Turkey Tacos

We are officially big fans of ground turkey. There are so many different things you can do with it and it is a nice change from chicken. Ground turkey makes great burgers, sloppy joes and tacos! There isn't anything super special about these tacos. Other than the fact that they are made with homemade pico, guacomole a fresh rice, these tacos are basically like regular ground beef tacos. That's right! These tacos were made with a packet of taco seasoning. We were in need of a quick, simple meal. Mexican food always seems to hit the spot. I made the pico by dicing up 4 roma tomatoes, slicing 3 scallions, juicing 1/2 lime, chopping up some cilantro and adding a slight sprinkling of salt and tossing everything together. I like to let it sit overnight to let the flavors soak through. Once the pico and guacamole are made, we layer the tacos in this order: Cheese, taco meat, non-fat plain yogurt, guacamole, pico and olives. Wrap it all up in a tortilla and enjoy!! These make for a great week night meal!

Asparagus, Mushroom and Onion Frittata with Chicken Sausage

I have really been craving eggs lately for some reason. It has been a while since I made a frittata, so I thought this would be the perfect time to make one! I had some leftover veggies in the fridge, so really, this frittata was the perfect thing to make. I sauteed some asparagus, mushrooms, a handful of black beans and 1/2 red onion. I also had a link of chicken sausage in the freezer that I wanted to use up, so I thawed it and cooked it up. This was such a yummy light meal that used up a bunch of leftovers. It was also easy, fast and really inexpensive! Any vegetables could be used. Some bell pepper, zucchini, broccoli and egg plant would all be great too...feel free to experiment. I served this for dinner with a green salad and fresh homemade foccacia bread.

Asparagus, Mushroom and Onion Frittata with Chicken Sausage

1/2 red onion, sliced

1/2 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 link sausage, casing removed and cooked into crumbles

6 whole eggs

6 egg whites

1/3 cup black beans

1/2 tsp. dried rosemary

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

small handful of your favorite cheese

In a large mixing bowl, combine whole eggs, egg whites, rosemary, thyme and a dash of salt and pepper and beat until combined. Spray a medium saute pan that is also oven safe with cooking spray and over medium high heat, saute onions, asparagus and mushrooms until soft. Add cooked sausage and black beans to veggies. Puor the egg mixture over veggies and lower the heat just a bit. Let the egg mixture just begin to set. Pull the edges away and tilt the pan to let the uncooked egg run to the bottom of the pan. Once the egg is mostly set, sprinkle the frittata with cheese and place it under the broiler for about 4 minutes or until egg is set and the top is slightly golden. Remove it from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before cutting into it.

Thai Peanut Noodles with Seared Scallops

Wow! These noodles are unbelieveably good! I am sad that they are already gone. It was a really nice change to have pasta paired with a flavor other than the usual marinara sauce. The dressing is so flavorful and the addition of eddamame, carrots, bell peppers, and scallions added an extra punch of flavor and texture. I am pretty sure that I could easily polish off a whole recipe of this simple salad. The scallops were the perfect protein to pair with the noodles. Scallops have such a light and delicate flavor. They are pretty expensive, so we have scallops only every now and then. We both loved this meal and will be making it again soon!

Thai Peanut Noodles

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 lime juiced and zested

2 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

1 Tbsp. rice vinegar

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. honey

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1 Tbsp. ginger, minced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup oil (I used chicken broth)

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. chili sauce

2-4 Tbsp. water

Toss everything in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. If too thick, blend in more water or oil (I used broth).

1 red bell pepper siced

1-2 carrots cut into matchsticks

1 cup shelled edemmame

2 scallions, sliced

Saute bell pepper, carrots and edemmame briefly just to soften. When softened, throw them in a mixing bowl and add the scallions.

Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions, drain and toss with vegetables. Pour some of the dressing over the pasta and veggies, toss together. Serve with seared scallops on top or your choice of meat.

Don't pour all of the dressing on at one time. As the noodles sit, they absorb the dressing. You will need some reserved to freshen the salad up. I served this meal with a green salad and toasted English muffins. YUMMY!!!

Pesto Chicken Pizza

This past week was my husband's birthday. He told me that he really wanted pizza for his birthday dinner. Since we had some pesto in the freezer, I thought a pesto and grilled chicken pizza would be just the thing to make. I started out with a homemade pizza crust and topped it with homemade cilantro lime pest, grilled chicken, organic Italian chicken sausage, sliced red onion, Kalamata olives, red bell pepper and mozzerella cheese. I also had some pine nuts in the freezer that needed to be used so I threw those on top. The pizza turned out great! I rolled the crust out pretty thin and baked it on a pizza stone. It was perfect! Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. In my opinion, that is just how pizza crust should be. The combination of the grilled chicken and the chicken sausage was wonderful. I only used one link so that the sausage flavor would be present, but not overwhelming. We have really been enjoyed the great chicken sausages that are sold at our local farmers market. They are made fresh everyday, and add a really nice flavor. We will be making this pizza again.

Sweet Potato Fries

Have you tried sweet potato fries? If you haven't, you are really missing out. These things are so good and go so well with a variety of different dishes. Our favorite pairing is to eat them with turkey burgers or any kind of sandwich. Tonight we had them with BBQ chicken sandwiches. Sweet potatoes, or yams, are a staples in our house. They are a great item to have on hand for a quick dinner. They are simple to prepare, quick and take very few ingredients. I don't ever use an exact recipe. I simply peel the potato, slice it into fries, toss them with some olive oil and spices (steak seasoning, chili powder, thyme, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper) and toss them in the oven at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until they are slightly golden and crispy. You really can't go wrong with a combination of spices, just use whatever you have. They are wonderful dipped in hummus, katsup, or fry sauce. Give them a try!

The Best Sloppy Joes Ever!

These are hands down the BEST sloppy joes we have ever had! I can not believe how much flavor is packed into this simple recipe. Plus, they are very healthy! The original recipe calls for ground beef, but I used 97% lean ground white turkey breast. These were hearty, filling, healthy, flavorful and so easy! I served the sloppy joe filling on some wonderful homemade french bread that I made last week which I had in the freezer. I also served some spaghetti squash and potato fries on the side. What a delicious meal! Thanks to Ellie Kreiger from the Food Network, this is a recipe that we will be making over and over. This can even be made in a large batch and frozen for a quick meal during the week.

Sloppy Joes
1 pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed, minced finely
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small can red beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. molases
1 Tbsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. salt
freshly ground black pepper

Brown the meat and the onion in a large skillet over medium high heat for 5 minutes, breaking up the meat into crumbles as it cooks. Pour the drippings out of the pan and discard. Add the garlic, jalapeno and red bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reduce heat to low, and simmer for minutes more. Serve on hamburger buns or french bread.

Spiced Carrot Muffins

I have been on the hunt for the past while to find a good carrot cake recipe. I LOVE carrot cake and so does the husband. I had a good recipe but it used way too much maple syrup (a.k.a. GOLD at our house). That stuff is way too expensive to use massive amounts of in one recipe. After a couple of not so good recipes, I finally found one that we will be keeping around for a while! The best thing about this recipe is that it doesn't use any maple syrup, yet is still very healthy. I found the recipe in Ellie Kreiger's cook book The Food You Crave (which has several great recipes!). This batch of muffins is a bit different than the last. I didn't have any canola oil, so I used additional applesauce and some fat free lemon yogurt. They turned out wonderful! I also added raisins and walnuts because carrot cake is not carrot cake without them to me. These are also wonderful with cream cheese frosting or a scoop of frozen yogurt. I hope you enjoy!!!


Carrot Cake Muffins
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
walnuts (optional)
raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the first 6 ingredients (dry ingredients). In a seperate bowl, combine oil, sugar, applesauce and eggs. Mix until well combined. Add shredded carrots to wet mixture and then add the vanilla. Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until almost all combined. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and fold in until combined. Add raisins and nuts. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and spoon batter in 2/3 full. Bake the muffins for 18-20 minutes.

*I usually double the recipe and freeze them for a great snack!