Turkey Sloppy Joes

For some reason I began to crave a sloppy joe. I think it’s because I had frozen ground turkey in the freezer from when I caught a sale at Kroger ($.99 a lb!). I haven’t ate a sloppy joe in ages! I remember once The Boy told me his mom used to make them all the time, but from scratch. I was shocked, I had NO CLUE you could make them and not use Manwich! Seriously, I had no clue! So when this hankering for a sloppy joe began to develop, I researched recipes. I quickly found one that sounded good on Martha Stewart’s website. I was intrigued by the use of carrots, but it wasn’t the first recipe I’d seen with them. It seemed like a GREAT way to sneak in some veggies!

I must say I LOOOOOVED these! (The Boy thought they were yummy, even if they were different from his mom’s.) I can’t believe something so messy looking, and simple, could really taste that good! I feel like a dork, but it was a darn good dinner! If you’re like me, and have never had sloppy joes that don’t come from Manwich, and are craving an “old fashioned” kind of meal, you really have got to give these a shot. The flavor is a little bit sweet, and more complex than something you’d get from a can. You can taste the combination of flavors with each bite. This recipe will most definitely be used again and again. (PS. I think this made more than 4 servings! I’m counting at least 6!)

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Turkey Sloppy Joes

from Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
4 carrots, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 medium onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 pound ground turkey (93% lean, dark meat) (I used 1lb)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons dark-brown sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
4 whole-wheat hamburger rolls, split

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium; add carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add turkey; cook, breaking up meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 12 to 14 minutes. Serve on whole-wheat rolls.

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Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles

Here’s a yummy Mexican casserole. It was pretty simple to prepare, and produced very tasty results. What sets this apart from other Mexican casseroles is the use of El Pato salsa de chile fresco, and queso cheese. YUM! I used chicken pulled from a “Mojo” flavored rotisserie chicken I got at Publix (took me 3 trips, but I finally got my chicken!).

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Black Bean and Chicken Chilaquiles

from Cooking Light

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1 cup thinly sliced onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (7 3/4-ounce) can salsa de chile fresco (such as El Pato)
15 (6-inch) corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch strips
1 cup shredded queso blanco (about 4 ounces)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add chicken; cook 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a medium bowl; stir in beans. Add broth and salsa to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Place half of tortilla strips in bottom of an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer half of chicken mixture over tortillas; top with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Pour broth mixture evenly over chicken mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until tortillas are lightly browned and cheese is melted.

Calories:293 (15% from fat); Fat:4.9g (sat 1.7g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.2g); Protein: 22.9g; Carbohydrate: 40g; Fiber: 5.9g; Cholesterol: 46mg; Iron: 2.3mg; Sodium: 602mg; Calcium: 200mg

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Salmon en Papillote

I’m a huge fan of salmon. I’ll go ahead and say it’s my favorite fish. I had this recipe bookmarked and Valentine’s Day weekend seemed like the perfect time to make a dish you wrap up in heart shaped parchment paper. This dinner tasted GREAT, and was so simple to prepare. I think it’s easily adaptable to what ingredients you have on hand. Next time I make it, I’ll likely sub rice for the orzo, to save some calories. And I happened to have fresh colored peppers & red onion on hand, but you could throw in carrots & broccoli and I think it would be just as yummy! I adapted it a little from the blog I found it on, so go ahead and adapt it to your liking!

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Salmon en Papillote

as seen on Chi-town Cooking Creations

Ingredients:

2 salmon filets
1/3 a red pepper julienned
1/3 yellow pepper julienned
1/3 green pepper julienned
1/3 red onion julienned
1 lemon
olive oil
1/4 cup of dry white wine (optional)
1 cup orzo
2 cups chicken stock
salt
pepper
parchment paper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Boil the chicken stock and cook the orzo until not quite al dente (only for about 3 minutes)

Cut 2 heart shapes out of the parchment paper. Let the orzo cool a bit (otherwise your paper becomes too wet to work with).

Place the orzo down on one side of the heart first, add the salmon filet next. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Layer the lemon slices on top of the salmon.

Fold over the other side of the heart and begin closing up the paper by folding over the sides. You want to make sure and get this folded very tightly so everything steams. At the very end, leave a little opening to pour in just a tiny shot of wine (don't pour too much or the taste will overpower everything). (I actually forgot to add the wine, but didn't miss it) Finish folding and bake for about 15 - 20 minutes, until the salmon is cooked to 145 degrees.

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Brown Sugar Glazed Pork with Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes

For our Valentine’s Day dinner, I decided on this recipe I had seen in Publix’s weekly circular. I’ve used a couple Publix recipes before, most have been really good. Unfortunately I don’t remember them, because it was before I blogged! I sure am glad I blog now, because my memory seems to be fading fast. Publix often pairs a recipe with an item that is on sale that week, and last week (their ad runs Wed-Tues) featured pork tenderloin that was on sale. We bought the smallest one we could, and it was still 1.5lbs. I gave The Boy the task of splitting that up into two portions to freeze. One thing I often do to save money is buy meat strictly when it’s on sale. Even if I don’t have plans for it yet, I’ll buy it, freeze it, and figure out what do cook with it in the meantime.

The original recipe paired the pork with a package of frozen mashed sweet potatoes, but I decided to pair ours with cubed sweet potatoes roasted in a dash of extra virgin olive oil, and a drizzle of maple syrup and honey. Prepared this way, you get a bit of a crunch on the outside of the sweet potato that gives away to a soft center. I prepped these first, and put them in the oven while I finished up the pork. I also served green beans that I steamed and then roasted in the oven.

The pork recipe uses just a handful of ingredients, all of which I already had on hand. And because you slice the pork and saute it in the pan, the cooking time is much faster than roasting it in the oven. It’s funny, I had originally planned on serving this on Friday night, but ended up working a little late and knew I wouldn’t have time to get dinner on the table in the small window of time The Boy has for his dinner break from work. In the end, I’m really glad we had it as our Valentine’s Day dinner. While it was pretty simple to make, it tasted like a special dinner! Ok, enough talking about it, here’s the recipe!

Brown Sugar Glazed Pork
from Publix

3 fresh garlic cloves
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning (we used a peppery Toronto seasoning we purchased at Whole Foods. Toronto, Montreal, same country, right?)
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 lb) (we used about 3/4lb)
2 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup red wine

Crush garlic, using garlic press, into medium bowl. Use knife to remove garlic from bottom of press. Stir in brown sugar and steak seasoning until well blended.

Preheat large sauté pan on medium 2–3 minutes. Cut pork diagonally into about eight 1-inch-thick slices. Place pork slices in bowl and press into mixture. Turn and press again to lightly season both sides (wash hands).

Place 1 tablespoon of the butter in pan; swirl to coat. Add pork (wash hands); cook 5–6 minutes on each side or until well browned and internal temperature reaches 160°F (for medium). Use a meat thermometer to accurately ensure doneness.

Remove pork from pan. Stir in wine and remaining 1 tablespoon butter; simmer 1 minute, stirring continually. Serve wine sauce with pork.

CALORIES (per 1/4 recipe) 230kcal; FAT 9g; CHOL 90mg; SODIUM 440mg; CARB 8g; FIBER 0g; PROTEIN 24g; VIT A 4%; VIT C 2%; CALC 2%; IRON 8%

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes
my own creation

1 large (or 2 medium) sweet potato
approx. 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
approx. 1/2 Tablespoon maple syrup
approx. 1/2 Tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel and chop sweet potato into cubes. In a medium bowl, combine sweet potato cubes and enough EVOO to coat them enough to have a little sheen. Drizzle a bit of the maple syrup in and toss to combine. Pour into foil lined baking dish (mine all fit nicely in an 8×8 pan).

Bake 10-12 minutes. Take out and using a spatula, unstick any that are stuck to the bottom. Toss & stir well. Drizzle with honey, and more maple syrup if desired. Bake for 8-10 minutes longer, checking on them to make sure they don’t burn.

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