Indian Summer Turkey Chili

Cook Time: 25 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 8-10 servings


Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 1/2 pounds ground turkey (85 percent lean) or ground turkey breast (99 percent lean), 2 packages
4 tablespoons dark chili powder, 2 palm fulls
2 tablespoons grill seasoning blend, any brand, 1 palm full
1 tablespoon cumin, 1/2 palm full
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 to 3 tablespoons hot sauce, medium to extra-spicy
1 large onion, quartered
2 large peppers, any color combination, red, green, purple, yellow or orange, chopped
1/2 bottle beer (the alcohol cooks out), about 1 cup
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/2 cup smoky barbecue sauce
2 cups corn kernels, optional


Directions

Heat a pot over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 3 turns of the pan, and the turkey meat. Season the meat with: chili powder, grill seasoning, cumin, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Break up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon into small crumbles.


Chop the onion, reserving 1/4 of it for topping the chili. Brown meat 5 minutes, then add onions and chopped bell peppers and cook 10 minutes more. Add beer and deglaze the pan, scraping up the drippings and cooking off the alcohol. Add tomato sauce and barbecue sauce and bring to a bubble. It using corn kernels add them now. Let chili simmer 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings and heat level to your taste. Remove from heat and serve.


TIDBIT:

To make a double batch, heat 2 pots and make 1 batch in each pot, rather than using 1 massive pot that is hard to control.

Dippers:

Choose from any or all of the following for dipping and scooping into your chili:

Pretzel Rods
Yellow, Red or Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, any flavor
Black Bean Tortilla Chips
Polenta Chips, Plain or Guacamole flavor
Pita Chips, Plain or Spicy flavors
Yukon Gold, Red Bliss or Blue Potato Chips, any flavor

All of the above can be found on either snack aisle or natural foods snack section in your market.

Toppers:

Choose from any or all of the following for topping your chili:

Shredded Cheeses: smoked white sharp cheddar, such as Cabot brand, pepper jack, chipotle Cheddar, 5 peppercorn Cheddar, Monterey jack
Sliced canned jalapenos, drained
Salsas
Sour cream
Chopped raw onion
Chopped green olives and pimentos
Chopped cilantro leaves
Diced tomatoes

Defrosted frozen corn or leftover corn on the cob, scraped from cob

From: foodnetwork.com

Stovetop Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Cook Time: 8 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 8 min


Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 tablespoon butter
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup half-and- half or heavy cream
1 can (15 ounces) artichoke hearts in water, drained and coarsely chopped
2 boxes, 10 ounces each, chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry in kitchen towel
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian 4 cheese blend (provolone, Parmesan, mozzarella and Asiago) available in 10-ounce pouches on the dairy aisle of your market
Salt and pepper
1 round loaf crusty bread: top removed and cubed, bottom hollowed out to use as serving bowl
1 loaf multigrain or whole wheat baguette, sliced at bakery/bread counter in market


Directions

To a medium saucepot preheated over moderate heat, add about 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan in a slow stream. Add butter to oil. When butter melts, add garlic and onions to the pot. Sprinkle in thyme leaves. Saute 2 minutes, add chopped red pepper. Saute mixture a minute more. Sprinkle in flour, stir to coat vegetables. Cook flour 1 minute. Whisk in wine and reduce by half. Whisk in stock and thicken sauce 1 minute. Stir in half-and-half or cream. When sauce returns to a bubble, add artichokes, spinach and cheeses. Keep stirring until cheeses melt and sauce is well combined. Add salt and pepper and adjust seasonings, to your taste.


Pour dip into hollow bread bowl on serving platter and surround with sliced multi or whole grain bread for dipping. Reserve extra dip to warm and refill as necessary. Cut up bread bowl when baguette slices are gone -- the bowl is the best part as it absorbs juices from the dip.

From: foodnetwork.com

From: foodnetwork.com

Sliced Chili Rubbed Flank Steak on Spicy Rice with Shrimp and Guacamole Stacks

Cook Time: 20 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings


Ingredients

2 to 2 1/4 pounds flank steak
1 1/2 tablespoons grill seasoning, a palm full and a half
1 tablespoons dark Mexican chili powder, a palm full
1 lime, zested
Cooking spray or oil to coat grill or grill pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup white rice
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons hot sauce, eyeball it
1 pound small to medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves or flat-leaf parsley
Salt
2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, sliced
2 Hass avocados, halved, scooped from skin and sliced
1/2 lemon
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup crumbled queso Asadero


Directions

Preheat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to high. Rub the meat with a mixture of grill seasoning, chili powder and the lime zest. Let meat stand 10 minutes. Grease grill surface then add meat and cook 7 to 8 minutes on the first side, 5 to 6 minutes on the flip side for medium doneness.


For the rice, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter, and when melted add rice and toast for a couple of minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook for a few minutes to begin to soften the veggies. Add stock and raise heat to bring up to a bubble. Stir in the tomato paste and hot sauce. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot and cook 18 minutes, until rice is tender. Add shrimp to the pot in the last 5 minutes of cooking. The shrimp will steam on top of the rice. Cook the shrimp until pink and firm. Combine the seafood and cilantro into the rice and season with salt, to taste.


Season sliced tomatoes with salt and dress the avocado with lemon juice. Make 4 stacks alternating the tomatoes with avocado and onions.


Slice the steaks and serve on a bed of shrimp rice, the guacamole stacks alongside. Garnish the guacamole stacks with cheese crumbles.

From: foodnetwork.com

Southwest Turkey Burgers

Cook Time: 15 min
Level: Easy
Yield: 4 servings


Ingredients

8 slices turkey bacon or turkey bacon with black pepper or applewood smoked bacon
1 1/3 pounds ground turkey breast, the average weight of 1 package
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large shallot or 1/4 red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional - parsley may be substituted
1/2 small bell pepper, green, red or yellow, seeded and finely chopped
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 teaspoons, 2/3 palm full, ground cumin
1 to 2 teaspoons cayenne hot sauce, several drops (recommended: Tabasco)
2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
Vegetable oil or olive oil, for drizzling
1/2 pound deli sliced pepper jack cheese
4 crusty kaiser rolls, split
1 cup sweet red pepper relish, found on condiment aisle - pepper jelly may be substituted
Red leaf lettuce



Directions

Chop your garlic and veggies.


Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat until crisp. Wipe excess grease from pan and return skillet to heat.


While bacon cooks, combine turkey meat, garlic, shallot or onion, thyme, cilantro or parsley, bell pepper, serrano or jalapeno pepper, cumin, hot pepper sauce, grill seasoning or salt and pepper. Divide mixture into 4 equal mounds then form meat into patties. Drizzle patties with vegetable oil to coat. Cook in skillet over medium high heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. Place sliced cheese over the patties in the last 2 minutes of cooking, use 1 or 2 slices for each patty, as you like.


Pile cooked cheeseburgers into buns. Spread sweet relish or jelly on bun tops and set red leaf lettuce into place, using the relish or jelly as glue. Top cheeseburgers with 2 slices of cooked, crisp bacon or turkey bacon and lettluce. Then serve with tortilla chips, tossed salad and/or spicy o-nuts.

From: foodnetwork.com