slow cooker turkey chili

This is the first chili I have ever made, and it worked.. kinda.  It was really tasty, just not a thick chili like the store bought ones or a Tim Hortons chili.  Anyways if you love spice, then you’ll love this, and it’s a lighter option because of the turkey substitution over beef.

Here’s what you need:

• 6 links raw turkey sausage, hot-italian variety (about 1.5 lbs)
• 19 oz canned diced tomatoes, with garlic and onions, undrained
• 19 oz caned red kidney beans, undrained
• 28 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp chili flakes
• 1/4 tsp table salt, or to taste
• 1.4 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Start by removing the casing from the sausage and place in a large slow cooker.  Break up the meat with a spoon.  Add the beans, tomatoes, onion, carrots, celery, and chili powder and flakes.  Stir well to mix it all up together.  Adding the chili powder and flakes now will let the spice mix and brew making it spicier and yummier.

Cover the slow cooker, and cook on a low setting for at least 5 or 6 hours.  For chili, generally the longer it cooks, the better.  A half hour before serving, add the salt and pepper, and any extra spice you may want to include.  Keep in mind this is a very spicy chili, and you will most definitely want to keep a dairy product on hand to cut the spice.

Anyways, try this recipe and let me know what you! If you have a better or different chili recipe, let me know and we’ll do a trade.  Oh and if you’re wondering a serving is about a cup and a half, and the WeightWatchers PointsPlus value is 8 per serving.  A cup and a half was a little much for me, so I generally eat half of that particular serving.  Anyways, ENJOY!

spicy bbq meatballs

Today my boyfriend (Alex) and I decided to make meatballs for dinner (his favourite).  SO I found a recipe that was very easy to follow and was very low on the points scale.  For 10 of these meatballs, it is 5 points, perfect as a protein to a dinner or as an appetizer.  And it is a Weight Watchers recipe – cool.

 

Unfortunately I didn’t remember to take a picture but they are just as good looking as they are tasty.  No lie.  Here’s what you need:

• 1 1/2 lbs extra-lean ground turkey
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 egg whites
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup barbecue sauce

If you have never made meatballs before the instructions are superrrrr easy; start by mixing all the ingredients together very well by hand, and then roll 60 meatballs in your palms and place them on a baking sheet coated with either a cooking spray or olive oil.  Before you roll the balls out, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  When all the balls are done and shaped, bake for 25 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking and becoming delicious, heat the barbecue sauce in a sauce pan over medium high heat until it is hot and ready.  Keep warm and reserve for later.  We added hot sauce to our barbecue sauce to make them spicy and they were tastyy.  Another thing to add to up the heat is chopped hot peppers to be mixed in with the meat.  Just make sure to wash your hands and not touch your face, those things are deadly.

When the meatballs are done, transfer them to a serving dish and pour the sauce over top.  Toss gently and serve immediately.  Enjoy!

seafood and sausage paella

So this is a dish traditionally made in Spain – a kind of stew I guess of whatever is available.  It is best cooked in a paella pan, a large skillet or (as I used) a very very very large pot.  When it’s finished there should be a little liquid on the top and a brown crust on the bottom of the pan.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 lb large shrimp (shell on)
• 1 tsp saffron threads
• 1 tsp hot smoked Spanish paprika or chili flakes
• 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 cup thickly sliced Spanish chorizo sausage
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 lb calamari rings
• 1 lb scallops
• 1 cup fresh chopped tomatoes
• 2 cups short-grain rice – Spanish Valencia r Arborio
• 2 lb cooked lobster
• 1 cup lima beans, green peas or green beans
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 3 green onions, cut into long pieces

This was my first time cooking a paella and I found it was really helpful to prepare everything first.  So I shelled the shrimp and saved the shells (to use later), shelled the lobster, chopped the onion, tomatoes and sausage.

After you’ve prepared everything, combine the shrimp shells, saffron, stock and paprika and simmer for 10 minutes, or until steaming and saffron color and odor is prominent.  When this is done, discard any shell and set the stock aside.

Next heat the oil in whatever pan you’re using.  Add the sausage and saute for one minute.  Add the onion and cook until softened, then add garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the shrimp and cook for two minutes or until half-cooked, then remove and set aside.  Add the squid and saute for two minutes or until white, remove and do the same for the scallops.   Add the squid back into the mix (keeping the scallops in the skillet) and add the tomatoes, sauteing until just limp.

Stir in the rice, then pour the reserved stock and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, covered.  Stir occasionally.  Add the shrimp, lobster and beans and cook for another 5 minutes.  Taste for seasoning. Serve with a sprinkling of parsley and green onions.

This meal moves pretty fast once you start cooking, so preparing ahead is key.  If you’re not big on seafood, try it with chicken, lamb or pork.

asian turkey noodle salad

This one is pretty simple, yet another Weight Watchers recipe, second from the PointsPlus cookbook, and again amazing.  This is a great summer meal and a fantastic picnic or barbeque meal.

 

 

Here’s what you need for this light, fresh noodle salad:

• 4 oz wide rice noodles
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
• 2 tsp asian fish sauce
• 1 tsp chili-garlic paste (I couldn’t find this ingredient, so I used equal parts minced garlic and chili powder to make up 1 tsp)
• 2 tsp canola oil
• 1 lb ground skinless turkey breast
• 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 lb asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3 inch pieces
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tbsp unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions – for mine I boiled them on high for 6 minutes, drained, rinsed under cold water and drained again.  Set aside in a large bowl.

While the noodles are cooking, in a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, lime zest and juice, brown sugar, fish sauce, and chili paste until brown sugar dissolves.  This is your dressing.

To cook the turkey, heal half of the oil over a nonstick skillet over medium high-heat.  Add the turkey, five-spice powder and salt.  Honestly, even though the amount of spice doesn’t seem like it’s enough IT IS!  Believe me.  Cook, breaking up the turkey with a wooden spoon until no longer pink and most of the liquid has evaporated.  Ground turkey doesn’t give off as much liquid as ground beef, there is hardly any and it usually evaporates so there is no need to drain it.  This takes about 5 minutes.  Add the turkey to the noodles.

Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat and add the asparagus, garlic and ginger.  Cook, stirring constantly, just until the asparagus turns a more intense shade of green, about 2 minutes.  Add asparagus mixture to the noodles and turkey mixture in the bowl.  Add dressing and cilantro, and toss to combine.  If you are using peanuts, sprinkle them on top and serve immediately.  We didn’t use peanuts because of mine and my mum’s allergy, but they would be a great bonus.  Also try cashews or pistachios.

This is a great wheat-free, corn-free, yeast-free, dairy-free meal, and for me there was not one thing that I was allergic to, and I’m allergic to 65+ things.  So a great option for everyone and anyone.

stuffed pork roast with cranberry-port sauce

Another weight watchers recipe, and another great meal.  This is the first recipe that I’ve tried from the new Points Plus Cookbook and I have to say I’m impressed.  This recipe is a total of 6 points.

Here’s what you need:

• 2 lb boneless centre-cut pork loin, trimmed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup dried apricots
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries
• 1 large pear, peeled, sliced and cored
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup ruby port wine or cranberry juice (NOT cranberry cocktail)
• 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

Start by preheating the oven to 450 degrees.  This one is an obvious one if you’re using the oven at all, always start by preheating so it’s nice and warm and ready for you right when you need it.

Cut the pork in half lengthwise, leaving a half-inch hinge so it can open like a book.  Open the pork like a book and place in a piece of plastic wrap cut-side down, and cover with plastic wrap.  Pound the pork until it’s about an inch thick, uncover and sprinkle both sides with 1/4 tsp of salt.   Place pork, cut side up, and begin sprinkling apricots and dried cranberries over the pork, leaving a 1/2 inch border at each short end.  Arrange the pear slices over the dried fruit.  From one short end, roll pork up tightly and secure with butcher’s twine.  Rub the pork with rosemary, pepper and salt.

Place the onion in the center of a roasting pan and place the pork (seam side down) on top of it.  Roast for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until a thermometer reads 160 degrees when inserted into the center of the roast – about 50 minutes.  Move the pork to a cutting board, covering with foil and let stand for 10 minutes.

Set the roasting pan over medium-high heat (treating it like a saucepan); add broth, wine and fresh cranberries.  Cook, stirring to scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a boil and cook until the cranberries pop and sauce thickens – about 6 minutes.  Stir in mustard.  Cut pork into 8 slices and serve with the sauce and spinach.