Make Chili, Not Excuses.

We're heading back to my blogging roots, folks. That's right. I'm in the kitchen. Only this time I don't have an apron. It's lost. I'm sad.

I bet a large bowl of turkey-chili would cheer me up.

 



I was right.

Because I have a rather hectic life, I like to plan my meals for the week on Saturday, Sunday, or (on an especially crazy week) Monday. Then I go and buy the ingredients to prepare culinary masterpieces. For example, I've made caprese pasta, cucumber-dill sandwiches, and Po' Boys. Oh yea, you're all kinds of impressed right now, aren't you!


My culinary talent is all thanks to my new cook book The BrokeAss Gourmet. Seriously, if you're a foodie-college kid (I know, narrow market...but hey, we exist!) go purchase this book. 86% of my recent meals have stemmed from this book. The other 14% is take-out. Like I said, college kid.

In anticipation of my upcoming study-abroad trip, I have started eating meat again. My digestion doesn't really like it, but hey, gotta be done. Research told me to eat lean meats, like fish and turkey, for a smoother transition. So I have been! This recipe is fantastic and I highly recommend it to all non-vegheads.




ridiculously easy turkey chili

by the BrokeAss Gourmet

prep time 10 minutes | cook time 20 minutes (this seemed fairly accurate, but I had to thaw my turkey in the pot [always pre-plan])

(I also suggest throwing on The Black Keys, especially "Act Nice and Gentle" to cook to. Perfect chili-making music.)

ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or sunflower oil...that's what I used)
1 onion, chopped
3 (or 6) cloves garlic, minced (I love garlic and showing off my knife skills)
1 pound lean ground turkey (thaw it. Lesson learned. Again)
2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained (I used the 2 cans plus a can of white beans)
1 (16-ounce) container pico de gallo (whatever the guy at Cub gave me, is what I used. I recommend using more salsa for a more vegetable-y taste or use vegetables)
1 teaspoon cumin (haha I just shook the spice container over it)
1 teaspoon chili powder (ditto)
salt and pepper to taste
(SRIRACHA SAUCE!!!) Especially if you dig spicy chili.

directions
1. heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant. Add ground turkey and allow turkey to brown, stirring occasionally, 4-5 minutes (time is relevant)
2. Add beans, pico de gallo, cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10-12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If chili becomes too thick (not a problem seeing as I dumped a ton of water in the pot to cook my turkey...) add a little water.
3. Serve hot, as is (pfft) or garnished with shredded cheese (:D), cilantro, chopped onions, sour cream, avocado (oh that would've been good!), hot sauce (:D), etc.

Seriously delicious. I'm on my second bowl as we, erhm, type. After this, I must move our stove so I can grab the spoon which fell valiantly in battle with the frozen turkey. She will get a hero's scrubbing.

The Comfort Weekend

Hello! ¡Hola! 你好

After I posted last week about becoming a weekend warrior of the kitchen, my roommate Katie and I decided to have tacos and tater-tots. T&T night is sort of a tradition in this apartment stemming back to freshmen year (so last year) when the dining room would always serve tacos with tater-tots. It may seem like that would be the strangest combination in the world, but trust me, it really works. Just ask Taco John's.

Because of my insanely busy schedule during the week, I was forced to eat canned soup, sandwiches (no complaints there...I just bought salami), frozen dinners, and left-overs. I tried making a taco with pita bread. It was not delicious. At all. Such a weird texture, but I was far too invested in eating to stop. One of my frozen meals was from P.F. Chang's and oh dear higher-power-that-be was it fantastic. I love P.F. Chang's. It even required me to use the stove. Yea, hardcore.

The best part of the week just has to be the part we are in right now, the weekend. Why? Because it is the weekend, duh. AND my mom is visiting me at school!!!

I have to say that I have the best mom in the world. Sorry other moms, there is no contest. When I was helping unload her stuff, there were bags and bags of ingredients and a plant. Gerber daisies to be exact (my second favorite flower...they transport better than sunflowers). Let the cooking adventures begin!!

Well Friday night we went out. Hey, I'm in Duluth, there are so many delicious restaurants and both of us were exhausted. Little Angies here we come! Or there we went. Nothing makes a stomach happy like Tex-Mex.

For today, the theme of the meal was comfort. Which works so well with Mom here! We prepared creamy chicken wild-rice soup, rolls, and apple pie. When ever I have creamy chicken wild-rice soup it makes me feel warm and loved. It has to be one of my favorite meals that Mom makes.

Every bite is like a tummy hug wrapped in a warm blanket. Yea, that magical. Combine it with garlic butter rolls (store-bought but oh, so wonderful) and it's a party of teddy bears dancing on your tongue to "Here Comes the Sun." Splendid.


Did I mention we had pie? Actually, as I type this we're waiting for the pie to cool and I'm supposed to be reading for marketing. I love pie. It reminds me of a sandwich. It's a stretch, but hey there is two outer-carb layers and filling. Ergo, sandwich.

For this pie I was Queen of Apples. I also cut my finger. My roommate sells those super sharp knifes for that company that everyone knows of (I can't remember the name) and boy, are they sharp!

So after repairing my injury and washing my hands I got back to being Queen of the Apples. Mom bought two different types of apples, Granny Smith and Honey Crisps, because a lady at the grocery store suggested to. We put in extra cinnamon because that's what my grandpa does and he makes absolutely delicious apple pies. I can't tell you if our pie compares yet for I haven't tasted it yet. It is just sitting there. Taunting me. I want pie.

Because this post is so darn long (apologies) I'm not going to include recipes, but there will be some eventually! So stay tuned.

Love,
Michelle