Tag: red bell peppers

Turkey and Pumpkin Chili

With lots of leftover roast turkey, I went looking for a turkey chili recipe and discovered this one at AllRecipes.Com:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/pumpkin-turkey-chili/Detail.aspx

It was a good starting point for an after Thanksgiving meal using leftover turkey. Obviously you could use ground turkey in place of the leftover roast turkey

Ingredients

  • 1 roasted turkey thigh, de-boned and chunked. This should produce about 1-1/2 cups of dark meet.
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped finely
  • 1 15 oz can tomatoes
  • 1 15 oz can dark red beans
  • 1 15 oz can pureed pumpkin
  • 1/2 to 1  cup chick broth
  • 2 tbs olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp oregano
  • salt to taste
  • 2 oz grated cheese (cheddar or jack)
  • 3 chopped scallions
  • Sour cream

Putting it all together

  1. Add olive oil to a pot and heat over medium heat
  2. Add chopped vegetables (onion, pepper, and garlic). Saute until softened
  3. Add turkey. If using ground turkey, cook about 5 minutes or until the turkey is nearly cooked through.
  4. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, an beans.
  5. Add enough chicken stock to reach desired consistency.
  6. Add chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, cocoa power, oregano.
  7. Add salt to taste
  8. Bring to a boil and reduce heat.
  9. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serves 5-6.

Condiments

Serve with chopped scallions, grated cheese, and sour cream.

“Nancy likes them” chickpeas and chorizo

If its almost good enough for Nancy, it's almost good enough to share! This dish was inspired by a Mark Bitten recipe in the New York Times. Adding sherry or lemon juice would be a nice addition. Certainly other greens could be substituted for the Romaine lettuce. (Bitten used spinach.) I've never been a big fan of bread crumbs, but Bitten used them.

This was a last minute (actually about 20 minutes) dish to take to a pot-luck dinner. I was in a hurry and didn't have his recipe at hand, so I used ingredients I had on hand. Not a big fan of chickpeas, this turned out to be "almost good" according to Nancy...

Ingredients

  • 4 Tbs olive oil
  • 3 cups cooked chickpeas or 1 29 oz can of chickpeas
  • 1/2 sweet onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 pound chorizo sausage, diced
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/3-1/2 cup cilantro, sliced (to taste)
  • 1/2 head of Romaine lettuce
  • salt and pepper to taste

Putting it all together

  1. Rinse, drain, and dry the chickpeas
  2. Add 2 Tbs olive oil to a large, heated skillet
  3. Add the chickpeas and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally,  until they begin to lightly color. As they are ready, they will begin to pop slightly and achieve a slightly crunchy texture.
  4. While the chickpeas are cooking, roughly chop the lettuce and dice all the vegetables and chorizo into a medium dice.
  5. Remove the chickpeas to a bowl.
  6. Add 2 Tbs of olive oil, the onion, pepper, and chorizo to the skillet. Cook until the onion and pepper are soft and the sausage is lightly browned.
  7. Add the lettuce and chickpeas to the skillet and cook until the lettuce is slightly wilted.
  8. Taste for seasoning
  9. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro
  10. Serve hot or at room temperature

Brown rice with chorizo, kale, and white beans

I used a short-grained brown rice for this and cooked it in a traditional risotto style. The result was very much like risotto. The stems from kale take longer to cook. In this case I chose not to use the stems, but if cooked a little longer, the stems could be used. Brown rice takes about 50 minutes to cook, so this is not a 30 minute meal. It was a great Saturday evening meal.

Serves 3

Ingredients

  • 1/2 red bell pepper,  diced medium
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced medium
  • 4 scallions diced
  • 3 cups kale leaves
  • 4-5 oz button mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 cup short-grained brown rice
  • 1 14 oz can white beans, rinsed
  • 1/2 cup chorizo chopped
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 4 tsp olive oil
  • 1 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Procedure

  • Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in sauce pan over medium high heat
  • Add chorizo to the oil and cook for 2 minutes
  • Add kale and cook until the kale has wilted, about 2-3 minutes
  • Add garlic to oil and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
  • Add onion and cook until softened
  • Add remaining chopped vegetables to the pan and cook until softened.
  • Remove the vegetable mixture to a bowl  and add 2 tsp oil to the pan
  • Add rice to the pan and cook about one minute to coat the rice with oil.
  • Add about one cup of stock to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally until the stock is absorbed.
  • Continue adding stock about 1 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed.
  • With the final cup of stock, add the vegetables and chorizo to the rice along with the drained white beans.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and Parmesan cheese

Fettuccine with shrimp and ricotta

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1/2 red bell pepper,  diced medium
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion, diced medium
  • 4 scallions diced
  • 1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
  • 1/2 lb. peeled shrimp
  • 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/4 cup 1% milk
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/3 lb fettuccine
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 Tbs salt

Procedure

  • Bring water to boil
  • Add salt and fettuccine
  • Stir the fettuccine to avoid sticking
  • While fettuccine is cooking (about 8 minutes), begin the sauce
  • Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium high heat
  • Add red pepper flakes to the oil
  • Add garlic to oil and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
  • Add onion and cook until softened
  • Add red bell pepper to the garlic and onion mixture and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add scallions to the mixture and cook 1 minutes
  • Add shrimp and cook until just turning pink, about 3-4 minutes
  • In a small bowl, combine the ricotta and milk to thin the ricotta; add to the sauce and mix until throughly combined
  • Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Drain the fettuccine and add to the sauce; toss or fold the pasta to combine with the sauce and heat through.
  • Garnish with freshly ground black pepper and Parmesan cheese

Possible garnishes

Chives, parsley, or other fresh herbs

Black bean and roasted corn soup

A quick black bean soup recipe for two.

Ingredients

  • 1 15 oz can black beans.
  • 2 cups chick stock
  • 1/2 cup roasted corn (I used Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn)
  • 1/2 small onion, diced
  • 1/2  red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 garlic clove(s) finely chopped or pressed through garlic press
  • 1 Tbs olive oil
  • 1 canned chipotle pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (more or less to taste)
  • 2 scallions roughly chopped.
  • 1/4 lime

Procedure

  • Add the olive oil to a hot sauce pan.
  • Add garlic to oil and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
  • Add onion and cook until softened
  • Add red bell pepper to the garlic and onion mixture and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Drain and rinse black beans; add the beans to the peppers, garlic and onions.
  • Add roasted corn to the pan.
  • Chop and add chipotle pepper to the pan.
  • Add chicken stock to the pan and bring to a boil.
  • Taste and adjust seasoning.
  • Garnish with chopped scallions and lime juice

Variations

Vegetable stock can be substituted for chicken stock for a vegetarian dish. Chipotle chile powder can be substituted for the canned chiles.

Possible garnishes

Chopped fresh cilantro
Sour Cream

Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salad

This is an easy salad to throw together. I usually give it a southwestern flair by adding hot peppers, but they can be reduced or eliminated for those who prefer less heat.

Ingredients

  • 1 10 oz bag of frozen roasted corn. (Trader Joes sells this in the frozen foods aisle. I substituted regular frozen corn)
  • 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1/4 - 1/2 vidalia or other sweet onion
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • zest from one lime
  • juice from one or two limes (about 1/4 cup)
  • 1 jalapeño pepper (optional)
  • 1 tsp chipotle pepper powder (optional)
  • 2-3 fresh scallions
  • 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

  • If roasted corn is not available, heat a 10-12 inch skillet over high heat. (Cast iron would work well for this.) When hot, add 2 tbs vegetable oil to the skillet and  the bag of frozen corn. Spread the corn evenly over the bottom of the skillet and allow to cook until slightly charred. With a spatula, turn the corn so that other sides can brown.  Initially, the corn will give off moisture. When you begin hearing the corn "pop" a little like popcorn, you will know that is ready to take up.
  • Chop the red peppers, vidalia onion, and scallions into a small dice.
  • Slice the cherry tomatoes in half
  • Mince the jalapeño pepper. I usually remove the seeds and membrane. Jalapeños vary in heat intensity. You may want to taste it to determine how much  you want to add.
  • Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss
  • Taste to adjust seasoning.

Variations

I sometimes add about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of salsa to the salad. Choose your favorite.  An avocado based dressing is also a nice addition.  (One mashed avocado, juice from one lime, and about 1/3 cup olive oil.)