Turkey and black bean enchiladas

What to do with a package of ground turkey? ($2.99, on sale!)

I considered turkey burgers, but didn't have any burger buns. Then I thought about turkey meatloaf, but I wasn't feeling it. So I decided to go for turkey and black bean enchiladas.

From skinnytaste.com:

1 lb ground turkey
15.5 can black beans, drained
4.5 oz can chopped green chiles (I used two fresh jalapenos, chopped)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp chili powder
salt
8 flour tortillas
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

For the Enchilada Sauce:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tbsp chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1-1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 cup chicken broth
kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, sauté garlic. Add chiles, chili powder, cumin, chicken broth, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

In a large skillet brown the turkey and season with salt. When the turkey is browned,  add onion, garlic, black beans, cilantro, green chiles, diced tomatoes, cumin and chili powder. Mix well and simmer on low, covered for 20 minutes. Remove lid and simmer an additional 5-10 minutes to reduce the liquid.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put 1/2 cup turkey mixture into each tortilla and roll it. Place on 9x13 glass baking dish seam side down. Top with enchilada sauce and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the oven on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes. Top with low fat sour cream, cilantro or scallions if you wish.

Spicy chicken thighs with rhubarb-cucumber salsa

I worked three doubles back-to-back last week, so by the time my day off rolled around, I was exhausted. All the stuff I'd pre-cooked for the week was gone, but that was okay, because I had a party to cook for. 

Okay, not really a party, more like friends sitting around eating and drinking wine, but it was still a lot of fun. I thawed some chicken thighs I got at Costco and made this. It was a big hit; I was a little unsure of the rhubarb-cucumber salsa at first (raw rhubarb is kind of weird), but after sitting out for a while, it was actually pretty good. Light, refreshing, crunchy.

From Bon Appetit, reprinted below:

1 habanero or two jalapenos, seeded and stemmed
2 garlic cloves
2 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts divided
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
6 large skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
Kosher salt
1 1/2 cups 1/4-inch cubes rhubarb
1 cup 1/4-inch cubes unpeeled seeded English hothouse cucumber
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 500°. Line a baking sheet with foil. Pulse chile, garlic, and white parts of scallions in a food processor until finely chopped. With machine running, drizzle in soy sauce, then olive oil; process until emulsion forms. Transfer sauce to a bowl.

Place chicken thighs, skin side up, on a work surface and slash each crosswise at 3/4-inch intervals down to the bone. Season lightly with salt. Place on prepared baking sheet and brush with sauce. Bake until skin is crisp and an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°, 20–25 minutes. Broil on high for an additonal 2–3 minutes for crisper skin, if desired. Let rest for 5–10 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss rhubarb, next 5 ingredients, and green parts of scallions in a medium bowl to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper and let stand for at least 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.

Serve chicken with rhubarb salsa alongside.

Pepper and feta frittata

The other day, I found a produce stand near my apartment building. You know the places: three walls, a lot of fruit bins outside, selling fruit and produce that is most likely fresher and more local than the stuff in supermarkets, but at much cheaper prices. They had limes 5 for $1, all kinds of apples for $1 a pound, bunches of fresh parsley for 79 cents each. I bought some oranges, grapefruit, a butternut squash, and a bag of peppers.

They were a little bruised, but I didn't care. I got two red, two yellow, and two green bell peppers for $1. Total. When was the last time you got 6 peppers for $1?

So I made this pepper and feta frittata with them.

1/2 onion, diced
4-5 bell peppers, any color, diced
6-7 eggs
1/2 cup cream
1 cup crumbled feta
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Gently saute the onion and peppers in olive oil in a big cast-iron skillet until soft and browned. In a separate bowl, mix together the other ingredients. Pour into the skillet and mix well. Cook until the bottom is set but the top is still runny, 8-10 minutes. Finish in a 400-degree oven until the top is just set.

Bacon, potato and red pepper hash

Ah, hash. I've made white bean breakfast hash, sausage and potato hash, blue potato and corn hash, even sweet potato hash. Really just an excuse to eat crispy-fried potatoes, with other things.

This hash is one of those everything-left-in-the-fridge dishes. I simultaneously used up the rest of the potatoes, the bacon, two giant red peppers, and half a bag of frozen lima beans. And because I'll put a fried egg on top, the rest of the eggs, too.

Feel free to use this as a template, to empty your own refrigerator.

Dice some potatoes, and boil in water until almost but not quite cooked through. Drain. Fry some bacon. Remove the actual bacon and saute one diced onion and two diced red peppers in the bacon grease. When soft, add the potatoes back in, and any frozen veggies. Keep the heat on high and keep an eye on it. Stir it enough to keep it from burning, but not so much that you keep it in constant motion--you want a nice brown sear on everything. (I also threw in four diced mushrooms, just 'cause.)

When sufficiently browned, season with salt and pepper, crumble the cooked bacon on top, and serve with an egg on top. Good any time of day.

Green tomato soup

It's that time of year again: green tomato season. I ripped all my dead tomato plants up, and saved the unripened green tomatoes. They were cherry tomatoes, so I couldn't make fried green tomatoes: I made soup instead.

2 tablespoons butter
4 to 6 ounces country ham or bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
8 medium green tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium red tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds and stem removed, minced
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
dash Tabasco sauce, optional
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat; add ham or bacon, onion, and garlic. Sauté, stirring, until onion is tender. Add chicken broth, chopped green and red tomatoes, and minced jalapeno pepper. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Working in batches, pulse in a blender or food processor until almost smooth. Pour back into the saucepan and add celery salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper and Tabasco sauce, as desired. Serves 4 to 6.

Jalapeno cornbread

I've made buttermilk cornbread before, which is arguably better. However, not having any buttermilk on hand, I made this version instead. I also used some of this jalapeno pesto (thawed), since I didn't have any fresh jalapenos either.

2 cups yellow cornmeal
2 cups flour
1 1⁄2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk
1⁄2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
3⁄4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
3⁄4 cup minced jalapeños
2 tbsp. bacon fat

Heat oven to 425°. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in milk, corn oil, and eggs. Using a rubber spatula, fold in corn and jalapeños; set batter aside.

Heat a 12" cast-iron skillet; melt bacon fat in the skillet. Pour in batter; bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.

Chicken pot pie

What better way to use up a bunch of summer vegetables and leftover chicken?

This is not so much a recipe as it is a guideline. Feel free to use different vegetables. Peas, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, and other kinds of squash are easy substitutions. If you like more sauce, use fewer vegetables. (I like my chicken pot pie not very saucy.) This made two big 8x13 casserole dishes of chicken pot pie, so scale back if you need to.

2 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 package mushrooms, sliced
Cooked leftover barley or rice (you could substitute potatoes too)
Cooked leftover chicken

For sauce:
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
Tabasco

2 pie crusts
1 egg, beaten

Saute the veggies in olive oil until they begin to soften. Add leftover barley or rice to heat through. Stir in the chicken to heat through. Season with salt and pepper, and whatever fresh herbs you may have. (I used parsley, basil, and a little oregano.)

For the sauce, combine the flour and melted butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together. Slowly add the chicken broth, and then the cream and milk. Continue whisking over medium heat until it boils. At this point it will be visibly thicker, like a cream sauce. Remove from the heat, stir in a few drops of Tabasco, and combine with the chicken and veggie mixture.

Pour into two casserole dishes. Place a rolled-out pie crust on top of each. Slice into the pie crust to create vents, and brush each with the beaten egg.

Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, or until the crusts are nicely browned.

Zucchini and polenta casserole

Any summer squash will do. I used green and yellow zucchini, and doubled the recipe.

1/2 tablespoon each olive oil and butter
1 small onion, minced
2 small green peppers, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 medium-to-large zucchini, chopped
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup parmesan
1 teaspoon each fresh thyme, salt and pepper
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Saute the onion and peppers in the olive oil and butter until partially softened; add the garlic and cook for another two minutes. Add the zucchini and cook 4-5 minutes.

Mix the cornmeal, flour, parmesan, thyme, salt and pepper in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs; whisk into the cornmeal mix. Add the cooked veggies to the batter and stir together.

Pour into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 350 until firm, 30 minutes or so. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Black bean dip

I'm going to a pool party today with some very old and dear friends from college. I'm taking this, with some chips.

2 can black beans (or the equivalent amount of dried beans, soaked and cooked)
1 tomato
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 garlic cloves, peeled
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno, chopped
1/2 teaspoon each cumin, chili powder, and oregano
cilantro
salt and pepper

Puree everything together in your food processor, and adjust the seasonings.

Four bean and bacon ragout with green pepper puree and poached egg

This is a less-fancy copy of something we've been serving at the restaurant lately. As you might imagine, it is very delicious, even in the less-fancy version.

I used a combination of four different kinds of dried beans: garbanzo, red kidney, black, and pinto. I soaked them for a day, then threw them into the CrockPot with water and pork broth until they were cooked through.

I then fried up some bacon, and mixed that with the cooked beans. I added salt and pepper to taste.

I cut up two bell peppers, steamed them in a pan with a little chicken broth, then dumped all that into the food processor and pureed it.

To serve, put some green pepper puree in the bottom of a bowl, and top that with bean and bacon ragout. Add a poached egg on top, and more salt and pepper to taste.

It's the most exciting thing I've done with beans in a while.

Bell pepper sauce

This comes in three different colors, and all can be made in the microwave. These are excellent with grilled meats and fish.

Green pepper sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 chopped leek
2 minced garlic cloves
1 chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chicken stock

Cook oil in a 2-quart container in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in rest except pepper, microwave 3-4 minutes. Add pepper, cook for 4 minutes, covered. Puree till smooth.

Yellow pepper sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small chopped onion
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 chopped yellow pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock

Cook oil in a 2-quart container in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in rest except pepper, microwave 3-4 minutes. Add pepper, cook for 4 minutes, covered. Puree till smooth.

Red pepper sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small chopped onion
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chicken stock

Cook oil in a 2-quart container in microwave for 2 minutes. Stir in rest except pepper, microwave 3-4 minutes. Add pepper, cook for 4 minutes, covered. Puree till smooth.

Habanero sauce

Homemade habanero sauce is a great way to use up a summer bounty of hot peppers. Be warned, this stuff is HOT. It's not really meant for eating all by itself, unless you're into that kind of thing. It's a great addition to salsas and soups, though, to really liven things up a bit.

Be sure to wear gloves while chopping the habaneros!

12 habaneros, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice

Saute onion and garlic in veg oil until soft. Add the carrots with a little water. Boil, reduce, and simmer until the carrots are soft. Puree in blender with the peppers until smooth. Combine puree with vinegar and lime juice, and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Thai cucumber salad with roasted peanuts

As people in hot climates already know, eating spicy things when it's hot out will actually cool you off. (Hot peppers = you sweat = sweat evaporates and cools you off.) This is also a great way to use up cucumbers.

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 minced seeded jalapeno
2 minced garlic cloves
3 big cucumbers, halved, seeded, and thinly sliced
3/4 cup sliced red onion
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts

Whisk first five ingredients together. Place cucumbers, onion and mint in large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coast. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve.

Corn chowder with jalapeno and cilantro puree

It's essentially this corn and bacon chowder, with no potatoes, and no whole bacon (I did use saved bacon grease). At the end, I stirred in some frozen jalapeno pesto and some cilantro pesto (which was more cilantro puree than pesto).

Even though it's soup, it still tastes nice and summery: corn, cilantro, hot peppers.

Pizza with fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers

Sometimes homemade pizza is just, you know, average. But when it's really good--it's really, really good.

This is one of those really good pizzas.

This pizza crust + this tomato sauce + rounds of fresh mozzarella + roasted red peppers (I used the kind out of a jar) + grated parmesan on top (in that order). Bake on a pizza stone at 475 until the cheese is melty and browned. Makes one medium-size pizza, which will feed two adults.

Baked feta with roasted red peppers

Roasting feta takes a lot of the tang out of it, and makes it taste much richer and creamier. So essentially you can start with a really cheap-ass block of cheese and make it taste like something amazing, merely by adding heat.

There aren't even any additional ingredients. Take a block of feta, and cut it into large cubes, one for each person. Drizzle a little olive oil in the bottom of a cast-iron skillet. Place the blocks in the skillet, add sliced roasted red peppers (I used the jarred kind), and drizzle more olive oil over the top.

That's it. Roast at 400 degrees for, oh, let's say, 10 minutes or so. Until they're hot and beginning to brown.

Serve immediately, with crackers or bread.

Crockpot red bean and sweet potato chili

I've been on a crockpot kick lately. (Can you tell?) I also paid off one of my student loans the other day. Which is awesome, but it means I have no cash to go grocery shopping with. That isn't really a problem--I have a fully stocked pantry, as you know--but I am completely out of green things, even frozen spinach, and I'm starting to run low on other basics.

In the meantime, I'm trying to get nutrients without greenery. This combination of red beans, sweet potatoes and tomatoes has lots of vitamins and such, and best of all, requires a bare minimum of effort to throw together. That's why I've been using my crockpot so much lately--been eating a lot of beans and lentils, because it's the end of the month, and because I'm lazy.

1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped (I used 1 1/4 jarred roasted red peppers)
6 small sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups pre-cooked red beans
1 14.5 oz can tomatoes, with juice
Chili powder, cumin and cayenne to taste (I used 2 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon and a healthy sprinkle, respectively)
Broth

Saute the onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil in a skillet (on the stove) until soft. Add the seasonings and the sweet potatoes, and cook for another minute. Dump all this into the crockpot and add the beans, tomatoes, and enough broth to cover. Cook on Low for 6 hours. Salt and pepper to taste.

Spinach and red pepper lasagna

This is a variation on both regular lasagna, and sweet potato and red pepper lasagna. I used jarred roasted red peppers and two boxes of frozen spinach, thawed. Essentially it's this lasagna recipe with spinach and red peppers added between the layers. Same tomato sauce and everything.

It's one of my favorite lasagna variations so far; lots of greenery, and the roasted red peppers really give it a nice kick.

Creamy potato and turnip soup with jalapeno puree

As a side note to yesterday's pics of the new place: notice the pot rack, happily hung in the middle of the kitchen. That's the first time I've been able to hang that pot rack in three years; since I left Brooklyn. The kitchen ceilings in both CA and MA were way too low.

So home now really feels like home.

Anyway, so, yesterday I noticed I had a big bowl full of Yukon Gold potatoes that were starting to look a little sprouty and old. I searched the fridge for inspiration, and discovered three turnips left over from a CSA box. Voila: creamy potato and turnip soup with jalapeno puree.

1 onion, diced
A few swirls of olive oil (although I used a healthy spoonful of bacon fat instead)
Several Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
2-3 medium turnips, peeled and diced
Vegetable broth
Seasonings to taste: I used 1/8 cup Italian seasonings, plus roughly 1 tablespoon each ground ginger and cumin, a little cayenne, lots of salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 jalapeno, pureed

Saute the onion in the olive oil in a large soup pot until soft. Add the potatoes and turnips, and enough vegetable and/or chicken broth to float the whole thing. Let that cook at medium-low, covered, until the vegetables are cooked through. Let cool.

Puree the mixture in batches. Add cream and seasonings to the puree, and mix well. Swirl the jalapeno in at the last minute, and serve.

A side note: the turnips just give it an extra dimension of flavor; don't be afraid to use them. (Parsnips or rutabagas will substitute just fine.) Also, don't be tempted to add more than one jalapeno, like I did. A little jalapeno gives this soup just a whisper of heat; more than that makes the soup fiery, which kills the potato/turnip flavor.

Really lovely served with fresh homemade bread--spectacular when you put a little gruyere cheese on that bread, and make a little toasty cheese bread.

Sweet potato and red pepper lasagna

This is a standard lasagna, but with homemade tomato sauce and layers of sweet potato and red pepper between the noodles. It's really delicious--my one quibble is that some of the sweet potato slices didn't cook all the way through. Next time I may roast them first, then mix them in with the cheese mixture.

No-boil lasagna noodles (2 boxes)
Homemade tomato sauce (or, okay, regular tomato sauce would work too)
1 container of ricotta, mixed with 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, and 3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 container fresh mozzarella, sliced
Several handfuls of freshly grated parmesan
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
1 big red pepper, sliced

(Some thawed frozen spinach, with the water squeezed out, would make a fine addition to this lasagna.)

Once you've assembled all the ingredients, layer them: a scoop of sauce on the bottom, noodles, ricotta, sweet potatoes, peppers (then spinach if you're using it), mozzarella, parm, more sauce, repeat until you run out of something, or room in the pan.

Bake at 350 for one hour. Let sit for 15 minutes or so before slicing.