CityMama™

Turkey Chili With Green Chiles and Orange

I'm not lying, this is the tastiest, most flavorful turkey ANYTHING you will ever eat. And for those on Weight Watchers (like I am), I calculate this at 7PP per one cup serving (without toppings).

STEFANIA'S WHITE TURKEY CHILI WITH GREEN CHILES AND ORANGE

This is a riff on my friend Abi's white chicken chili which she adapted from Epicurious.

 

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1/4-1/2 tsp chipotle powder (I love it in all my chilis, but if you don't like the smoky flavor you can omit)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (it's what I had on hand)
• 1 package ground turkey, crumbled (extra lean or regular)
• 1 15 ounce can of hominy, drained
• 1 15 ounce can of pinto beans, drained
• 1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans, NOT drained
• 1 heaping tablespoon of chicken base
• enough water to just cover all the meat/beans when added (about 2 cups)
• 1 4-ounce can of mild fire-roasted chilis (Ortega)
• 1 4-ounce can of hot fire-roasted jalapeños (also Ortega)    
• half an orange
• 1/2 cup whipping cream (or omit, but I use it)

 

Toppings (set these out in bowls and top as you wish!)

• lite Mexican shredded cheese (TJs)
• chopped onion
• chopped cilantro (leaves only)
• diced avocado
• fresh or pickled jalapeños
• fresh lime
• baked (or not) tortilla chips on the side

 

In a Dutch oven, saute turkey, onion, garlic, and spices together in a little olive oil until turkey is well-browned. Add in the remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the cream. Bring to a simmer and then reduce to low and cook for at least an hour. Check liquid level and add a little more water if needed. If you can let this sit overnight—it's even more delicious the next day.

Just before serving, remove the orange half and reheat the chili and stir in the cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve with toppings.

This baby wants to be made of nachos

This recipe (not that you need a recipe for making nachos) is pretty much the opposite of that BS recommended diet section of that BS "What To Expect When You're Expecting" book. (Granted, I haven't read the latest version and I'm not gonna.) Now that I'm feeling better, I am back to eating my daily salads again, but really, this baby wants all nachos all the time.

This is the version I've been making at home. If you have a Mexican market with a deli near you, then nacho-making is easy (not that it's hard if you don't), but if you don't just go with grocery store equivalents of everything you see below. Locally, I shop at Mi Pueblo and you can find everything below there.

 CITYMAMA NACHOS

• 2 lbs of ground beef prepared with two packets of taco seasoning according to package directions
• A bag of thick-cut tortilla chips, preferably freshly made
• A jar of Tostitos nacho cheese with or without salsa added (What? They sell it at the Mexican market, it's "authentic!")
• Shredded Mexican cheese blend (preferably with Asadero cheese included)
• A 12-16 oz container of refried beans (Warm, from the Mexican deli. At Mi Pueblo they are creamy and silky, probably from all that lard. Shhh!)

Preheat broiler until very hot. Scatter chips on a baking tray to cover, letting them overlap, and top with about half the seasoned ground beef and half the refried beans, or as much as you like. Spoon half the jar of nacho cheese over the meat and beans and scatter shredded cheese over all. Place baking tray in oven about 3 inches under broiler and cook nachos until edges of chips start to get lightly brown and cheese melts, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from oven and top individual portions with:

• Crema Mexicana
• Pico de gallo or any other chunky salsa (I use pico de gallo so I don't have to chop tomatoes, onions, and cilantro)
• Avocado salsa or guacamole (I prefer the avocado salsa from Mi Pueblo)
• Chopped green onions
• Sliced olives
• Sliced jalapeños en escabeche

Shovel into your face because it is that good.

Makes enough to serve a hungry family of four for dinner (it's all we eat for dinner sometimes) with enough for seconds (for those who want them: J. and Bunny) and enough ingredients to have leftovers the next day. Which, if you're me, you will want.

So yum, I must show another picture:

P.S. Don't even ask me about Weight Watchers points.  I'll worry about that in the Spring of 2011.

Easiest Fish Tacos Ever (especially if you live near Trader Joe's)

This recipe is healthier than regular fish tacos because the fish isn't fried and the dressing is the best-tasting low-fat dressing you will ever put into your mouth. (That's high praise from someone who usually makes her own salad dressing.  It's really that good.) The kids gobbled this up.

• 1 package seasoned, frozen mahi mahi fillets from Trader Joe's (defrosted)
• 1/2 a head of cabbage, shredded (or a bag of shredded cabbage for slaw)
• Galeo's Miso Caesar* dressing (if you can find it) or your favorite dressing
• taco-sized tortillas (I always prefer corn, but whole wheat or brown rice works just as well)
• limes, quartered
• cilantro leaves for garnish

Grill (preferred) or bake mahi mahi according to package directions. In the meantime, toss the cabbage with dressing to taste (a little goes a long way), and set aside. Warm the tortillas.

When fish is done, cut into taco-sized "fingers". Place one finger in a tortilla, top with dressed cabbage,  and serve topped with cilantro leaves and drizzled with lime. Serves a family of 4.

THE BEST.

*found locally near me at Piazza's market.

Vegan Chickpea, Carrot, and Potato Burrito Filling

A saute of chickpeas, carrots, diced white potatoes, and sliced Field Roast artisan vegan potato-apple sausage will be tucked into warm tortillas, topped with salsa verde, and devoured. Wish you could smell my house right now!

iPhone photo edited on the fly with the Camera Bag app using the Helga filter.

Roasted pork loin with yellow kiwi, white peach, and tomato pico de gallo

It's our 15th wedding anniversary today, and I made this for dinner:

Bunny's dinner plate

Not for us (we went out to the restaurant where we had our wedding reception), but for my sister who volunteered to babysit for us tonight. Sisters who babysit deserve nice food, don't you think?

Summery Pink Plum Salsa

Here's what I ended up doing with all those plums. 

I can understand why my girls don't like plums. The juicy sweetness of a perfect plum can be a little tempered by the bitterness and chewiness of the skin. I'm not about to peel plums for them (and they don't like jam) so they can eat them this way. 

SUMMERY PINK PLUM SALSA

I threw everything in the Cuisinart (pulsing the plums first, then the rest of the ingredients), but you can hand chop for a chunkier salsa. The sweetness of the plums really lends itself to salsa. Don't be afraid to use plenty of salt to bring out all the plummy flavor.  This would also be yummy with grilled fish or pork or chicken.

• 10-15 ripe plums (depending on size), quartered and seeded (not peeled)
• 1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 seeded serrano pepper, finely diced
• a good packed handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
• juice of one lime
• zest of half a lime
• plenty of salt

Chop, whiz, or otherwise combine ingredients. Serve with thick tortilla chips. Makes about 2-3 cups of salsa.

Bowl: Hipster bowl (small) by Rachael Ray.

Easy Grilled Stuffed Pasilla Peppers

photo credit of pasilla peppers: What Did You Eat?

I still can't find the cord thingy that allows me to download pictures from my camera and I really, really want to get this recipe posted so you can try it for your summer BBQs so I'm winging it without my own photos because, well, I just can't wait any longer.

I loved stuffed pepper (and cabbage) of all kinds, but I particulary love sweet pasillas filled with melty cheese. I made these for our Father's Day barbecue. It's a variation of a dish my mom used to make when we were growing up and can be many things once you get the basic recipe down.  You can usethe stuffed peppers to make a fancier chile rellenos or top them with a cooked Mexican red tomato salsa (I love the El Pato brand in the small yellow cans) and crumbled cotija cheese—anything goes.

STUFFED PASILLA PEPPERS

This recipe is perfect for a large group. Serve one stuffed pepper per person.

Serves 12

• 12 fresh pasilla peppers
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 1/2 tsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped (leaves stripped from one stalk, chopped)
• 1 4-cup package of shredded Mexican cheese blend (not the Light or Lowfat kind, the cheeses aren't the same)
• salt to taste
• cilantro leaves for garnish

Combine onion, oregano, cheese, and salt in a mixing bowl and set aside.

Prepare pasilla peppers for grilling:

Fire up your grill to a medium-hi.  Grill peppers until they are charred and blistered and blackened on all sides, about 5 minutes per side with the grill lid shut but do peek every once in awhile to make sure they aren't burning. Once charred, remove them from the grill and place into a large paper grocery bag. Roll the bag shut and let the peppers steam in the bag for about 10-15 minutes.

Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, remove the skin. I use a paper towel to literally "wipe" the skin right off. Once the peppers are "de-skinned", make one slit down the side lengthwise, and carefully scrape out the seeds leaving the peppers in tact as much as possible. Don't worry, you can man-handle them a little bit. They can take it.

Using your fingers—this is going to get even messier—stuff each pepper full with the cheese mixture, close them up, and put them slit-side down in a lightly oiled baking dish. Continue until all peppers are stuffed and snuggled together in the baking dish. 

Bake in a 350º oven for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted.  Garnish dish with cilantro leaves before serving.

And until I can post my pics, please enjoy these mouth-watering photos!

I'm Mad and I Eat
Coconut & Lime

The easiest Chile Verde (Green Chili) ever

Okay, this is not as authentic as making it yourself (not by a long shot), but when you're in the mood for tender pork goodness, this'll do.  This is for everyone who thinks they don't have time to cook.

You take these four things and whack 'em into a heavy, covered, oven-proof pot. Mine is cast iron:

1 28-oz-can of green chile enchilada sauce, 3-4 pounds of cubed pork shoulder*, two smashed cloves or garlic, juice one one lime.

You stick the whole shebang in the oven at 350º for at least two, but no more than three hours. I like to do this the night before while we're having dinner, baths, stories etc. By the time I go to bed, tomorrow night's dinner is ready. See? You can do it.

Then, you get this:

Put up some rice in your rice cooker, open up a can of Bush's chili beans (or black beans), and warm up the chile verde you made the night before. Easy and delicious!

Note: You can add sauteed onions and tomatillos to the chile verde before sticking it in the oven if you want to be fancy.

*Yes, you can use chicken. I'd do bone-in thighs, but that's just me.

Veggie Chili (in 15 minutes)

I don't know about you, but this massive beef recall has me completely grossed out.  Even though we try to buy organic beef, especially ground beef, I'm thinking I'm just done with the whole commerically-raised-beef thing. Is organically-raised beef really any better if it's mass produced? I keep thinking: could we have somehow eaten that beef?  Where could I have had it?  I just made bolognese sauce, and even though I used organic ground beef, what if? what if? Upton Sinclair must be rolling over in his grave.  How far we HAVE NOT come.

Because of this, and in order to support our five-year-old's continued vegetarian quest, J. and I have decided to experiment with only cooking vegetarian meals at home (and saving meat for date nights). Would we become completely vegetarian? I don't know. I don't think so. We eat a pretty flexitarian diet as it goes, limiting red meat and trying to make the bulk of the 21 meals I prepare each week be mostly vegetables and protein other than from meat.

J. suggested we start the vegetarian thing after our vacation so a few nights ago, that is what we did. 

I usually have several kinds of beans on hand, and if you do, too, vegetarian chili is a cinch.  Sometimes I like to add a little more "meatyness" to the chili with the addition of some sort of TVP product like Gimme Lean or Morningstar Farms Meal Starters (veggie crumbles), but you certainly can leave it out.  TVP certainly comes with it own set of controversies.

VEGETARIAN CHILI CITYMAMA-STYLE

This recipe can easily be made vegan by omitting the dairy products.

• a couple glugs of olive oil
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cans Bush's chili beans (or your fave), do not drain
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 can pinto or cannelini beans, drained
• 1 bag Morningstar Farms Meal Starter Crumbles (or 12 oz of equivalent TVP product), optional
• a tablespoon or two of tomato paste (I use the double-concentrated kind in the tube)
• 1/2 palmful of ground cumin
• salt and pepper to taste
• a splash of red or white wine vinegar
• garnish: shredded cheese, cilantro leaves, chopped onion, chopped tomato, avocado chunks, jalapeño slices, sour cream, lime wedges

In a medium pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is lightly browned. Dump in beans, crumbles/tvp if using, tomato paste, cumin, and salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes stirring occasionally. Just before serving, remove from heat, splash in some vinegar and stir once more.

I served this with warm corn tortillas and creamed corn on the side. Offer garnishes and let people top their own.

Turkey Taco Salad

A photo of Monday night's dinner.

I love taco salad. I still remember the first time I ate it at my aunt's house. I couldn't believe the flavor explosions happening in my mouth. I think I was 12 and my life was changed forever. My aunt's salad was made with ground beef sauteed with taco seasoning mix and tossed with Wishbone Italian dressing...which I still love to this day.

Over the years, I must have made a hundred variations on the theme. In my opinion, to make a really great taco salad all you need is a protein, some cheese, some beans, lettuce, dressing, and corn chips.  Everything else is embellishment. I like embellishment in the form of olives, chopped onions and tomatoes, diced avocado, a scattering of fresh cilantro leaves, and maybe some sliced jalapeños.

For this week's salad, the protein was garlic roasted turkey, the cheese was Spanish manchego, the beans were white beans, the lettuce was romaine, and the dressing was homemade ranch (much prefer the mix-it-yourself packets to the bottle) mixed with salsa (about 3 parts dressing to one part salsa). I also added chopped green onions and cilantro. I know I'll be making this one again.