CEiMB: White Turkey Chili

 

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe was picked by Leslie of Lethally Delicious.  She chose for us to make the White Turkey Chili from from So Easy: Luscious, Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week by Ellie Krieger.   This is an easy weeknight recipe that is light and fresh, which is good the week after lots and lots of Christmas indulgences.  

After looking at the recipe, I decided that I wanted my chili to be a bit heartier, so I halved all of the ingredients except for the turkey and the spices.  This made for a meatier chili with less beans, which is how I make chili normally, so I quite liked it.  I am also glad I kept the spices at that level as well, because without, the chili might have been less flavorful.  I added a jalapeno for a bit more spice, and instead of salt and pepper I used Goya Adobo with cumin, which is what I use for seasoning whenever I am cooking Mexican or Southwestern food.  I absolutely love it.  I used corn instead of hominy because that is what I had on hand.  I also would say it is imperative to add a splash of lime juice and fresh cilantro to your chili because it really brightens up the flavor.  Thanks Leslie for a great pick, I thought it was light, but comforting at the same time.  Be sure to check out the blogroll to see what the other CEiMB bloggers made.  

Roasted Tomato Salsa

What do you do when you have a table full of tomatoes from your garden??

You make salsa!  I love my Pico de Gallo recipe, but this time I wanted to try and give the salsa a more roasted flavor. so I simply took the same ingredients and tossed them in some olive oil, and roasted them in the oven until they were soft and a bit charred.  I then put them in a food processor with some lime juice and cilantro, and presto, salsa!  This recipe makes quite a bit of salsa, but it will keep for at least a week in the fridge, and it can be used for so many things.  It is great topping for fish or chicken, or stir in some black beans and corn for an easy side dish.  I like my salsa hot, but feel free to scale down on the chile peppers if you like a more mild salsa.


Roasted Tomato Salsa

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 medium red onion, quartered
• 6 hot peppers, stems removed (I used 3 jalapenos and 3 serranos, if you want a milder salsa, cut back on the hot peppers or slice the peppers in half and remove that seeds and inner ribs of the peppers)
• 6 lbs tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• Juice from two limes
• 1/4 cup cilantro
• salt

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place garlic cloves, onion, and hot peppers in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish and toss with olive oil.  Roast for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables start to soften.  You can use this time to chop and seed your tomatoes.  
• Remove the dish from oven and add the tomatoes, season with salt.  Return the dish to the pan and roast the tomatoes until they are soft and somewhat charred, about 20-25 minutes.  Remove the dish from the oven and allow to cool at least until the dish can be handled.  
• Transfer the contents of the dish to a food processor (if your food processor is small, you may have to do this in batches).  If your tomatoes are ripe, roasting them will generate a lot of juice.  I used a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes, because if I were to transfer all that juice the salsa would be way too runny.  
• Add the lime juice and cilantro to the food processor and pulse until you reach the desired consistency for the salsa.  The vegetables should be pretty soft, so it won't take long.  Taste and re-season with salt and/or lime juice if necessary.

CEiMB: Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadilla

This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Marthe of Culinary Delights She chose for us to make the Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. This recipe is extremely easy to throw together because the ingredients cook quickly, perfect for a weeknight meal. The filling is very flavorful and doesn't seem heavy at all. I am always looking for new combinations of veggies and meats to throw into a quesadilla, and I will be making this again.

I made a few substitutions to the recipe. I added some frozen corn and cilantro to the filling, and I substituted scallions for the onion in the recipe. Instead of the white button mushrooms, I used cremini because I think they have more flavor. Check out the other bloggers at Craving Ellie in My Belly to see their creations!

Smoky Black Beans and Corn

I am always looking for quick and easy side dishes. I love black bean and corn salsa, so I thought I would make something similar with a little more body as a side dish for some chipotle chicken skewers I got from Trader Joe's. This dish is easy to throw together, and you can do almost anything you want to it to suit your tastes. You can stir in some cheese and cilantro, or add mor spice by including jalapenos or minced chipotle peppers from a can (in this case, I just use the adobo sauce from the can, but I have added the chipotle pepper as well to increase the spiciness). It is really simple to make this side dish your own.


Smoky Black Beans and Corn
serves 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1-15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon Goya Adobo with cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers
• 1 1/3 cups corn, fresh or frozen (If frozen, don't thaw)

• Heat olive oil over medium to medium-high heat, add the onion and poblano pepper, and saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute about 1 minute longer.
• Add the black beans and the water, smashing some of the black beans with a spoon or the back of a spatula to thicken the sauce.
• Mix in the Goya seasoning, cumin, and adobo sauce. Reduce the heat to a low and allow the sauce to thicken and the beans to heat through, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  
• Stir in the corn, and continue to cook until the corn is warmed through, add more Goya seasoning if necessary. Serve immediately.