Our version of Turkey Chili...

1 package ground turkey
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced I used half red and half yellow for color.
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder (I just used 1 1/2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp Cumin (I used a little less)
1/4 cup diced jalepeno peppers (I just used one small)
1 can diced tomatoes, chopped fine
1 jar Homemade Chili Sauce
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 small sweet potatoe diced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tsp creole or cajun seasoning blend
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar



I cooked the ground turkey in olive oil until it was done.
I added the turkey plus the remaining ingredients into a crock pot
Let the crockpot do its job and cook for about 4-6 hours.
Sweet but, Spicy. Perfect for those cold days. YUMMY!!!

Teriyaki Chicken

This is perfect for those, "Oh crap, what am I going to make for dinner nights". I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2c. soy sauce
1/2c. brown sugar. (I use a little less because I don't like it this sweet.)
1/4c. butter
1/2c. water
1/2tsp. dry mustard

Boil all ingredients (except chicken) for 5 minutes. Add chicken and bake in a covered casserole dish at 350 for one hour. I've also just fried the chicken until it was almost done poured the sauce over it and turned the heat down until chicken was done. Both ways are good. Serve with rice.

Why-the-Chicken-Crossed-the-Road Santa Fe-Tastic Tortilla Soup

Why-the-Chicken-Crossed-the-Road Santa Fe-Tastic Tortilla Soup
From Rachael Ray's recipes posted on Food Network.

This soup has quite the name but it delivers fantastically. We found ourselves going back for seconds and the boys couldn't get enough of it, so it's definitely a keeper. It makes quite a bit, but not to worry the leftovers are just as delicious, I hope you enjoy. I think next time to speed the recipe up a little bit, we will just use chicken leftover from a whole chicken that we have a night before. I hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Ingredients

Vegetable or corn oil, for drizzling, plus 2 tablespoons -- 2 turns of the pot in a slow stream (We used olive oil)
3 ears corn on the cob or 2 ears fresh-frozen cobs, defrosted
1 red bell pepper, split and seeded
1 pound chicken breast tenders(We used 2 chicken breast sliced thin to cook faster)
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, 1/3 palm full
1 teaspoon cumin, 1/3 palm full
Salt and pepper
1 small to medium zucchini, small dice
1 medium yellow skinned onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 chipotle in adobo peppers (medium to hot heat level), chopped -- available in small cans in Mexican and Spanish food section of market(I just used what green chiles
1 can stewed tomatoes, 28 ounces
1 can tomato sauce, 8 ounces
3 cups chicken stock (unfortunately, I didn't have any on hand so I just used chicken broth)
4 cups blue corn tortilla chips, broken up into large pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar or pepper Jack cheese
1/2 cup sour cream (I omitted this)

Optional garnishes:
1/4 red raw onion, chopped (We used green onions-scallions)
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
1 ripe avocado, diced and dressed with the juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

Heat a grill pan to high and a soup pot to medium high. Drizzle oil on corn and place on grill. Add red pepper to grill with corn. Char vegetables 10 minutes, total, turning occasionally. Remove to cool, 5 minutes. Remove charred skin from the pepper.
While vegetables cook, dice chicken. Add 2 tablespoons oil to hot soup pot. Add chicken to pot. Season with poultry seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper. Lightly brown chicken on each side. Add zucchini, onions and garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables with chicken 5 to 7 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring soup to a bubble, reduce heat to medium low.
Scrape corn off cob and add to soup. Chop grilled red pepper and stir into soup. Add chips to soup in handfuls and fold in. Serve soup immediately with scatter of shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream. Top with any or all of the suggested garnishes.

Creamy Chicken & Wild Rice~Crockpot :)

2 cans(10 1/4 oz ) Cream of Chicken soup (can use regular or light)
1 1/2 Cup water
4 large carrots, thickly sliced (About 1.5 cups)
1 package (6oz) seasoned ling-grain and wild rice mix (I used Uncle Ben's)
8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts halves.

Mix soup, water, carrots, rice, and seasoning packet in a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker. Add chicken and turn to coat
Cover and cook on Low for 7-8 hours or High for 4-5 hours

This dinner is all-around fabulous, it's easy on the prep, you don't have to worry about standing over the stove and burning while you kids are running around, and last but not least you only have one pot to clean. Picture to follow soon.

Taco Taco

Corn Tortillas(small ones)
1 pound ground chicken or turkey
taco seasoning

Take the ground chicken and a little bit of the taco seasoning and mush it together then roll it in a ball. Take a butter knife and spread it on the tortilla (like peanut butter) and place in a pan with olive oil and cook for 2-3 seconds (don't wait too long or it will harden) and fold like a taco to cook the remaining taco meat. Place on paper towel to cool.

Add your favorite toppings: lettuce, black beans, cheese, salsa, tomatoes, avocado, green onion, and olives.

Very quick and yummy dinner.

Berry Smoothie

This is a fast and easy smoothie. I love to give this to my boys when they are having "I am not even going to try what you made for dinner moment" or when they are not feeling well and don't eat well. They love it and little do they know there is spinach in it, if you blend it long enough you can't see it and you honestly can't taste it because the berries are so sweet. I love it too, I usually have one after a good run with some Whey protein powder.

Ingredients:

Washed spinach- fill the blender more than 1/2 full without packing it down, can use frozen about 1/2-3/4 cup.

1-1 1/2 bananas depending on your liking.

1- 1 1/2 cups frozen berries

100% juice, to desired thickness (I use about 1 cup, usually apple juice)

4 oz of yogurt(your choice, vanilla, plain, berry are all great.)

Ice- about 7-8 pieces, depending on desired thickness, I usually skip this because my boys like it a little runny.

Put ingredients in blender. I start with the juice and spinach, blending it up well. Then I add the berries and mix a little bit, slowly adding bananas and ice. Simple as that. If you look at the ingredients you are getting a dose of almost all the food groups~fruit, protein, dairy, and vegetable. Spinach is a great source of iron, bananas have potassium, berries, such as strawberries and blueberries are rich in vitamin C, yogurt is a good source of calcium and does contain protein so keep those things in mind when you blend this yummy treat up and Jamba Juice will never taste the same.

Fast Vegetable Beef Soup

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 can (46 oz) V8 juice (low-sodium, if you want)
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 package frozen mixed vegetables
1 can kidney beans, or any kind you want.(I sometimes omit the beef and just use beans.)

In a large saucepan, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the V8 juice, soup mix, and mixed vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 6 minutes until vegetables are tender. You can also add noodles, if you want. Just add them after the vegetables have cooked for a couple minutes. We like ABC, spiral, or elbow macaroni.Serves 8.(This is a revised recipe that I got from my sister-in-law Jamie It's the fastest soup you will ever make!)

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onion

It came together extremely fast (like all good stir-fry recipes) and the sweet and sour sauce was a perfect. All my boys loved and who am I to complain about that. Of course, I did have a few subsitiutions. I omitted the pineapple, but I am sure that would have been delicious. I also added more vegetables. My little boys love stir-fry so why not put as many veggies as I can because I know they will eat it with the yummy sauce. I add 2 carrots peeled and chopped and 1 cup of edamame.

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple and Red Onion
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Complete Book of Poultry
¾ pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast, cut into uniform pieces
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil(I used olive oil)
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into thin strips
1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits or 2 cups fresh pineapple cut into wedges
3 medium scallions, green parts cut into ¼-inch lengths and white parts minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger(I only had the powdered ginger)
1 recipe sweet and sour stir-fry sauce (see below)

Toss the chicken with the soy sauce and vinegar in a medium bowl; set aside for 15 minutes, tossing once or twice.
Heat a 12- or 14-inch skillet over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes (the pan should be so hot you can hold an outstretched hand 1 inch over the pan for only 3 seconds.) Add 1 tablespoon oil and swirl it so the oil evenly coats the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil until it just starts to shimmer and smoke. Check the heat with your hand as before.
Drain the chicken and add it to the pan. Stir-fry until seared and about three-quarters cooked, 2 ½ to 3 minutes. Scrape the cooked chicken and all of the liquid into a bowl. Cover and keep warm.
Let the pan come back up to temperature, 1 to 2 minutes. When it is hot, drizzle in 2 teaspoons oil. When the oil just starts to smoke, add the onions and stir-fry until just tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the pineapple and cook 1 minute. Add the scallion greens and cook 15 to 30 seconds.
Clear the center of the pan and add the white parts of the scallions, garlic, and ginger. Drizzle with ½ teaspoon oil. Mash into the pan with the back of a spatula. Cook until fragrant but not colored, about 10 seconds. Remove the pan from heat and stir the scallions, garlic, and ginger into the vegetables for 20 seconds.
Return the pan to the heat and add the cooked chicken. Stir in the sauce and stir-fry until the ingredients are well coated with sauce and sizzling hot, about 1 minute. Serve immediately with rice.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons tomato sauce
1 ½ tablespoon pineapple or orange juice (I used orange due to Jens' allergy)
¼ teaspoon salt
Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

~This only took 20 minutes and it was so yummy. I only know this because I put the rice in the rice cooker and I was done before the rice was done. I think next time I will put mandarin oranges in, I just didn't have any on hand.

Eclair Cake

2 3.5oz vanilla pudding
1 8oz Cool Whip
3c. milk
1 16oz package graham crackers
1 16oz chocolate frosting

Blend together pudding, cool whip, and milk.

Single layer of crackers on bottom of 9x13 pan. Spread half of pudding mixture over crackers. Another layer of crackers. Spread the rest of the pudding mixture on top. Another layer of crackers. Spread chocolate frosting on top. Chill for 4 hours.

Oven-Fried Pork Chops (dereks second favorite dinner)

4 pork loin chops, cut 3/4 inch thick
2 Tbsp butter, melted (I've also used olive oil and it works just as well)
1 beaten egg
2 Tbsp milk
pepper
1 cup stuffing mix, finely crushed (I buy the cans of stove top and just put the whole thing in the blender, then I always have some on hand)

Trim fat from meat. Pour butter (or olive oil) into a baking pan making sure to coat the bottom. In a shallow dish combine egg, milk, and pepper. Place stuffing mix in another shallow dish. Dip chops into egg mixture. Coat both sides with stuffing mix. Place into prepared pan.

Bake uncovered, in a 425 oven for 15 minutes. Turn chops. Bake for 15 minutes more.
I like to serve this with rice and I usually double the amount of rice and then we have fried rice the next day.

Sweet 'n' Tangy Shrimp

1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 green onions
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
Hot cooked rice

In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients; set aside. In a large nonstick skillet, stir fry the shrimp, ginger, and garlic in oil until shrimp turn pink.
Add the ketchup mixture; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
Sprinkle with onions and sesame seeds. Serve with rice.

Easy Moist Banana Blueberry Muffins

3 Large Ripe Bananas
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 c melted butter
1 Cup blueberries, either fresh or frozen
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour

Mash bananas in large mixing bowl. Add sugar and egg. Add butter and blueberries. Combine dry ingredients and gently stir into banana mixture. Pour into greased or lined muffin pan and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

These are so yummy, they never last more than a day in my household. I add 1 Tablespoon of flax seed to the mixture for the extra omega-3 boost. Enjoy

Cream Cheese Cookies

1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup of margarine or butter
2 eggs
1/4 t salt
1 3/4 cup of Flour
1 cup of sugar
1 t baking soda

Mix softened cream cheese and butter together, then add eggs and sugar and mix well. Add remaining dry ingredients. Bake @ 350 for 6 to 8 min.

If you love the soft cookies then these are the perfect ones. You can add cream cheese frosting on top but they are delicious without too. Enjoy!!!

Caramel Corn (in the microwave)

1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. corn syrup (can use light or dark)
1/2 c. butter
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
4 quarts popped popcorn
1 brown paper grocery bag.

Cook sugar, syrup, butter, and salt for 2 minutes on HIGH in a microwave save dish. (I just use a big pyrex measuring cup.) Boil for 4 minutes.(You will really have to watch it so it doesn't boil over. I try to use an 8 cup measuring cup to give ample room for the syrup mixture to grow.)Add 1 t. soda.Put popcorn in brown paper bag. Pour syrup mixture over popcorn and stir. Put paper bag in microwave and cook for 45 seconds. Shake. Cook for 45 more seconds. Spread on a cookie sheet to cool.

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Jamie and it is one of our favorites and really easy