Turkey Stroganoff

Good Morning Readers - today I will give you the link to the new website. Bear in mind that I'm still getting everything figured out so there may be a few tweaks but overall the posts should be there! For a while, I will continue to post the links here so it's easy to get to the new site. I will still share the posts on Google+, Facebook and Pinterest so hopefully you don't miss anything!

My new website is www.lphjkitchen.com

My first original post found there is a great meal to make for your family but lower in fat than the traditional version! Enjoy!

Turkey Stroganoff

Chicken & Dumpling Soup

Is it cold where you are?? It’s pretty frigid here and we needed something comforting and warm! I had never made dumplings before going gluten free so I can’t tell you how close these are to traditional dumplings. However, I can tell you that they taste great and are much easier than I thought! This is a healthy, hearty soup that is full of flavor. This recipe serves 6-8.

2 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

3 cups water

1 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp oregano

2 bay leaves

4 small potatoes, cut into small chunks

2 cups carrots, cut into chunks

2 celery stalks, diced

1 onion, cut into chunks

Dumplings

2 cup GF flour

1 cup almond milk

1 tsp sea salt

½ tsp black pepper

1 egg

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 tsp parsley flakes

• In a large stockpot, combine chicken, water, broth, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, bay leaves, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion. 
• Bring mixture to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are soft. 
• Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt, pepper and parsley flakes for dumplings. Add in milk and egg and stir or mix until well blended. 
• Form dumplings into small dough balls and place in stockpot with boiling soup mixture. 
• Once all dumplings are in pot, cover with a lid and cook for about 15 minutes or until dumplings are cooked. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with additional parsley if desired. 

Crockpot Beef Stew

Brr…. I’m over this cold weather. Cooking is my favorite hobby but something about the cold just makes me want to lay on the couch with a blanket! Today was one of those days. I wasn’t feeling like making a huge dinner so instead I decided to throw this stew in the crockpot. That way, when I got home tonight, it was cooked, warm and ready to eat! I did throw in some cornbread to go along with it though. This recipe is super simple and yet very tasty. Taking a few frozen veggies makes it even quicker but still healthy. This serves about 6 but can easily be increased to serve more.

4-5 oz round beef steak, diced (whatever cut you like, but don’t get crazy, the cheap cuts are fine!)

1 12oz bag of frozen mixed veggies (or you can cut your own fresh veggies)

1 15oz can of diced tomatoes (juice included – fresh will also work)

2 cups beef broth

1 cup russet or red potatoes, peeled and diced

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 bay leaves (or 1 tsp bay leaf flakes)

• Okay, here’s the best part: throw all of the ingredients into a crockpot. 
• Give the mix a good stir.
•  Set your crockpot on Low – cook for about 8 hours.
•  Go to work/school/wherever and come home to a homestyle, comforting beef stew!

Leftover Turkey Noodle Soup

Sometimes it is hard trying to figure out what to do with all those leftovers. If you are anything like my husband, you do not want to waste any food, ever! I can’t say that this is a bad thing. I used to be very wasteful but thanks to him I am not anymore. After our lovely turkey dinner, we had some leftover “crappy” sections. I call them crappy because I don’t like them. It was a leg and a thigh – all dark meat. Don’t get me wrong, it has a lot of flavor, I just don’t like that portion of the bird. Anyway – he was out hunting one evening and I knew he would need something hot to warm him up when he got home. I decided to make a turkey soup using those leftover pieces. It worked. I was able to use up all of the meat, flavor the soup and cut the meat into chunks large enough I could pick out what I didn’t want to eat. Everyone wins – plus we got rid of the leftovers! This makes about 6-8 servings.

1large cooked turkey leg (or other part of bird, bone in)

1 large cooked turkey thigh (or other part of bird, bone in)
4 cups of water or vegetable broth
½ cup chopped celery
1 ear of corn
¼ cup diced onion
½ cup chopped carrots
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp garlic salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp parsley
8 oz of GF pasta (I used rice penne pasta)

•  In a large stockpot, sauté celery, carrots and onion for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add in water or broth, turkey pieces, corn, salts, pepper, sage and parsley. B
• ring to boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove corn and turkey from pot. Cut corn from the cob and return to pot.
• Cut pieces of the turkey meat into small chunks and return to pot. Add in pasta and return to boiling.
• Cooking time will vary at this point, depending on your type of pasta. Just watch the soup closely until pasta is finished cooking. 

Tomato Basil Soup with Toast Strips

Have you ever looked at the ingredients of canned tomato soup? Don’t do it, it will scare you. This tomato soup is completely fresh. It is packed full of nutrients from the tomatoes and the carrots give it even more veggie boost. Add some basil for flavor to top off this wonderful little dish. I also like adding some type of bread to have some extra texture. Of course, grilled cheese also complements this soup nicely! Makes about 4 servings.

Soup

4 cups of roasted tomatoes (see tip below) or two cans of tomatoes
1 cup carrots, steamed
½ cup vegetable broth
1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
Shredded cheese, optional
Fresh basil, for topping, optional
Toast Strips
3 slices of GF bread
Butter
Garlic salt
Parsley

• In a large stockpot, combine tomatoes, carrots, broth, basil and garlic. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.
• Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.
• Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheese and basil if desired.
• While soup is cooking, spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of GF bread slices.
• Cut each bread slice into 4 strips. Sprinkle with garlic salt and parsley.
• In a skillet or on a griddle, cook both sides of toast strips until lightly browned. Serve toast strips with soup. 

• To roast tomatoes: cut tomatoes (I prefer Roma tomatoes) unto halves or quarters. Place tomatoes cut side down on a baking sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Broil tomatoes at 500°F for about 15 minutes. If necessary, cover with foil to prevent splattering in the oven.

Semi-Homemade Savory Cornbread

What goes better with chili than cornbread? I’m not real sure so I couldn’t really post a chili recipe without posting a cornbread recipe to go with it. This cornbread is so easy. It starts with a pre-made gluten free mix which takes away a lot of the work of making the bread base. Add in a few extra special touches and you’ve got a perfect cornbread recipe. The Swiss cheese and leeks really complement each other well. Of course, if you don’t have a diary or gluten allergy, you can always replace with regular cheese and regular cornbread mix.

1 package of GF cornbread mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill)

2 eggs
1 ½ cup milk (I used almond but soy or dairy would work)
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup grated Swiss cheese (I found a diary-free almond cheese!)
¼ cup leeks, finely chopped
1 tsp ground sage

• In a large mixing bowl, blend together cornbread mix, eggs, milk and olive oil – batter will be thick. Blend for about 45 seconds.
• Slowly fold in cheese, leeks and sage – stir with spoon until just combined.
• Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and knife inserted comes out clean.
• NOTE: The cornbread mix said to use a 9x9 pan, which I did. However, the bread came out really thick and the serving sizes were very large. I prefer a thinner cornbread so I will use a larger pan next time. If you use a different pan size, just adjust your cooking time slightly.
• Spread a little butter on top for some extra flavor!

Turkey Veggie Chili

So today I was going to post a recipe for something grilled. However, it is rainy and cold here and we’ve been a bit under the weather. We opted for chili instead! This chili recipe is very mild. You can easily increase the spices to better fit your taste buds! I know exactly what is going into this chili which makes me feel even better about eating it. This is perfect for a cool day and goes great with this homemade cornbread (surprise – two posts in one day!).

1 lb of ground turkey (lean, organic is best – switch out for ground beef if you must)

2 cans of beans (I used organic, white cannellini beans)
2 medium bell peppers, diced (about 1 cup diced)
½ cup mushrooms, diced
½ cup eggplant, diced
½ cup onion, diced
1 tsp garlic, minced
4 cups fresh tomatoes, diced (or 3-4 cans, just omit water)
1 cup water
1 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp ground sage
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
Shredded cheese (for topping if desired)

• In a large skillet, brown turkey. Season turkey with sea salt and pepper. Add in garlic, onions and 1 tablespoon olive oil while turkey is cooking.
• In a large stockpot, heat one tablespoon of olive oil. Saute bell peppers, mushrooms and eggplant in stockpot. Add in tomatoes to veggie mixture. Add in water to stockpot with tomatoes and veggies.
• Once the turkey is cooked through, add that mixture into stockpot. Next, add in your spices and simmer for about 20 minutes.
• Pour into bowls and top with shredded cheese if desired.
• NOTE: Add more or less water, depending on your desired thickness of chili.
•  If you add in some tomato paste (1 tbsp at a time), you can thicken up your chili.

Made Over Loaded Mashed Potatoes

I am not a huge fan of mashed potatoes, but there’s something about them that is just comforting. Unfortunately, throwing a stick of butter and whole milk just takes something comforting and makes it heavy and loaded with fat. Tonight I decided I wanted a home-style side without all of the junk in it. Granted these still aren’t that “good” for you, but should make you feel a little less guilty about having seconds!

5-6 small red or russet potatoes, quartered (skins on or removed)

½ cup almond milk
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 slices of turkey bacon, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup onion, diced
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp salt
1 tsp parsley
½ cup shredded cheese

• Cover potatoes with water and boil for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• While potatoes are cooking, sauté the onions, garlic and bacon together until bacon is crisp.
• Drain water from potatoes and return to pan. Add in almond milk, oil, pepper, salt, parsley and cheese and mash until well blended. (I’ve also used an immersion blender to get the potatoes very soft.)
• Sprinkle with additional cheese or parsley before serving if desired.