"Thai Turkey Bowl"

That's what Chad calls it, at least. It's not actually Thai, per se, but is composed of meat and veggies, then served over rice. That's enough for us. And Thai Turkey Bowl sounds way better than Ground Turkey and Peppers...

Ground turkey is way cheaper than ground beef. We've been buying the big roll of it at Winco for about nine bucks and it gives us four good dinners.

The best thing about this meal is that it can all be cooked in one big frying pan (minus the rice). That's my kind of meal, especially because we don't have a dishwasher. Doing dishes just gets old sometimes. All the time.

Okay. Here it is.

Olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion, including some chopped greens from scallions or green onions
1 bell pepper (red or yellow preferred), chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher salt
1 lb ground turkey, preferably ground turkey thighs
Chipotle powder or chili powder {I used some cajun seasoning and it was fantastic!)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

 

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and bell pepper and cook until onions and peppers are softened, a couple minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more. 

Push the vegetables to the edge of one side of the pan and position that side of the pan so that it is off the burner, away from the heat. The empty part of the pan should be right over the burner. Add one or two more tablespoons of oil to coat the empty part of the pan. Put crumpled chunks of ground turkey in the pan, sprinkle with salt and chipotle or chili powder.

Cook the turkey without stirring until it is browned on one side, then turn the pieces over to brown the other side. Once the turkey is just cooked through, stir in the onions and peppers, and sprinkle with more salt and chili powder to taste. Remove from heat. Stir in fresh chopped parsley or cilantro.

Serve alone, or with steamed rice or noodles.

Serves 4.

Original Source: Simply Recipes

Easy Tomato Basil Soup (I swear by this!)

This soup is a crowd favorite and super quick to make. It's perfect for the life of a college student or when you need to feed a ton of people. I make a huge pot and just eat it the rest of the week with mozzarella cheese on top and some nice bread on the side (I think it yields about 9 servings).

*1 Medium size onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
18 fresh basil leaves, minced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup butter or margarine

In large stovetop pan, sautee onions and garlic. Meanwhile, n a large saucepan, bring the tomatoes and broth to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add sauteed onions, garlic, basil and sugar. Reduce heat to low; stir in cream and butter. Cook until butter is melted.

*I added the onions and garlic to the original recipe. Also I add tons more spices, just whatever I have in my cupboard: Italian spices, oregano, rosemary, etc.

Easy Pumpkin Crumble

I just found this delite the other day, but haven't had the chance to try it. It looks quite delicious though, especially since I love anything pumpkin in the fall :) The recipe is by Our Best Bites found here!



1 boxed yellow or white cake mix
1-2 sticks butter (see notes in instructions)
1 16 oz can pumpkin*
2 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t cloves
1/8 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/3 C chopped pecans
1/2 t additional cinnamon for topping

*This makes a dessert about an inch thick or less. That's because I like a high topping-to-pumpkin ratio. If you'd like it thicker, use a large can of pumpkin and double the rest of the filling ingredients (Eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and spices). Leave the rest of the recipe the same.

Preheat oven to 350. Place 2 C of the cake mix in a bowl. Cut in 3 T chilled butter. Just use your fingers to crumble the butter until it's in small crumbly pieces. Place mixture in a 9x13 baking dish and press flat with your fingers. Mix pumpkin, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and spices until smooth. Pour on top of the cake mixture in the pan.

Now take the rest of the dry cake mix and mix in 1/2 t cinnamon. Sprinkle it all over the top of the pumpkin mixture. Use a measuring cup so you have a rough measurement of how much you're putting on. Here's why:

Here's a little something I learned after making the dump cake a gazillion times. Cake mixes all have different amounts in them! Different brands, different flavors, etc. Each one is slightly different in volume. I found one mix to have almost double the normal amount. Measuring the amount of cake mix you're sprinkling on top will help you get the perfect topping ratio in the last step.

Next sprinkle on the chopped pecans. You'll have 3 distinct layers now. Here's the trick: For every 1 C of cake mix you sprinkled on top, you'll need 3 T of melted butter. Drizzle it right on top. That butter is going to combine with the cake mix and make magic in the oven. Pop it in your 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or so. A knife should come out without globs of pumpkin on it and the topping should be nice and golden.

Pasta, Pasta!

Right now we have a huge bag of spaghetti and not much else. The end of the month couldn't come quickly enough (that's when our budget starts over, you see). I figure we always have at least one of the following combinations on hand, so I made a list of ways to easily make a dinner out of pasta. Heat up a can of vegetables for the side and you're set!

Things to add to two servings of cooked pasta:

*Note: Pasta headings are the kinds that work best with that recipe, but are not required for a tasty dinner.

Spaghetti, Linguine
1 T butter
1/4 C parmesan cheese
1/2 C frozen peas, prepared
1/2 C ham, cubed
s & p


Penne
1/2 C mayonnaise
1 T basil pesto
2 chicken breasts, poached and shredded
s & p


Any
Basic Crockpot Recipe

Shells
1/2 C heavy cream
1 C cooked broccoli
1/4 C parmesan cheese
s & p


Shells, Macaroni
2 T butter, melted in a saucepan on low
stir in enough flour to make a roux
add 1 1/2 C milk
then 1 C cheddar cheese, shredded
sprinkle with paprika and s & p


Any
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 sticks of string cheese, chopped
3 basil leaves, shredded very small (or 1 T pesto)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
s & p
(serve cold)

Easy chicken and rice dinner

This is the epitome of "homework meals" for us. All you gotta do is mix all the ingredients together in your 8 1/2 x 11, throw her in the oven, and study for an hour while she does her magic.

What you'll need:

1 can cream of chicken soup (or celery or mushroom)

2 cans water

1 package of onion soup

2 heads of fresh broccoli, chopped (or 1/2 pkg of frozen)

1 cup uncooked rice

2 chicken breasts, chopped

So, like I said, throw everything into your pyrex, mix well, add the chicken, cover her with foil, and throw her in the oven at 350 for 1 hour. Easy enough.

Big Pot O' Soup

Chad and I discovered Bear Creek Country Kitchens dried soup mix this week. Heavens, it is ready in 15 minutes and all you have to do is boil water! The packs come for $4.55 at Macey's and make a whoppin EIGHT cups of soup. We both ate big bowls tonight and had at least six cups of soup left to throw in the freezer. The Chicken Noodle pack acts as a perfect base for whichever vegetables you have in the fridge. Easy, healthy, cheap--my favorite lil combination.

1 pkg. Bear Creek Country Kitchens soup mix
8 cups water (plus 1/2 cup for every added ingredient)

Things to add:
potatoes, carrots, corn, broccoli, etc. (NOTE: potatoes and broccoli do not freeze well)
wild rice
chicken, poached and shredded

Directions:
Boil water in a large pot. Whisk in the soup mix and mix in your chosen additional ingredients. Let simmer for 10 minutes. And you're done.

Serve with hot, buttered biscuits or cornbread or any other delicious sort of bread.

Basic Crockpot Recipe

This is the classic throw-anything-into-the-crockpot recipe that Katie and I used on most Sundays when we lived together. I put together these specific ingredients last night when I had earlier been convinced that we were completely out of food. As long as we have cream of chicken, rice, and frozen chicken, we will never go hungry--when in doubt, raid your kitchen and throw it all in the crockpot (within reason, of course).


Basic Crockpot Recipe

Serves: 2             Preparation Time: 10 minutes                Cook Time: 3 hours

1 can cream of chicken soup
3/4 C sour cream
2 chicken breasts, thawed and cut into small strips
           OR 5 chicken tenderloins
1/4 C parmesan cheese
salt & pepper (the divine spices)
1-2 spices from the cabinet

pasta or rice

In Order to Create:
Add cream of chicken soup, sour cream, chicken strips, and seasonings to the big, red crockpot. Cook on high for three hours (or on low for 5-8).
In the meantime, prepare pasta or rice, steam vegetables, butter crusty french bread, etc.
Before serving, cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces. Serve chicken over pasta/rice. Top with more s&p and parmesan.

Variations:
add canned/frozen/fresh vegetables to the mix (e.g. green beans, corn, broccoli)
top with bread crumbs or prepared stuffing mix
use 1/2 brick of cream cheese instead of sour cream