Meatless Monday (on a Tuesday)...a Lentil Chili recipe

Yesterday (Monday) I was in Long Beach at the Esthetics trade show so when I got home I wasn't exactly in the mood to cook dinner.  Thanks to frozen pizza and premixed salads I was good to go.  Today though I cooked.  

I have a turkey chili recipe that I pulled from a Shape magazine a couple years ago...I always tweak it a bit based on what I have on hand because I always seem to leave something at the grocery store.  This time I switched out the turkey for lentils.  See below for a little cut and paste of the original recipe with my tweaks are highlighted (or click here for the recipe directly from Shape).  It came out really well and looked nice and colorful with the spinach/cilantro/tomatoes.  

Firehouse Turkey Chili from Shape Magazine minus the turkey
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large clove garlic, smashed  (I just used garlic powder)
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided (I chopped up cilantro, very fresh and tasty)
• 1/2 pound ground turkey (subbed for Trader Joes' refrigerated lentils, 16oz)
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced (skipped, didn't pick it up at store)
• 1 cup carrot, diced (also forgotten at store...but I did use a couple of handfuls of chopped spinach that I wilted a bit in the pan first)
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan heat oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Toss in garlic and all but 2 tablespoons of the scallions and cook, stirring frequently, for 1 minute.
2. Add turkey and continue to cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in chili powder and cook for 1 more minute. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, bell pepper, carrot, brown sugar, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat.
3. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Divide among 4 bowls and garnish with the remaining 2 tablespoons of scallions.  (Cut the cooking time to 10mins because of the lentils and sprinkled some cilantro on top)

What's cooking with you this week? Man, I crack myself up sometimes.  Really though, I love Pinterest for recipes and the occasional health magazine (some of those recipes seem like a lot of work though); where do you get your recipes from? Anything you'd like to share?

A tasty dish: Corn Salad

The LA County Fair is in town, which I love...and there is so much that I love:

Ok, this wasn't at the Fair, you can't pet them there.

• Farm animals and their BABIES
• Budweiser Clydesdale Horses 
• The Garden Railroad
• The Table Settings competition 
• Browsing the shopping areas
• FOOD.  

Now I've been going to the fair ever since before I can remember.  I have some vague memories of a stroller and the Giant Slide.  In all the years that I've been going though I've never been to a BBQ Competition.  My friend's fiance entered a very tasty tri-tip sandwich with a spicy spread on a glazed donut, bacon chips, and a corn salad (he took home a Second Place Ribbon).

BAAAAAA!

I'm not a BBQ-er myself.  I enjoy the taste, but I'm just more of an indoor cook.  So of his menu I decided that I needed to come home and make some corn salad of my own.  I'm not one to make up a recipe from scratch either...but I can tweak a recipe like nobodies business, which is what I did with this recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff. My changes included adding spinach to the corn at the end of heating (because I have WAY too much spinach on hand right now).  Instead of mayonnaise I used some Vegenaise and plain Greek yogurt. I omit the jalapeno but doubled up on the cilantro.  I also went with fat free Feta crumbles.  Lastly, I used onion and garlic powder--because I'm lazy like that.  It came out fantastic!  I would never have even looked for a recipe like this if it weren't for the LA County Fair.  

Any county fair memories you'd like to share?  What's your favorite part?

Buffalo Cauliflower, a tasty treat

Forever ago I went to a dinner at Mohawk Bend in L.A. We had the Buffalo Cauliflower as an appetizer and it was very tasty.  I've never been much for wings myself and these were a delightful option.

Fast forward to now when I'm watching what I eat (more or less).  I found this recipe on Pinterest (where else?) and decided to give it a go.  They came out pretty well and are relatively low in WW points to boot.  Bonuses for cauliflower: High in fiber, high in vitamin C, and has all sorts of other vitamins/minerals and antioxidants.  So yay for new recipes involving this "nutrient powerhouse"~~not sure where I picked that up, but I know it's not something I would've said on my own hence the quotes. I like it steamed or roasted and one of these days I'll try it mashed.  I don't know how I feel about using it as a base for pizza though.

For the Buffalo Cauliflower recipe click here.


Any favorite veggie dishes you'd like to share? Thoughts on cauliflower in general?

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Happy America!

Prebaking  and all finished

Fireworks, picnics, beach days and BBQs: for however you choose to celebrate your 4th, may I suggest bringing along some cookies? 

I must first let you know that I make terrible chocolate chip cookies. Always have for some reason.  I can bake other things: cupcakes, brownies, and peanut butter cookies.  Something about chocolate chip cookies though...either to crispy or too flat...always a little burnt. No matter what I do, they always come out a little bit wrong, but I did not screw up this recipe...so there is hope for all of us.  Back in the bake sales days of my long ago daycare job there was the mom who made the BEST chocolate chip cookies ever...EVER.  These are not those, but they are tasty and they use Greek yogurt in them which I think is an interesting twist and if you happen to be on Weight Watchers they are 2 points per cookie.

Found on pinterest...came out pretty well, except first attempt yielded something more akin to cookie balls.  Note to self: maybe try flattening a little a la peanut butter cookies next time?

Chocolate Chip and Greek Yogurt Cookies
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used all all-purpose flour, it's what we had)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I just shook the shaker a time or two)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I don't like too many, I just gradually added mini chocolate chips till it felt right)

Oven to 375
Grease cookie sheets (I used parchment paper and lightly sprayed Trader Joe's Coconut Oil over it)
Cream brown sugar and butter, add in the yogurt and vanilla
Combine the dry ingredients and incorporate into the sugar/butter/yogurt/vanilla mixture
Add chocolate chips
Space 2 inches apart (they didn't spread too much, so you can probably get a few more cookies on there)
Bake 8-10 mins (Mine took the 10, and still came out chewy)
Cool for a minute and transfer to cookie rack

These stayed fresh and were gone in a few days.  They are not overly sweet, but still a treat.  I only bake about a dozen at a time and refrigerate the leftover dough in a sealed plastic container.

I got the original recipe from Shannon's Kitchen Creations here.

Have a happy and safe 4th (and don't forget to take care of your pets...my dog Mitch couldn't care less about noisy fireworks, but he doesn't always know how to dog).  Cheers all!