Slow Cooker Chili (Vegetarian, Turkey, Beef or au Gratin)

I swear.....this is the last recipe using leftover turkey from last week's Christmas dinner!

Of course you can make this a vegetarian chili too.  Just leave out the meat and use vegetable broth.

1  lb (2 cups) cooked leftover turkey, chopped
        (or 1 lb ground beef)
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
olive oil
2 cups broth (vegetable, chicken or beef)
28 oz can diced tomatoes 
1  1/2 - 2 tbsps tomato paste
3 tbsps chili powder
couple pinches cayenne pepper
3/4 - 1 cup cooked quinoa (optional)
1 tsp salt
1/4 - 1/2 tsp pepper
19 oz can red kidney beans
19 oz can white kidney beans
fresh parsley to garnish

Crush and mince the garlic and set aside.  Chop the celery and onion. In a frying pan heat a couple of tbsps olive oil and add the onion, celery and garlic. At this point if using ground beef, brown it in the pan now.  Add the optional quinoa here.

Cook until the veggies are translucent. (Or if using beef, until there is no more pink and cooked through).

Transfer to slow cooker and add broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Drain and rinse the kidney beans and stir them in as well.

This is a mild chili.  If you want more heat add some chili flakes and more cayenne. 
The cooked turkey goes in now.

Cover and cook 3-4 hours on low.

Serve plain or on toast, topped with sour cream or sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley.  It's your call.

And here it is au gratin.

Add a dutch, sometimes called holland, rusk  to the bottom of an onion soup bowl. (For some reason rusks have become hard to find around here!) Ladle in the warm chili and top with shredded cheese.

I used mozzarella, but a sharp cheddar would be great.

Broil for 2 minutes and serve. 

Baked Two Spaghetti Squash

Here's my attempt at eating healthier.  I first got the idea from @youthfulcooking on instagram who topped his rigatoni with spaghetti squash. Well I didn't want to give up all my white pasta right away so a half and half dish sounded like a good idea. I only used half of the spaghetti squash here because I hope to try something new with the other half soon.

Ingredients:

1/2 spaghetti squash
1/4 lb spaghetti
1/2 onion, sliced
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
couple of mushrooms, sliced
1  1/4 cups tomato sauce
olive oil
1  1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley
basil and oregano

Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds.

Wrap the extra one in plastic wrap and refrigerate. Or if you want to use it all just double the rest of the ingredients. Microwave for 10 minutes on high. No butter or oil.  Once cool enough to handle use a fork to shred the "spaghetti" away from the peel.  It comes away very easily.

Reserve the empty squash shell.
While you are waiting for the squash, cook the pasta.
And fry up the onion, garlic and mushrooms in a little olive oil until browned but still firm. You can sprinkle on some basil and oregano if you like.
Toss the two spaghettis together using two forks to pull the squash apart.

Mix in the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella.
Spoon back into the squash shell.  I had so much filling that I had to also use a small baking dish sprayed with cooking oil. Top the spaghetti with the fried veggies

and the remaining cup of mozzarella.

Bake in a 350F oven for 20-30 minutes.

Broil the top a couple of minutes if you want it browner.
Sprinkle with parsley.

What do you think?

Savory Turkey Singles

This recipe will make 12 individual turkey muffins.  Great served with salsa or sour cream.

3/4 lb (2 cups) chopped cooked turkey
1  1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup caesar (with bacon optional) salad dressing
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup baking mix (Bisquick)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
parmesan

Mix the first 6 ingredients together and set aside.
In another bowl mix together the Bisquick, milk and eggs.

Prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray and pour 1 tbsp of egg mixture into each cup. On top of that add 2 heaping tbsps of the turkey mixture. Pat down gently.

And finish up with another 1 tbsp of egg mixture.
Sprinkle a pinch of parmesan over each muffin.  (I had a little dill so that ended up on top too, but you don't need it)

Bake at 375F for 28-30 minutes
Look how beautifully browned they are!

And they all came out of the muffin tin easily with lovely crusty sides. I can't get over how great the sides of these little guys are!

Turkey Minestrone

It's almost a week past Christmas and that turkey is still sitting in my fridge.  Ok buddy, I'm taking care of you today!

1 turkey carcass
2 broccoli stalks (after the florets have been removed)
handful of asparagus stalks (the woody ends)
1 piece of parmesan rind
2 bay leaves

3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
3 mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 strips cooked bacon and cooked asparagus (or leftover Bacon Pepper Asparagus from dinner)
1 clove garlic, minced
3-4 tbsps tomato paste
1 - 540 ml (19 oz) can red kidney beans
1-2 tbsps chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Remove most of the turkey meat from the carcass for other uses, then toss the bones and wings into a large soup pot. Having had broccoli for Christmas dinner I saved the stalks, tossed them in too. Same goes for the woody ends of the asparagus from dinner.  Add a piece of parmesan rind and 2 bay leaves and fill the pot with 20-22 cups of cold water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 2  1/2 hours.

Remove the bones, meat, stalks and bay leaves.

Now take a large piece of cheesecloth and cover the top of another pot with it.  Tie with a string or try using a large elastic to secure the cheesecloth. Carefully ladle the soup from the soup pot to the second pot, straining everything out and leaving a good stock. Return stock to the large soup pot.

After it sits awhile you can strain off some of the fat.

Clean the bones of any remaining meat.  There should still be quite alot.  I got about 3 cups.  Add this meat back to the stock.
Next add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, onion, garlic and tomato paste.
You could add a couple slices of cooked chopped bacon here, along with some asparagus.

I had leftover Bacon Pepper Asparagus

 http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2014/12/bacon-pepper-asparagus.html
so I chopped a few of them up and added them to the pot.
Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, a further 30 minutes.

Add the kidney beans and salt and pepper to taste.
Remove from heat and stir in the fresh parsley.

Keep some in the fridge to serve this week.

Freeze the rest in containers for later this winter.

Chocolate Cassata

Thanks to my oldest daughter, we had this beautiful dessert for Christmas. 

http://fattaincassa.blogspot.de/2014/02/chocolate-cassata.html (original recipe found here)

I didn't get any pictures of the cake being made, but caught up with her here.
She split the cake in three and made this fantastic ricotta filling (that I plan on using in another dessert at a later date!)

Whipped up the frosting....

And voilà... Chocolate Cassata!

Wish I'd taken a better picture, but we were in such a hurry to taste it  : )

Bacon Pepper Asparagus

Made these as a side dish for dinner but they'd totally work on your breakfast plate beside eggs and toast. You can even prepare them ahead of time and keep in the fridge until you need them.

Simply wrap 1 or 2 spears of asparagus with a slice of bacon making sure to tuck the ends underneath.  Don't forget to cut off the woody end of the asparagus first and use a vegetable peeler on the ends so they're nice and tender.

Place on a parchment lined baking sheet for easy clean-up, leaving space between each.  Grind some black pepper over the top and pop into a 400 F oven for 20 minutes.

Bacon makes everything better!

Quinoa Patties

Trying out some meat-free meals is challenging when you're used to "meat and potatoes" but this one I must say turned out yummy.  I served the patties with some green beans but I think they'd be really good as sliders too.

2 cups cooked quinoa (I used red)
1/2 cup finely diced broccoli 
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsps finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely shredded carrot
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp Montreal steak spice
1 egg

olive oil for frying

Heat 2 tbsps olive oil in a pan and lightly fry the broccoli, onion, celery and carrot.

Mix together with the rest of the ingredients adding the egg at the end. Don't you think the red quinoa makes it look more like meat? Form into small patties and place in the fridge to set for at least 1 hour.

Heat another couple of tbsps olive oil in a frying pan on medium heat and fry patties about 5 minutes per side until you've got a little char going on.

Even my husband the meat-lover said these were good!

Makes 12-14 two-bite patties.