Turkey Soup

There’s a lot of life in that turkey, yet!

Remove as much of the meat as you can from the leftover turkey.  Put the bones on to simmer gently in 10 cups of water for 2-3 hours.  Pour into a colander to separate broth - you should end up with about 7 cups of rich tasting broth.  Refrigerate overnight for any fat to rise to the surface and harden.

To make your soup the next day, remove any fat from surface and put your broth in large pot.  Add:

1 large onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups turnip, finely chopped

1 1/4 cups carrots, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups potatoes, finely chopped

1/4 cup rice

1/2 cup frozen peas

salt and pepper to taste

Simmer gently 20-30 minutes til vegetables are tender.  Just before serving add small pieces of turkey (approximately 2 cups).  I use whatever dark meat I have left at this point saving any remaining white meat for turkey salad sandwiches.

 

High Fibre Multi-Grain Muffins

Here’s an easy way to get Red River Cereal into your diet.  I found this recipe in the Courier Weekend earlier this month, and after making them at home, decided they were worth sharing.  They are a tender, light muffin with a good taste.

1 cup water

1/4 cup Red River Cereal

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cups oatmeal

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400.  Bring water and Red River Cereal to a boil in small saucepan.  Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened.  Cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine egg, oil, buttermilk, brown sugar and vanilla.  Add cooked cereal.  Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until blended.

Place in prepared muffin cups and bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.  Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then cool on wire rack. 

Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits are usually high in fat and are mostly made with shortening, margarine, or butter.  Now, quite often, I use this recipe which combines buttermilk and vegetable oil for a tasty, flaky biscuit.

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 tsp baking soda

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir in oil.  Add soda to buttermilk and stir into flour mixture.  Place dough on floured surface and knead 5 or 6 times until smooth.  Pat down to 1/2 inch thickness.  Cut in circle shapes with a juice glass.  Bake on greased cookie sheet at 400 for 15-20 minutes.  Remove to a rack to cool.  Makes 8-10 biscuits.

Eating Fish And Loving It

I had a piece of haddock that needed to be used up; so at lunch time, I rolled it in flour and fried it in a little bit of grapeseed oil.

After putting it on the plate, I topped it with salsa and ate it with a piece of cornbread.

To round the meal off nicely, I enjoyed some pumpkin custard for dessert.

I enjoyed the combination of haddock, salsa, and cornbread so much that I decided to make this meal one of my regulars.  I have been trying to find an enjoyable way of making fish one of the foods that I have more often.

Oh, and I made the custard with Splenda so that makes this meal even safe enough for diabetics to enjoy.

Stay With You Breakfast

Some breakfasts seem to stay with you better than other ones.  I have found this one stays with me even past lunchtime:

Microwave Oatmeal:  1/3 cup oatmeal, 2/3 cup water.  Combine in good-sized bowl and nuke for 2 minutes.

I top mine with brown sugar Splenda (which tastes like the real thing) and a little milk. 

Finish the meal off with a bran muffin, a piece of cheddar and a cup of coffee.

You will find the bran muffin recipe I use on Cooking From Scratch.  This recipe makes 12 tasty muffins which freeze well.

 

 

Non-Dairy Corn Chowder

1 19 oz can cream style corn

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup potatoes, diced

1 small onion, diced

1/2 cup red pepper, diced

1 tblsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil slightly in medium size saucepot.  Add onion and red pepper;  saute until onion is transparent.  Add potatoes, salt and pepper; saute 2 minutes longer.  Add chicken broth and corn.  Cover and cook on low  heat until potatoes are tender, stirring often.  Makes 3 servings.

Note:  I served with a bran muffin and a piece of cheddar cheese.

Individual Greek Salads

I have a tendency to indulge myself with too much dressing on my salads; so I have found the perfect solution for that problem.

I invested in some miniature containers with covers and mix up individual portions of the dressing which has proven very convenient as well.

Mix your Greek salad with what you like in it - romaine lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, celery, green peppers, feta cheese, and black olives.

For the individual dressing - in each container, measure out 1 tblsp olive oil, 1 tblsp lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp dried mint.  I make it a day ahead so it will have plenty of time to marinate.

This salad makes a wonderful lunch with an unbuttered slice of whole grain bread to accompany it.

Salsa Bean Salad

1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (approx 2 cups)

1 cup salsa

1 celery stalk, thinly sliced

1/4 cup red onion, chopped fine

1/4 tsp cumin

Combine all ingredients a few hours before serving to allow flavors to mingle.  Cover and refrigerate.

I served it with potato salad, a turkey sausage, and cucumber slices.

Curried Cauliflower

1 large cauliflower

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 cup cheddar cheese

6 crackers, crumbled fine

2 tblsp butter, melted

Break cauliflower into florets and wash.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  Put in greased casserole dish.  Whisk soup, curry, mayonnaise, and cheese together; pour over cauliflower.  Melt butter, combine with cracker crumbs and sprinkle over top of cauliflower.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Tuna Burgers

One of the food finds I am most happy with is Burger First which is a President’s Choice product.  It a thin, tasty burger bun which comes in multi-grain - perfect for those of us that are trying to get away from those pouffy white burger buns but still like to have a burger now and again.

It doesn’t have to be a beef burger (although I do still buy ground beef and freeze it in individual patties for those times when nothing else will satisfy that desire for a beef burger).  These buns are equally good for fish burgers, chicken burgers, turkey burgers, even tuna burgers. 

1 (6 oz) can tuna, drained
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 green onion, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup oatmeal
dash of salt and pepper

Combine and shape into 3 patties.  In skillet, heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat.  Cook patties on both sides until nicely browned.  Serve on toasted buns with lettuce, tomato slice and mayonnaise.

Note:  I find these are tastier if you prepare them a little ahead of time, cover with saran wrap and set in fridge for awhile.  The green onion has more of a chance to enhance the flavor.