Many Ways with Lean Ground Turkey

Recently I’ve been buying the large 4-pack of ground turkey at Costco. Each pack is about 1.5 lbs, so I’ve had to get creative for Chris and I to have a healthy dish without “tasting healthy” (aka bland). Of course, if I could I’d be eating ground beef or sausage instead! Here are a few of the ideas I came up. Hope you enjoy!

• Turkey, Tofu, Tomato Stew – a classic favorite my mom would make growing up, healthy and hearty!
• Turkey & Black Bean Chili – spices and a bit of beef broth help to add a burst of flavor
• Turkey Bolognese – tomato paste and loads of pureed vegetables “beef” up this dish
• Turkey Boscaiola – a woodsy Italian mushroom sauce, my take includes ground turkey, mushrooms, white wine, beef broth, fresh thyme and fennel seeds
• Turkey Asian Lettuce Wraps – a Chinese restaurant classic, make it simple with just soy sauce or jazz it up with hoisin or plum sauce
• Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps – you can easily cheat and use ready made taco seasoning and instead of tortillas or shells use iceberg lettuce

Most of these dishes I’ve recently made up and haven’t really measured. But as always, make sure you taste and season to your liking!

For the Turkey Black Bean Chili, finely chop a 1/2 yellow onion and a few cloves of garlic. Cook those for a couple of minutes and add the ground turkey. Crumble it as you brown and then add in some cumin, coriander and/or chipotle in Adobo if you have it. Add a beef stock cube for extra flavor. Cook for a few minutes then add the strained black beans and about 1 cup of beef broth depending on portions. Let simmer with a bay leaf or two for about a half hour. Taste and adjust salt/pepper/cumin accordingly. Serve with fresh chopped cilantro and/or sour cream. Easy and hearty.

For the Turkey Bolognese, I like to pack in as many vegetables as I can. Sometimes I’ll cheat and use my little Cuisinart chopper and I’ll blitz a couple raw carrots, couple raw celery and about a 1/2 yellow onion. Cook that with some olive oil for a couple minutes. Add the turkey, a good heap of tomato paste (a small tin if you have it), tomato sauce if you have, and a can of chopped tomatoes. For dried herbs, I use what I have in my cabinet so maybe Italian seasoning, some fennel seeds, extra oregano etc. Add a little beef broth if you have it and a good splash of red wine. Add some bay leaves and let this simmer for a good 30-40 minutes to let the flavors blend together. Taste and add salt/pepper/sugar as desired.

Perfect for Freezing

For the Bolognese, I used some defrosted roasted cherry tomato sauce I always have on hand instead of can tomatoes. It’s full of so much flavor and the big containers at Costco are much cheaper than the small ones at most grocery stores. Just lay the tomatoes on a baking sheet (with a rim, not a cookie sheet basically). Add several peeled garlic cloves. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil, dusting of kosher salt, and lots of black pepper. Roast at 375F until the tomatoes have all popped (about 30 minutes). Let this cool and using a spoon smash up any remaining tomatoes that haven’t popped and smoosh the roasted garlic. You can then freeze this as is. When you’re ready, pop the ziplock in the microwave for a minute or two. You can then add it to the dish above, maybe add some sauteed onion or shallots and add some broth. But you could also pan fry some fish and serve right on top with some asparagus on the side.

The Turkey Boscaiola is inspired by one of my favorite little restaurants in London – La Porchetta. They make this dish with pork, so I thought it’d be an easy swap for ground turkey. Of course, they make it with delicious and rich cream. I actually made this dish without cream. However, I cheated and used some leftover beef stock/sauce from a Garlic Brisket I had made previously. So the beef stock I added had been reduced and slow cooked with onions and garlic (bursting with flavor!). I think it’ll be just as good with any beef broth. Let this dish simmer to get lots of flavor. If you don’t mind a little decadence then add cream of course! Otherwise, a bit of grated Parmesan on top is just as lovely.

Finally, for the Lettuce Wraps, both are extremely quick and very healthy. Serve it for lunch by putting the already peeled iceberg lettuce leaves into a small plastic bag. For the Asian style, cook some chopped onion and garlic. Add the turkey and cook a few minutes. Add any of the following – soy sauce, sesame oil, hoisin sauce, plum sauce, chili garlic sauce. Remember you can always add more, so go easy, taste and add more if desired. Sesame oil is quite strong so you don’t need much. You can then add some crunch with water chestnuts or peanuts. Brighten it up with fresh chopped cilantro and/or green onion.

For the Taco Lettuce Wraps, simply make taco meat according to a package and serve with fresh cilantro, chopped tomatoes and/or cheese with the iceberg lettuce wraps. If you want to make your own, add a bit of each – tomato paste, cumin, coriander, chili powder, garlic salt.

For the iceberg lettuce, I usually chop the core off. Then chop the lettuce in half. It usually makes it a little easier to get the leaves off. You can always thinly slice the center and make a taco salad!

Hope these mini recipes have given you some inspiration to be healthy. Remember you can always substitute pasta for brown rice or wholewheat pasta or even farro or couscous.

Happy Easter!

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Healthy Eating: Cumin Chicken with Avocado Salsa

After my carb binge, I needed to go back to something healthy. It’s funny now that I’ve been eating so healthy, my body can really feel it when I eat rich and heavy foods. So I was craving some clean, fresh flavors. Since chicken breasts were on sale ($1.99/lb), I stocked up again. I butterflied them and froze all but one half for dinner.

Cumin Chicken with Avocado Salsa on Israeli mint couscous. This was a super fast, simple dish. And as you know from my earlier post, I am now in love with Israeli couscous!

• Sprinkle the chicken breast with (kosher) salt, black pepper and cumin (light dusting). Pan fry in a bit of olive oil on medium heat for a few minutes on each side, depending on thickness.
• Heat a bit of olive oil and toast about one cup of couscous for a couple minutes. Add just over a cup of chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Let cool few minutes and add fresh lemon juice and zest and chopped mint.
• Finely chop red onion and cube a ripe avocado. Squeeze fresh lime juice and add salt and fresh black pepper. Then plate up!

For a bit of creaminess and just a little indulgence, I added some crumbled feta to top it off! Happy healthy eating.

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Farmers Market Figs With Bacon (Of Course)

San Carlos

Last week I popped into San Carlos to meet a friend. I was so pleasantly surprised when it turned out there was a farmers’ market going on – otherwise known as Hot Harvest Nights. It was so picture perfect that evening. It was a very comfortable 70F-75F degrees. There was some live music playing. Fresh produce and hot food stalls lined the street. There were couples of all ages and little kids running around. I bought some fresh figs from one Organic farmer and settled into The Cask Wine & Cheese Bar to wait for my friend. I had a glass of Pinot Grigio and their aged English cheddar with orange preserve and crostini. The wine was cold, the cheddar slightly salty, the windows open and a nice breeze coming through. I would definitely come back to this place to have a proper meal. The service was really great too. Unfortunately, my friend wasn’t able to make it, but I came away with some delicious figs. The market was also extended one more week, so I might just go back this Thursday!

Line the tray with foil to make for easy cleanup!

As for the figs – I decided to roast them with one of its perfect partners: bacon. The saltiness of the bacon offsets the sweetness of the figs. It’s also incredibly easy to make this little nibble. Use either bacon or prosciutto (which would cook faster). Cut the tops off, wrap it around the figs and stuff either blue or goat’s cheese inside. Drizzle honey over it and roast them at 350F until the bacon is crispy. Check out this perfect hors d’oeuvre and others above in Nina’s Nibbles.

Sweet, crispy, gooey goodness

 

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Healthy Eating: Yogurt Marinated Chicken With Chickpea Tagine & Israeli Couscous

In continuing my efforts for Chris and I to eat healthy rounded meals, I decided to go Mediterranean/Moroccan. I was inspired by a recipe I saw in the Sunday Yes! Essential Shopper mailer, distributed by the San Jose Mercury News. It was a recipe for a Chickpea and Date tagine. The recipe called for a mix of spices including ground cumin, coriander, ginger and cinnamon. These are very common Moroccan spices that can really warm up a dish. They can fill a dish with so much flavor that you won’t need much salt (making it healthier!). I wanted to make the dish a bit heartier which is why I added the chicken.

Yogurt marinated chicken makes for very juicy, moist meat. It’s a method used around the world including India and the Mediterranean. I originally wanted to use Harissa (check out this recipe). Sadly, it’s not that common in the States so can be hard to find. Instead I did a combination of other spices (paprika, cumin, cayenne, garlic salt). The yogurt creates a nice crust as well. Reserve some on the side for a nice cool topping. The fresh cilantro and lemon juice brightens the entire dish up as well.

I added in the couscous to lighten all the flavors and make the dish a bit heartier. I’ve recently gotten hooked on Israeli couscous. I find its texture is similar to orzo pasta but without being too heavy. The couscous is even better when it’s been toasted and made with chicken stock instead of water. Good quality extra virgin olive oil and fresh lemon zest and juice are key ingredients. This citrus couscous is so universal and could go with mixed greens or tossed with feta and olives.

This is a great dish for using up leftovers as well! You can add chicken stock to all the ingredients to make a really nice, filling soup for leftover lunch. You could add the chicken and tagine into a flatbread with some cucumber mint yogurt for a wrap. You could opt to make this dish slightly healthier and use chicken breast as well. Or go vegetarian and add some eggplant or zucchini to the tagine.

Here’s my recipe for Yogurt Marinated Chicken with Chickpea Tagine & Israeli Couscous. Hope you enjoy!

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Happy Labor Day!

When I went outside this morning, I felt a breeze and realized that summer may very well have ended. But I took full advantage of the long weekend and grilled loads with my family. When it comes to visiting my parents, there are a couple staples we ‘kids’ always request. This weekend included my Dad’s gigantic steaks, grilled corn, my Mom’s Vietnamese egg rolls and my Dad’s grilled Vietnamese pork (Bún Thịt Nướng, previous post). My hubby and I are moving into a new place soon, and I canNOT wait to get us a grill for the new patio. You really can’t beat the flavor that comes from grilling. It just transforms the simplest ingredients.

Prime example is sweetcorn on the cob. Boil or grill? I’ll always choose the grill. It’s such a simple food, yet there are SO many variations on how to eat it. We went simple this time and just topped it with some salted butter. Some of my other favorite ways to eat it:

• Vietnamese Style : on low/medium heat, sauté several bunches of thinly sliced green onions (scallions) with plain oil and fish sauce. Don’t brown the onions but get them nice and soft. Slather onto freshly grilled corn.
• Mexican Style : there are a few variations on this one, but the basic ingredients are mayonnaise, Parmesan or Cotija cheese, lime juice and butter.
• Cajun Style : this is pretty straightforward by simply adding some Cajun spice on top of the melted butter or you can make your own rub (try this one)

 

My Dad’s Perfectly Charred Rare Steak!

 

Taking my British husband on an All-American ‘vacation’!!

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Healthy Eating: Pan Seared Cod with Sauce Vierge

This is for my dear cousin (in law but still very dear!) Jane.

This is one of my favorite go to recipes for a healthy fresh yet flavorful dish – sauce vierge. I’ve made it before with scallops (recipe here and post here), but you could really pair this with so many different things. You could have it as an hors d’oeuvre or appetizer with toasted slices of a French baguette. You could grill some chicken or steak and serve it sliced on top. I find it goes really well with seafood. And one of my favorite white fishes is cod. It’s so meaty and hearty, and I love how it flakes off.

If you’re looking for something low in fat, this is a great dish. You can use as much or as little olive oil as you’d like. Or if you don’t want to use any you could just make this into a sort of saucy marinara and keep all the seeds. If you have really ripe tomatoes, the blanching process will soften them and you won’t have to cook them.

Because my dish above was served warm, I decided to make the sauce vierge in the pan rather than mixing bowl. I thinly sliced a lot of garlic and gently heated it with extra virgin olive oil until I could see the garlic start to sizzle. Turn off the heat and let them mingle while you do the tomatoes.

To make the blanching really easy, using a small sharp knife (paring preferably) cut out the core. Start by putting the knife tip in at an angle and then just turn the tomato. You’ll end up with a sort of cone shape and the core will pop out. Then cut a cross on the other side. Since I don’t always have the stove space to blanch properly. I often just heat up the kettle and pour it over the tomatoes in a large bowl. Let them sit for a couple minutes until you see the flesh starting to peel away. Then spoon them out into a bowl with ice cold water. They should peel easily. If they’re super ripe you can just squeeze all the seeds out. Otherwise cut them out but save them!! I added my seeds/juice to leftover sauce vierge and a few other ingredients to make a chicken tortilla soup (to be posted at another date).

For the cod, I just seasoned the fillets with garlic salt and black pepper. I pan fried them in some olive oil and finished them off with fresh lemon juice. They were pretty thick cuts, so it did take a couple minutes per side. You’ll be able to see quite easily when the fish is ready to turn and when it’s finished. Any questions on this let me know. Serve with some fresh crusty bread and you’ll feel so satisfied and healthy!!

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Seasonal Summer: Ricotta Toast with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Sometimes your body just craves fresh, clean ingredients right? Do you ever notice when you’ve had a meal with ingredients that are in season? Or can you taste the difference between fresh fish versus frozen? I think most of us couldn’t tell the difference. You know what you know right? I’ll tell you though.. Once you’ve tasted the good stuff.. and I mean the highest quality of something, you will know.. and everything else will just seem mediocre. But, hey, I guess that makes it that much more special when you do have the good stuff.

This week I was craving ricotta cheese for some reason. I was being a bit lazy and didn’t want to make it myself. But I knew I wanted a dish where you could actually taste the ricotta.. not something like lasagna where the flavor gets lost. I was excited to find that my local supermarket (Sunflower Market, joint with Sprouts) had freshly made ricotta. So I bought some sweet cherry tomatoes on sale. They’re nearing the end of their season I believe. And I grabbed a fresh French baguette and some garlic. I wanted super simple.

• The Bread – thick slices, drizzle extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper, toast in oven after you’ve removed the garlic to cool
• The Garlic & Tomatoes – slice the very top off whole bulb of garlic so the cloves are exposed, put in center of large foil pouch (~size of paper), slice tomatoes in half, arrange around garlic, throw in 2 bay leaves, drizzle extra virgin olive oil all over (especially garlic), kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper, seal the foil, roast at about 400F for about 30-40 min depending on your oven.
• The Ricotta – it should be great on its own, but you can always add a bit of salt and pepper
• The Assembly – once the toast is out, spread the ricotta, squeeze the garlic out of the bulb and smash it with your knife (if not soft enough), layer on top of ricotta and spoon on some of the tomatoes.

And there you have a super simple dinner for one or appetizer for a few. Add some freshly torn basil if you have it! And remember another drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil is always delicious! Now doesn’t that just look like summer on a plate?!

PS. You’ll have a nice sauce from the cherry tomatoes. After removing the foil to cool, take out the bay leaves and garlic. Then gently pour all the sauce and cherry tomatoes in a small bowl and dip your toast! This is also a great way to start a marinara sauce. Just add to some sautéed onions and you’re done!

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Quick Dinner: Spicy Chicken with Cumin Couscous

For a quick and healthy dinner, couscous is always a perfect solution. Since it can be a bit bland, using stock is a great way to enhance. Also, While chicken breasts are healthier, thighs are definitely cheaper and have more flavor. This dinner is so fast and would be good for leftovers too! This recipe is for four.

Ingredients

Package of boneless chicken thighs (about 2-3 per person)
1 red onion
~2 cups chopped green beans (two large handfuls)
~couple tbsp hot sauce

~250g couscous
~300g hot water/stock
1 chicken stock cube
~2 tbsp cumin (add to taste)
1 can chickpeas strained
1 yellow onion
~large handful cilantro/coriander
~3-4 stalks spring/green onion
Optional : chorizo

Directions

Put the couscous into a large mixing bowl and add the cumin and stock cube. Stir to combine and add the hot water or chicken broth/stock. Cover and set aside. Roughly chop the yellow onion and chorizo if using. Heat a touch of oil in a large frying pan and add the chorizo. Fry for a couple minutes. Spoon out the sausage to a side bowl, leaving the oil. Add the onion to the oil and fry for a couple minutes. Add the can of strained chickpeas and chorizo. Add a couple tbsp of water and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile fluff the couscous with a fork. Chop the spring onion and cilantro/coriander. Add to the pan of chorizo onion and stir through. Then pour over the couscous and combine gently. Cover again and set aside.

For the chicken, chop the green beans and onion roughly. Chop the chicken into bite size pieces and into a small bowl. Mix in a pinch of salt, black pepper and the hot sauce. Heat the same large frying pan with oil and add the onion and beans. Cook a couple minutes and add the chicken into an even later. Cook a couple minutes on medium/high heat. Turn over and cook another 3 or so minutes. Cut open one of the larger pieces to check it’s cooked. Remove from the heat and stir in more hot sauce to taste. Serve the couscous onto large plates and top with the chicken. Garnish with more cilantro/coriander and serve!

If you want or need to make this dish simpler, skip the chorizo, onions and even the chickpeas. The spring onion and cilantro will add plenty of flavor. Be sure to taste it though and add salt to your taste!

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When It’s Cold Outside.. Soups Galore!

As the autumn season kicks into full swing, there’s nothing better than a bowl of warm, hearty soup! My husband and I have also been really conscious that the holidays are not far off and that cozy, hearty MEALS are going to be in abundance. So not only are soups comfy, they’re (relatively) healthy! What really elevates a soup from bland to brilliant is a good stock and good seasoning. It also helps to use in season vegetables, so that they’re bursting with flavor. I found a really cool website that tells you what’s at their best and in season from vegetables to meat and seafood (for the UK) : eat the seasons (dot) com. And at their best right now are butternut squash, parsnip and leeks (to name a few). Try them as a soup or even as a veggie pasta bake (or lasagna if you have the sheets).

Soups are so incredibly easy to make and a great way to get a non-vegetable lover to get their veggies in. To make them even easier, I highly recommend investing in a hand blender. It is SO handy for soups, pasta sauces, mashed potatoes, potato or parsnip puree, sauces, etc. I use a Philips Hand Blender like this one you can buy on Amazon.co.uk. They’ve been using this exact one on Masterchef The Professionals this week (for those unfamiliar with this UK show, they’ve brought it to the States with Gordan Ramsey.. check it out!). Lots of sauces and bisques being made with it!

I make all my soups with chicken stock, but they can easily be substituted for vegetable stock. I also try to use homemade chicken stock whenever possible. Click on the SOUP link below for a recipe. I usually separate my stock into medium sized plastic containers and freeze for perfect soup-for-two portions. They can keep for a couple months in the freezer but only a couple days in the fridge.

So without further ado, here’s my week’s worth of soups! I started it off with a chicken chowder which helped me make enough stock to use all week! Click here for all the SOUP recipes.

1. Chicken, Corn and Ham Chowder
2. Roasted (Bell) Pepper, Tomato and Feta Soup with mint coulis garnish
3. Classic Cream of Broccoli
4. Classic Cream of Mushroom
5. Roasted Butternut Squash, Fennel and Carrot Soup with coriander/cilantro garnish
6. Roasted Parsnip, Carrot, Coriander/cilantro and Curry Soup with bacon garnish

Making some 'chowda' !

Hearty chicken, corn and ham chowder

When roasting changes everything..

Roasted Pepper, Tomato & Feta Soup

Classic Cream of Broccoli Soup

Classic Cream of Mushroom Soup with Garlic Parmesan Toast

Roasted butternut squash, fennel & carrot soup

Carrot, Parsnip, Coriander/Cilantro, Curry Soup with Bacon Garnish

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Healthy Summer Eating

After writing a couple posts on how I’ve been splurging post diet, I thought it would be a good idea to go back to my overall objective – maintaining a healthy lifestyle. My goal wasn’t only to just lose weight for the wedding, but to get Chris and I into the habit of eating a healthy, balanced and still delicious diet. We are clearly not health ‘fanatics’ nor are we completely gluttonous. We enjoy food and don’t want to deprive ourselves. But we also don’t want to have to spend lots just to be healthy. This is always the challenge as fresh food just doesn’t come cheap. I also struggle with the huge difference in food prices from the US to the UK. Meat and fresh fruit in particular are much more expensive here. But it really helps to compare prices and to try and not skimp too much on quality without breaking the bank. Buying in bulk is always a good idea but it does mean poor Chris has a lot of dishes with cherry tomatoes, coriander, onion and sausages. I love my local market where I can get fruit, vegetables, ground beef (mince) and sausages for a lot cheaper than the supermarket. Just make sure you have a decent sized freezer (especially when you’re cooking for just the two of you!). Or make sure you have family near by who like your cooking 🙂

Right – so to my point – healthy eating. In my weekly Epicurious.com email, I noticed a link for Healthy Summer Eating. And to my delight, they have several menu ideas for an entire day adding up to 1,500 calories. The recipe ideas sound good and don’t have ingredients that are difficult to come by. There are some key ingredients that I love and swore by for my wedding weight loss : eggs (cooked all ways), avocados/guacamole, black beans, string cheese or Laughing Cow Low Fat Cheese, tortilla wraps, Asian rice cracker mix with wasabi peas, pita chips and of course fruit.  Everyone has their preferences but I know that, for me at least, I can’t completely deprive myself or else I’ll end up stuffing myself even more! Hence why I had to replace the really good cheeses with low fat string cheeses or low fat cream cheese. I didn’t skimp on avocados because your body still needs fat and avocados are a ‘good fat’. Other good fats include nuts (unsalted) and olive oil (prefer extra virgin). By no means am I a nutritionist, nor a diet expert though. Here’s another good Epicurious.com article though comparing trendy diets. Here are a couple go to healthy snacks for me:

• Wheat toast with 1/2 avocado sliced, extra virgin olive oil drizzled, pinch sea/rock salt, red chilli flakes (previous post)
• Wheat tortilla, low fat garlic & herb cream cheese, turkey deli meat, alfalfa sprouts or lettuce
• Banana, ice, milk, vanilla protein smoothie
• Low fat greek yogurt, sunflower seeds, drizzle honey, blueberries
• Asian rice crackers, Triscuit Thin Crisps, hard boiled eggs (not all together of course!)

I’ve got to finish this up but thought I’d leave with a pretty healthy recipe – Asian Lettuce Wraps. This can be made healthier by using ground turkey or even ‘soy meat’, but I find the best flavor for this dish comes from ground pork. There are a ton of recipes out there for lettuce wraps. I looked through several of them but ultimately used whatever I could find in my cupboard. And I think they were pretty successful as Chris couldn’t stop moaning and made sure I could remember how I made it so we could have them again! For texture, roasted peanuts are always a great addition or canned water chestnuts. If you’re worried it might not be filling enough, you can serve some fried rice on the side (just rice, butter, shallots, garlic, soy sauce) or a cold rice noodle salad with red bell peppers and green/spring onion (with rice vinegar, fish sauce, chilli dressing).

Asian Pork Lettuce Wraps

Below is another version I’ve made before – lemongrass beef with rice noodles on the side in a chilli fish sauce dressing. Tasty but I definitely prefer using ground meat versus strips.

Lemongrass Beef Lettuce Wraps

And if all else fails – grill, grill, grill! It is summer after all!

Grilled Eggplant with Balsamic, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Basil & Feta

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