White Turkey Chili

I normally make chili in the crockpot and let it sit for like 4 hours but I'm still learning my time management skillz of staying at home and taking care of everything being the Family Manager, so I made it on the stove.  It was really easy to make and only took like 45 minutes to cook once I had everything cut up!

White Turkey Chili

1 lb ground turkey
5-6 cups homemade chicken stock
some kind of oil or butter to saute the veggies with
1 vidallia onion (I diced it up really small)
a hearty helping on minced garlic (like 2 spoonfuls full)
2 ribs of organic celery (I also diced these up small)
1 poblano pepper, seeds removed and diced (I only used one because I don't like a lot of spice, you can add more if you want)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cans of organic great white northern beans, drained and rinsed
grated cheese, we use seriously sharp Cabott block cheese
a dolop of sour cream
ground white pepper
 *you can leave off the cheese and sour cream for a healthier option, but it won't be as tasty

Directions:

1. In a big pot on med-high heat, cook the butter and and onions until the onions are translucent.  Add the garlic and stir so the garlic doesn't burn to the bottom of the pot.
2.  Add the celery, peppers, and cumin and cook until tender.
3.  Next, add the turkey.  Since turkey is softer than ground beef, I add it in chunks so it is easier to break it up.  Make sure it is cooked throughout before moving to next step.
4.  Add the homemade chicken stock and beans.  Bring to a high simmer.  Reduce heat to keep it at a simmer and cover pot for like 30 minutes or so.  (I didn't really time this, I just cleaned up the kitchen and when I was done, I decided it was ready).  If it looks like there isn't a lot of soup part, you can add more stock or water.  We like the soup part, so I added more half-way through this step.
5.  Ladle out into bowls, add a dolop of sour cream, some shredded cheese and top with white pepper.

For throwing something together to use up some ground turkey, my hubby really liked it.  Plus, I love one pot meals! Other than a cutting board, knife and cheese grater, there isn't a lot of clean-up involved - my favorite. *It looks like there is a ton of sour cream, but the chili was hot and it slid down the mountain.  I was hungry and didn't want to plate a third bowl just for pics - this was my second attempt bowl. *

Whole-Wheat Chicken Alfredo Pizza

The other day I made chicken Alfredo pizza for dinner.  It was so easy, I made it again for dinner the next day!

Here is what you will need:

for the crust:
1-2 cups of whole wheat flour, it will depend on how your flour and yeast mingle as to how much you will need
1 pouch of pizza dough yeast
2/3 cup warm water
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of salt, I use kosher

for the sauce (adapted from 100 days of real food):
2 tablespoons of organic butter
1 cup of organic heavy whipping cream
2-3 tablespoons of whole wheat flour
1-2 cups of extra sharp cheddar cheese, I used Cabot (I didn't have any parm at the house, so I substituted.  I do this often)

toppings:
I used frozen organic broccoli, fresh sliced de-seeded tomatoes and leftover shredded chicken from this recipe.  If I had some on hand I would have also added shredded carrots or maybe some caramelized onions. 

For the crust I just followed the directions on the packet.  Heat your oven to 425F.  The whole wheat will make the dough a little stickier and will cook up thicker than if you were to use all-purpose flour.  If you don't like the dense crust you can use half whole wheat and half all-purpose.  You could also cook the crust for like 5 minutes before adding any of your toppings to help make the middle of the crust seem more cooked.  Note, the crust will rise if you do this, just gently push it back down when you pull it out of the oven before adding the toppings.  I also spray the pan down with olive oil Pam before putting the crust down on it so that I don't have a huge cheesy-baked-on mess to clean up after dinner.

For the sauce, heat the butter and cream on medium heat until it becomes slightly thick.  Turn the heat down so that it doesn't boil.  Mine seemed kind of thin for pizza sauce so I added some flour little by little until it thickened up until how I wanted it.  Whisk continuously so that it doesn't burn.  Since I only use block cheese, I shredded it before putting it into the pot.  Put the shredded cheese into the pot and whisk up until it thickens up.  Set it aside or put the burner on warm while you add the toppings to your pizza.

Next add your toppings to the pizza.  I don't like to leave a lot of crust room since I don't like plain crust, so I usually go as close to the edge as I can with all the goodness.  Once you have your toppings arranged how you want them, pour on your sauce.  I had some left over which I used the next day for the second pizza.  You can top it with more shredded cheese if you want, but the sauce is pretty cheesy so you don't have to.  Then put it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.  I have a convection oven so it doesn't take as long.  Let it sit for a few minutes after taking it out of the oven so that the sauce can settle up some and it doesn't run everywhere when you cut it.

I served it with a simple salad of organic greens, cucumber and tomato with unsalted sunflower seeds.

It was so easy to make, even with a baby babbling at me the whole time.  I love to pretend I'm a cooking instructor like Julia Childs when I cook in front of her.  She likes to a show with her dinner, so it is win-win.

Don't you love my dough-rolling-out skillz?

Cheesy goodness

Dinner side salad