White Bean & Turkey Chili

This is absolutely our favorite meal to make with Holiday Turkey Leftovers.  It is simple, fast, and delicious.  I made the mistake of not doubling this recipe once...

Ingredients:

Olive Oil - 1 Tablespoon
Yellow Onion - 2 cups diced
Chili Powder - 1-1/2 Tablespoons
Garlic - Minced - 1 Tablespoon

In large Dutch oven, heat oil and add onion, saute for 10 minutes or until tender and golden.  Add chili powder, garlic, and cumin and saute for 2 minutes. 

Oregano - 1 teaspoon
Great Northern Beans - 3 (15.8) cans, rinsed & drained

add the above and cook for about a minute (stir)

Chicken Broth - 4 cups fat-free, less sodium

add and simmer for 20 minutes.

Place two cups of bean mixture into blender and process until smooth.  Return mixture to pan. 

Turkey - chopped, 3 cups

Add turkey and cook 5 minutes.

Diced Tomatoes - 1/2 cup (I used low sodium canned, but can use diced, seeded plum tomatoes)
Cilantro - 1/3 chopped
Lime Juice - 2 Tablespoons
Salt & Pepper to Taste - I omit the salt

Remove from heat and add the diced tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, and pepper.

Warning:  This recipe supposedly feeds 8.   Five of us finished this off in one evening. 

"Mitchum" Soup aka Hearty Turkey Vegetable Soup

"Mitchum Soup" aka Hearty Turkey Vegetable Soup

I have a handful of recipes that I know by heart.  Hearty Turkey Vegetable Soup is one of them but we call it "Mitchum Soup" as my oldest son's first girlfriend's mother (sounds more complicated than it is) gave it to me and I still have my version (very worn and splattered) hand-written on an index card.

It is a soup that is almost chili-like and makes a HUGE pot that will last for days (unless you have six children who LOVE this soup - which I do).  Years later I googled and found this on the internet.  It can be found HERE but I have listed the ingredients and how to below as well.


In dutch oven, combine the first two ingredients over medium heat and cook until meat is no longer pink:

1 lb lean ground turkey (sometimes I use a very high quality, 95% f.f. ground beef)
1 Onion (minced)


Add the following two ingredients.  Cook and stir for 1 - 2 minutes.

2 Zucchini, small, quartered length wise and sliced
1 Carrot (I often use 3) cut into 1-inch julienne strips


Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for 30-45 minutes. 

3 cans (14 oz each) reduced sodium beef broth, reduced sodium (I often add an extra can)
1 jar Pasta Marina Sauce 
1 can Great Northern beans (rinsed)
1 can Kidney Beans (rinsed)
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
2 tsp Oregano, dried
1 Tbsp Parsley flakes, dried
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Hot pepper sauce


Before serving stir in already cooked:

1 cup (uncooked) shell pasta, small

Welcome to my Kitchen - "Drunken Chicken"

Welcome to my Kitchen.  It is small and cozy.  I haven't posted here since 2012.  The other day I turned 53 and I have gained a bit of weight and I am determined to get rid of it once and for all.

How do I do that?  Turn my kitchen into a creative space - one that will inspire me to paint what I create, write poetry about, maybe inspire a quilt design or two ...  who knows.

My end goal with this blog is to create a means to inspire me to stay on track with healthy eating and exercising.  A large part of who we are is what we eat... fresh produce and good old fashioned slicing and dicing with a favorite sharp knife (although I have been eyeing some pretty nifty food processors - stay tuned) is the first course of action.  I'm determined to stay stay away from processed foods.

I love hand-spun pottery and white pitchers.  The flowers are from the grocery store and I think they are gorgeous. 

Below is a recipe for beer can chicken.  I don't eat as much meat as I used to, but I got to wondering if I could make my own rotisserie chicken (you know how we pick up the "quick dinner" every once in a while at the grocery store?)

I did buy a very expensive local farm whole chicken (organic feed, etc) and I don't know if it is the recipe or the fresh chicken or both, but this recipe was amazing - way better than store bought and I 'd like to think healthier as I controlled the salt.  I almost always omit or decrease the amount of salt in a recipe. 

The pottery baking dish is called a "Texas Beer Butt" or "Drunken Chicken" which the butt of the chicken is sitting on and the beer was poured into the center.  I purchased mine locally, but you can find one HERE. 

Here is the recipe:

from Joe Cooks  HERE   It is on her Pinterest page.   I print out all my Pinterest recipes just in case the originator ever takes the page down.   If you can't get to the link let me know and I will happily email you a copy of this recipe. 

Let me know if you try this recipe.  Happy Cooking.