easy tasty turkey chili

when the weather gets cooler, i usually break out the crock pot. last week dave mentioned he'd like some turkey chili and i was happy to oblige. it is, after all, just about the easiest thing to make! (and it's heathy to boot!)

here's the recipe (one of the few almost-all-from-a-can recipes i'll endorse!):

1 package ground turkey (500g or 1lb or 1.25lb...the recipe is forgiving)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 can cannellini beans, drained
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato soup
1 can sweet corn, drained
1/2 to 1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
a few twists of fresh black pepper
salt to taste

to make: saute the onion in a bit of olive oil until soft. add the ground turkey and brown. then dump everything except the corn into the crock pot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. add the corn about an hour before serving and garnish with cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, green onions, or any combination thereof. i often adjust the seasoning a bit towards the end and add chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper as needed.

this stuff freezes well as is great as leftovers over a baked potato or as part of a taco salad.

soy honey grilled salmon and grilled vegetable salad

beautiful day = grill time in england.

we marinated some salmon, cut up some veggies, and fired up the grill.

for the marinade (adapted from an allrecipes recipe called 'grilled salmon skewers'):

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

pinch of ground ginger (or fresh if you have it)

after marinating the salmon for about 45 minutes, i got the salmon ready to grill and threw the rest of the marinade in a sauce pan for about five minutes or so to simmer. when the salmon was finished grilling (about 5 minutes per side), i drizzled some sauce over top. 

for the grilled veggies, we used onion, corn on the cob, red and orange peppers, and zucchini. we brushed a little olive oil, soy sauce and honey over them all before throwing them on the grill. once they were adequately blackened (you know what i mean), we cut them up into bite-sized pieces and mixed them all together. 

yum.

for dessert we have gluten-free brownies from the gluten-free girl's blog. anything with a bar of chocolate in it is delicious.

quinoa with black beans with spinach salad

we wanted to keep it quick and light for dinner on sunday night, so i threw together a salad and some dressing i just recently discovered and made my favorite quinoa dish, quinoa and black beans.

the salad was simple: baby spinach, chopped apples, crumbled blue cheese, chopped walnuts, and avocado. the dressing was a raspberry vinaigrette that is really simple (sortof like a semi-homemade deal):

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons raspberry jam
1/3 cup good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
**i halve the recipe when it's just the two of us

i got the quinoa and black beans recipe on allrecipes, which is one of my favorites. here it is:

one onion, chopped

three cloves garlic, chopped

one teaspoon olive oil

3/4 cup quinoa, washed

1 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup frozen corn kernels

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and garlic. saute until lightly browned. add the quinoa, stock, cumin, cayenne and salt and pepper. cover and stir occasionally until the quinoa is fully cooked (about 20 minutes). stir in the corn and let warm through, about 5 minutes. mix in black beans. 

pan fried chicken over noodles

made something quick and simple tonight since i didn't have much time. gluten-free bread crumbs and pasta made this possible. i added some roasted asparagus too. mmmm.

lime coconut chicken

our main grocery store, waitrose, puts out different recipe cards every month. i've picked up several, but i've never attempted a recipe. i changed that last night and made a delicious thai dish with coconut milk and lime. thank you, waitrose!

here's the recipe:

400g chicken breast meat, cut into bite-sized chunks

juice and zest of two limes

160ml of coconut gream

1 tsp light oil

1 green chili pepper, finely chopped (and seeds removed)

3/4 TBLS nam pla fish sauce

20g chopped coriander 

4 spring onions, cut into 2.5cm shreds

- marinate the chicken chunks in the lime juice and zest for at least an hour (reserve marinate when finished)

- stir-fry chicken chunks in the oil on high heat until golden, about 3 minutes

- add the green chili and stir-fry for one more minute

- add lime marinade, coconut cream, fish sauce, and half of the coriander and spring onions, stir-fry for a couple more minutes

- serve over rice with the rest of the coriander and spring onions as garnish.

ginger poached salmon and peanut noodles

a big thanks to sarah for sending me this fantastic salmon recipe from the food network. dave absolutely inhaled everything on his plate. because of timing, i served both the salmon and the peanut noodles warm as opposed to chilled (which were listed as being part of the same menu on the food network site - and of course i substituted gluten-free noodles). i think we'll refrigerate the leftovers and see what it's like tomorrow as well. (that being said, the warm version was excellent.)

i'm going to have to start staking out recipes on this site!  thanks for sharing sarah!