Soup and Chili Round Up

I know it's the summer and hot out everywhere,

but I'm a fan of soup and chili at any time of the year.

I have blogged about quite a few of those over time,

and today I'm sharing a round up of some of my favorites!

Baked Potato Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup*

Corn Cheese Chowder

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Spicy Turkey Chili*

Taco Soup*

*These soups are easy to make in a large batch and freeze for future meals.

I like to freeze mine in pint sized mason jars for easy individual portions.

I didn't include any soups in this group with potato, squash or cream 

as I find those don't freeze and reheat as well.

This post contains affiliate links meaning I may get a paid for certain purchases.

Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili

Growing up, my mom used to make a delicious chili using ground beef.

I didn't eat beef for many years, so I modified her recipe to use ground turkey instead.

I almost always have some of that kind in individual portions in my freezer,

but I was intrigued by this turkey chili recipe, so I decided to give it a try!

The Goods:

Ground Turkey

Sweet Potatoes

Onion

Tomato Sauce

Diced Tomatoes

Pinto Beans

Garlic

Chili Powder

Garlic Powder

Cumin

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper Flakes

Peel and dice your sweet potatoes and set aside.

Brown your ground turkey and drain the grease.

On top of the ground turkey, place sweet potatoes, pinto beans and diced onion and garlic.

Now add your tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and spices.

Mix everything up in your slow cooker...

And cook on low for about 8 hours, 

until sweet potatoes are fully cooked and tender.

Serve yourself a bowl of this hearty chili.

Top with your desired garnishes, dig in and enjoy!!!

This chili was a hit!

I loved the addition of sweet potatoes,

so I'll absolutely be making this again! 

Turkey Sweet Potato Chili

(Adapted from I Wash You Dry)

1 Pound Ground Turkey

1 Large Sweet Potatoes, Peeled and Diced

1 Onion, Diced

1 15 Ounce Can Tomato Sauce

1 15 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes

2 15 Ounce Cans Pinto Beans

1 Clove Garlic, Minced

1/2 Teaspoon Chili Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Cumin

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

1. Brown your ground turkey and drain the grease.
2. On top of the ground turkey, place sweet potatoes, pinto beans and diced onion and garlic.
3. Now add your tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and spices.
4. Mix everything up in the slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours, until sweet potatoes are fully cooked and tender.
5. Top with your favorite chili garnishes, dig in and enjoy!

Spicy Turkey Nachos

MMMMM nachos!!!

Boy do I love me some nachos.

If I'm craving them, I have to have them.

Otherwise the craving just never goes away.

I will seriously crave them until I have some!

And now that I've gone on and on about my love of nachos,

let me show you how to make some that are super easy and tasty!

The Goods:

Tortilla Chips

Taco Meat

Spanish Rice

Black Beans

Shredded Cheese

Avocado

Pickled Jalapenos

Green Onions

Plain Greek Yogurt

Fresh Lime

I like to layer all the goodies, so I don't end up with all the hearty stuff on top,

and just sad, dry, boring chips left alone on the bottom.

For this batch, I did the following:

A thin layer of chips, followed by meat, beans, and rice.

Then sprinkled some cheese on top of that layer.

Followed by two more layers done the exact same way.

Lastly, I added some jalapenos to the top layer.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees,

then pop your nacho dish in the oven for a few minutes.

Keep an eye on it, and pull it out when the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Once it's nice and hot, remove from the oven and

add fresh squeezed lime, avocado, green onions and greek yogurt.

Now grab a ton of napkins (this IS finger food) and dig in!!!

Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

One of my friends is always posting pictures of dinners she makes.

They always look so good and make me so hungry!

She recently posted Stuffed Peppers that she made.

They looked amazing and I couldn't help but ask for her recipe.

She didn't follow a recipe, but instead just made it up herself.

I was impressed and couldn't wait to make them!

And now here I am sharing their deliciousness with YOU!!!

The Goods:

Cooked Quinoa

Ground Turkey

Onion

Garlic

Jalapeno

Bell Peppers

Corn

Black Beans

Green Chilis

Tomato Sauce

Taco Seasoning

Cheddar Cheese (Not pictured - oops!)

Saute your onion and garlic until fragrant.

Add chipped jalapeno and ground turkey.

Cook until the ground turkey is browned.

Season with taco seasoning and then add tomato sauce.

Stir to combine with ground turkey mixture.

Add your corn and black beans, then stir again.

Now time for the quinoa!

Add that and stir.

Last, add the green chili and stir one last time.

Prep your peppers by washing, deseeding and cutting them in half.

Then stuff, and I mean STUFF, them with your turkey quinoa mixture.

Spray your covered baking dish with cooking spray.

Add the number of peppers you want to bake and cover with cheese.

I only baked three of the eight I prepared,

but froze the remaining ones to bake sometime soon!

Cover the baking dish and bake for 40 to 50 minutes.

Ta da!

Now time to dig in and enjoy!!!

If you want the peppers to be less crisp, you can do one of two things:

1. Cook a little bit longer 

or 

2. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the dish before baking.

Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers Recipe

4 to 5 bell peppers

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 onion - chopped

1 garlic clove - minced

1 jalapeno - minced

1/2 cup black beans

1/2 cup corn

1 can green chilies - diced

7 oz can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon taco seasoning

fresh cilantro

fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

cheddar cheese - shredded

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant. 
3. Add jalapeño and cook one minute.
4. Add ground turkey and brown.
5. Season with salt, pepper and taco seasoning.
6. After five minutes or so, add tomato sauce 
7. Once cooked, combine in a bowl with quinoa, black beans, corn and green chiles.
8. Add chopped cilantro and parsley to your liking
9. Put mixture into peppers. 
10. Spray a Dutch oven. Put the peppers into a Dutch oven and cover the peppers with cheese. 
11. Put the lid on and bake 40 to 50 minutes.

Individual Turkey Sloppy Joe Portions

I've always loved Sloppy Joe's.

They're easy and tasty and remind me of being a kid.

But since I'm usually cooking for just myself,

I didn't make them too often.

Why?

Because I didn't want to eat them for so many meals in a row.

That is until I got smart!

One day I decided I would make a whole batch,

eat a helping and freeze the rest in individual servings.

GENIUS!!!

You could do this with any Sloppy Joe recipe,

but keep reading and see how I made mine!

The Goods:

1 Pound Ground Turkey 

1/2 Cup Chopped Onion 

1/2 Cup Chopped Green Pepper 

2 Tablespoons Water 

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Salt 

8 Ounces Ketchup 

Dash or Two Hot Sauce 

1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce 

1 to 2 Teaspoons Chili Powder

Hamburger Rolls (Not Pictured)

Chop up your Green Pepper and Onion.

Saute the Green Pepper and Onion, 

then add your meat and start browning.

Once cooked, remove as much excess oil/fat from the pan.

Add the remain ingredients, stir and simmer for 5 minutes or so.

If your'e not freezing any, serve and enjoy!

But if you are freezing some keep reading.

Put liners in muffin pans and spoon in Sloppy Joe mixture.

Flash freeze in freezer for an hour or two.

Remove from muffin pan and packaged individually.

Freeze in freezer bag until ready to use!

Inez's Turkey Burgers

Now that summer is basically here, 

I'm sure there will be lots of grilling going on.

So now is the perfect time to talk about some yummy burgers!

A few weeks ago, my friend Inez, who's a foodie like me, 

told me about a Turkey Burger she made that was amazing.

She said she wasn't going to make them any other way again!

After hearing that, I KNEW I had to give these burgers a try.

I got the recipe from her and made the burgers shortly after.

And she was right - they are amazing!!!

Since they were so good, I asked her permission to share the recipe on my blog.

And lucky you - she said yes!

Take a look below at how you make these simple, yet delicious burgers.

The Goods:

1 Package Ground Turkey

2 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Cilantro

2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic

Juice from 1/2 Lemon

4 Teaspoons Cholula Hot Sauce

1  Teaspoon Ground Cumin

Salt and Pepper to your liking

Buns

Lettuce

Avocado

In a large bowl, combine turkey, cilantro, garlic, 

lemon juice, hot sauce, cumin, salt and pepper.

Divide mixture into six and make into burgers.

From here - you can either cook them right up, or with in a day.

OR you can do what I did - cooked one to eat now and froze the rest for future use!

I froze mine with wax paper between and in freezer zipper bags.

Cook the burgers FULLY. This is turkey, so it can't be raw!

If you want, be a lil naughty and add cheese like I did!!

Then make you delicious burger, serve it with a side and enjoy!!!

Confession - I not only added cheese, 

but there's a tomato on the final product too!

Now go make these super tasty turkey burgers yourself. 

I'm pretty sure you'll thank me, but really you should thank Inez!!

Homemade Soup: Taco Soup

I saw this soup recipe on a blog I read and it sounded amazing!

I couldn't wait to make it and give it a try.

I did so not too long after spotting the recipe.

And I haven't blogged about a homemade soup in awhile,

so I thought it was time I shared another yummy soup on my blog.

This recipe is so easy to make and gives you quite a few servings. 

I made enough to eat for a few meals and then freeze some for later.
(Note: I've found that it's easier to freeze soup in individual servings.)

Take a look below at the process and then give it a try.

I'm pretty sure you'll like the outcome - I sure did!

The Goods:

 Ground Turkey (or Beef)

Taco Seasoning - Packet or Homemade

Onion

Bell Pepper

Black Beans

Kidney Beans

Pinto Beans

Corn

Rotel Tomatoes

Diced Tomatoes

Ranch Packet

Brown the meat, add the onions and bell pepper and sauté.

Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

Simmer at least 30 minutes - if not longer.

Garnish with Sour Cream, Cheese and Green Onions!

Dig in and ENJOY!!!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 35

I'm back with a real quick Sunday Night Dinner post! 

It's been awhile since I've done one of these posts, 

but I'm here now to tell you about this dinner that includes an amazing recipe reminding me of my childhood!

Growing up, I remember having meatloaf on a pretty regular occasion. 

I loved it. I ate it without complaining! That is until I gave up eating beef! 

I don't think I've eaten a bite of meatloaf since then...until today!!!

I made mini turkey meatloaves with a slice of bacon on top. 

I wasn't originally planning on adding the bacon, but I'm real glad I did! 

The meatloaves were super moist and delicious. Very similar to how I remember mom's tasting!

With the meatloaf, I made some carmalized sweet potato rounds. 

They were SO GOOD and I will be blogging about them very soon.

Finally, I finished the meal with a green vegetable - frozen peas. 

Yes folks, I said frozen peas! I actually really like them and think they went with the meal quite well.

All in all, I think tonight's meal was a great Sunday Night Dinner!!!

Homemade Spaghetti and Turkey Bolognese!

I hadn't made homemade pasta in awhile, so a few weeks ago I busted out my trusty pasta maker and went to town! I made half a recipe of a simple egg dough, letting it rest for a few hours before rolling it out and cutting it into spaghetti.

 I usually serve my homemade pasta with a simple marinara or an olive oil based sauce, but this time I wanted to change things up and give turkey bolognese a try! I'd never made a bolognese  but I thought I could handle it! After looking at a few recipes, I decided on this yummy sounding one from Giada de Laurentiis.

Take a look below at the process of making both the pasta dough and the sauce.

The Pasta Goods:

Flour

Eggs

A lil Salt 

THAT'S IT!

Put flour in a big bowl and make a well. Crack the eggs and mix them in with a fork until dough is starting to come together. Continue to mix it a little longer by hand.

Then dump it onto a floured surface and go to town kneading. 

I kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes, give or take. 

The top shows what it should look like when you're done kneading.

Wrap it in plastic warp and let it rest for a few hours, or even a few days in the fridge!

Once you're ready to use the dough, cut into 4 pieces. Flour the top and form each piece into a flattened disk. Run the dough through the pasta machine and then cut into spaghetti.  

Now that the pasta is done, let me tell you all about the sauce!

The Bolognese Goods:

Ground Turkey
Crushed Tomatoes
Celery
Carrot
Onion
Garlic
Basil
Flat Leaf Parsley
Parmesan Cheese
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Prep all your goods!

Heat a little olive oil, sauté your onions and garlic. Once onions are translucent, add the carrots and celery and cook a few minutes. Then add the ground turkey and cook completely. Finally, add the crushed tomatoes and fresh herbs. Stir everything to combine and simmer for about 30 minutes. 

Since I made fresh pasta, it only needs to cook for a few minutes. While that was cooking, I added fresh parmesan to the sauce. Toss the sauce with the pasta and save a little sauce to add on top. I served mine with homemade garlic bread and some oven roasted corn on the cob.