Italian Pasta Soup

Fall is the season of apples, chili, and soups!!! As the weather finally starts to feel like fall, I've been looking for some of those comforting foods as the air gets a little more brisk.
I have always said how I enjoy taking class or traditional dishes and cleaning them up. Soups themselves are hearty and typically healthy, so this is a great option that can provide you and some family and friends a delicious meal.  This recipe provides at least 12 servings, so I sent some home with my brother-in-law and ran some over to our neighbors.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb of lean ground turkey
• 1 cup of onion, diced
• 2 cups of carrots, shredded or cut baby carrots
• 2 cups of celery diced (5-6 stalks)
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 3 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 28 oz can reduced-sodium diced tomatoes
• 28 oz can reduced-sodium tomato sauce
• 2 – 14.5 oz cans reduced-sodium beef broth
• 15 oz can kidney beans, drained + rinsed
• 15 oz can northern beans, drained + rinsed
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning ( I made my own. I use the recipe here http://www.food.com/recipe/italian-seasoning-82770)
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 8 oz ditalini pasta ( I couldn't find this so I used whole wheat elbow macaroni. I found that 8 oz of it is about 2 cups dry, BUT I would use less next time as I had to add more liquid to the recipe because of amount of noodles)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Brown the turkey in a large  pot. Season with salt and pepper. Drain fat. Remove turkey and set aside.
2. In the same pot, add onion, carrots, celery and green bell pepper. I used a food chopper for the vegetables. It saves a TON of time.  Saute on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional 3 minutes.
   
3. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, both beans, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and browned turkey. Stir well and let simmer, covered, for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
4. Boil water and cook pasta according to package instructions.
5. Drain pasta and add to the meat mixture. Cook for another 5 minutes and serve!

**Tip: You can make this recipe ahead of time and then reheat it on the stovetop whenever you would like to enjoy it! 

**I added water and a little butter to make it have more of a broth consistency since I didn't have anymore beef broth! 

FIXERS: I would fill up a green container for measuring purposes. Container equivalents: 2 yellows (pasta & beans), 2 green (peppers, carrots, celery, and onion), and 1 red (ground turkey)

Yum, yum, eat it up!!

Happy Eating! 

XOXO, 

Kynslee

Chili Mac Bake

I guess my husband's way of telling me to make some different recipes is sending me an email with the subject line, "recipes." haha! Well, point taken dear. I am always up for making new recipes, especially when I am not the one searching for them. I've been using the Fixate cookbook a lot lately, and I found some great staple meals to include in our weekly meal plan--mmm....pancakes!

INGREDIENTS:

*1 cup dry whole grain/wheat rotini

*1 lb. of lean ground turkey

*small onion, diced

* 1 tbsp of minced garlic

*16 oz can of chili beans (pinto or kidney)

*14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

*6 oz. can of tomato paste

*1 tbsp of chili powder

*1 tsp of cumin

*1 tsp of black pepper

*1 tsp of sea salt

*1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

*1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese blend

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Add olive oil to the skillet and heat at medium.

3. Add onion, garlic, and turkey to skillet. Brown the turkey.

4, While browning meat, cook pasta according to instructions. Add the sea salt to the water.

5. Once the meat is browned, add in diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and black pepper.

6. Mix all the ingredients together on low heat.

7. Once the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the turkey mixture.

8. Mix all the ingredients together and then transfer to a casserole dish.

9. Top it with the cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes, allowing the cheese to melt.

FIXERS or CIZERS: One serving (green container portion, about 1 cup) is Two yellow (pasta and beans) ONE red (ground turkey) 

**I really enjoy this meal because it is very hearty in a small portion! Pair it with a salad for some additional greens. :) It is nice that the entire recipe only calls for one cup of pasta, so it is not overwhelmed with it. The beans are a nice starchy carb to include in your nutrition.

With fall being about a month away, this meal reminded me of those "sweatshirt" weather kind of days!

Yum, yum, eat it up!
Happy eating,
XoXo
Kynslee

QUICK Turkey Chili

I don't know about you, but I have days, sometimes weeks, where I am not feeling the particular dinner I have planned.  I crave certain foods sometimes ( check out my post about food cravings).  Chili is one of those foods that I think about during fall and cooler weather.  Living in Cleveland, that cooler weather sometimes comes faster than we would like; however, the chili recipes I've made in the past called for a crock pot.  Those recipes tend to take hours to cook and take prep before you run out of the house in the morning, so I was pumped when I found a chili that was done in an hour, prep included!!!

The ingredients include various spices to pack a punch! My husband and I tend to have very differing taste buds, especially when it comes to the spiciness of food. We BOTH really enjoyed this.

INGREDIENTS:

*1 1/2 tsp. of olive oil

* 1 lb. of ground turkey

* 1 chopped onion

* 2 cups of water

* 1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

* 1 (28 oz.) can of crushed tomatoes

* 1 Tbsp. of minced garlic

*2 Tbsp. of chili powder

* 1/2 tsp. of paprika

*1/2 tsp. of oregano 

* 1/2 tsp. of ground cayenne pepper

* 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

* 1/2 tsp. of sea salt

* 1/2 tsp. of black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Heat olive oil in large pot.

2.  Once heated, place turkey in pot and cook until no longer pink. Add onions and cook until tender.

3.  Add water, crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, and spices.  Bring to a boil. * We added all the spices together in a dish while meat was cooking and then just poured it all in at once. 

4. Once it is boiling, cover and lower heat. Simmer for 30 minutes.

My husband was the cook since I am still recovering after my recent wrist surgery. 

This went nicely with some whole wheat crackers, and there was plenty for his lunch the next day and a couple more meals in the future!

Happy Eating! 

XoXo