TURKEY STROGANOFF

I always forget to take pictures, but I'll try to get one of my leftovers. This was a simple and pretty tasty meal.

1/4 package egg noodles
1 Tbs. each butter and olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey
5 or so mini sweet peppers (yellow, red, and orange)
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 Tbs.sweet paprika -- i used regular
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. marjarom
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup sour cream
chopped parsley for garnish



Directions:
Cook noodles till al dente about 6 minutes. While cooking noodles, brown turkey in butter and olive oil. Once brown add chopped peppers, garlic, and seasonings. Cook for about 4-5 minutes then add chicken stock and sour cream. Bring back to boil and then simmer for a couple minutes. Add cooked noodles and stir allowing noodles to soak up some of the "sauce". Garnish with parsley. Done in about 20 minutes or less!!

xoxo Kristen

"The Zone" Kale and Bean Soup with Turkey Sausage

Ingredients:
18 ounces low-fat smoked turkey sausage kielbasa, sliced
4 teaspoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 ½ cups onion, chopped
4 cups fresh kale chopped
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups white kidney beans (or any other cooked beans)
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste


Instructions:
Slice sausage into half-moon, bite-sized slices. In a large pot, heat olive oil then add garlic and onion. Sauté these ingredients until soft. Add kale and sauté until wilted. Add 3 cups of the broth, sliced sausage, and 1 1/2 cups of the beans, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes. Use a blender to mix the remaining beans and broth until smooth. Mix into soup to thicken. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. 


This recipe makes about four 3-block servings in "the Zone".


http://drsears.com/ZoneLiving/Recipes/RecipeArchive/tabid/92/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/16013/Kale-and-Bean-Soup-with-Turkey-Sausage.aspx


- Sarah

Molasses Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted margarine, 1 cup sugar, and egg until smooth. Stir in the molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and ginger; blend into the molasses mixture. Cover, and chill dough for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Roll dough into walnut sized balls, and roll them in the remaining white sugar. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until tops are cracked. Cool on wire racks.

- Sarah

*http://allrecipes.com/recipe/molasses-cookies/detail.aspx           

Baked Potato Soup

...with a side of Jeffrey!

Ingredients

• 3 bacon strips, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• Shredded Cheddar cheese
• Minced fresh parsley

Directions

In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt, basil and pepper; mix well. Gradually add broth. Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, cream and hot pepper sauce; heat through but do not boil. Garnish with bacon, cheese and parsley.

*Recipe from www.allrecipes.com          

-Sarah

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

Last week I made a delicious pizza from the September issue of Cooking Light.  This was a delicious, healthy and different pizza with a twist on taste.  Try it out! It calls for storebought pizza dough, but I made a quick homeade whole wheat crust.

Apple, Goat Cheese, and Pecan Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 (1-pound) six-grain pizza crust
• Cooking spray
• 3 cups thinly sliced Fuji apple (about 8 ounces)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons honey
• 2 cups baby arugula
• 3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 450°.
• 2. Place pizza crust on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Arrange apple slices evenly over pizza crust; top with cheese. Sprinkle thyme evenly over cheese. Bake at 450° for 8 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.
• 3. Combine oil and next 3 ingredients (through honey) in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add arugula; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle pecans evenly over pizza; top with arugula mixture. Cut pizza into 6 wedges.

Enjoy!
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/apple-goat-cheese-pecan-pizza-50400000115789/

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole wheat)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin purée*
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (if you like nuts in your bread)

Preparation

1 Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.

2 Mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts.

3 Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.

Can easily double the recipe.

*Recipe from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/pumpkin_bread/

- Sarah


**Apparently grocery stores only sell pumpkin during the fall season so it was really hard to find this time of year.  I had to go to Walmart; they, of course, had it.**

Pumpkin Pancakes with Bananas

My friend Ellen made these when we visited her a couple weeks ago - they were so good!

Ingredients


1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat, inspired by Ellen)
2 T sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
1 cup milk
6 T pumpkin puree
2 T melted butter
1 egg
1 chopped banana (my addition)


Preparation


In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients together.  In a small bowl mix milk, pumpkin, butter and egg together. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients.  Melt some butter in a skillet and pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.  Drop banana pieces onto the poured pancakes before flipping.


These are really good and a refreshing twist to regular pancakes.  I added bananas because they make everything better!

*Recipe from http://www.marthastewart.com/271839/pumpkin-pancakes

- Sarah