Mexican Chorizo and Chicken Chili

 

Recipe from Rachel Ray and I renamed it; as she used cubed, cooked turkey instead of chicken. This made a goodly amount and I froze in proportions. Hopefully the electricity does not get turned off again and Jesse had to empty my freezer and transport to his. What a shit show, but what a nice son to do that for his mom! How can you go wrong with anything topped with tortilla chips. She did not add cheese. Think I will! Oh, called for 1 red or green sweet pepper and I omitted.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound Mexican chorizo, cut from casings
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 15-ounce dice tomato
• 1 pound cooked, dice chicken breast or thighs
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons pureed chipotles in adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons cornmeat
• 1 tablespoon honey
• tortilla chips, yum
• shredded cheese, if desired
• Lime wedges, however, the limes were flipp'in expensive, so did not use

Directions:

Heat oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. 

Brown the chorizo, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Add the garlic, onions and sweet peppers (if using) and cook until softened. 

Stir in the coriander, cumin, tomatoes, followed by the diced chicken or turkey, stock, chipotles, cornmeal and honey.

Simmer until thickened, about 30 minutes or so. 

Serve in bowls topped with chips and cheese if desired. Garnish with lime wedges.

Goulash

 Of course I changed this up... Wanted to try the homemade Italian sausage at Lucky's Market. So substituted Italian sausage for the ground beef. I used fusilli pasta instead of elbow. Once I filled bowls with the goulash; I topped with the Cheddar cheese. Then I heated the bowls in the microwave to melt the cheese. Original recipe had the Cheddar cheese incorporated on the stove. Also used chicken broth instead of beef broth. Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage ( I like spicy)
• 1 mediium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika, used hot, smoky
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, Spice House brand has superb flavor
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 2 servings fusilli pasta (4 ounces) Made pasta per meal fresh; as froze meat portions
• 4 ounces sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded, top filled bowls to taste
• fresh parsley, chopped, as garnish

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the Italian sausage until browned.

Add the onion and cook till softened. Add the garlic and cook one minute.

Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the paprika and Italian seasoning and cook one minute.

Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes.

Add the diced tomato, Worcestershire and chicken stock. 

Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. At this point I cooled and then refrigerated over nite to meld flavors. 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.

Simmer meat sauce and add the pasta and simmer 5-10 minutes until hot.

Place pasta in bowls and top with Cheddar cheese and fresh parsley. 

 Microwave till Cheddar cheese has melted.

Turkey Pad Thai

 

Courtesy of Milissa D'Arabian. Got great reviews and can be tailored to your liking. I did not have fish sauce, so substituted with Tamari. Added a tad more sriracha hot sauce, used fettucini rather than linguini and eliminated bean sprouts. This makes a generous 4 servings, so for us, two dinners. I divided up the meat mixture into 2 dinner servings; made pasta for 2 each time and used 2 eggs. I used 1/2 of one lime to drizzle on top for each 2 dinner serving as well.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 limes, 1 juiced and zested and 1 lime saved to drizzle on top of the shredded carrot and chopped scallions
• 1/4 cup Tamari
• 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sriracha hot sauce, or to taste
• 1 pound ground turkey
• salt to taste
• 8 ounces fettucini ( 4 ounces per 2 dinner serving) (cooked to packaged instructions)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten ( 2 per 2 dinner servings)
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped, (1/4 cup per 2 dinner servings)

Directions:

To make the sauce:

Pour boiling water over the brown sugar and stir to dissolve.

Add the juice and zest of one lime, tamari, rice vinegar and sriracha. Stir to combine and set aside.

Add the canola oil to a large skillet and heat on medium high. Add the onion and garlic and saute till softened. Add salt to taste. 

Add the ground turkey and cook till pink is no longer visible.

Add the sauce mixture to the cooked turkey mixture, place in a bowl and allow to cool. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator overnight, to allow flavors to meld. 

In a large skillet, drizzle a little canola oil and heat over medium heat. Add the 2 beaten eggs and cook 30 seconds. Add 1/2 the meat mixture (if you are making 2 dinners),  heat till hot, stirring frequently. Serve a top 4 ounce hot cooked pasta

Place servings in bowls and garnish with grated carrot, chopped cilantro, scallions and drizzle with lime juice. Top off with chopped peanuts.