Smoked turkey chili

I had a smoked turkey breast...I wanted chili...I cut up a half of red onion, chopped up the smoked turkey breast. Melted 2 Tblsp of butter. Added 2 Tblsp of garlic and the chopped up onion, one can of hatch chopped chilies and the turkey, with salt to taste. Now here is the cheater part part...I added 7 cups of water and brought it a boil with cilantro and one can of green enchilada sauce. Brought it to a boil and then added one can of drained kidney beans and a pkg of darn good chili mix. After it has simmered for about 20 minutes. Serve with cut up tortilla chips and sprinkled shredded cheese on top. Big d said I could open a restaurant with this recipe.

Vegan mulligan stew...

My dad would make "Mulligan stew" when mom needed him to cook. What that meant is he cleaned out everything in the fridge and added a can of soup. At least that is how I remember it. I decided after my family's resident vegan's left to do the same thing...it turned out so well, I recreated it tonight for school soup day. Start with heating Olive oil in the bottom of a large pot Add in about 2 tsp do whole cumin And 2 Tbl of minced garlic Let sizzle for a minute or so. Add in 3/4 cup of each of the following: Chopped red onion Chopped celery Chopped cilantro Sliced white button mushrooms Sliced baby Bella mushrooms Sliced leeks Baby zucchini sliced Red bell pepper chopped Baby carrots cut in to two diagonally Let all of this Simmer a bit Add in two cans of artichokes-not pickled- cut in 1/2 or 1/4 Add in 1 can of drained dark red kidney beans And 1 qt vegetable broth Salt to taste Add thyme to taste And just for fun I added 3 Tbls of olive tapenade. After it has simmered a bit, add a handful of couscous and let it cook. Take off heat and serve as is...I will admit that I do kick it up to vegetarian level for me and add grated cheese.

Sometimes things change.

Little changes that change your whole diet. Diabetes can be one of those changes.

With changes like that A WHOLE LOT will change in the way I cook.

I made a great cookie yesterday that is legal to eat.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie

Prep time 10 minutes( adapted from Diabetesselfmanagement.com)

1/4 C shortening (I cannot give up my butter-I changed it to butter)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Large egg
1/2 (give or take) tsp of mexican vanilla
1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats
3/4 c brown sugar splenda
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 c semi sweet chips(nestle's)

Combine first 4 ingredients. Add the rest. Spoon out on cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake 10-11 minutes- made 2 dozen.

They are very tasty and hit that sweet spot for my tastebuds.

FYI: serving size is 2 cookies
carb : 24-30 g about
protein: 4 g before chips
cal: 175 about

Who needs chocolate? I did!

Quint-tessimal chocolate chip cookies!

Directions : Cream crisco and butter, add the next three and cream together. Everything else is added after that except the chips! Add the chips last...how many you add is totally up to you, these are just suggested amounts!

3/4 c butter crisco
1 1/4 c brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsps(generous) Mexican vanilla
2 Tblsn of Hershey's special dark ice cream sauce- not hot fudge
1 3/4 c flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp of baking soda
2 Tblsn non sweet ghiradelli cocoa baking powder
2 Tblsn of Hershey's special dark unsweeted cocoa powder
1/2 c nestle's milk chocolate dhips
1/2 c nestle's semi sweet chips

Bake at 375
Drop on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.

Bake for about 11-12 minutes

Now do not think I ate this whole batch by myself...I took most of them to my neighbor who has been my bakers helper for years. She went to tryout for volleyball yesterday and sprained her ankle! She needed cookies!

I cooked! Chili verde my way

Made a chili verde using thin cut pork tenderloins.

8 thinly cut pork tenderloins-cut into strips or bite sized pieces
1/4 of a white onion chopped
1 cup chopped baby carrots
2 Anaheim or hatch peppers- thinly sliced(I used one of each)
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
2 tsp homemade spice combo(pretty sure that has been posted)
1 can of green enchilada sauce
1 can drained dark red kidney beans


Glace the carrots, onion,peppers in about 1/4 cup butter. Add the pork and seasonings. After the meat has browned add enchilada sauce and kidney beans.
Let simmer for about 20 minutes

Serve garnished with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Can be served over rice or for twist add pre-cooked rice noodles to the chili before serving. Good reviews from my main man! He said I could start my own restaurant with this recipe!

I have been a little busy with a Family Reunion and all..

It is funny how a family reunion is a lot like eggs...some are eggheads, some are a little cracked, some a little hard boiled with a soft center, some are like a soft boiled egg that can be a little runny(especially around the eyes) but all in all, my family is eggsactly what it should be and I couldn't be happier. Now my hard boiled eggs are another story...I got back to cooking today.

I have always hated the way my boiled eggs turn out. You know the kind I mean, where the yolk turns a yucky green on the outside rim. I have always wanted to have perfect yellow yolks. My daughter, Chloe, was down for the family reunion and made the most interesting japanese concoction that started off with her cooking perfect hard boiled eggs. I was stunned! She did not get my gene for cooking yucky looking hard boiled eggs.

This morning I called her and she talked me through the process. I think she laughed a little when I told her what I wanted to do.

Step 1: put the eggs in cold water( I did 14 this morning)

Step 2: get them to a rolling boil and then cover them and pull them off the heat

Step 3: wait patiently for about 18-20 minutes without lifting the cover

Step 4: immerse the eggs in an ice water till completely cooled

Step 5: Perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs!

Now I did not take pictures of this process...who wants to watch water boil? I did take pictures of the Japanese concoction process.



Step 1: peel the eggs




Step 2: Immerse in Soy Sauce that is heating on the stove

Step 3: roll around so the entire egg is covered




Step 4: remove from the Soy Sauce




Step 5: PERFECTLY COOKED Beautiful eggs with a little brown edging...

Chicken soup for the body

In your largest pot combine the following

3 lbs of frozen chicken parts-hopefully they are not stuck together
1 chopped onion-made at least 1.5 cups of onion
1 chopped bunch of celery-at least two cups of chopped celery
1/2 cup minced garlic
Chicken boullion-I like the big green jar of granules (1/2 cup- or more)
basil
thyme
chicken montreal seasoning
Water to cover it all
1 generous handful of wild rice(uncooked)
1 generous handful of brown rice(uncooked)

Hopefully all of you wash your hands a gazillion times like I do when I am cooking

Bring to a boil- turn down the heat to a simmer

Big D said it was delicious! I would have to agree. And if you are not feeling well, D said it hit the spot for his upper respiratory infection.