Lunch...

Its almost winter, my garden looks really sad and empty around this time of year, everything is pretty much dead, except arugula.  For whatever reason, every year, around November, the arugula plant decides to go for its last hurrah.  It sprouts beautiful delicious peppery leaves and just begs to be made into a salad. 

Today, I decided to make a little lunch which consisted of a wrap and panini sandwiches for my husband, a salad and freshly baked honey wheat flat bread for myself and whole wheat pizza for the baby.  I was inspired by one of the food network shows to add honey to a dough, so I came up with my own recipe for honey wheat pizza dough.

Panini and Sandwiches

sliced turkey breast

swiss cheese

my mom's home made cranberry sauce

arugula leaves

Use a panini press for the sandwiches, a pressed sandwich is always better:O)

 Salad

Arugula leaves from my garden
1 chopped tomato
1/2 slices avocado

oil/lemon/vinegar dressing

Honey Wheat Pizza Dough

1 cup lukewarm water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon sugar

1 package yeast

1 cup all purpose flour ( plus more for kneading/dusting)

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon Salt

Mix the first 4 ingredients, add yeast and set aside for 10 minutes to proof.  Mix the flours together with salt and add a little at a time to the wet ingredients, mixing in between until its thick enough to knead. Continue to knead until all flour is incorporated, you should have a pretty soft dough.  Put in a bowl, cover with plastic or a towel and leave to rise for 1-2 hours. 

I used this dough to make pizza on my pizza stone, just roll out, top with your favorite ingredients and bake at 425 for about 10 minutes or until brown.  I also used this dough to make flat bread, simply roll out, score with a fork and bake until brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Easy Turkey Chili with Rice.

What can be better than a nice bowl of Chili on a cold snowy or rainy day??? Saturday was the first snow of the season, and due to the weather conditions I never left the house to go food shopping, but did have some random things in the house that I knew would come together into a wonderful bowl of yumminess.
I do have to mention, when I feel like I have no food in the house, the reality is I can still probably come up with enough food to make dinner for 10.  These are staples I always keep in the pantry/fridge, always have on hand - onions, carrots, celery, potatoes, rice, pasta, canned tomato, beans, and other random canned goods plus random vegetables.  Lets just say you cant go hungry in my house.. Luckily I also had in the freezer sweet Italian turkey sausages, so a chili for dinner was inevitable.  Everyone has a favorite chili recipe, and if I were shopping for ingredients, I may have added a few things, but sometimes, working with what you have can produce an equally great dish.
Ingredients:
1 package sweet Italian turkey sausage - removed from casing
1 onion
1 medium carrot
2 celery stalks
1 red pepper
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of beans - red, black, white, whatever you have
directions
chop all vegetables into small cubes,
In a dutch oven or le creuset pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and add the turkey meat, use spoon to mash the sausages up into little pieces.  cook until brown on medium heat, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the pot into a bowl and put aside.  Add another tablespoon of olive oil and add vegetables, cook for about 5-8 minutes until brown/translucent.  Add the cooked turkey to the pot, add can of crushed tomatoes. Taste to make sure there is enough salt, if not add a little at a time. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika and a sprinkle of chili powder if you have, ( or any other spices you like to add). Simmer for about 30 minutes on low heat. Drain and wash beans, add into the pot, and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. You can continue cooking to develop some more flavor, add a little water if its too thick, should be a pretty thick soupy consistency.  
Serve over rice or baked potato, and top with grated cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips for crunch.
Enjoy!!!

Ravioli with meat loaf and mixed vegetables

Ive been trying to come up with dishes that my 2 year old son would like.  Kids usually like ravioli, so I decided to give it a try.  Lately he has become a very picky eater so I have to get even more creative, as most parents do.  My supermarket has a huge variety of freshly made pastas, so I got a package of fresh ravioli.  As a side dish I had leftover random vegetables that came together into a wonderful side dish along the classic chicken loaf, this was a suprisingly delicious meal. Oh and Leo took a few bites, but mostly played with his food, oh well.....

Ravioli

1 package fresh Ravioli

1 cup marinara sauce

2 cloves crushed garlic

grated paresan cheese

Cook ravioli in boiling water for about 6 minutes.  In a large oven safe skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons olive oil and garlic, add marinara sauce, cook on slow heat covered for a few minutes then add the cooked ravioli, continue cooking on slow heat for another 5 minutes, then top with cheese and place in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes

Vegetables

1 cup chopped vegetables, I had the following, but any combination  of vegetables can be used. 

1/2 red pepper

1/2 green pepper

1/2 zuccini

1 cup chopped kale

1 shallot

white wine vingeral

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon

1 tablespoon fig jam ( this adds the sweet layer of flavor that is needed, another jam can probably be substututed)

directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, add all vegetables except kale, cook until soft, about 5 minutes, add kale and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Add vinegar, lemon and jam, salt and pepper to taste, mix everything together, cook for another minute.  These vegetables almost have a pickled flavor, I loved them so much I used leftovers the next day in a turkey wrap. Yum.....
chicken loaf recipe may be found on a box of lipton soup mix :O)

Enjoy