Ground turkey & Orzo skillet

Picked up a couple of pounds of ground turkey today and then when it was time to cook, I wanted to find something easy. This is pretty good and you could change it up pretty easily to incorporate the things you like most. The best part? One large family sized skillet to clean. Even with the spinach and tomatoes, everyone had seconds - probably because it looked so pretty with the dark green of the spinach and deep red of the tomatoes.

This recipe is written to feed 8.

Ground Turkey & Orzo Skillet

2 lbs ground turkey
30 oz. diced tomatoes (approx. two cans or one box)
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 large onion, diced
2 Tbsp. EVOO
1 tsp. dried oregano, basil & rosemary
2 c. frozen spinach, thawed
2 c. chicken broth
1 lb orzo
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

In large skillet or pan, heat EVOO and add in turkey. Cook for a few minutes and then add in salt, pepper, garlic & onion. Cook mixture until turkey is fully cooked. Add in tomatoes, herbs, spinach and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then add in orzo. Cover and lower heat to simmer for about 10 minutes or until orzo is tender. Serve with grated parmesan.

Not a recipe - just an endorsement

Kettle brand Salt & Pepper Krinkle cut potato chips. Hubby looked at me skeptically when I picked them up. He is not skeptical anymore.

Yes, they are still potato chips and not a healthy meal option, but good for a once in awhile treat. This is what it says on the bag:

Our Natural Promise:
Absolutely NOTHING artificial
No Trans fats
No Preservatives
NON GMO ingredients or oils
Gluten Free
No MSG
Only Natural colors & flavors
Real Food Ingredients

Ingredients:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (safflower and/or sunflower oil), rice flour, salt, spices (black pepper, white pepper), yeast extract, garlic powder, onion powder, citric acid, spice extract (black pepper oil), jalapeno powder.

So yeah, unless you are going to make your own (which you can - my mother used to make them for my siblings), this is the brand to buy. A big shout out to Kettle brand for making real food for real people. They will be my choice from now on when I am in the market for chips.

Potato Leek Soup

One of my most favorite parts of working outside my home was being able to eat something someone else prepared for lunch each day. Most days I ate a salad from the grocery store down the street or we picked up soup and salad from a restaurant. The best soup was always the potato leek. I have never made it up until this point, but in browsing the fresh veggies the leeks always seem to call to me. I finally gave in and bought them. After doing some research, this is the soup I ended up with. I don't use cream, half & half, milk or creme fraiche like many of the recipes I found online which makes it a bit less fatty. To cut down the fat even more, you could go with just the EVOO instead of the butter & EVOO.

Potato Leek Soup

2 med. leeks, trimmed of dark green leaves, sliced lengthwise & washed well (Save dark greens)
8-10 small-med. potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
minced garlic (4-5 cloves)
32 oz. vegetable stock*
salt & pepper
EVOO
2 Tbsp. butter

*I made my own vegetable stock using the dark greens & root pieces from the leeks, the carrot peelings & ends, celery leaves & ends along with some herbs, garlic and a large pinch of salt. Just add water enough to cover and then some (about 8-10 cups). Strain the mixture before using.*

Place potatoes into vegetable stock and cook until fork tender.

While potatoes are cooking, dice leeks and saute in a fry pan along with the carrot, celery & garlic in a mixture of EVOO & butter. Remove from heat once leeks become translucent and mixture is very fragrant.

Once potatoes are done, remove from the liquid (I use my spider skimmer) and place into food processor (or blender). Add just enough of the cooking liquid to make a thick, yet soupy base (about 6 cups). Place potato mixture back into the pot and add in the leek mixture. Cook low and slow for a couple of hours, stirring every so often to prevent sticking on the bottom of the pan.

I served this with our homemade sandwich bread which was sliced thick, smeared with some butter and Parmesan and stuck under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes. (Just long enough to melt the cheese and brown the edges. It was a terrific accompaniment.

Angel Food Cake & how to rid yourself of 12 egg yolks

***These recipes were published last fall under another birthday post, however, I made some very slight changes so I am leaving them. If you want to see the original post, click HERE.***


Yesterday our number 3 turned 12. His choice of meal consisted of chicken piccata, mac & cheese, salad and angel food cake with chocolate pudding in the middle & whipped cream for frosting.

When looking at the boxed mix for angel food cake at the grocery store, I noticed it had artificial flavors. For 20 cents more, I could buy a dozen eggs and make a homemade angel cake with no artificial flavors. A bit more labor intensive, but not difficult. So I bought the eggs.

Angel Food Cake

12 eggs whites, room temp.
1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
a pinch of salt
1 1/2 c. flour

Separate eggs making sure you don't get any yolks into the whites. (I use three bowls and my hands to separate. Break the egg and place into your palm with fingers parted just a little bit. The egg whites should slip through into the bowl below. 1 bowl for the yolks, one for the collective whites and the small bowl for the actual separating - this way if a yolk breaks, you haven't wasted all the other whites.) Allow the whites to come to room temp. (About 45 mins. - This is very important!)

Mix together the flour and 3/4 c. sugar in a small bowl with a wire whisk or fork.

Place the whites into a stand mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the salt & flavorings. Whip until frothy. Sprinkle the cream of tartar over the top and begin to whip. Slowly add 3/4 c. of sugar while whipping. Whip until the eggs whites are stiff.

Gently fold in the flour & sugar into the egg white mixture. Spoon into an angel food cake pan and bake at 325 for about an hour or until the top is a deep golden brown. Do not under cook!

Turn over and cool for about 2 hours. Remove from pan and cool completely.


Being as frugal as I am, I couldn't waste the 12 yolks and while there are endless possibilities of ways to use them, I choose the whole wheat Golden Angel Food cake from King Arthur Flour's 200 Anniversary cookbook. Totally different taste & texture, but yummy just the same. I prepared it with the chocolate pudding the middle and whipped cream frosting just as the other.


Golden Angel Food Cake

12 egg yolks
3/4 c. boiling water
Zest of one large orange
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325. Grease only the removable bottom of the angel food pan or line with parchment.

Beat the yolks until thick and lemon colored. Slowly add in the boiling water and continue beating. (I use the whisk attachment on my stand mixer for this). Slowly add in the orange zest and sugar (do not stop beating).

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add in the flour mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan (not bundt) and bake for approx. 45 mins. or until cake springs back when you press lightly on it. Cool upside down for about an hour and a half before removing it from pan.