Aunt Marilyn's Leftover Turkey Curry - Take 2

When my husband and I got married, my sister-in-law put together a cook book with a bunch of our family recipes.  She's pretty awesome like that.  It was wonderful to have some of my favorite childhood memories put together and preserved so I can pass these down to my kids.  One of those recipes came from one of my aunts, who said she learned to make this early on in her marriage and made subsequent annual appearances thereafter.  She generally used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, but if you make a turkey for Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner (our more "formal" meal was on Christmas Eve) and have leftovers, then you're covered.  I think it would be just as good using leftover chicken, too. Frankly, if I'm making chicken, I would just make extra to use later in the week for this recipe.

It's really good, but I did tweak it a little to suit my personal preferences (decreased the butter and substituted coconut milk for evaporated milk from the original).  Another great thing about this recipe is that it is really easy and quick to put together.  If you serve it over rice, get the rice working first, because the curry will be done in the same amount of time as the rice needs to cook.  Seriously, you will have dinner on the table in 30 minutes, once you've got all the chopping done. If you want to save even more time, buy the onions and green beans already prepped (you could even use frozen green beans, if that's what you have).

If you'd like tweak to your personal taste and dietary needs, it is really easy.  If you want the consistency to be less thick, you can leave the flour out all together, or, if you are avoiding gluten/processed flour, you can substitute the thickening agent of your choice.  I find it sweet enough without adding sugar, but my kids eat it better with it in, so I keep it, but you could totally leave it out or substitute honey or other sweetener of choice.  Avoiding dairy?  Substitute vegetable or olive oil for the butter.  Vegetarian? Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock and substitute portabello mushrooms for the meat.  :-)

Leftover Turkey Curry

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped into 1/4 inch dice
4 ribs celery, sliced into 1/4 inch thick pieces
2 Tbsp. curry powder (I like Penzey's sweet curry blend)
1 large sour apple (Although I've used different kinds, I found that Granny Smith tastes best), peeled, sliced lenghtwise into 1/8ths, then cut across into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 stick butter (4 Tbsp)
2 cups chicken stock
1 can coconut milk, shaken well
1/8 cup flour
salt
2 Tbsp sugar (optional)
2+ cups chopped, cooked turkey or chicken
1/2 lb (8 oz) green beans, cut into approximately 1-inch lengths

Heat a large saute or frying pan over medium heat, add butter to pan and let melt. Add onion, celery and apple to butter and saute until soft.  Add curry powder, salt, sugar and flour to the pan. Stir and cook veggies with the spices for another minute or two, then add stock and coconut milk.  Heat  to simmer, and cook until sauce has thickened (about 5 minutes), then add turkey and green beans. Bring back to a gentle simmer (sauce should just be rippling, not bubbling, over its surface) and cook for 3 more minutes, until the turkey is heated through.

Serve over rice, if you wish, and garnish with any of the following: peanuts, coconut, chopped green onions, chutney, golden raisins, or chopped, hard boiled eggs.

Serves 4, generously

Eggs!

I love eggs!  They're so versatile, and an inexpensive source of protein, that I usually make some sort of egg-centered dish for dinner at least one night each week.  Below are a few of the recipes I've made recently, plus an original concoction I came up with for lunch this week. 

This first recipe came from Williams-Sonoma's blog.  They called it a Breakfast Tart, but I've never been one to box food into specific times of day. It's a puff pastry crust with eggs and bacon baked on top of it.  How can you go wrong?  :-)

This dish is Baked Eggs with Spinach, Tomatoes and Garlic from the $5 Dinners website.  It was easy to prepare and really tasty!  I substituted kale for the spinach called for in the original recipe, because that's what I had.  :-)

This was breakfast one morning: Pumpernickel bread (a German brand that uses whole grain, no wheat gluten. It's really dense and chewy and I really like it), toasted and topped with avocado and tomato slices and scrambled eggs.  With a dash of sriracha sauce, of course, because eggs and hot sauce just go together!  Also, I have been told that I make the best scrambled eggs ever, so I'm going to give you my secret (and maybe if I get my act together to do a video, I will show you, too): low heat.  It takes a little longer to cook the eggs, but cooking them over low heat, and whisking often, will produce creamy eggs.  Of course, if you prefer a drier scrambled egg, then you may not like the way I make them, anyway.  It's all a matter of taste, really.

The final egg dish is something I came up with for lunch, which seems to be the bane of my existence.  I'm always at a loss for what to make for lunches on the weekends.  On weekdays, the kids eat lunch at school, and my husband and I usually just eat leftovers from last night's dinner.  So, on weekends, I just don't know what to do for lunch beyond sandwiches and/or soup.  Sandwiches are pretty versatile, but I'm trying to limit my refined carb intake, so salads and soups start to get a little boring.  What to do?

You may have already seen, especially if you're on Pinterest, a recipe for making a fried egg inside a pepper slice.   I was intrigued, so thought I'd give it a try.  I didn't have a recipe, though, just kind of made it from memory.  So here's what I did:

I sliced a red bell pepper in rings about 1/2 inch thick, cleaned off the portobello mushrooms and fired up my griddle.

Once the griddle was warmed up, I put a little olive oil on the griddle, then slapped the mushroom tops and the bell pepper rings on it.  Once the bell peppers cooked for a minute, I flipped the ring over, then cracked an egg into the middle. I ended up flipping the egg over again (for an over-easy type egg), because the whites weren't cooking on the top. I also flipped over the mushroom tops after about 3 minutes.

Egg, Pepper and Portobello Sandwich

Ingredients (makes 2 open-faced sandwiches)

1 red bell pepper

2 portobello mushroom caps

2 eggs

olive oil

salt and pepper

mayo or honey mustard sauce

bacon, cooked

Heat up a griddle or large frying pan.  Slice the bell pepper into 1/2 inch slices (use the two slices that make the biggest middle space -- the egg will spread when you crack it in the middle) and clean out any of the white rib flesh.  Wipe off the portobello caps. Brush griddle with olive oil (extra virgin or the sluttier kind), place portobello caps and red pepper rings onto griddle.  Grill for about 2 minutes, then flip.  Carefully break one egg into the middle of each red pepper ring, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  When the egg white has set, carefully flip the egg/pepper ring and cook for another minute.

Put the mushroom cap on a plate, rib side facing up (smooth part touching the plate), then spread with a bit of mayonnaise (or mustard, or whatever condiment you think might be tasty - I happened to have an extra pack of Chik-fil-A sauce, so I used that -- it makes anything taste better!). Top the mushroom with the egg and bell pepper.  Serve with bacon on the side (or on top, whatever floats your boat).

A Delicious, Healthy Start to the New Year

Hi Everyone!  Happy New Year!  I've kind of been slacking on my blog the past couple of weeks, but we traveled to Minnesota, and I took a little break to enjoy quality time with family and friends back in my hometown.

For whatever reason, I was constantly eating while I was home (I'll blame my mother).  So many yummy treats (fudge, cookies, cake...) and my self control was completely AWOL.  But now that I'm back on my home turf, I'm ready to get back to healthier eating.

The first post of the New Year, I have to admit, isn't even a personal recipe, but one I got from Martha Stewart.  It's a chicken salad with apple, beets and pomegranate.  Look at that picture!  It was gorgeous, and I just had to make it.


It did not disappoint.  Even my youngest, pickiest son ate it (well, the chicken and the greens and the apples -- I separated them out for him), but he did like the dressing.  I love this because it's bright (from the orange vinaigrette), crunchy (from the pomegranate seeds and apples), and satisfying (from the roasted beets and chicken).  I also felt pretty healthy eating it, so even bigger bonus!

Hope you enjoy this salad as much as I did.  I promise I'll be back soon with something a little more original (or at least the entry I intended to post while I was in Minnesota -- dated but still tasty).  :-)

My Famous Chili

I have to admit that I use the term "famous" loosely, because my chili is different every time I make it.  But people still seem to like it, so I tried to write down an actual recipe this time. You see, I make chili a lot! It's probably my "desert island" food (you know, if you were stranded on a desert island, what food would you want to have...).  I honestly could eat it every day.  So I've definitely developed particular likes and dislikes.  But what I like most about it is chili's seemingly unending variations.  Which brings me back around to why my chili is different every time.  I am constantly switching up the types of seasonings and chiles I use, so it's really never the same  thing twice.  

I realize that chili doesn't seem particularly "Christmasy", but we always had it as part of Christmas day dinner.  I don't know why, exactly.  Maybe it was because Mom was too tired to cook a huge meal, and everyone was tired from getting up early and opening presents?  Anyway, it was part of our holiday tradition, so I thought I would share.  This is not my mom's chili, however.  Hers had celery in it.  As a kid, I didn't know any better, but now I do.  So no celery in my chili, ever. But this recipe is more of a guideline. You can adjust it to your personal heat preferences, meat choice, or even make it vegetarian (add more veggies -- red, orange, yellow bell peppers, portabello mushrooms add an almost meaty texture, more beans, use vegetable broth or water instead of chicken stock). Some purists would say that there shouldn't be any beans in a chili, ever, so there are a lot of views and variations.

Here is what I put in my chili tonight, because, frankly, it's what I had (minus the corn, which was most likely still in the freezer...).  The small container at the bottom of the picture holds my frozen chipotles in adobo, because I never use an entire can at one time (or at least I've never seen a recipe that does it).

So, hopefully, you'll find this as tasty as I do, but feel free to tweak it according to what you and your family like.  I don't mind at all.  :-)



Marna's "Famous" Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chicken breast, cubed into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp. Penzey's Mitchell Street Steak Seasoning (you can use chili powder as a substitute)
2 dried guajillo chiles
1 dried anaheim chile
2 cups chicken stock (plus additional)
2 medium onions, 1/4 in dice
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tbsp oil (I used olive, but you can use canola, too)
1 tbps chopped chipotle in adobo sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 green pepper
1 14 oz can black beans
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1.5 cups fresh or frozen corn

Heat  a cast iron skillet (or 5 qt dutch oven if you just want to use one pot) over medium-high heat.  Put dried chiles in pan (dry -- no oil or anything) and heat the chiles until fragrant (about 5 minutes or so), using tongs to turn over once.  Meanwhile, heat 2 cups chicken stock. When the chiles are warm and fragrant, pull them off the heat and cut off the stem.  Pull out the seeds (most of them should just shake out, but you might have to rip open the chile to get at the ones still attached to the ribs).  Put the chiles in the warm chicken broth and let soften for 10 minutes. Once softened, put the chiles and the chicken stock in a blender and add the chipotle.  Blend (take out the middle of the cover if the chicken stock is still hot) until smooth.

While the chiles are soaking, in a soup pot or dutch oven (if you didn't use it for the chiles) cook the chicken breast, seasoning with salt and the Mitchell Street Steak Seasoning, over medium heat until cooked through, about 5-8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.  Add the oil, onions and garlic.  Cook until softened, but stir occasionally so the garlic doesn't burn.  Add the tomato paste and cook until carmelized (it will start smelling sweet and turn dark, dark red -- almost brown), then add the green pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes, then add the pureed chiles and chicken stock, chicken (with any accumulated juices), tomatoes, and black beans.  Add more chicken stock if the mixture looks too thick.  Cook for 30 minutes, then add the corn.  Cook until the corn is warmed through (it should only take 2-3 minutes).

Serve with the usual accessories: cheese, sour cream, cilantro, chopped red onion (or spring onions)...or nothing at all.  This chili has layers of flavors that you'll enjoy all by itself.

This recipe makes a generous amount.  Probably enough to serve 8 as a main entree.  Maybe a couple more if you serve it with corn bread or on top of spaghetti (chili mac).

Tips and Hints:

Chipotle chiles in adobe can be found in the international or Latin section of most groceries.  You will usually have a lot left over, so I freeze mine, then scrape off what I need for whatever recipe I'm making.

This makes a medium-spicy chili (it had a kick that builds on your tongue, but it shouldn't make you cry or sweat).  You can adjust the heat of the chili by reducing the amount of dried chiles, or leave out the chipotle, if you like.

I think chili is better the next day, after the flavors have had a chance to more thoroughly blend.  Just let cool on the stove top for a while, then put the pot in the fridge overnight.  Re-heat the next day.  A word of caution, though.  The spiciness will also intensify, so adjust for your personal preferences accordingly.

Fluffernutter Brownies - From Failure to Fantastic!

I had wanted to get this posted days ago, but then the flu happened in our house, and my time has not been my own.  So I apologize for not being able to be a more regular poster.  That will be my New Year's resolution...

Hopefully you're not sick of brownie recipes yet, because I have another one for you.  :-) And, fair warning, I have a couple of recipes you can make using up brownies, so stay tuned.  I had a lot of brownies to use up after that whole brownie experiment thing...

I didn't intend to make brownies, but sometimes things don't go your way and you need to take a different direction.  Such as today.  I had attempted to make peanut butter fudge, a recipe I saw in my latest Penzey's spice catalog (seriously, sign up for their mailing list, even if it's just for the recipes).  I should have known.  I am not very patient, and making candy takes patience. So, after letting it set up for 2 days in the fridge, I wasn't sure what I ended up with, but it wasn't fudge.  What I got was some really delicious, fluffy, peanut buttery goo that was too good to throw away. I actually made myself sick taste-testing the "fudge" to ensure that a) it tasted good, and b) it actually wasn't fudge.

Here's what I had. Clearly too soft to be fudge.

What was I going to do with this stuff?  One of my all time favorite flavor combinations is peanut butter and chocolate, so I thought, "Why not swirl some of this into brownies?" So that's what I did.

You need to make enough brownie batter for a 9x13 inch pan, so I doubled my favorite brownie recipe (nothing healthy about these, despite my previous attempts).  This is a recipe from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Country Cookbook and super simple. You can, however, use a box mix (I won't judge) to keep it simple, since you'll be putting in some time on the the peanut butter fudge.


Here's my go-to brownie recipe. I love it because you make it in one pan and it is incredibly simple.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Brownies

1 cup butter
12 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa (or about 1/2 cup)
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt

Fluffernutter Filling
(If you want the same consistency that I had, cook for 5 minutes, and don't use a candy thermometer. If you want to actually make the peanut butter fudge, then use a candy thermometer to make sure you get to the soft ball stage.)

Grease a 9x13 inch pan and preheat oven to 325 (F).

Combine butter and cocoa in a 3 qt. saucepan.  Heat over low heat, stirring, until butter is melted and cocoa is completely blended in until smooth.  Set aside to cool (about 5 minutes).

When cocoa is lukewarm, beat in sugar and vanilla. Then beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the flour and salt, beat until combined.

Pour brownie batter into prepared pan, then drop blobs of filling (I only used about half of the recipe) onto brownie batter, then use a knife to swirl the two together.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (when a toothpick is inserted near the center, it should come out with a few bits of crumbs clinging to it).

I hope you enjoy these!  They are delicious!  And, in the spirit of the season, I gave the brownies as thank yous for our trash and recycling guys.  I hope they like them!

I still have to figure out what to do with the other half of that failed peanut butter fudge...

Healthy Brownie: Oxymoron or Attainable Dream?

I've been working on a long-term project to see if it's possible to create a "healthier" brownie.  After several tries and taste tests (yeah, it's a tough job), I actually did come up with a pretty good alternative, which I'll share with you a little later.

But first, a discussion about my brownie preferences and what I mean by "healthier." I fall into the dense and chewy camp of brownie lovers.  I definitely will not say no to a cakey brownie, especially if it has frosting, but I prefer the kind of brownie that is dense, rich, and chewy.  Usually the sugar amount is higher than the flour amount.  If it has a crackled top, that's even better!

What do I mean by "healthier?" Preferably, something that doesn't use refined sugar or wheat flour, with a better oil source (not dairy fat like butter, something with a modicum of health benefits).  I understand that, depending on your nutrition goals, my definition of healthy might not be yours, but there is a lot of room for experimentation.  There are tons of "healthier" brownie recipes on the internet, using black beans, beets, sweet potatoes, zucchini.  I tried them all, or at least a version of them.  And I invited over some friends to help me taste test them.  Here's what we tasted:

I numbered the different brownies so that no one would prejudge a taste before they actually tasted it.

Here are the notes from one of my friends.  I picked his list because he has fanatically neat writing, and his words summed up the general consensus of the group:

Here are the brownies, and a link to the original recipe, if I got it from an internet source:

1. Variation of the Wuollet brownie using almond flour, maple sugar
2. Wuollot brownie recipe (full butter, sugar, etc, for comparison)
3. Paleo brownie (raw, with nuts, dates, cocoa)
4. Red Velvet (with beets) - I love that my friend wrote "with a certain je ne sais quoi" for that one.  He was really surprised when I said they were beets.
5. zucchini brownie
6. Sweet potato brownie
7. Marna's "Healthier" Brownie (recipe below)
8. Black Bean Brownie
9. Brownies with egg whites, no flour (kind of like a flourless chocolate cake, but I made a mistake and added the sugar to the whipped whites before adding it to the flour mixture.  The texture was horrible, so I'm not even sharing the recipe with you on this one).

As you can see, there was a lot of tasting and experimenting.  I personally liked the texture of the zucchini brownie (although it had a kind of "green" smell that hit you just before you bit into it.  The smell went away once you had the brownie in your mouth) and the "Marna's Healthier Brownie" the best.  So, what did I find, given my initial premise?  You can add veggies or fruit to a brownie, which will give it more fiber and maybe some vitamins, but if you still keep the sugar. butter and processed flour in it, it's still going to be unhealthy overall.  In all my experimentation substituting different things, here's what I learned:

1) There's not a good natural substitute for white, granulated sugar. Either it's not sweet enough (honey) or gives it an odd taste (maple sugar) and there is definitely a difference in texture (not as chewy as I like)

2) Flours were also a problem, if you want a pure chocolate taste.  The almond flour was a little gritty (I didn't mind the texture, but my 8 year old did) and definitely added an almond taste to the chocolate (not unpleasant, but may not be what you want). The chickpea flour had an earthy taste, but with the chocolate, it wasn't off-putting.

3) Using half ghee and half coconut oil does make a good substitute for butter, without the dairy in it.  You still get some butter taste, but it's not overwhelming (as it is when you use only ghee), and the coconut oil is a neutral taste that blends well with the ghee. However, if you're trying to avoid saturated fats, this combo might not be for you. Click on the links for some nutritional information about each of them, if you are interested.

4) To make brownies healthier, it's better to just substitute one unhealthy thing, and leave the rest as in the original recipe. I don't think there's ever going to be a "healthy" brownie that will truly compare to the unhealthy original, but you CAN make it healthier, substituting a "healthy" ingredient for one of the unhealthy ones (depending on what your nutrition goals are and what you generally want to avoid).

Now this doesn't have to be the final word on the healthy brownie debate, or course, and I realize the use of chocolate chips (using refined sugar, oils and such) makes any brownie less healthy.  There are a lot of flours that I didn't try (if you're interested in gluten-free options). And I am still intrigued about using a flourless chocolate cake recipe as a starting point.  Where is the one with the applesauce, you may be asking?  Well, that recipe is pretty common, but frankly, I think that comes out a little too cake-y for my taste, so I didn't add it here, but if you have a good one, feel free to share it. I'm always open to new ideas!

For me, what worked best was using blends of things, as you can see from the recipe I came up with, below.


Marna's "Healthier" Brownie

1/4 cup ghee
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup natural honey
2 eggs
1/8 cup maple sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup natural cocoa (I get mine from Penzey's)
1/2 cup almond flour (I use Bob's Red Mill brand)
1/8 cup Chick Pea (Garbanzo Bean) Flour - again Bob's Red Mill
1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan.  Melt ghee and oil together, set aside to cool.  Beat together the eggs, honey and maple sugar.  Add oil to the egg and sugar mixture. Blend well.  Add the dry ingredients, stir to combine completely, then add the chocolate chips. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes (a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan should come out with a few crumbs on it, but not gooey batter).  Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting.  (Trick: to get a clean cut on the brownies, you have to let them cool completely.  No shortcuts -- except I will put them in the fridge after a while to finish cooling...).

Let me know what you think, and if you have any tricks to make brownies healthier, I'd love to hear them.  Personally, I'll probably just make regular brownies (I don't make them very often).  I figure, at least it's better than using a brownie mix, with its additives and such, right?

Happy baking!

Healthy Breakfasts

Sooo, how did your Thanksgiving go?  Of course, as usual, I overate -- especially in the sweets department. The disappointing part this year was that we ate dinner at someone else's house, and there really wasn't a lot left over to take home (my favorite is leftover turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce).  We did, however, bring home half a pan of apple crisp, which I proceeded to eat for breakfast for the next 3 days.  And it was delicious.  In an amazing display of self control, I did NOT put ice cream on top.  :-)

But now it's time to get back on track, as I am determined not have a replay of last winter, where I gained 7 pounds and had a devil of a time working it off.  Some of you might think that 7 pounds isn't that much, but when you're short (not quite 5'2"), even a pound can make a big difference in how your jeans fit. Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, but so many more parties and celebrations ahead, I'm going to make a point of eating healthy on most days, so I don't feel so guilty when I (inevitably) indulge at the parties.

Part of that healthy eating is starting out the day right with breakfast.  My three go-to breakfasts are my homemade granola with sliced banana and almond milk, Almond Joy Oatmeal, or a chocolate almond smoothie.  Seriously, who doesn't want to have chocolate for breakfast??  But, surprisingly, the only added sugar in the oatmeal is from the chocolate chips and there is no refined sugar in the smoothie (unsweetened cocoa powder adds the chocolatey taste).  However, if none of those float your boat (I understand that not everyone likes a sweet breakfast), here are some other ideas:

This one is simply whole grain bread (thinly sliced) with peanut butter, apple slices and raw honey drizzled over the top.  It would also be yummy with a sprinkle of cinnamon.  I realize that this probably qualifies as "sweet" in many people's books, but I use natural peanut butter (no added sugar, just straight peanuts) and you can adjust the amount of honey to your taste.  Pay no attention to the glass in the background.  Beer is not part of my healthy breakfast plan (Although I did date a nationally-ranked shot-putter who would go on a strict beer diet when he had to lose weight.  True story). For the record, it is actually water, which is what I usually drink first thing in the morning.

This breakfast was made with a whole grain breakfast mix from Wegman's (if you have a store near you, it's found near the rice), but you could totally make it with quinoa or oatmeal (follow package directions).  I then just added pecans and fresh blueberries.

Sometimes I just want an egg sandwich.  Since I rarely eat actual bread anymore (especially English muffins, scones and such), this was a bit of an indulgence, but you could use gluten-free or whole grain bread to health-ify it (or do away with the bread all together). It's just herbed goat cheese, a couple of slices of avocado, and a fried egg on top (I cook the egg in a non-stick pan and don't add any extra oil or butter). It was so delicious!  But if you don't do dairy, it would taste just as good without the goat cheese. Honest. You could even do a tapenade or roasted red pepper spread instead of the cheese and get some amazing flavors jumping around your mouth first thing in the morning.

I hope this inspires you to start your day off with something healthy and delicious!  Please share your favorite breakfasts with us!