A Twist on Chili, Hot Dish Style!

Ok, so this is one, which I totally did not expect to post. It is the night before we leave on a trip and I was looking to use up what is left in the fridge and pantry. It is kind of a twist on the hot dishes I grew up with in ND – casseroles for those of you not from the Midwest.





1 – 1-½ pounds of Lean Ground Turkey (If you must, you can use ground beef)
1 can of white chili beans
1 can of cream style corn
1 can of diced tomatoes (I use the ones that have garlic, onion, and chilies in them)
½ yellow onion diced
Couple of garlic cloves chopped
1 large carrot diced
½ teaspoon or more of chili powder
½ teaspoon or more of hot sauce
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper

Brown the ground turkey with the onion, carrots, and garlic. When finished just dump in the canned items and spices and mix it well and then bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.

I am serving it up with a little shredded cheese on top, some corn bread and Layer Cake Shiraz wine.

Next time I make it, I am going to add in some fresh-diced red and green pepper. The cream style corn gives it a really nice taste and texture. The dish took about 15 minutes to toss together.

Root Veggie Soup

This is one of my favorite soups. I usually don’t care for pureed soups, but this one is delicious! It can be vegetarian based on the stock base you use. It also takes less than 30 minutes to whip together and has to be healthy with all these veggies! Here goes….



You’ll need:

o 10-12 cups of vegetable or chicken stock (For this one I use the good store bought stuff instead of home made stock
o 1 large sweet potato or yam
o 1 med size squash (any kind will do, so whatever is in season)
o 1 large russet potato
o 1 turnip
o ½ of a fresh ginger root
(If you want to make a large batch, just use more veggies)

Peel all the veggies and the ginger and cut into chunks and boil them till soft in the broth. Once they are cooked puree using a hand mixer or if you have one of those hand stick blenders they work really well. You could also pour small batches into your blender and puree it that way. Do in small batches though and watch out for the heat in your blender. Once you have it all pureed, mix in about 1 tablespoon of real butter and ¼ - ½ cup of milk or if you want to be decadent use real cream. (My Grandma would have for sure!) Salt and pepper to taste, don't salt and pepper it until after you have it all pureed.

This is soooo easy and very yummy on a cool night and also works for summer evenings. Good with some fresh bread of course.

Tilapia Fillets, Mixed Mash and Grilled Asparagus.

Here is a really quick and easy dish for white fish fillets, which I serve up with a mixed mash and grilled asparagus.



Fish Coating: (for 4 fillets)
o 1 cup of course bread crumbs, I love to use panko breadcrumbs
o 1/2 teaspoon each of course pepper, garlic salt and
o 1/4 teaspoon of salt
o 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan cheese
o Mix or shake this all together in a bag and put in shallow pan or plate.

Dip the fish fillets in some beaten egg whites and then dip in the coating mixture. Place in an already heated non-stick skillet with olive oil and cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes until crispy and crunchy.

Side Dishes:

Mixed Mash
Cut and boil up a mixture of potato, turnip, rutabaga, or sweet potatoes. When they are done, just add a little butter and about ¼ - ½ cup of milk/chicken stock. I always warm my milk and stock before mashing them. You can just use milk, but I like the flavor of the stock in the mashed mixture. Add in pepper and salt to taste.

Grilled Asparagus
Lightly coat them with olive oil and bake at a high heat (425) for about 10 minutes.

A really easy and healthy dish. I don't peel the veggies, but you can if you don't like that texture. Slice up some lemon to squeeze on the fish.

Enjoy and don't forget to post if you try it and/or change it up.

Light and Tasty Chicken Soup

This dish inspired me while traveling in Thailand. One night I had become a little ill and the wonderful cook at our condo made me this clear broth soup with shredded chicken and the flavors of ginger and leeks in the broth. I recreated it at home with a few twists:



Here is what you will need:

For the stock:
o A whole roasted chicken (I buy the ones that are already done in the deli at the store, of course you can roast your own)
o 10 – 12 cups of water
o 1/2 lemon
o 2 gloves of garlic
o 1/2 yellow onion
o 1 root of ginger
o 2 bay leaves

Soup contents:
o 2-3 cups of shredded chicken
o 2-3 med size red potatoes
o 1 cup frozen peas
o 1 cup sliced carrots (make it easy if you want and just use 2 cups of frozen peas and carrots!)
o 1 med size rutabaga or a turnip
o 1 leek (stem trimmed off and then sliced thin) if you can't get leeks, green onions work well too

Start out by shredding all or at least most of the meat off the whole chicken and set it aside.

Take a big piece of cheesecloth (you can just dump all the contents into the water, but the cheese cloth keeps the broth clearer). Fill the cheesecloth with pieces of the chicken/bones -- the leg bones, wings, breast bones, just break them up -- take most of the skin off, but leave a little for flavor in the broth, put in the 1/2 lemon, 2 gloves of garlic, 1/2 onion cut in chunks, a few chunks of the ginger root, and couple bay leaves. Wrap this all in a bundle and tie it together and drop it in the pot of water. If for some reason you don’t have fresh ginger or garlic, you could just add ginger and garlic salt to the water, about a ½ teaspoon of each. After the broth has cooked remove the cheesecloth pouch and discard.

Bring to boil and then simmer it for at least 1 hour, 2-3 is best so the flavors will come through in the broth. If you notice film on top while simmering, just skim it off. Again, if you don't have cheesecloth you will have quite a bit to skim off.

Take about a half-cup of your broth after it has cooked for ½ hour or so and add to the shredded chicken and put that in the oven on a low heat so it stays warm.

About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat the soup:

Cut up the potatoes and rutabaga into small (diced) pieces and boil them in a separate pot for about 10 minutes, you want them cooked but still a bit firm, right before they are done add your peas and carrots to cook about a minute or two.

Then it is time to serve it up:

Take some big deep or oval bowls and start out by placing a couple large table spoons of chicken in each bowl, then add the cooked veggies, then top it with the sliced leeks or green onions and now just ladle in the steaming hot broth in each bowl.

I like topping each bowl with a few fried onions, a bit of fresh Parmesan cheese. Also, I don't put salt or pepper in the broth; I let each person add what he or she wishes.

Serve it up with crunchy french bread, some slices of smoked gouda cheese and olives.

Few other ideas:
o If you really want to make this quickly you can use store bought stock and buy some pre-cooked chicken. Or, you could boil the chicken breasts in stock and shred those.
o You can cook the veggies right in the stock if you want, I prefer to cook them separately and then portion each bowl out before serving.

Let me know if you try the dish and/or if you change it up in any way. It is a very light, comforting and refreshing meal. Good in any season and if you are feeling a little under the weather, perfect!