Dairy-Free Salmon & Corn Chowder

Serves: 8 people
Hands-on time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min

This recipe is a mashup of two recipes I found online.  One was regular clam chowder but made with coconut milk, and the other was regular salmon chowder with creamed corn.  They both sounded awesome so I made a mix of the two recipes and changed the onions into leeks because I had some in my refrigerator and wanted to use them up. I also had homemade seafood stock in my freezer, but a good quality pre-packaged seafood stock will do just fine. Also, I wasn’t a huge fan of the lemony undertones so I’d probably omit the lemon next time, but if you like your chowder lemony go ahead and add it. Continue reading “Dairy-Free Salmon & Corn Chowder”

Thai Chickpea Stew Over Brown Rice (Vegan)

One night I was making Dirty Rice and was suddenly inspired to make it into a complete meatless meal by adding chickpeas.  I also changed the cooking method and added a packet of thai curry paste.  Oh wow thank you to the divine being that inspired me because this was the best meal I’ve manifested in a while.

It’s wonderful as a main course for a vegan diet.  If you’re not vegan I recommend sprinkling with some crumbled feta cheese (see condiments). If you like meat you can add a cup or so of cubed chicken with the garlic in step 4 and saute for 2 minutes instead of 30 seconds.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 large carrot
1 medium yellow onion
1 stalk celery (optional)
3/4 C chopped red cabbage
1-14 oz can chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans), drained
2 C fresh broccoli Continue reading “Thai Chickpea Stew Over Brown Rice (Vegan)”

Turkey & Potato Curry

I found the original recipe for this Turkey and Potato Curry on the web years ago but I have long since lost track of where I found it.  My notes show that I made several modifications to make it easier to throw together, and a little bit healthier by substituting a few ingredients I didn’t care for.

Serves: 4-6 people
Hands-on time: 40 min
Total time: 45 min Continue reading “Turkey & Potato Curry”

Slow Cooker Sausage with Sweet Vegetables

I found the original recipe in the Wegmans MENU magazine, but made several changes to it to make it not require Wegmans’ prepared ingredients.  It was originally named “Slow-Cooked Italian Sausage Agrodolce” and I figured out after the fact that “agrodolce” must mean sweet vegetables.  Interestingly the recipe doesn’t use “sweet vegetables” but it does use vegetables and a sweet sauce.  It tastes kind of like a German-flavored barbecued sausage.

I know, the flavor sounds weird, but as I sat there eating this concoction I was inspired to state out loud to my husband and guest, “This is damn good.”  So there you have it.

Time:

Prep: 30 minutes
Total: 9.5 hours

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs sweet Italian sausage (links)
1 Tbsp EVOO
8 C sliced green cabbage
2 C sliced red onions
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 C golden raisins (optional)
1-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1-6oz can tomato paste
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 C red wine vinegar
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp honey

bread and salad to serve with
1 6-7 Qt slow cooker

Directions:

1. Slice cabbage and onions and add to bottom of slow cooker. Chop garlic and add that to slow cooker also.

2. Combine raisins, tomatoes, tomato paste, crushed red pepper, vinegar, and honey in a bowl.  Pour this into the slow cooker over the vegetables and spread it with the back of a large spoon.

3. Heat oil in skillet on medium-high heat.  Brown sausage about 5-8 minutes.  Place sausage links in the slow cooker on top of everything else.

4. Cook on LOW for 8-9 hours.

5. Serve on plates or in large pasta bowls, along with some crusty bread and a simple salad.

Nutrition:

6 servings
1 serving = 1 sausage and 1/6 of the vegetables and sauce
400 calories per serving

Curried Turkey and Potatoes

Curried Turkey and PotatoesThis fantastic low-fat dish is easy to make and is a definite crowd-pleaser. My husband could not get enough of it.  We loved it so much we were glad we didn’t have company that night and could save the leftovers for ourselves!

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp grapeseed or olive oil
  • 1 pound leftover cooked turkey, chopped in to small pieces
  • 1/2 large sweet onion
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 1/3 red pepper
  • 1/3 green pepper
  • 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp curry powder or garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 4 Roma or other plum tomatoes
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

1 Chop the onion, celery, peppers, and saute in vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Stir and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to color a bit.  In the meantime, peel and chop the garlic and set aside.  Scrub the potatoes and cut them into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces.

2 Add the garlic, stir and sauté for a minute or so.

3 Stir in the spices, water, and the potatoes, and cover the pot with a tight lid. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.  The potatoes should be tender.

4 Add the chopped turkey, diced tomatoes and peas. Mix well and cover the pot. Cook 2-3 minutes.

5 Stir in the chopped cilantro and remove from heat.

Serve immediately with a simple cucumber salad or leafy green salad.

Note: The version in the photo has shrimp in it as well as the turkey.  I added it because I didn’t have quite a pound of turkey but I think I would have preferred it with just turkey.

Venison (Deer) Stew Recipe

My husband’s friend at work is a frequent hunter so we were recently the beneficiaries of a three pound bag of this delicious lean meat. Last week we finally took it out of the freezer and let it thaw in the frig for several days. Today we have a huge pot of venison stew.

This big pot of stew cost us all of about $6 in vegetables and miscellaneous ingredients, since the meat itself was free!

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If you find yourself with a hunk of venison from a hunter-friend and you’re not sure what to do with it, give this a try, I really think you’ll be surprised at how wonderful this basic stew is. The meat is definitely the star of the show!

Ingredients:

3 lbs venison meat
olive oil
all purpose flour
2 large onions
4 stalks celery (plus some leaves if there are any)
2 large carrots
2 medium parsnips
4 cloves garlic
2 jalapeno peppers
1 can organic diced tomatoes
1 C red wine
5 C beef stock
3 bay leaves
1 Tbsp Herbs de Provence
salt and pepper

Tools:

Large non-stick pot
plastic spatula
large plastic spoon
large santoku-style knife
small paring knife
several small to medium sized bowls
re-purposed scrubber
peeler
wood cutting board

Directions:

  1. First cut up all vegetables and place into bowls. Different vegetables cook differently so I find it helpful to put certain vegetables together: onions and celery, carrots and parsnips, garlic and jalapenos. Then I’ll add the vegetable “groupings” to the pot at the same time.
  2. Cut up the meat into stew sized pieces, cutting against the grain. Place meat in a large zipper bag.
    Add 1/3 C flour, salt and pepper (to taste) to the bag. Seal the bag making sure there’s plenty of air in the bag and shake up the meat to coat it.
  3. Put about 2 Tbsp oil in the pot and turn to medium heat.
  4. Dump half the meat from the zipper bag into the hot oil and brown meat on all sides. This takes about 4-5 minutes. [Don’t worry about doing this perfectly, just toss the meat around every half minute or so and you’ll get most of it browned.] Remove the meat to a large bowl and do the same thing with the other half. Add a little more oil to the pot if needed, about a teaspoon at a time. Remove the second batch to the bowl as well.
  5. Add a tiny bit more oil if you need to, and add the onions and celery to the pot. Saute these briefly until they start to soften.
  6. Add the carrots and parsnips and continue to saute until the vegetables start to brown.
  7. Finally add the garlic and jalapeno and saute for another minute or so.
  8. Add the red wine to the pot and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to release whatever yummy stuff has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Let that simmer for a minute.
  9. Add the meat, tomato, stock, and seasonings to the pot and bring to a boil.
  10. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover, and let cook for an hour. Check it occasionally to make sure the simmer is low and that you aren’t losing liquid. You can add more stock to the pot if you like. Just don’t add stock or water within the last 20 minutes or the flavors won’t all have time to blend.

Serve with crusty whole grain bread, preferably home made!
[Note: Most seasoned makers of venison stew claim that slow cooking is the best method. Deer meat is lean but it is not super-tender in general. I would have to agree that if this stew was made in the slow cooker it probably would be a lot more tender. I have’t tried it yet since hunting season is over, but if you do try that please let us know how it turns out! If you’re wondering how, just put everything in your slow cooker at step 9 and cook it on low for 6-8 hours.]

Nutrition Information:

Servings: 6
Calories: 461
Protein: 55 g
Fat: 11 g
Carbohydrates: 24 g
Fiber: 4 g
Sugar: 8 g
Sodium: 646 mg