Low-fat Turkey Chili

Mathis and I have some frozen turkey in the freezer, and I decided it would be good to use the turkey to make chili today for Superbowl Sunday!

Here's the recipe I'm going to use:

This low fat turkey chili is an ideal family supper. It's hearty, healthy and easy to prepare. Serve with a dollop of fat-free yogurt or sour cream on top.

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 stick of celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 pound 99% fat-free ground turkey
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 14 1/2-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce, no salt added
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 tbsp fat-free sour cream or yogurt
4 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

Preparation: Heat oil in a large Dutch oven. Add onion, celery, chopped pepper and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Crumble the turkey into the pan, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Cook for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in chili powder, cumin, coriander and oregano. Add in tomatoes and tomato sauce, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans, mix well and cook on low heat for a further 5-10 minutes.

Ladle into bowls. Add a dollop of fat-free sour cream or yogurt on top, plus some fresh chopped cilantro if you have it.

Serves 4.

Per Serving: Calories 298, Calories from Fat 51, Total Fat 5.7g (sat 0.6g), Cholesterol 35mg, Sodium 440mg, Carbohydrate 32.9g, Fiber 10.2g, Protein 28.8g

Grilled Salmon

We had this tonight for dinner, and it was great! Since it's so cold outside we used our George Foreman grill, and it tasted great!! Here's to healthy fish!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat grill for medium heat.

Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Hungry Girl

Last week my friend Laura, reminded me of a great website for weight loss! Hungry Girl is a fun website with lots of tips and suggestions for making good food choices. Whether it's in your own kitchen or out to eat, Hungry Girl's got you covered.

I just subscribed to their daily email so I can keep the tips and motivation coming! Be sure to check them out!

10 Healthier Meals Under $10

My amazing sister-in-law sent me a great link today with some wonderful recipes. They have 10 recipes featured that are both healthy and cost-effective... I'm in heaven! I'm definitely looking forward to trying some of these out!!

Classic Banana Bread

Yield: 1 loaf, 14 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Cheesy Veggie Quesadillas

This recipe came from SlimFast, and it's basically an easy quesadilla recipe! Serve with a garden or fruit salad for a healthy, fun meal!

1 cup onion, white, chopped
1 zucchini
1/8 teaspoon salt
20 I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Original sprays
8 tortillas, flour, 6"
2 dry cups cheddar cheese, low-fat
1 cup tomato, chopped

Preparation

1. Halve the zucchini lengthwise, and thinly slice.

2. Preheat 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, zucchini, salt and spray with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Original. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, 8 minutes or until tender.

3. Evenly divide onion mixture between 4 tortillas, then evenly top each with cheese. Top with remaining tortillas.

4. In 12-inch skillet, cook quesadillas over medium-high heat, one at a time, turning once, 2 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and serve immediately, garnished with chopped tomatoes.

Back in the Kitchen in 2009

It's been awhile! I have to admit I didn't do much cooking over the holidays, but was blessed to have others cooking for me. :)

I do hope to continue posting some recipes, so please stay tuned!! Mathis and I started the SlimFast diet last week, so I've been getting a lot of recipes from their website.

Here's to lots of great cooking in 2009!!

Green Bean Casserole

This was a new recipe for me. Normally my mom and I make green bean casserole a little differently, but I wanted to give something different a try! I made this for my office Christmas party last night, and I think everyone seemed to approve of this dish.

Vegetable cooking spray
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup skim milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (9-ounce) packages frozen French-style green beans, thawed and drained
1 1/2 cups herb-seasoned stuffing mix
2 teaspoons margarine, melted
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Coat a medium saucepan with cooking spray, and place over medium heat until hot. Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add flour, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add the milk, stirring until blended. Stir in cheese, sour cream, sugar, and salt; cook 5 minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring constantly.

Place green beans in an 8-inch square baking dish; pour the sauce over beans. Combine stuffing mix, margarine, and egg white in a bowl; stir well, and sprinkle over green bean mixture. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

This meal was VERY good, and it was easy too!

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 cups chopped green peppers (about 2 peppers)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1-2/3 cups water
1/4 cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into quarters
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese

BROWN meat in large (4-qt.) saucepan on medium heat; drain.

ADD peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing; bring to boil. Stir in noodles; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover.

COOK, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 min. or until noodles are tender. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover; let stand 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

Three Cheese Chicken Penne

This meal was great! I got the recipe off the Kraft foods website, and they even include a video tutorial on how to make it! I made a few tweaks to the recipe by not including chicken and using different cheeses, and it turned out great! I think the recipe is great the way it is... I just didn't happen to have everything it called for. :) I had fun experimenting, and I think this is an easy recipe to make some changes if you're feeling adventurous!

1-1/2 cups multigrain penne pasta, uncooked
1 pkg. (9 oz.) fresh spinach leaves
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1 jar (14-1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained
2 oz. (1/4 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese, cubed
1 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

HEAT oven to 375ºF. Cook pasta as directed on package, adding spinach to the boiling water for the last 1 min.
COOK and stir chicken and basil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat 3 min. Add spaghetti sauce and tomatoes; bring to boil. Simmer 3 min. or until chicken is done. Stir in Neufchatel cheese.
DRAIN pasta mixture; return to pan. Stir in chicken mixture and 1/2 cup mozzarella. Spoon into 2-qt. or 8-inch square baking dish.
BAKE 20 min. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses. Bake 3 min.

Special Helper

One night I found Carter with this oven mitt. He absolutely loved it, and I couldn't resist letting him have it. I think he was trying to let me know that he really loves my new quest for cooking and he'd help me if he could.



Melts your heart... :)

Hubby's Favorite Chicken

I made this chicken meal on Wednesday night, and it was delicious. I got the recipe off a friend's blog, and she claimed it was her husband's favorite chicken. Mathis ended up loving this recipe too, so I guess it's a winner with most newlywed husbands! :)

Jen gives a great detailed recipe on her blog. You can read it by clicking here. Definitely a great, easy meal to try sometime. Thanks for the recipe, McCradys! :)