Turkey chilli

Due to recent ground beef recalls my regular recipes need a little modification.... So tonight we are trying ground turkey a chilli.  I have a good feeling about this recipe, it sure does smell good...

What you will need;
1 can (796 mL) diced tomatoes
1 can (156 mL) tomato paste
1 can (540 mL) mixed beans
1 green pepper
1 cup of frozen corn
500g of ground turkey
1 pack of taco seasoning

In a frying pan cook ground turkey. Add taco seasoning. Rinse canned mixed beans. In a large pot mix together; diced tomatoes, tomato paste, mixed beans, green pepper and corn. Add cooked turkey to vegetable mix in large pot, and bring to a slow boil. Serve.

I always like to rinse canned beans, as I don't enjoy the mystery stuff they are coated in.

I added taco seasoning to the turkey, which I wouldn't do for beef,  just because turkey tends to be bland and need the boost in flavor.

Grande Prairie Corn Maze and Pumpkin yummies

Happy Fall 2012! Yesterday we decided to go all out and celebrate my favourite season, or I used it as an excuse to make yummy food and hang out with friends and family, either way, it was a GREAT day!  Started the day with pumpkin pancakes (shamefully have to admit I used a boxed mix...but added 4 tablespoons of pumpkin puree and 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice), headed over to the Grande Prairie Corn Maze in the afternoon where we had a potluck of all sorts of goodies (I brought pumpkin dip, the recipe will be available at the end of the post), and then over to a friends for an amazing feast of a bbq!

Yesterday was my first time at a corn maze, and what a great family fun time! (plus everyone gets their exercise..)  I was very impressed with the Grande Prairie Corn Maze staff, they were all so friendly and helpful, they treated everyone like long lost friends which is so rare to come by these days.  There were also other activities for the kids like; water pump duck races, a corn tosser, a pumpkin field (you can pick one and take it home for a small fee), a ridiculously large chair for photo opportunities, and ice cream in the general store.  

Pumpkin Dip Recipe

1 can of pumpkin puree

1 carton of whipping cream (500mL)

1 package of vanilla pudding

1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin spice

In a bowl mix pumpkin puree, vanilla pudding and pumpkin spice.  In a separate bowl beat the whipping cream until peaks form, pour into bowl with other ingredients and fold all ingredients together.  I served with apple slices and zucchini cookies.

Zucchini cookies

Made 2 different kinds of zucchini loaves and wanted something a little different with my final zucchini baking adventure of the year, so I went with a cookie recipe.  I had never heard of such a thing, but the recipe called for cinnamon and cloves so I figured it couldn't be too bad...  Sure am glad I decided to try it out, 'cause they are yummy, and reasonably healthy (when compared to other cookies that is..) so you don't feel too bad eating them!

What you will need;

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup grated zucchini
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup raisins

2-3 cookies sheets
parchment paper (I have been a recent convert, I used to bake with aluminum wrap but find nothing sticks to parchment paper...)
Time... This recipe is recommended to sit for at least 1 hour prior to baking, so I prepared the dough while the loaves were cooking the day prior

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and zucchini.  Combine dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cloves.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.  Fold in raisins.  Let sit for at least one hour. (mine were in the fridge for almost 24 hours and turned out amazing!)  Pre heat oven at 375 F.  Roll 1 inch balls of cookie dough and flatten on cookie sheets to 1/2 " height.  Place cookies approximately1.5- 2" apart. (they did not expand while baking) Bake for 8-10 mins.  Cool, then enjoy!

I really enjoy the flavour of these cookies, and will be definitely be making them again.  One thing I would change (if schools were not nut free), is that I would add either some pecans or walnuts, but they were just fine without them.  They were a nice change to the typical zucchini recipe.

Original recipe found here

Chocolate zucchini loaf

After compiling some zucchini recipes this morning, I had to go with the classic chocolate zucchini loaf first.  Who doesn't enjoy its moist, chocolatey yumminess?  Lucky for me, the zucchini was already shredded yesterday, so I got to jump right into baking!

What you will need

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 cup apple sauce
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 packed cups grated zucchini (don’t peel it)
1/2 cup chocolate chips

2 Medium sized loaf pans, pre greased

Pre heat oven at 350 F.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together until a slightly fluffy consistency is reached.  Add the apple sauce and vanilla, mix.  Add the dry ingredients; flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt, mix.  Add zucchini and chocolate chips and fold ingredients into mixture.  Pour into 2 pre-greased medium sized loaf pans.  Bake for 50-60 mins, or until the top begins to "crack open".  Let sit for 10-15 mins in loaf pan, then slide a butter knife around the edge of the loaf to loosen it from the sides. Place your hand on the top of the loaf and turn the pad upside down, give it a couple little shakes and it should slide ride out.

Then enjoy!  I was a good mom and offered up the end piece to my daughter, but since she is still in "I don't like the crust mode", I got to eat it! : )  One day she'll learn that is the best part, but I definitely won't be pushing her to change her mind...

Although my favourite way to enjoy this loaf is fresh out of the oven, you can freeze it.  I like to stock up my freezer with a few different types of loaves for those last minute get togethers when you would like to bring a little snack for your friends or family to enjoy.

Original recipe is found here. Two modifications that I made were using apple sauce instead of oil, which I almost always do, and using only 1/2 cup of chocolate chips vs the original 1 cup. These are my attempts at keeping it as healthy a snack as possible, plus, as long my munchkin sees chocolate she's happy!

Horseradish

Today was all about goodies that come from the garden.  First off was shredding a massive zucchini, which I cannot wait to bake with tomorrow!  Followed by my second attempt at horseradish.  The first time involved thinking we knew what we were doing, only to end up with a flavourless horseradish look alike.  This time, thanks to my sister-in-law, research was done prior to the event.

What you will need;

2 cups of chopped horseradish 

1 1/2 cups of vinegar 

4 teaspoons of sugar 

1/2 teaspoon of canning salt

Pre-sterilized jars and lids

A really big pot

Food processor

Peeler

Paring Knife

Cutting board

A good cup of coffee, as it is a slightly time consuming process, but worth it for some good horseradish! (not like the "hot" varieties in the store..)

First step, gather up the roots of the plant.  This was much easier last time as my husband did all the digging, but we had a giggle or two getting our nice flats all covered in dirt, as neither of us thought to wear appropriate footwear..  With the help of my 2 year old niece we were able to gather up a pretty decent harvest.

This was about half the root system of a 3' plant.

Next is the prepping of the root, which is where I messed up last time.  There are 3 layers to this root, the technical terms of these are unknown to me, so I will call them; outer, middle and core.  The layer that you will be using is the "middle" one. (the core is what I used the first time, no flavour there..)  To get the "outer" layer off, we found peeling the bigger roots and scrubbing the smaller ones (with a vegetable scrub) were the methods that worked best for us.

After getting the "outer" layer off, it is time to peel the "middle" layer off of the core.  At first I started scoring the root with a paring knife and peeling the layer off by hand.  However, about a third of the way in, my nails felt like they were being pulled away from my nail bed (ouch), so I decided to let the knife to the job.  Using a knife made finding the core a little harder, but my fingers were happy with the decision.  

Now it is time to make the "middle" layer a little more manageable by putting it in the food processor.  At this point you're only doing a rough chop so that you are able to measure for the amount needed in the recipe.  Empty out the food processor into a separate bowl.  Measure 2 cups of chopped horseradish, 1 1/2 cups of vinegar, 4 teaspoons of sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of canning salt into the food processor bowl.  Turn it on high for approximately 2 minutes to get a nice finely chopped horseradish.  Scoop the mixture into pre sterilized jars and complete the canning process. (click on "canning" for a link on proper canning technique)  

Our final product! Yet another great day spent with my sister-in-law!

We did read on one site, that for optimal flavour the mixture should sit for 3 weeks in a properly sealed jar.  There are mixed reviews as to length of time for an expiration date of this product, so always stay on the safe side...trust your instincts if what you see or smell just isn't quite right..

For the original recipe go here