes out to you.

Note: I think this may be one of those recipes that is better reheated the next day. We had it last night for dinner, and it was good, but today for lunch it tasted even better (though I was really hungry). Plus, it sits up a bit better the next day.

Ingredients:
-2 10 oz packages of thawed frozen chopped spinach, well drained
-1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, quartered and drained
-1/2 onion, diced and sauteed
-2 egg whites 
-1 cup ricotta (I used the part skim kind)
-1/2 tsp garlic powder (I used garlic salt)
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
-8 oz marinara
~1 cup shredded mozeralla

Steps
1. Add first 8 ingredients (through red pepper flakes) to a large bowl and mix.

2. Dump into a greased 9 inch pie plate.

3. Top with marinara.

4. Bake for 15 mins. at 350.
5. Add mozzarella and bake for about another 7 mins. Turn on the broiler for last couple of minutes to get top browned a bit.

Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

I got the recipe for these tasty (and in my mind, healthy) cookies from my good friend, Lauren. Although they were much better when she made them, they still turned out pretty well for me. Also, as many of you know, I'm not much of a baker, so in order for me to even attempt baking the recipe has to be easy, which this is.

1. Combine dry ingredients (1 C oats, 3/4 C flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt) in medium sized bowl.

2. Combine 3/4 C brown sugar and 1/4 C softened butter (I used margarine) in large bowl. Mix with a mixer for about 2 minutes.

3. Add 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla, and mix.

4. Add dry indredients and stir with a spoon until batter is moistened.









5. Stir in ~1/2 C heath pieces.
6. Place dough on greased cookie sheet (I was able to make 18 cookies) and bake for 8-10 minutes at 350. (Check them after 8 minutes...mine were done then.)

1-Pot Wonder Vegetarian Chili

First, I have to thank my friend, Tracy (who incidentally is also the Mukie creator), for this recipe. As the name implies, this veggie chili is super easy. It's also very flavorful, and I've duped meat-eaters into thinking it was actually made with ground beef.

Dump the following into a crockpot:
-1 12oz packet fake meat crumbles (e.g., Morningstar Farms or Boca Crumbles; these can usually be found in the frozen food sections near the vegetarian options)
-1 can black beans
-1 can corn
-1 can diced tomatoes (I use the kind with jalapenos)
-1 jar of salsa (use Hot for added kick if you want)
-1 jar of water (use the salsa jar to measure)
-3 tsp garlic
-1/2 packet taco seasoning
-1 diced onion (optional)
-2 T diced jalapenos (optional)

Cook on low for 5-6 hours and serve with a dallop of sour cream. (Can also top with cilantro, cheese, and tortilla chips.) This is even better the next day.

Pork Chops and Warm Spinach Salad with Soy-Butter Glaze

This recipe comes together in 30 minutes or less. I did the pork chops a bit differently than I normally do. Previously, I actually stuffed them with the apple-raisin mixture, but that was kind of a pain so this time I just put the "stuffing" on top, and I actually preferred them this way.

The spinach salad is one of the few things I've totally made up myself, hence the kind of ridiculous name. I don't think you're supposed to call mixing soy sauce and butter together a "glaze" but...whatever.


Pork chop ingredients:
-4 boneless pork chops
-4 T honey mustard (or Dijon if you prefer)
-2 T raisins
-1/2 an apple, diced
~12 Ritz crackers, crushed
-1 T brown sugar
-salt&pepper

Warm Spinach Salad with Soy-Butter Glaze Ingredients
-2/3 package fresh spinach
-1 medium sized red onion, finely sliced
~3 T butter or margarine (I use the fake yogurt butter)
~3 T soy sauce

Steps:
1. Crush Ritz, add raisins, apple, brown sugar, and mustard. Mix in an oven safe bowl and heat in oven (until everything else is ready) at about 200.

2. Lightly baste pork with mustard and sprinkle with salt&pepper. Grill for about 15 minutes or until done.

3. While pork is grilling, caramelize your red onion (saute over medium to medium-high heat for about 5-7mins).

4. Once onions are slightly brown, turn heat on the stove OFF. Dump half the bag of spinach into your pan, add butter and soy sauce and begin tossing. The heat from the pan and onion will begin to wilt the spinach. For this salad you only want the spinach barely wilted, so if it starts cooking down too much, remove pan from heat.

5. Once spinach begins to wilt, add another handful or two of spinach and continue tossing. Although it looks like you're making a lot, this salad is SOOO good that I could eat the whole pan.

6. Top pork chops with apple-raisin mixture and serve.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is pretty much my favorite soup...ever. This recipe was also informally voted the Best Smith Family Recipe of 2008. Aside from being quite tasty, it's super easy. (Note that this one requires a crock pot).

Ingredients
~1.5 lbs boneless chicken breast
-1 can corn
-1 can diced tomatoes (I get the kind w/ jalapenos)
-1 can black beans
~30 oz chicken broth
-1/2 packet taco seasoning
-2 cloves minced garlic
-dash of salt&pepper
-1 diced green bell pepper (reserved)
-1 diced red bell pepper (reserved)
-1 diced medium red onion (reserved)

Garnishes (pick and choose whichever of these you like, or add all for max flavor)
-crushed tortilla chips
-dollop of sour cream
-diced avacado
-green onion
-cilantro
-cheese

Steps
1. Throw first 8 ingredients (through salt&pepper) into crock pot and stir. Cook on the low setting for ~6-7 hours.

2. Pull out the chicken and shred with forks. The chicken should pretty much just fall apart at this point.

3. Put the chicken back into the crock pot, along with the diced peppers and onion. I add the peppers and onion at the end so they're still a little crispy. Cook on low for another 30 minutes.

4. Serve with garnishes.

Texas Caviar

First, thanks to my good friend, Julia, for this super delicious recipe. It's a Texas staple but there are many different variations. The common denominator is that true Texans will eat Texas caviar with Frito chips...you know, because we're classy. However, as Julia pointed out, this would also be a tasty side dish in its own right.

Below I'm giving the ingredients for a "party-sized" batch. If you're just making it for dinner or for yourself, I'd leave out the can of black beans and corn, and reduce the amount of vinaigrette.

Ingredients:
-2 cans black eyed peas
-1 can black beans
-1 can corn
-1/2 diced red pepper
-1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
-3 T diced jalepenos
-1/4 finely sliced and diced red onion
-1/4 C red wine vinegar
-1/4 C EVOO
-2 T brown sugar

Steps
1.  Chop veggies.

2. Mix all of the above and let sit at least 4 hours (overnight is even better).

Pumpkin Soup

First, a word of warning. I made this using real pumpkin, which can be kind of a pain in the ass. However, it makes at least four servings, so you'll have some leftovers.

Ingredients:
-Pie pumpkin (if you can find a Japanese pumpkin, which are green, definitely use that instead. I have slightly different pumpkin cooking instructions for the Japanese pumpkin, so let me know if you need them)
-1.5 C chicken broth
~1 C milk
-3 cloves garlic
-1 red onion, sautéed
-salt & pepper, to taste (I ended up needing quite a bit...like 1-2 tsp of each)
-couple pinches thyme
-couple pinches nutmeg

Steps:
1. Cut pumpkin in half. BE CAREFUL when doing this...you'll need a really sharp knife.

2. Scoop out seeds and stringy stuff. I used a pumpkin scooper leftover from a pumpkin carving kit. If you wanted you could save the seeds for baking.
3. Cut pumpkin into smaller pieces (I cut mine into eighths).

4. Put in a microwave safe container and fill container with 1 or 2 inches of water.
5. Heat in microwave for ~20 mins, or until pumkin rind is soft.
6. While pumpkin is microwaving, sauté your onion.

6. Let the pumpkin pieces cool a bit, then scoop out the rind. If it's done, the peel should pull off pretty easily. (I used some paper towels to pull off the skin to keep my fingers from burning.)

7. Add all of the ingredients to a blender.

8. Blend.
9. You'll probably need to heat it up on the stove. At this point taste your soup and see if needs more spices.

10. Serve with bread and butter.

Note: I've added white beans to this after I blended it, and that made it heartier.

Pumpkin Spice Cookies (aka Mukies)

First, I have to thank my good friend, Tracy, for this amazing recipe. There are literally 3 ingredients to make pure deliciousness. They sort of taste like muffin tops but bake like cookies, hence the nickname "mukie." Best of all, there's no oil or eggs, so they're actually pretty healthy (or so I tell myself when I'm on #5...).

Ingredients:
-1 spice cake mix
-1 can 15 oz canned pumpkin
-cream cheese frosting
-cinnamon (optional)

Steps:
1. Mix cake mix and canned pumpkin, until batter is moist.

2. Spoon on to greased cookie sheet. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

3. Bake for 12 mins at 350. Test to see if they're done by sticking a knife in. They may still seem a little squishy, but if the knife comes out clean, they're done.
4. Let cool, then frost with cream cheese frosting.
5. Top with cinnamon if you want.

Note: I recommend cooking these on the top rack of the oven.

Slaw Dogs

I actually based this (SUPER EASY) recipe off menu items from two Tallahassee establishments: the slaw is similar to Bagel Head's and Water Works actually serves slaw dogs (though they use a creamy slaw).

Ingredients:
Dogs
-Turkey dogs
-buns
-mustard (optional)

Slaw
-Package of pre-made coleslaw
- ~5 green onions
-1 package ramen (reserve spice pack)
-1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (it's actually a tad more than 1/4 C...I was paying close attention this time)
-1/8 cup EVOO
-2 heaping T of brown sugar

Steps
1. Chop up green onion.

2. Crush up ramen packet, then remove spice pack.
3. Whisk EVOO, rice wine, brown sugar, and ramen spice pack.
4. Put ramen, green onion, and slaw in a big bowl. Pour vinegar mixture on top and toss well. Let sit at least 15 minutes (it's better if it sits about an hour).

5. Cook turkey dogs according to package.

6. Top with mustard and slaw.









Note 1: If you want to serve the slaw as a side dish, it's really good with sliced almonds and sesame seeds on top.

Note 2: You can easily double the slaw recipe (which we usually do) because it's really good leftover and is as addictive as crack.

Note 3: I always eyeball the vinegar mixture, but you should end up with approximately 1/2 C of mixture, once all the ingredients are in. It's about this much liquid (see below).