White Bean & Hominy Chili

So, I was really indecisive about what to make for a soup this week.  I usually try to make a batch every week to warm my little cold bones on these frigid winter nights.  Once again, Cooking Light, provided a twist on chili I never would have thought of.  I did some altering since a.)  I couldn't find some of the ingredients in my local grocery store and b.) I thought it might be nice to add a couple of ingredients.  It was originally a vegetarian dish, but I decided I wanted to add pork sausage, but you could definitely make this dish without the meat! I was not disappointed! (although it changed the caloric intake, but it is a very filling and healthy meal otherwise!)

White Bean and Hominy Chili

• 2 (15 oz.) can cannellini beans or white beans, drained, rinsed, and divided
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil (didn't need for this batch since I had the pork sausage grease to saute veggies)
• 1 (4 oz.) meatless Mexican chipotle sausage, finely chopped (no idea where to find this) (substituted 1/2 pound pork sausage and fried that with 2 chipotle peppers in adobe sauce)
• 1 1/2 cups chopped white onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 poblano chiles, seeded and chopped
• 2 tsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 c. water (I doubled this since I like to have my soup a little more soupy, not casserole-like)
• 2 Tbsp.  oregano (fresh or dried)
• 2 tsp. hot pepper sauce (Tabasco works just fine)
• 1 (15.5 oz.) can white hominy, drained and rinsed
• 2 (14 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with chiles (this was added)
• 2 Tbsp. thinly sliced green onions
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 lime wedges

1.  Mash 2/3 cup of beans with fork. 

2.  Heat large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add sausage and saute for 4-5 minutes.  Add onion, garlic, and poblano chiles; saute 6 minutes.  

3.  Add chile powder and cumin; stir and blend constantly for 30 seconds.

4.  Add mashed beans, whole beans, water, oregano, Tabasco, and hominy.

5.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

6.  Garnish your serving of chili with a touch of cilantro and green onions with your lime wedge.

So, the next time you want to add a little spice (or rather, change it up), try your chili a different way, Mexican style. :)

Serving size is 1 1/2 cups.

Cooking Light's Nutritional Facts:

Muy bien, mis amigos! :)

Calories: 261
Fat: 6.1 grams
Protein: 14.4 grams
Carbs: 41.4 grams
Fiber: 9.7 grams
Sodium: 596 mg.

My Nutritional Facts for my Recipe's version: (these are approximate)
Calories: 600 (due to the pork sausage)
Fat: 25 grams
Protein: 33 grams
Carbs: 61 grams

Turkey-Lurkey Part II

Well, there isn't much to say other than cooking my first turkey really wasn't that difficult!  You, too, can be a master chef for your family's Thanksgiving!

So after letting the turkey set in the brine from Tuesday night to Sunday afternoon (approximately five days), I prepared it for its ultimate destination: the oven.

Steps to getting the turkey ready for cooking:

Step 1:  Take out the turkey and pat the bird dry with paper towels.  You will want to not only dry the bird on the outside but also the inside.

Step 2:  Take out the gizzards.  If you want to cook them, great!  If not, dispose of them as you wish.  Also, my birds' legs were clamped together with a plastic tie thingy.  I cut that off, so it would not melt into the bird.

Step 3:  After drying the turkey, I brushed the outside with olive oil.  It gives the bird a nice crispy look if that's what you're going for.  It didn't really matter for me since I was tearing it apart right away after it got out of the oven for later consumption this week.

And she's done! :)

Step 4:  Preheat oven for 350 F.  Put bird in baking pan (I bought a disposable one from the grocery store).  Set in oven for about 30-40 minutes at that temperature.  My turkey went in the oven around 2:45 p.m.

Step 5:  Turn down the temperature of the oven to 250 F.  Let the turkey slowly cook for about 4-6 hours.  I took my bird out at about 8:30 p.m., so it wasn't quite 6 hours in the oven.  Use a meat thermometer to check if the meat is cooked.  Stick the thermometer in the thickest part of the turkey (the thigh).  It should read at least 165 degrees F.

Step 6:  Carve your turkey, and enjoy! :)  It should be really moist and have a hint of smokey flavor due to the liquid smoke you brined it in! :)  Yum, yum!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey-Lurkey Part I

I'm attempting a big feat, something I've never done before: cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving.  Now I'm not cooking for my family at all; I'm cooking for my Bible study group next week.  I am not going to take a day off to cook this lovely bird.  I will be brining it this coming week, and on Sunday, cook her up, nice and slow.

Here is the quick and simple recipe my mother gave me to use to brine the bird.  Thanks goes out to my friend, Chris, for letting me borrow her canning pot to hold the turkey.

This is all you need!  Seriously! And the 12 pound bird.

Thanksgiving Turkey Brine

1 turkey (12-14 pounds, frozen)
1/4 cup pickling salt
1 cup Tender Quick (meat tenderizing salt)
5 tsp. liquid smoke
1 gallon water

Let it "marinate" for several days before cooking

Combine water, salts, and liquid smoke in a large pan big enough for the turkey.  Place turkey in mixture for 7-10 days in refrigerator.  Cook as directed.

More will be coming to you when this turkey gets cooked next week.

A Farewell Dinner

I found out my good friend, whom I had sponsored for RCIA and entering the Catholic Church two years ago, was moving just recently.  So, in an effort to send her off well and also cook, I invited her and another mutual friend over for dinner last night.  I made a meatless Mexican dish that I obtained from October's edition of Cooking Light.  I also made a torte that involves the super-goodness of cream cheese and fruit.  Both are fairly simple to make if you make the time and have the patience.  Dinner overall was a success with great conversation and good food! :)

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas with Ranchero Sauce (Vegetarian)

2 large chipotle peppers in adobe sauce from the can (original recipe calls for dried ancho chiles, but I
         couldn't find in the store)
2 cups water

2 tsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp. kosher salt (I used sea salt)
2 cups chicken broth (recipe call for vegetable
      broth, but I couldn't find that in the store either)
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. lime juice (I used the juice from a whole
    lime)
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups (8 oz.)  pre-shredded reduced fat 4-cheese
     Mexican blend, divided
6 green onions, chopped
10 mulit-grain tortillas (recipe calls for 12 corn tortillas)
6 Tbsp. light sour cream or regular Greek yogurt

Step 1:  Preheat oven to 400 F.

Step 2: Combine chiles and 2 cups of water in a saucepan; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes then drain chiles in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid.

Step 3:  Heat olive oil in medium saucepan over high heat.  Add onion; saute 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and salt.  Cook 5 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Add broth (I made mine on the stove with 2 cups of water and the granule/powder broth), corn starch, oregano, tomato paste, and cumin.  Cook 8 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Step 4:  Pour onion mixture into a blender; add chiles and reserved liquid.  Don't let the steam build up in your blender, so leave it set a few minutes. Be sure that your lid is on very tight, or you will have a complete mess! Blend until smooth (just a few quick pulses to get the big chunks out).  Stir in the lime juice and red pepper.

Step 5: Combine the beans, 1 cup cheese, and half the green onions into a bowl.  

Step 6: Spread 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of 9x13 glass or ceramic baking dish (I don't own one, so I used my regular 9x13 pan I use for baking); coat it with cooking spray.

Step 7:  Warm tortillas according to package directions (popped mine in the microwave for 30 seconds).

Step 8: Spoon 3 Tbsp.  bean mixture down center of each tortilla then roll up.  Place, seam-side down, in prepared dish.  Pour remaining sauce over filled tortillas.  Top with remaining cheese.

Step 9: Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.  Sprinkle with remaining green onions and serve with sour cream or Greek yogurt.

To add some variety, make some guacamole with tomatoes to eat with these enchiladas!  Muy bien!

Nutritional and Serving Information
Serves 5-6 depending on type of tortillas used; 2 enchiladas and 1 Tbsp. sour cream/Greek yogurt
Calories: 302
Fat: 12.9 g
Protein: 17.3 g
Carbs: 36.1 g
Fiber: 6.4 g
Sodium: 574 mg

Summer Fruit and Sweet Cream Cheese Galettes


1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. sugar (and a little extra for sprinkling)
3 Tbsp. cornstarch, divided
1 whole egg separated
1 tsp. vanilla extract or 1/4 tsp. almond extract
1 refrigerated pie crust from a 14.1 oz. box
2 cups fruit (I've used fresh peaches when in season
    in the past; this time, I used the frozen berry mix
    that can be found in your local freezer section.)

Step 1:  Preheat oven for 400 F.

Step 2:  Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp. corn starch, and egg yolk in medium bowl.

Step 3:  In a separate medium bowl, mix fruit, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. corn starch, and vanilla or almond extract

Step 4: Unfurl pie dough on a lightly floured surface and roll to about 13 inches in diameter.  Slide onto a cookie sheet or pizza pan and spread cream cheese mixture evenly, leaving a 2-inch border.

Step 5: Scatter fruit mixture evenly over cream cheese mixture.  Fold pastry border over the fruit.  Brush dough perimeter with egg white and sprinkle with a bit of sugar.

Step 6:  Bake galette until golden brown and bubbly about 30 minutes.  Loosen with a metal spatula and slide onto a wire cooling rack to cool slighly.  Serve warm.

Nutritional and Serving Information
Serves 6
Calories: 372
Carbs: 40 g
Protein: 5 g
Fat: 23 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sodium: 306 mg

Maureen, Angela, and me one last time

Angela with a bun in the oven...I think Maureen was shocked! :)

For those Lovers of Carrot Cake :)

Archived from April 18, 2011

This isn't just for any lover of cake or carrots or a combination of the two; this is a true delicacy made with the thought of healthiness without losing the true taste of carrot cake.

I found this recipe in, again, my Cooking Light magazine that I had such success with last month; this month's looks just as promising! :) Now I've made some slight changes to make it healthier and find more commonly used ingredients (which you'll see below).

Yield is 20 servings: 1 piece is 284 calories with 9.7 g fat and 3.6 g protein. That is with the original recipe. Total prep time and cooking time is approximately 1 hour and 53 minutes (that doesn't include clean up time).

Cake:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used wheat flour with flaxseed and other grains to make it more whole grain)

2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups grated carrots (for convenience, you could buy the shredded carrots, but I like to buy the regular sized carrots, not the baby carrots, and use my grater to shred the orange vegetable)

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

6 Tbsp. butter (softened) (here I used unsweetened applesauce)

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

Cooking spray

Frosting

6 oz cream cheese, softened (because you can't find packaging with 6 oz, I bought and used 8 oz.)

1 ounce fromage blanc (it's a soft cheese in case you were wondering (I used an ounce or two of vanilla-flavored Greek yogurt- AE Dairy now makes it really reasonable!)

2 Tbsp. butter, softened (I just took this out completely)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. salt

3 cups powdered sugar

1/4 chopped pecans, toasted (I didn't find the need to toast them, but I bought the already chopped up pecans for convenience)

1. Preheat oven at 350.

2. To prepare cake, combine flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt in medium bowl with whisk. Add carrots, tossing to combine.

3. Place granulated sugar, brown sugar, and applesauce in a (different) large bowl. Beat with mixer at medium speed until combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Then add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

4. Spread batter into 9x13 metal baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 28 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cook cake completely on wire rack.

5. To prepare frosting, place softened cream cheese, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and salt in a medium bowl; beat with mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at medium speed until combined (don't overbeat it!). Spread frosting evenly over top of cake; sprinkle evenly with toasted pecans.

A side note: If you want to add a different flavor or texture, boil a cup of raisins in a cup of water; add boiled raisins to mixture of cake once combined. It will add a little pizazz to your carrot cake. :)

People, namely co-workers, raved about this wonderfully simple and semi-healthy (minus the cream cheese frosting with 3 cups of powdered sugar) dessert! They even asked when I would make another one again! :)

Happy Baking!

Homemade Granola

Archived from August 20th, 2011 from the old "Out of the Fryin' Pan and into the Fire"   

The last installment of the three recipes I promised: homemade granola. I've had some with my morning Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, and it's fantastic!

Homemade Granola

8 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup lite maple syrup

3/4 cup agave syrup (found in the healthy food section at Hy-Vee...can also use regular honey)

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup olive oil (original recipe calls for 1 cup vegetable oil, but I substituted applesauce and olive oil)

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 cup raisins

1 cup craisins

Optional: The original recipe calls for 1 cup finely chopped pecans and 1 cup finely chopped almonds, but I decided to just use the walnuts.)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.

2. Combine the oats, wheat germ, oat bran, sunflower seeds, and walnuts into large bowl.

3. Stir together salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, oil, applesauce, cinnamon, vanilla in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; then pour over the dry ingredients and stir to coat.

4. Spread the mixture out evenly on the baking sheets.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy and toasted for about 20 minutes. Stir once halfway through baking.

6. Cool, then stir in raisins and cranberries before storing in an airtight container.

Now I made the mistake of not reading things all the way through and added my dry ingredients to the wet ingredients without putting in the saucepan. It still turned out well, but I'm sure I make it the next time, it will be so much better! :)

Refrigerator Pickles

Archived from August 18th, 2011 from the old "Out of the Fryin' Pan and into the Fire"

One of my favorite foods that I always find myself buying are pickles. Dill, sweet, whatever the flavor, but my favorite is Bread & Butter! I probably could snack and chow down on an entire jar in one sitting if I had no self control. Recently, one of my colleagues from school brought in a bunch of cucumbers from his garden. I took so many home that I found myself not knowing what to do with them, so the next day, I was chatting with another colleague from work, and she suggested a refrigerator pickle recipe. So this past weekend, I made a batch, and they were delicious! Here's the recipe, courtesy of Yolanda. :)

Refrigerator Pickles

7 cups sliced cucumbers

1 sliced onion

1 1/2 cups vinegar

1 Tbsp. salt (I use sea salt)

1 tsp. celery seed

2 cups sugar (I used 1 1/2 cups)

1. Combine ingredients.

2. Store in ice cream bucket/large container or in canning jars.

3. Leave for at least 3 hours or overnight.

And there you have pickles! :)