Did somebody say chili?

I haven't been eating a lot of meat...not a conscious decision but today my body was definitely craving it.  Since I have been trying to approach this holiday season as calorie conscious as possible, I wanted to have something on the leaner, healthier side so I found this great recipe for turkey and white bean chili!


I really wanted the chili to have a ground turkey base so I sauteed some in a pan with a little salt, pepper and cumin before adding it to the recipe.  It was a great addition and as it sits, it gets thicker and more delicious.


White Bean and Turkey Chili

original recipe from Cooking Light

Yield:  8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 medium to large sweet onion (maui or vidalia)
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 (15.8-ounce) cans small white beans, cannelini beans or Great Northern beans, rinsed
4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
3 cups ground turkey, sauteed  with cumin and salt/pepper
1/2 cup diced seeded plum tomato (about 1)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. 

Add onion; sauté 10 minutes or until tender and golden. Add chili powder, garlic, and cumin; sauté for 2 minutes. Add oregano and beans; cook for 30 seconds. 

Add broth; bring to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes.

Place 2 cups of bean mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pan. 

Add turkey, and cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat. Add diced tomato, chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper, stirring well. Garnish with sour cream and corn tortilla chips!

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I thought this chili was delicious!  Not too spicy not too mild, just right.  And it served its purpose - a hearty meaty meal full of flavor, without all the calories and fat of regular chili.

What are you craving these days?

Chow for now!  :)

Healthy comfort food does exist!

You may have noticed a trend in my posts recently... Lots of comfort food!  My guess is it's the time of year... I mean we all reach for comfort food in the fall and winter when the weather gets a little cooler and you feel like snuggling under a blanket instead of going out.   I figured if I am going to keep this up through the winter, my comfort food needs to be healthy... lower in fat and sugar and higher in fiber and vegetables!  I think I found my first truly healthy lasagna!

Cooking Light (online and magazine) has been a favorite of mine for years.  I especially love the magazine this time of year as they help us lighten up holiday dishes! They don't push "diet" foods, just healthier options.  They also profile exercise in addition to nutrition.  CL helps us to become less round and more well rounded. :)  I knew I could find some great comfort foods on the website.

My friend came over for dinner last night and we decided because of the cool night to make lasagna!  How can lasagna be healthy, you ask?  You do this by cutting out the whole milk cheeses, béchamel and high fat ground beef and including skim cheeses and making it a vegetarian dish, using butternut squash to bulk it up!  At only 254 calories, 8.5 grams of fat and 18.6 grams of protein per serving (if you follow the cooking light version of the recipe), you still get the lasagna taste without the lasagna hips.

I made some changes (shown in my version of the recipe below), such as roasting the squash instead of microwaving it, but kept it as close to the original as I could.

Butternut Squash Lasagna 
(original from www.cookinglight.com)

Yield:  2 lasagnas, 6 servings per 8x8 pan

Cooking spray
2 cups chopped onion
10 cups fresh spinach
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese (not pre-shredded)
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
2 (15-ounce) cartons part-skim ricotta cheese
3 cups diced peeled butternut squash
6 cups marinara sauce (I used CL's smoky marinara sauce)
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles (such as Barilla)
1 cup (4 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Place cubed butternut squash on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes (check with a fork to see if it is tender).  Remove from the oven when done, season with salt and pepper and using a potato masher, mash until smooth.  Set aside.

3. Heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 4 minutes or until tender. Add spinach; sauté 1 1/2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Combine mozzarella, parsley, salt, pepper, eggs, and ricotta cheese in a large bowl.

4. Coat the bottom and sides of 2 (8-inch-square) baking dishes with cooking spray. Spread 1/2 cup Smoky Marinara in the bottom of one prepared dish. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; spread 1 cup cheese mixture over noodles. Arrange 1 1/2 cups squash over cheese mixture; spread 3/4 cup sauce over squash.

5. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; spread 1 cup cheese mixture over the noodles. Arrange 1 1/2 cups onion mixture over cheese mixture; spread 3/4 cup sauce over spinach mixture.

6. Arrange 2 noodles over sauce; spread 1 cup Smoky Marinara evenly over noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Repeat procedure with remaining ingredients in remaining pan. Cover each pan with foil.

7. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.

To freeze unbaked lasagna: Prepare through Step 6. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to remove as much air as possible. Wrap with heavy-duty foil. Store in freezer for up to 2 months.

To prepare frozen unbaked lasagna: Thaw completely in refrigerator (about 24 hours). Preheat oven to 375º. Remove foil; reserve foil. Remove plastic wrap; discard wrap. Cover lasagna with reserved foil; bake at 375º for 1 hour. Uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until bubbly.

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This lasagna is not your Italian grandmother's gooey, cheesy, meaty lasagna, but the flavors and textures are still there, and you can have a second serving (or dessert!) and not feel bad about it!

Do you wish you had a "lighter" version of a not so healthy family recipe?  Feel free to post here and I'll do my best to help make it a little healthier.

Chow for now!  :)

Potato Leek Soup for a cozy day

Third day of rain in LA...and not sure what to do with myself!  Believe me, I am not complaining. We have at least 325 days of happy sunny weather in LA but after a few days of rain and temperatures almost cold enough to put on the heat, I decided to make potato leek soup.

For those of you who have never cooked with leeks before, they are part of the onion and garlic family and are sort of like a thicker, less bitter scallion or green onion.  It's important to cut them vertically and to clean them well as the layers catch a lot of soil when they grow.

I perused a bunch of recipes - most of the ingredients were the same, potatoes and leeks (obviously), milk or cream, water or stock, butter or oil and some spices. So I decided to make up my own recipe and I have to say it came out pretty darn good. I did not have cream nor did I want those extra calories so I used non-fat milk and I still thought it was thick and rich.

Potato Leek Soup


2 leeks, tough dark green leaves discarded and remaining white and light green parts cut in half, cleaned well and sliced into half moons.
1 tsp fresh thyme (leaves pulled from stem)
1 T olive oil or butter
3 small potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch dice (I used russets)
3 cups of low sodium vegetable stock or chicken stock
salt to taste
white or black pepper to taste
1/2 cup cream or milk


1. Place pot over low to medium heat and add olive oil or butter until heated.  Add sliced leeks and sweat them about 10 minutes until tender (don't brown them).  Add thyme during last few minutes of sweating.

2.  Add potatoes and stock and increase heat until simmering.  Lower heat, partially cover and cook for about 45 minutes.  Taste and add salt, pepper as needed.  Turn off heat.


3.  Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until pureed (or alternatively, blend batches in a stand up blender, being careful not to burn yourself).  Taste again and season if necessary.


4.  Stir in milk or cream.  Serve!

This is a much lighter version of some other potato leek recipes (like Alton Brown's) and i am pretty happy with the way it turned out (and I have no guilt because it is low fat)!

You know what happened once I sat down to eat it, right?  The sun came out. :)

What's your go-to comfort food for a rainy day? Feel free to post your favorites here!

Chow for Now! :)

Comfort food

Hey all,

So sorry to have been missing for a while but I had to have my appendix out last Saturday and I have been recuperating  at home with my mom and my Murphy at my side.  After being on a liquid diet for 4 days (tea, juice, broth, repeat) I was finally able to eat something substantial on Weds... scrambled egg with american cheese.  It was possibly the best egg and cheese I've ever had. The next day was also a cheesy day for us (cheese always = comfort in my book) and mom and I decided to make mac and cheese. To feel better about gorging ourselves with more fromage, we decided to make broccoli mac & cheese from mom's Good Housekeeping magazine.  It came out pretty darn good!  I think I might add something next time to give it a little more "oomph" - maybe some sauteed onion or a shot of hot sauce.  We made ours with whole grain pasta for another health boost.   This time I needed mild and I got mild, with a side of green veggies. 

On another note, I really missed going to class this week, I heard from my classmate and Chef that our team made a carrot souffle and shrimp and grits.  Looking forward to getting back to the grind next Tuesday.

Chow for now! :)

Rainy days can be inspiring!

Ahhh... there is nothing like making comfort food on a rainy/snowy/cold day (are you feeling me NY?).  I know, I can't typically complain about the weather. I am living in LA LA land, after all, but today it's raining.  Although it's only 10:40 am, I already have cabin fever.  But going out in the rain means dealing with LA drivers who can't figure out how to drive in this weather.  So what does one do?  Make comfort food!!

I started the day by skipping my usual healthy morning smoothie and went to the opposite end of the spectrum:  ham, egg and cheese on an english muffin and a great cup (or two) of Dunkin Donuts coffee (made in my coffee maker since they haven't figured out how many people want them to open up in LA!!). 

I think I might try some new recipes today as well.  I just got a 13x9 inch cake pan at Marshalls yesterday and might make a sheet cake (!) as a practice run for my sister's baby shower coming up in a few weeks.  Neighbors watch out - I'm bringing over some sweets for you to try!!

Dinner should be fun to figure out too...oh, maybe I'll start a slow cooker beef stew.  Mmmmmmm.

What is your favorite comfort food to make?  What do you do on cold rainy/snowy days to pass the time?

Stay warm and dry!

Chow for now!  :)