Healthy White Bean and Turkey Chili

Yeah so I realize this is only my first post of 2012! And on the very last day of January. Whoops. Can I just say that this month has literally been one of the most busy and emotionally draining I've had? Well, there ya go. It was. Personal reasons (and also very hectic college classes to blame). Well this recipe is realllly yummy and would be perfect for Superbowl dinner.

Plus it is very healthy! And, did I mention, delicious?!?

White Bean and Turkey Chili
from Skinnytaste

Servings: 14 • Serving Size: 1 cup
Calories: 211.5

cooking spray
2 small onions, chopped
5 garlic cloves
2 tsp chili powder, to your taste
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp oregano
2 tsp red pepper flakes (to taste)
3 lbs 99% lean ground turkey
4 16 oz cans of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups of fat free chicken broth
1/2 cup of fat free sour cream
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a large heavy bottomed pot over medium flame. When hot, spray oil. Add onions, garlic, saute about 5 min. Add meat and cook, breaking it up until white, about 5 minutes. Add salt, chili powder, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes. Add beans, broth, cook uncovered about 10 minutes.

Lower heat and cover, simmer about 45 minutes mixing occasionally. Add sour cream and cook 5 more minutes. Adjust seasoning and salt to taste.

Top with chopped red onion, chopped fresh cilantro, light sour cream, jalapeños and reduced fat cheddar if desired.

Sourdough Turkey Pesto Panini

 

I am SO excited that Thanksgiving is just around the corner! It really gets me through frustrating or stressful parts of my day! I even made my very first homemade pie today (okay so the crust was Pillsbury's but no one knew and it was SO easy that way!)- recipe to come soon- and it got me excited for the best pie day of the year.  Mmm!  

So anyways... this sandwich.  Is amazing! It's probably the best sandwich I've ever had.  Well I guess it's technically a panini, not a sandwich although it falls under the latter category.  The key to this recipe is the sourdough bread.  You have to use it.  No substitutions.  I know it just won't be the same.  It might taste alright.  But not amazing, knock-your-socks off good! My husband and I both raved over it.  And the best part- it is so dang easy and uses very few ingredients!  A winner recipe for sure.  I'm sure this would be great with Thanksgiving turkey leftovers also!

Sourdough Turkey Pesto Panini

from Cooking Light

2 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise   

4 teaspoons basil pesto  

8 (1-ounce) thin slices sourdough bread   

8 ounces sliced cooked turkey breast   

2 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese   

8 (1/8-inch-thick) slices tomato   

Cooking spray  

Combine mayonnaise and pesto, stirring well. Spread 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture on each of 4 bread slices; top each slice with 2 ounces turkey, 1/2 ounce cheese, and 2 tomato slices. Top with remaining bread slices. 

Preheat grill pan or large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add sandwiches to pan; top with another heavy skillet (or you can put in a panini press or indoor grill). Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Baked Lasagna x2

My great-grandfather was an Italian chef, so sometimes I like to think that I inherited my love of cooking and all things with garlic, tomato sauce, and noodles, from him.

That would make sense, right? I mean, the tradition of cooking has kind of been passed down through my grandmother, who had an immense love for gardening and cooking, to my mother, who I am quite used to finding in the kitchen, and finally to me.  

(And I shouldn't forget my little sister, I can already tell she will be quite the cook someday; she is already constantly in the kitchen making new things, and she's only 13.)

Apparently, my grandfather was a firm believer in MORE garlic.  More is always better.  So feel free to add a couple more cloves to this recipe; it definitely would not inhibit its fabulousness.  :)

The original recipe, a family favorite, calls for full-fat ingredients, which definitely yields the richest flavor, but in parentheses I put alternatives that I used this time around.  The taste was hardly compromised with the healthier version.  

YUM.

Baked Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef or sausage (or extra-lean ground beef or turkey)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. parsley flakes

1 tsp. salt

1 (1 lb.) can tomatoes (2 cups)

2 (6-oz.) cans tomato paste

10 oz. lasagna noodles

3 cups creamy cottage cheese (or reduced-fat cottage cheese)

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. parsley flakes

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese (or reduced-fat Parmesan)

1 lb. Mozzarella cheese, sliced thin (2% skim pre-sliced works great)

Brown meat slowly, spoon off fat.  Add garlic, parsley, salt, tomatoes, and tomato paste, simmer uncovered 30 minutes.  Cook noodles until tender, drain, rinse in cold water.  Combine cottage cheese with eggs and seasonings.  Spread 1/2 noodles in 9x13x2 pan, spread 1/2 cottage cheese mixture, 1/2 Mozzarella cheese and 1/2 meat sauce; repeat layers and garnish with Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.  Let stand 10-15 minutes to set before cutting.  

Serves 12.

Turkey Enchilada Casserole

Seems like casseroles are a typical family dinner- mix a few ingredients together, layer them in a big pan and stick it in the oven, they're simple and easily feed a crowd!

Us Foster kids grew up on enchilada casserole, tuna pasta casserole, lasagna casseroles, and other different assortments of the popular dish.  Now that I'm a little more nutritionally informed, I'm well aware that these casseroles are not easy on hips or thighs.  Sour cream, full-fat cheese, fattening ground-beef are only a few of the ingredients that concoct these calorie monsters.

But not all casseroles are created equal; even though they may taste like it!  This recipe calls for ground turkey which is leaner and healthier than its red-meat cousin, ground-beef.  I PROMISE that not you, or anyone else will be able to tell the difference. In addition, this healthier version has reduced-fat cheeses and corn tortillas, but is loaded with flavors and spices to vamp up the taste factor.  My family and I thought this was SO yummy, I've already made it twice within the past month!

Turkey Enchilada Casserole
Yield: Makes 8-10 servings

1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/2  cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon  minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried
1/2  teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salad oil or olive oil
1 can (29 oz.) red enchilada sauce
Salt
12 corn tortillas (6 in. wide)
2 cups shredded reduced-fat jack cheese (8 oz.)
Chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, stir turkey, onion, garlic, oregano, and cumin in oil until turkey is crumbly and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup enchilada sauce. Add salt to taste.
2. Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half. Arrange a fourth of the halves evenly over the bottom of a shallow 3-quart casserole, overlapping to fit. Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese evenly over the tortillas, then top with a third of the turkey mixture and a fourth of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading each level. Repeat to make two more layers of tortillas, cheese, turkey mixture, and sauce; top with another layer of tortillas and sauce, then cheese.
3. Bake in a 425° regular or convection oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.  If desired, serve with sour cream.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

249 (20% from fat)

Protein:

27g

Fat:

5.7g (sat 3.1)

Carbohydrate:

23g

Fiber:

1.7g

Sodium:

1048mg

Cholesterol:

58mg