Seven-Layer Mexican Lasagna

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!

Yep, when you like food (and cocktails),
then you pretty much make every holiday YOUR holiday.

Well, this was all that was left of dinner by the time I got the camera out.
I guess that means it was good!

Here's the casserole I served to my friends at our casual little get together tonight. I sort of made it up on the fly based on many recipes I had seen floating around.

Seven Layer Mexican Lasagna
8 large flour tortillas
1.25ish lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
1/2 of a green bell pepper, diced
1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced
1/2 of a yellow bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup red onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fajita seasoning
1 package of frozen corn kernels
2 cups shredded cheese (sharp cheddar, monterey jack, whatever you like)
About 12-15 tortilla chips, crushed

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Line the bottom with 4 of the tortillas, cutting the edges if necessary.

Next, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, seasoning it with the cumin. Add the enchilada sauce and heat through. Set aside.

In another large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, peppers, red onion, and garlic. Sprinkle with the fajita seasoning. Cook, stirring until fragrant and softened, about 4 minutes. Add the frozen corn and heat through. Remove from heat.

Next spoon the meat mixture over the tortillas in the baking dish. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Then place the remaining 4 tortillas on top of the cheese. Spoon the corn and veggie mixture over the tortillas. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the veggies. Finally, top with the crushed tortilla chips.

Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with cilantro and serve with guacamole and sour cream toppings.

No leftovers - sadness!

Apple-Cheddar Turkey Burgers

Here is another of our favorite turkey burgers that hubby and i love to grill up on a mild spring evening. The idea for the grilled granny smiths was inspired by a Bobby Flay recipe that I came across - but we changed the cheese and added some extra flavor to the burger patties. The ingredients may sound like an odd combination but trust me, dear readers - they come together beautifully!

Apple-Cheddar Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey breast meat
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 small egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup onion, minced and lightly browned in a pan with a bit of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
A pinch of dried thyme or sage or poultry seasoning
1 large Granny Smith apple, cored and sliced cross-wise
4 large slices extra sharp cheddar cheeses
4 buns, toasted
Grilled sliced onions for topping, if desired

In a medium bowl, use a fork to lightly combine the turkey meat, the olive oil, the Worcestershire, the egg, the browned onion, the salt and pepper, the garlic powder, and the poultry seasoning. Divide the meat into 4 equal parts and gently form into patties.

Heat your grill to medium heat. Lightly spray the patties with cooking spray, and put them on the grill. Cook on both sides until the meat is done all the way through - it will take about 4-6 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, spray the apple slices with cooking spray - grill on both sides until slightly caramelized - about 2-3 minutes per side.

Broil the buns with the cheddar cheese for about 2-3 minutes, if desired.

Assemble your burgers, placing the grilled apples on top of the cheese. Top your burger with more onions, if desired. Serve with your favorite sides - enjoy!

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

Here is one of our favorite dishes to grill when the weather is nice. There have been a few mild evenings this February here in North Georgia - but tonight was not one of them. So we fired up the George Foreman grill instead!

Mediterranean Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey breast

2 ounces feta cheese, cubed or crumbled

2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, sliced

3 tablespoons onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons Greek seasoning

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 hamburger buns, buttered and toasted/broiled/grilled

In a medium bowl, combine ground turkey, feta crumbles, sun-dried tomato, onion, Greek seasoning, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss lightly with a fork until ingredients are fully combined. Form the mixture into 4 equal patties, shaping lightly with your hands.

Grill using an outdoor grill, a grill pan on the stove, or (as we did tonight), a George Foreman grill. Cut into the burger to make sure that it is completely cooked, all the way through, before removing from the grill and serving. Remember that turkey meat isn't like ground beef - you can't cook it "medium" - you have to cook poultry until it is well-done.

Place one burger in each of your prepared buns, and top with special tangy sauce, and desired veggies, before serving.

Special Tangy Sauce

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon Greek seasoning

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

Stir ingredients together in a small bowl. Spread generously on your turkey burgers, and enjoy!

Chicken 'n' Dumplings!

This is one of my all-time favorite meals to make. Back when I was a single gal, this was my go-to dinner when I was cooking for one. It's easy to scale to the number of portions you need. The soft, fluffy, doughy dumplings are so comforting, and the chicken and veggies complete the perfect meal.

Also, feel free to get creative with this simple recipe. It's a great way to use up your leftover chicken or turkey meat, but you can totally jazz it up. Add your favorite herbs and seasonings - I usually make it with whatever strikes me that particular day, whether it's parsley, herbes de provence, sage, thyme, savory, poultry seasoning, Montreal chicken seasoning, garlic, onions, Greek seasoning, or - my favorite - a blend of dried Tuscan seasoning. And you can add whatever veggies you happen to have on hand - although using a frozen veggie mix is awfully convenient!

Chicken 'n' Dumplings
3 14-ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups Bisquick
1 1/2 teaspoons Tuscan seasoning (Greek seasoning and poultry seasoning are also great)
2/3 cup milk
1 package frozen mixed veggies
2 cups cooked chicken or turkey, shredded or cut into chunks
Salt and pepper to taste

Pour the chicken broth and water into a large, heavy saucepan. Season the broth with onion, garlic, and ground pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the Bisquick and the Tuscan seasoning. Add the milk, stirring lightly just until a soft dough forms.

Drop the dough by rounded spoonfuls into t he simmering broth. Allow the dumplings to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Then, cover your pot and allow to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Cook mixed veggies according to package instructions (usually just microwave or steam for a few minutes). When dumplings have finished simmering, pour in your mixed veggies and your chicken or turkey and stir together lightly.

Allow the mixture to return to a good simmer, and serve while it's nice and hot!

The Legendary Hot Brown

What is the legendary hot brown, you ask? It is a hot open-faced sandwich dish created by the Brown Hotel in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.

In the 1920s, the Brown Hotel hosted over a thousand guests each evening for its dinner dance. Guests would dance well into the wee hours of the morning before heading over to the restaurant for a late-night bite. Chef Fred Schmidt set out to create something new for these guests, and so he created a unique open-faced turkey sandwich with bacon and a delicate Mornay sauce. Thus, the Hot Brown was born!

The Hot Brown is definitely a local delicacy of the Louisville area, and I have enjoyed it there while visiting my best friend from high school, who is a middle-school teacher there, and when I used to go visit my brother, who attended grad school in Louisville. But I have also seen it in other restaurants, such as Martin's Tavern in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC.

So with our leftover roasted turkey, I decided to try my hand at the original recipe for the Legendary Hot Brown.

The Legendary Hot Brown
From the Brown Hotel

1/2 cup butter
6-8 tablespoons flour
3 - 3 1/2 cups milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste
8-12 thick slices of roasted turkey
8-12 slices of toast
Extra Parmesan
8-12 Strips of Cooked Bacon

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Melt butter and add enough flour to absorb the butter into a thick sauce. Stirring constantly, cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes. This process cooks the flour so that your sauce doesn't taste starchy. Slowly add the milk and Parmesan cheese, whisking the mixture to keep it smooth. Add the beaten egg to the mixture, whisking constantly. Turn the heat down to low and allow the mixture to heat and thicken, but don't allow it to reach a boil. Stirring constantly, continue to cook the mixture for about 8-10 minutes. You will know when it's ready because it will become the consistency of thin pudding. Remove the sauce from the heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat your oven to broil. Spray a small cooking dish or pie plate for each hot brown with cooking spray. For each Hot Brown, place two slices of toast in the bottom of each dish. Next, layer as much turkey as you would like on top of the toast. Finally, pour a generous amount of sauce over the turkey and toast. Place each dish under a broiler until the sauce is speckled brown and bubbly. Remove from broiler, cross two pieces of bacon on top, and sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. Makes 4-6 servings.

PS: Sorry for the lackluster photos - I had to use my camera phone for this one!

Mom's Chili

Chili is just one of those classic dishes that reminds me of a chilly fall night when I was a little girl. No one's recipe will ever compare to my mom's because mom's chili is the culinary manifestation of comfort and warmth. Mom always serves it on a bed of rice, topped with shredded cheese. It's just the best.

Great things about this recipe: It freezes really well in freezer bags. It can be made super-lean by using ground turkey and serving it on brown rice. It can be spiced up with sausage and bell-peppers or spiced down with just the listed ingredients. This recipe can easily be adapted to a crock pot, too. I love coming home to the smell of it after a long day!

Mom's Chili

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 lbs. lean ground beef, bison, or turkey

2-3 cans tomato soup (recommended: Campbell's)

1/2-1 soup can of water (use 1/2 first, adding more as needed)

2-3 15.5-ounce cans kidney beans and/or black beans, drained and rinsed

4 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion and garlic in the oil for 3-5 minutes, and transfer to a large pot or crock pot. Return the empty pan to the heat and cook the ground meat in the pan, draining off all fat when it's cooked all the way through. Pour the meat into the large pot or crock pot with the onions. Add all remaining ingredients, stirring to combine. Simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. You can have this simmer in the crock pot on low for 4-8 hours. Remember to taste the chili and adjust the seasonings (chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper) before serving.

This chili is great served on white or brown rice, on a baked potato, on cornbread, or on its own. Top with cheese, chopped green onions, or fat free sour cream. Enjoy!

Southwestern White Chili

This recipe is very versatile and is a great one for using up leftover chicken or turkey. It's also a pretty lean and nutritious meal that could easily be frozen so that you can have it ready to heat up on a busy winter evening!

I apologize for the lack of photographic aids for this recipe - we ate this up too quickly for me to snap some shots! My dad is absolutely in love with this stuff. I will be sure to take pics the next time it shows up in my rotation of dinners!

Southwestern White Chili

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 14-ounce cans low sodium chicken or turkey broth
2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken
2 15-ounce cans of your favorite white beans, drained and rinsed (cannelloni, navy, great northern)
1 7-ounce can diced green chilies, drained
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons fajita seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Low-fat sour cream


In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the diced onion and minced garlic. Sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion, and stir, allowing the flour to form a paste and cook for about 3 minutes. Gradually add the chicken broth, stirring constantly so that the mixture is smooth. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and thicken - it should take about 5 minutes.

Add the turkey or chicken, the beans, and the green chilies, stirring them into the broth. Season with cumin, fajita seasoning, and salt and pepper. Make sure to check the seasoning yourself so that you can adjust it to your taste! Cover and allow to simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Serve hot, garnished with fresh cilantro and a dollop of sour cream. Cornbread is a great side to go with this dish. Enjoy!

A Passion for Pot Pies

There is nothing like a hearty pot pie to warm you up on these dark, rainy winter nights we're having. My little brother got me this wonderful cookbook for Christmas in 2007, and I have been loving it over the past couple of years.

One of the recipes from this book that has made it into my regular rotation of cozy dinners is the recipe for Turkey Pot Pie - although you can make it with chicken as well. We've even tried it with ham, and it was delicious!

The combination of the creamy, savory turkey filling, the golden crust flavored with thyme, and the sweet and tart cranberries is out of this world.

Turkey Pot Pie with Cranberry-Thyme Crust
(adapted from Pot Pies: Comfort Food Under Cover by Diane Phillips)

Filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken or turkey broth
1 cup whole or 2% milk
4 cups cut-up or shredded cooked turkey or chicken meat
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Spray a 10-inch round ovenproof baking dish with cooking spray. Set on top of a roasting pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a 3-quart saucepan, melt the butter, add the onion, celery, and carrot, and saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes, stirring to form a paste around the veggies. Gradually whisk in the broth and milk, stirring until the sauce is smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cooking for about 4-6 minutes until the mixture thickens. Add the turkey, thyme, sage, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste and adjust accordingly. Transfer the filling to the prepared round baking dish.

Next, prepare the crust.

Crust:
2 cups Bisquick
1 cup milk
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

Place the Bisquick in a mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir gently just until combined.

Drop mixture by heaping spoonfuls on top of the turkey pie mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the crust is golden. Makes 6-8 servings

Italian Stuffed Peppers

Made up an awesome recipe tonight using a few ingredients we had on hand. We're going out of town tomorrow, so I didn't want to have to buy a bunch of groceries. Plus, we've been eating so much heavy food over the holidays that we were both in the mood for something light and fresh! This hit the spot!

Italian Stuffed Peppers

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 green bell peppers
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1/2 lb. ground turkey breast
1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
1/2 cup of your favorite spaghetti/marinara sauce
2 teaspoon italian seasoning (or a combination of fresh chopped herbs: basil, parsley, oregano)
2 cups brown rice, cooked
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons cream cheese
2 slices provolone, cut in half
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large heavy frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, wash the bell peppers. Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove all seeds and veins from inside with a knife and a spoon.
Add chopped onion to the frying pan, seasoning with salt and pepper, and sautee until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add ground turkey and season again with salt and pepper. Sautee the turkey, breaking up into pieces, until cooked all the way through. Add garlic, and cook for 1 more minute.

Turn the heat down to medium, and add the tomato sauce, and sprinkle in the Italian seasoning or herbs. Stir to coat the meat. Add the rice, the parmagiano reggiano, and the cream cheese. Mix until cheese is melted and incorporated.

Place the peppers on a greased roasting pan or cookie sheet. Fill the peppers with the turkey mixture.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbling and sizzling. Remove and top each pepper with provolone cheese. Return to oven for another 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.

Serve with some crusty garlic bread, and enjoy!