I'm Craving Thanksgiving Dinner Casserole

Imagine Roasted Turkey, Stuffing and Green Bean Casserole all rolled into one. It may sound odd, but the results last night were SO good. This recipe reminds me of "Impossible Pie"s which use a certain "convenience" product...which I don't use, but have fond memories of growing up.

Turkey & Vegetable "Thanksgiving" Casserole 

1 medium onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

16 oz. ground turkey

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/4 tsp. white pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic salt

1 c. chicken stock

1 c. chopped fresh green beans

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1 c. flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3 eggs

1/2 c. skim milk

1 T. light olive oil

1/2 c. fried onions (Durkee)

Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion, carrot and celery in 1 T. butter or oil until slightly softened. Add ground turkey and seasonings. Cook and and stir until meat is browned. Add the chicken stock and green beans and cook until liquid has evaporated and beans are cooked. Remove from the heat and mix in 1 T. of parsley. Turn meat mixture into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. 

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In a small small whisk together the eggs, milk,oil and remaining parsley. Mix wet into the dry mixture. Pour evenly over meat mixture. Sprinkle with fried onions. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden.

  

Yum.

Slow-Cooked Sausage Ragout

12-oz ground pork sausage

3 medium carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 28-oz cans diced tomatoes with their juice

1 medium onion, diced

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. fennel seed, crushed

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

Heat a skillet over medium heat and cook sausage until well browned. Place sausage in slow-cooker along with remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. 

* I served the ragout over pan-fried polenta with Parmesan cheese, as in the picture. I froze the leftovers and reheated later to serve with pasta.

12 servings of ragout

134 calories

8.2g carbs

8.4g fat

7g protein

Pesto Pizza Grilled Cheese

Easy way satisfy a pizza craving!

Take:

2 slices 12-Grain Bread

2 slices Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar

9 pieces Turkey Pepperoni

2 T. leftover Spinach Pesto

Grill with a little butter.

Amazing.

Greek Turkey Meatballs with Spinach Pesto & Feta

1 lb.lean ground turkey

1/2 c. rolled oats

1 c. Italian-style breadcrumbs

1/2 c. spinach pesto (followed this recipe, but substituted walnuts)

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 c. feta cheese, crumbled

1 egg

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. salt

14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, UNdrained

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with oil or cooking spray. Combine all but tomatoes in a large mixing bowl, using a fork to gently mix. Roll meat mixture into 2-inch balls and place in baking dish, spacing them so them do not touch. Bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and reduce temperature to 350 degrees. Pour the diced tomatoes and their juice over the meatballs. Cover the dish with foil and return to the oven for 20 more minutes. Serve with rice or noodles if desired.

6 servings

342 Calories

14g Fat

22.7g Total Carbs

2.7g Fiber

4g Sugar

30.3g Protein

approx. using caloriecount

Baked Pork Egg Rolls with a Twist

I love egg rolls.

I hate egg rolls that are mainly cabbage.

So last night I made these Pork Egg Rolls from Martha Stewart, but with a few changes.

These babies are substantial and a meal in themselves.

I followed Martha's recipe but added a couple things.

more ginger & garlic- to bump the flavor

1 T. fish sauce (because I love pork with this stuff)

a big bunch of chopped fresh cilantro

I didn't season with salt and pepper AT ALL!

I also baked the egg rolls, brushed with olive oil, instead of frying!

My husband said they looked like little Chinese burritos. :)

Delicious!

Added bonus of extra to freeze!

Tip of the Day: Shredding Chicken in a Crockpot

After cooking totally frozen chicken breasts in a bit of sauce on low for 8 hours, you now need to shred it.

Stop! Don't go get two forks or try to take the meat out!

Instead, use a potato masher to push down on each cooked breast in the crockpot and wiggle away. The chicken breaks apart and then you add a bit more sauce and voila! Shredded chicken.

No-Butter Butter Chicken aka Murgh Makhani

Thank you to my loving sister, who asked me to co-author this blog, you got me hooked on Pinterest ! So in honor of my new-found addiction I will share one of the recipes I was inspired to "repin" and also made for dinner tonight. No-Butter Butter Chicken! A lightened up version of a very popular Indian dish. I doubled the recipe and I'm so glad I did because it turned out SO good! The original inspiration is from Bal Arneson on The Cooking Channel's site.

My slight changes:

* no tomato paste used

* marinated chicken in spices

* no brown sugar in my recipe

* added eggplant

So first off the recipe called for tomato paste, of which I had none, so I did this:

Slow Roasted Tomatoes
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
several cloves of garlic, UNpeeled
black pepper
thyme
olive oil

Spread tomatoes out on a lined sheet pan and throw on the garlic. Sprinkle with pepper & thyme. Drizzle generously with some olive oil. Bake at 225 for 3 hours. The tomatoes will shrivel up and just be divinely tart and sweet. If not using right away, store in the fridge with a little oil over them. Squeeze the garlic out of their skins and add to the tomatoes and oil, or use in any recipe as a sub for fresh garlic.

Before:

After:

Now on with the show!

No-Butter Butter Chicken

4 T. light olive oil

1/2 large white onion, chopped

1/4 c. slow roasted tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. ginger

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 T. garam marsala

1/2 tsp. red chili flakes

1 tsp. tumeric

1 tsp. salt

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut in 1-inch pieces

1 small eggplant, cut in 1-inch pieces

1 T. ketchup

1/4 c. plain yogurt (not lowfat)

1/2 c. water

fresh chopped cilantro & parsley for garnish

Combine the chicken and eggplant in a large bowl. Add 2 T. olive oil, the garlic, ginger, cumin, garam marsala, chili flakes, tumeric and salt. Cover and marinate for at least 1 hour in the fridge. Heat remaining 2 T. oil in a large skillet; add the onion and tomatoes. Saute, stirring often until onions begin to soften and tomatoes start to break down. Add chicken mixture to the pan. Cook over high heat, stirring often for about 5 minutes or until chicken is looking mostly cooked. Add ketchup, yogurt and water to the pan and stir. Reduce heat and simmer another 8-10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thickened.

Serve with Baked Brown Rice, fresh cilantro & parsley, and extra roasted tomatoes.

**Warning! This is a SPICY dish! On the 1 to 5 hotness scale, my husband rated it a 3. If you want things milder, omit the red chili flakes.**

I want more...right now...yes, it was THAT good!