RECIPE: Chipotle Chicken Mango Sausage & Tomato Quinoa
Okay, so I haven’t blogged in a while. I’ve been busy – just finished my second of three terms in grad school! (I’m getting an MAT – should be licensed to teach high school and middle school by May 2012. Squee!) Anyway, I’ve finally got a break, and was referring someone to this blog, when I remembered I have the WORLD’S EASIEST, and possibly YUMMIEST recipe to post. It’s definitely one of my “What’s in the fridge, and how can I also get rid of stuff in the cupboard?” recipes – a truly “found feast” that’s great, healthy comfort food on a cold fall/winter day. Mangia bene!
Ingredients:
6 cups cooked quinoa (approx. 650 g)*
4 Al Fresco Chicken Chipotle Mango Sausages (1 package; approx. 350 g)
1 med-lg onion, white or yellow, diced
8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 jar red pasta sauce (I used the tomato-basil variety)
1 can chopped stewed tomatoes (optional)
Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)
* If you don’t have leftover quinoa on hand (and if you don’t, why not? 
), it cooks up super fast. Boil 4 cups water, add 2 cups dry quinoa, and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Directions:
Brown sausage, onion and (optional) mushrooms in olive oil. Add quinoa, tomato sauce, and (optional) stewed tomatoes. Heat on medium. That’s it – seriously! Serve in soup bowls, add pepper flakes for extra spice, if desired, and enjoy!
Serving Notes:
Makes about 7 servings of 250 g each. (I like to freeze leftovers, so I generally make a double recipe.) A note on the sausage: You can use any flavor you like, really. But I find the chipotle mango works really-really well with the tomato sauce and pepper flakes. Yum. (Have I drooled over this enough to convince you to try it? I sure hope so!!)
RECIPE: Turkey Chili with Fresh Pesto
This is a variation on my Turkey Pesto Corn Chili recipe. It’s thicker, and has much more pesto flavor, which might sound like an odd ingredient for a Mexican dish, but it’s not — it’s really yummy!
Ingredients:
1 lb dried pinto beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 cup water (or use the cooking liquid from the pintos)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 med-lg onion, white or yellow, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground turkey breast
1 can chopped stewed tomatoes
1/2 can (3 oz) tomato paste
1/2 jar red pasta sauce
12 oz (1 can) low-sodium V-8 juice
1/4 cup fresh pesto
Chili powder to taste
Directions:
Cook beans in enough water to cover over medium heat for 2-2.5 hours, or until done. With slotted spoon, transfer to large chili pot, then add 1 cup cooking liquid. (If using canned beans, drain and use 1 cup water.)
Brown onion and garlic in olive oil. Add to soup pot, then brown turkey in same skillet used for onion.
Add pesto, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, tomato paste and V-8 to chili pot. Season with chili powder. Heat on medium.
When turkey is cooked, add to chili pot and heat thoroughly. Garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, chopped onions, etc., and serve with cornbread.
Serving Notes:
Makes about 7 servings of 400 g each. I like to freeze leftovers, so generally make a double recipe, which is also easier on the proportions — you can use a whole jar of pasta sauce, and a whole can of tomato paste. If you do make a larger recipe, though, make sure you have a very large soup/chili pot, and a lot of freezer containers on hand!
RECIPE: Mexican Black Beans
Lately, I’ve been on a quest to reduce our reliance on canned goods (expensive, high in sodium, and I’m concerned about the chemicals often used to line the cans). But DH makes an awesome burrito (the recipe for which I’ll post soon) that uses black beans, and it just didn’t taste right with “plain” homecooked ones. I tried subbing homecooked pintos, which tasted better, but it still wasn’t great. I finally sought out some specific black bean recipes, and yesterday, had a cookoff. What follows is the best of the best — seriously, these are YUMMY!
Oh, and (one of) the secrets to fabulous cooked black beans turns out to be epazote (pic above; click to enlarge), a Mexican herb that, in large quantities of its essential oils, can be toxic, but which is apparently safe in small amounts in food. Who knew??
Ingredients:
1 lb uncooked black beans
6-8 cups hot water
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely diced
1 serrano chile, seeded and finely diced
1-2 sprigs epazote*, finely chopped
1/2 onion, diced (200 g)
1 tsp cumin
* We’re pretty lucky in that our local “cheap” grocery stocks a lot of hispanic foods. If you can’t find epazote in the refrigerator/produce section of your normal grocery store, try a specialty or natural foods chain. It really seems to be the key ingredient, although you may like the recipe without it as well!
Directions:
Rinse beans and discard any debris (it’s NOT necessary to soak them overnight), then place in a medium-sized pot and cover with the hot water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a very low simmer and cover, cooking for about 2 hours. Check every now and then, to ensure the water isn’t evaporating too quickly.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for another hour, or until the beans are soft. Check/stir often to prevent burning, and add more water, if necessary. (We have a nice model electric stove, and when I set the burner to 5, the water boiled off very fast. 4 or even lower seemed to be the magic number — just enough for very low bubbling, but it did still burn a bit on the bottom of the pan, during the final hour of cooking.)
Serve beans with a slotted spoon for a side dish. Or, serve in a bowl with the broth and add in some cooked, cubed chicken and some salsa for a main dish.
Serving Notes:
Makes about 10 side dish/burrito filling-sized servings, or about 5 main dish servings. These are truly delicious by themselves, but salsa, sour cream and cheese are always a good idea, in my opinion!
And continuing my theme of “prep lots now, use most of it later,” these can be frozen and kept for at least six months. We store in quantities of about 650 g (one medium-sized freezer container), which gives us enough for one burrito meal, for a family of four.
RECIPE: Low-Fat Potatoes au Gratin
A few days ago, I was hunting through my roughly 50 cookbooks, looking for a way to prepare black beans that would give them a bit more flavor than just boiling with salt. I didn’t find one, and realized that most of the recipes I use now, I find by searching the internet. So I thought maybe I should get rid of about 48 of those books.
Then last night, DH was making steak, we had a ton of potatoes and cheese on hand, and I suddenly thought, “There was a potatoes au gratin recipe in one of those cookbooks I was looking at!” So of course, now I can’t get rid of any of them, because YOU NEVER KNOW when they might come in handy! 
As always, I’ve modified this a bit to suit our tastes. But it really is so creamy and good, you won’t realize it’s (comparatively) healthy. YUM.
Ingredients:
3 lbs russet potatoes
9 oz (≈ 1 med) white or yellow onion
3 Tbsp butter
4.5 Tbsp whole wheat flour
21 oz (2 5/8 cup) 1% milk
6 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°. If you like, peel the potatoes (personally, I like the flavor and texture the skins add, so I leave them on), then cut into 1/4″ slices or thinner. Slice the onion into very thin rings – if you have a mandoline slicer (link opens in new tab), this is much easier. Toss the potatoes and onions together in a large bowl, then place 1/3 of the mixture (≈ 550 g) in a 3 quart oblong casserole. Set the rest aside while you make the sauce.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the milk and heat to boiling, then cook until thickened. This whole process can take 10+ minutes, and needs almost constant stirring, to avoid scalding the milk or burning the pan.
When somewhat thick (it will still be very soupy), remove from heat and add the cheese, stirring until melted. Pour 1 cup of sauce (≈ 225 g) over the potatoes and onions in the casserole. Repeat the potato/sauce layers two more times, topping off with any remaining sauce.
Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are cooked and tops are nicely browned. Serve hot.
Serving Notes:
Makes 10-12 servings (average serving size is 200 g). Keeps well, and can be used as a side dish later in the week, or frozen. For a slight variation, place the leftovers in a small casserole, sprinkle with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, and heat uncovered in 350º oven for 20-30 minutes, or until hot.
RECIPE: Whole Wheat Banana Bread
Since the “Brown Smushy Banana Fairy” seems to visit our house with great regularity, and I hate wasting food (see “Frugal” above), I’ve had lots of occasions to perfect my banana bread recipe recently. This version is my favorite - very banana-y, whole wheat flour, dark brown sugar, and butter. YUM. It’s especially good toasted, with a cup of hot coffee or tea. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
1/3 cup unsalted butter
0.5 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1.75 cups sifted all-purpose whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
1 cup ripe bananas (≈275 g weighed w/skins; ≈200g w/out)
Directions:
Mash the bananas and set aside. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat well.
Sift together the dry ingredients, then add to creamed mixture alternately with bananas, blending well after each addition. Stir in nuts, etc., if desired.*
Pour batter into well-greased 9.5″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pan. Bake 60-75 minutes at 350º, until a knife inserted into center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.
* Possible additions include (these will change the nutrition info, of course):
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins, dried cranberries, etc.
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Serving Notes:
Makes about 8 servings per loaf, of about 90 g each. This is delicious for breakfast, a snack, or dessert, and has a lot more flavor than the white sugar/white flour/white shortening version I started with. It’s still not a health food, though.
RECIPE: Chicken Tikka Masala with Quinoa
Look at me, blogging twice in a row this week! Whoo-hoo! I made this recipe (a family favorite) last night, and it was SO easy, fast, and tasty, that I figured it was time I posted it here. If you’re looking for something a little different, that won’t break the time-bank, and is delicious and healthy, this should fit the bill.
NOTE: If you don’t have any quinoa on hand, you can substitute rice, or even pasta. But I urge you to try this with the quinoa if at all possible. This plant (link opens in new tab/window) is commonly called a grain, but it’s really a relative of Swiss chard. It’s absolutely packed with nutrients, and is a complete protein. Besides that, it’s super tasty, and slightly more nutty than rice. It also tastes less starchy (to me, at any rate), which is a plus (to me… at any rate ).
You can buy quinoa at health food stores, but many groceries with a bulk foods section also stock it, even monster cheap-o chains like WinCo or Fred Meyer (a.k.a., Kroger’s anywhere besides the Northwest). Cheers!
Ingredients:
550 g uncooked quinoa (about 2.75 cups)
5 1/2 cups water
20-24 oz boneless/skinless raw chicken breasts (2 Costco pouches), cubed, and the fat trimmed off
900 mL Tikka Masala sauce (1 carton Maya Kaimal brand, available at Costco)
Directions:
Boil the water, then add quinoa and cover with lid tilted, to allow some steam to escape. Bring to boil again, then reduce heat and simmer until liquid is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes. (Check often, to make sure it doesn’t burn!)
In a large skillet, combine cubed chicken and sauce. Cover and simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked.
Serve over quinoa.
Serving Notes:
Makes about 9 servings of 400 g each (200 g cooked quinoa + 200 g meat/sauce). As with nearly everything I post here, leftovers freeze well, but feel free to halve the quantities above to make a smaller recipe.
RECIPE: Crockpot Indian Pork Curry
Okay, so I realize that pork is not a common ingredient in Indian food. However, I get tired of making everything with chicken, and needed a new way to cook pork besides grilling it, frying it, or boiling the heck out of it. As it turned out, this recipe is FABULOUS with pork – the meat is moist to the point of falling apart on the fork, and the curry and other spices are a huge compliment to the pork’s light flavor. */end disclaimer/* Enjoy!
NOTE: The order the ingredients are put in the crockpot DOES matter, which is why I’ve broken them down into “Layers” (see the directions for more info). Also, don’t increase any of the quantities (like I’m wont to do *cough*), except maybe the bell peppers. Amounts below will FILL an average-size crockpot nicely!
Ingredients - 1st Layer (Sauce):
13.5 oz can of lite coconut milk
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 inch peeled/grated fresh ginger (use a porcelain ginger grater – it’s MUCH easier!)
Few dashes of Frank’s Red Hot sauce (or any hot sauce you like)
Ingredients – 2nd Layer:
15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 lbs boneless pork*, cubed (after fat trim ≈ 28 oz)
* or equivalent meat (lamb, chicken, beef, etc., although obviously, any substitution will change the nutrition info at right)
Ingredients – 3rd Layer:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (≈ 1000 g)
Ingredients - 4th Layer:
1 yellow onion. chopped
2 or 3 cloves of smashed and chopped garlic
2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
Directions:
Combine all spices, coconut milk, hot sauce and tomato paste (1st set of ingredients) in the bottom of the crockpot. The sauce will be a lovely yellow. Add the meat and garbanzo beans (2nd set of ingredients) to the sauce, stirring to coat them nicely.
Wash, peel and chop the sweet potato (3rd layer), then add to the crockpot. Don’t stir it in, but be sure to put it between the sauce and the other vegetables!
Finally, wash and chop the remaining vegetables (4th layer), then place them on top of the crockpot mixture. DO NOT STIR – let them steam away!
Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 4-6. Stir carefully to mix flavors. If you stir too vigorously, the sweet potato will fall apart. Serve over brown rice.
Serving Notes:
Average serving is 200-250 g, or about 12 total servings for the whole recipe. I’m a big fan of leftovers, and this freezes very well, with or without the added rice.
RECIPE: Tuna and Chips (and Noodles!) Casserole
While pondering what to post today, I looked out the window at the driving downpour in which my poor DH was jogging, and thought, “Comfort food!” I’ve been making this recipe since I was a kid. It’s another one from Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cookbook, except as an adult I finally decided to modify it slightly and cut the chips in half, subbing in whole wheat egg noodles and extra milk, to make it slightly healthier. Someday, maybe I’ll post the original recipe. For now, here’s the new version — which, by the way, my family likes just as much as the original. Comfort ahoy!
Ingredients:
3 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 cups 1% milk
400 g tuna (4 cans, drained)
100 g + 120 g crushed potato chips (approx. one 11.5 oz bag)
100 g (about 2 cups) uncooked wavy, whole wheat egg noodles
700 g cooked green peas (weight is when frozen)
Directions:
Mix all ingredients (except the 120 g potato chips) in a 4-quart casserole (or two 2-quart ones). Top with the remaining chips and bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy! (Did I mention this one is SUPER easy, too?? Win, win!)
Serving Notes:
This makes about eight servings, with an average serving size of 350 g. The leftovers freeze/reheat really well, but you can also cut all the quantities down if you seriously want to make less.
Yeah, Yeah, Yada, Yada
So it’s been awhile. Big deal. We had kind of a tough summer/fall/winter, and I’ve been mulling over what to do about my various blogs. There’s my writing ones, this one, and sharemymidlifecrisis.com, which I originally thought might work to combine all my diverse interests into one nifty spot, but as soon as I launched it, I realized it probably wasn’t going to work. It’s not that it wasn’t a good idea. It’s just that the kinds of things I wanted to kvetch about on it are really too personal for public consumption.
Which brings me back here. (See how I did that? “Consumption?” Ha, ha! I’m so clever!) Throughout all the upheaval, the one thing that’s stayed constant is my love of good food, (mostly) healthy cooking, and coming up with creative ways to keep my family munching. I’ve got lots of new recipes to post, as well as many-many old ones, so I’m going to set a goal of posting here at least twice a week. Of course, I’m starting grad school in June, so we’ll see. It’s still good to have goals, right? Of course right!
Back tomorrow, with something new and tasty! Swearsies!!
See y’all soon!
RECIPE: Honey Cookies
Wow — I almost forgot to post this today! One more day of Summer Sweets Week; if I do something like this again, maybe I’ll make it Monday-Friday only.
Anyway, these cookies are my absolute FAVORITE ever, of ANY kind. I always make them during the holidays, but they’re great any time of year. You don’t have to decorate them, but since I also love Red Hots, I use these as a vehicle and kill two addictions with one, er, cookie.
Note: This recipe is from Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cookbook, which my grandmother gave me for my birthday, some time in the last century. I still have it, and still make some of the other recipes in it. But apparently, it’s so old, it has neither an ISBN, nor a copyright page. I’ve linked to the closest new version I could find on Amazon, in which the style and recipes look very much the same.
Note on the above Note: The recipe listed is the one for “Paintbrush Cookies.” Since I never paint them, instead using the aforementioned Red Hots and other candies, and since the honey is the ingredient that sets them apart from other cookies I make, I just call them Honey Cookies. I’m nothing if not logical.
Ingredients – Cookies:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
Sprinkles/candy for decorating (Red Hots, raisins, chocolate chips, etc.)
Ingredients – Paint:
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp water
Food coloring drops
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°. Mix sugar, shortening, honey, egg, and vanilla in a bowl. Stir flour, soda, and salt together in another bowl; add to wet mixture. Chill for one hour. Roll out to 1/4″ thickness on VERY well-floured board with VERY well-floured rolling-pin. Because of the honey, the dough is (you guessed it…) VERY sticky. It’s easier to work with when chilled, so if it warms up, put it back in the fridge for 15-20 minutes, or else roll it out and cut into different shapes quickly. Place on well-greased cookie sheet and decorate with candy/sprinkles or paint (see below). Bake 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned. (Edges may be darker, and centers may still be somewhat soft. These taste fine crunchy, but try not to over-bake!) Cool on wire racks and store in air-tight container.
For paint, mix 1 egg yolk with 1/4 tsp water, divide into custard cups, and add food coloring. If paint thickens, add a few drops of water. Note: Paint before baking!
To use as Christmas tree decorations, prepare as above except, before baking, cut small holes in tops of cookies. Decorate/bake as instructed. When cooled, thread yarn through holes and hang on tree.
Serving Notes:
Because there are hundreds of shapes and sizes you could cut these into, and even more hundreds of ways to decorate them, the nutrition info above is a GUESS ONLY, per UN-decorated cookie, IF you make 24 cookies with the above ingredient quantities. Your mileage may vary. Cookies in mirror are closer than they appear, especially around the hips. Blah, blah, blah and enjoy them anyway!!
