at home with ann

This version of Sloppy Joes is lightened up with ground turkey, and packs a bunch of vegetables into the mix.  My brother-in-law, who might be my most loyal reader, lived with us a few years ago, and probably remembers the Sloppy Jane. It used lentils instead of meat and was even healthier than this version.  After the lentil taco incident, which some of you may recall, I've stayed away from those particular legumes for the time being. Turkey Sloppy Joes Ingredients: 1 lb. ground turkey 1 zucchini, shredded 1-2 carrots, shredded 1 onion, shredded or chopped 1 garlic clove, shredded or chopped Olive oil Salt and pepper 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 8 oz. tomato sauce 1/4-1/2 cup barbecue sauce Rolls, for serving In a medium saucepan, saute zucchini, carrots, onion and garlic until soft. I shredded everything in the food processor, but you could also use a box grater or just chop finely. When vegetables are cooked through, move them to the side of the pan and...

My big Le Creuset soup pot is in near constant use during the winter.  I love a bowl of soup with a baguette for dinner, and leftovers can be eaten for lunch the next day while trying to juggle a 4 month old baby who makes it his life mission during every meal time to hurl himself onto the table and try to grab all the food. For a kid who has never actually eaten anything solid, he puts a lot of effort in.  He swiped an orange slice off Colin's plate the other day and spent several minutes trying to get it into his mouth.  Another foodie in the making. This is a healthy and hearty meal that is family friendly.  Although, if you have a small child like mine who is wary of soup and usually bathes in it instead of eating it, it's easy to portion out the components onto a tasting plate.  You can easily make this vegetarian friendly by substituting white beans for the meatballs and vegetable broth. Italian Meatball Soup recipe from Skinny Taste Ingredients: M...

Sometimes turkey burgers can be bland.  Or dry.  Or you try to cook them on the grill and they don't work because they are so low in fat.  These turkey burgers, however, were delicious.  Adding a couple extra ingredients gave them a great texture and flavor, and the layer of goat cheese on the bun was just the thing to take them to the next level.  After photographing, I topped with a little bbq sauce and lettuce, but you can roll however you like.   Colin and I eat dinner at the early-bird-special hour of 6:00.  Now that daylight savings has come this means it's light enough when we eat to photograph my food with the benefit of natural light as opposed to the yellow hue of our dining room chandelier.  Colin finds this fascinating, and this photo shoot went like this: C: What are you doing with your plate on the window sill, Mommy? A: I'm taking a picture so I can share the recipe. C: I'll help.  I have a bite? A: I'm almost done...

I can't believe I haven't share my Turkey Chili recipe with you.  It's one of my staple meals that I know will make a lot of delicious food, with even better leftovers.  The exact recipe changes based on my mood and what I have on hand, so it's always evolving.  That's one of the best things about chili, and I encourage you to make it your own.  You can also throw everything into the crock pot and cook it on low all day.  Turkey Chili Serves 6+ 1 pound ground turkey 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 jalapeno, chopped 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 Tablespoon ground cumin 1 Tablespoon chili powder 1 teaspoon coriander 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper kosher salt and pepper 4 chiplotes in adobo, chopped (adjust based on your spiciness preference - we like it hot!) 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 14 oz. water 28 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed 14 oz. can red beans, drained and rinsed 1 cup corn (no need to thaw if...

Continuing my recent obsession with cornbread, today we have tamale pie.  I've never made tamale pie before, but now that I have it's going into the regular rotation.  Similar in concept to shepherd's pie or leftover Thanksgiving pie, the protein, vegetables, spices and sauce make up the bottom layer with the carbs on top, and the whole thing gets baked together.  In this case, sort of a taco bottom with cornbread topping.  This recipe is merely a starting point, as with many things, you can customize it based on your tastes and whatever you have on hand.  Tamale Pie Serves 6-8 Ingredients: Olive or canola oil 1 package ground turkey (mine was 20 oz.) 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed 1 bell pepper, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 3 chiplote peppers in adobo sauce, minced 1-2 teaspoons cumin 1-2 teaspoons chili powder kosher salt and ground black pepper 1 14 oz. can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes 1 recipe cornbread 1 jala...

I'm guessing you don't need anyone to tell you how to make a burger.  Whether you like beef, turkey, chicken, bison, tuna or veggie, I'm willing to bet you have a recipe that works for you.  I like them all.  One of the reasons I like burgers is because they are all about the toppings, and if you saw my refrigerator door, you would know that I am no stranger to condiments.  That being said, I will not bore you with directions to make burgers, only say that these are turkey burgers and I went with the oven baked cooking approach.  And half the reason I used that cooking method was because I already had the oven on to bake the sweet potatoes.  We're all about multi-tasking around these parts.  What I will share are the toppings, because they were good.  Melted cheddar cheese (on top of and under the burger), barbecue sauce , sliced apples and romaine lettuce .  My taste tester commented that they would have gone to a whole new level if we...

I have made a lot of different lasagna and lasagna-type dishes.  Vegetarian, with squash instead of noodles, with goat cheese instead of mozzarella, with white sauce instead of marinara; there are endless options.  This time, however, I wanted to go classic.  Tomato meat sauce, noodles, and gooey cheese.  I intended to add a layer of spinach leaves to get a little more nutrients in the mix, but I can barely remember my name these days thanks to pregnancy brain, much less things that aren't on my shopping list.  A quick Google search brought me to the always wonderful Pioneer Woman.  Not one to shy away from baked meaty, cheesy goodness, I knew she wouldn't steer me wrong. When the power went out on Sunday, and we were deciding what to do with all the food in the refrigerator, the fate of the leftover lasagna was top priority.  I'm happy to say our porch made an excellent alternative refrigerator, even colder than the real thing, and it reheated won...

This week got away from me!  Between birthday celebrations, a wedding and family stuff, it's suddenly Friday and I have no blog posts to show for myself.  I will tell you that some of the highlight foods of the week were Red Beans and Rice and Carrot Apple Ginger Soup .  The lowlight was the night I was so tired I couldn't muster the energy to make anything more interesting than pasta.  In my 30+ week pregnancy fog, I thought to myself that I would jazz up the pasta with some goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and olive oil.  I had the brilliant idea of softening the sun dried tomatoes in the microwave, so I put them in a bowl with a little olive oil, turned it on, and promptly wandered away and got distracted by Facebook.  I was jolted back to reality by the smell of burning sun dried tomatoes.  They went in the trash, I substituted fresh tomatoes, and opened all the windows to air out the kitchen. Last Saturday we attended the wedding of our wonderfu...

This pasta bake has all the components of traditional lasagna: noodles, tomato sauce, meat, onions, garlic, ricotta and mozzarella cheese.  Instead of layering, it's all just tossed together and sprinkled with cheese, a much easier and quicker dish. One night this Fall I was eating dinner with my then-4 year old nephew and he was a little wary of it, as 4 year olds tend to be.  We described it to him as a combination of pizza and lasagna.  He said, I don't know if I like pizzagna, and then ate most of it. Not-Lasagna Pasta Bake or Pizzagna Ingredients: olive oil 1 pound ground turkey, chicken or beef - I used ground turkey 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 1 onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon dried basil 1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon dried parsley 2 cups uncooked pasta (I used rotini) 1/4-1/2 cup ricotta cheese 1/2-1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese In a large saute pan or soup pot (something with at least 2 inch sides), heat a little olive...