Easy weeknight chili / Back to business

Wow.  I knew it had been a while since I'd posted anything, but... November 2011?  Almost one year?  That's way too long.

So I'm here with a kind of boring post, but with a commitment to post more often...I swear!

E left for London today, and it's kind of a rainy, gray and drizzly day, so I wanted to eat something tasty and comforting, but which was healthy and didn't take too long to cook.  So...scanning the fridge, I found some ground turkey breast, fresh carrots and onions from the farmer's market.  At first I thought I'd make a Shepherd's Pie, but realized I didn't have any eggs...so, I'll have to make that another night.

What I did have on hand were some black beans and kidney beans, and some tomato sauce  - so chili it was!  This went from pantry to table in about half an hour, including hands-off simmering time.  I served it over steamed butternut squash, but it would go great with steamed brown rice, or over a baked white or sweet potato.  Because I used only cooking spray there's no added fat, so the recipe is full of protein, fiber, and vitamins - you can up the vitamin and fiber content by throwing in some canned pumpkin puree.  YUM.

OK, on to the recipe:

Easy weeknight chili
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper
1 lb. ground turkey or turkey breast
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
1 T. chili powder (I used Penzeys Chili 9000)
1/2 t. ground chipotle pepper

Directions
1.  Heat a large skillet or medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray, and add onions, garlic, and carrot.  Saute until soft, being careful to stir frequently so that nothing sticks (add more cooking spray if needed).  Season with salt and pepper
2.  Add turkey, and break it up, stirring frequently so that the meat cooks and crumbles
3.  Add beans, tomato sauce, and spices and stir to combine; add a little water if needed.
4.  Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until heated through.  The longer this cooks the better the flavors will blend
5.  Serve over steamed brown rice, steamed butternut squash, or baked potato and enjoy!  Top with sour cream or plain yogurt if desired.

TIP - you could add some canned pumpkin puree to this either in addition to the tomato sauce or in place of part of it; that would add some extra fiber and nutrients, and who couldn't use some of that!

A Halloween Riddle

So, my sister makes these amazing sugar cookies...amazing cookies in general, actually. This past weekend she brought some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies to a friend's house. They were delicious! And you know how I love pumpkin... So it got me thinking: could you substitute pumpkin for the butter in your classic chocolate chip recipe, and still get a yummy cookie? I decided to give it a go. Using the classic chocolate chip recipe (the Toll House recipe you'll find on nearly every bag of chocolate chips), I replaced the 1 cup of butter with 1 cup of pumpkin puree. I knew I'd likely have to compensate for what was likely to be a "runny" texture, so started with one egg instead of two. Then I added in the dry ingredients. With the default 2 1/4 cups of flour, the batter still seemed a bit thin. I added one more 1/4 cup of flour, and that seemed to do the trick.

The other substitutions / additions I made are as follows:

• Replace brown sugar with sucanat (raw, raw sugar with retained molasses content)



• Replace white sugar with evaporated cane juice (less processing)



• Replace white flour with whole wheat pastry flour



• Add 1 t. cinnamon and 1/2 t. ginger

(PS I'm handing these out to grown-ups that come trick-or-treating with their kids, but only those who are friends of mine ;-). I'll let you know what they think!)

The dough wasn't like a typical chocolate chip cookie dough, it was a bit sticky. So the tip I have for you is to use parchment paper on the cookie sheets, or spray with cooking spray before putting the dough on the cookie sheets. The cookies baked at 350 for 12-14 minutes and have a nice cake-y texture. As Gram would say, "the taste is there," and they have passed E's taste test (though he's hardly picky...). So I would say that to answer the Halloween Riddle, "YES you can substitute pumpkin for butter in chocolate chip cookies. But you can't call them proper chocolate chip cookies anymore, they are their own thing."

Enjoy...and happy Halloween!!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
(makes 36-48 cookies, depending on how stingy you are with the dough)

1 c. pumpkin puree
3/4 c. sucanat or brown sugar
3/4 c. evaporated cane juice
1 egg
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
2 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
9 oz. chocolate chips (semi-sweet, dark, or milk chocolate... up to you!)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.



2. In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine pumpkin puree, both sugars, egg, and vanilla, and mix on low to medium speed until well blended.



3. Add baking soda, salt, spices, and flour and mix until combined.



4. Add the chocolate chips and mix just until incorporated.



5. Drop cookie dough by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets - depending on how big or small you make them, you should get 36-48 cookies. (Nutrition information is provided based on a 36-cookie batch)



6. Bake for 12-14 minutes; cookies won't spread out much, but they will rise and get golden brown around the edges. Let cool slightly on the cookie sheet before moving to a cooling rack.

Nutrition information (per cookie, 36 cookies per batch): 98 calories, 2 g fat, 20 g carbs, 2 g protein, 1 g fiber, 2 g sodium

On a pumpkin kick...

OK, so it's officially Fall now, right? Right. Ignore the humidity and ignore the fact that I shouldn't have worn those knee-high boots today because it was too. damn. hot.

I WANT PUMPKIN. In everything. In my muffins, in my oatmeal, in my chili, in my beer, and in my smoothie. Yes, that's right - in my smoothie. So here's a little recipe I've tried that is just like drinking a pumpkin pie. No joke! It's like sipping a big glass of autumn. (ooops, be careful - you spilled some autumn on your shirt!)

You should have one tomorrow... no, really - you won't regret it!

Pumpkin Smoothie (serves 1)
8 oz. unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened vanilla almond milk, or unsweetened coconut milk (you can also use dairy milk - nonfat or lowfat)
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I use Trader Joe's vanilla whey powder, ~140 cals. per serving)
1/3 - 1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 t. ground cinnamon
Optional: 1 T. pure maple syrup
Handful of Ice

Put all ingredients except the maple syrup into the blender and let 'er rip... the key is to let it blend long enough to ensure a smooth texture. Have a quick taste and see if you will need that maple syrup. If it tastes too "pumpkin-y" then add more cinnamon, or add the maple syrup... or just suck it up, it's good for you!

PS I love you

The change in season - from summer to fall - is a good reason to make a change in your day-to-day routine, to try something new and different. Rather than risk an adventurous haircut that may not work or get that tattoo you've always wanted but will no doubt regret the moment all the ink is on you, why not just try a new recipe or ingredient?

I have mentioned Penzeys Spices before as a source of great quality spices, but the thing I like most about them is the spice mixes they have. I've mentioned the Chili 3000 and Chili 9000 blends. Recently I got a free bottle of Northwoods Seasoning - a blend of coarse flake salt, paprika, black pepper, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and chipotle. This new seasoning came in handy when I wanted to make barbecue sauce but didn't feel like taking the time my go-to recipe requires. Here's the Quick BBQ Sauce recipe I came up with:

Ingredients
1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. bourbon
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 15 oz. can of organic tomato sauce
1 T. Penzeys Spices Northwoods Seasoning (or more to taste)

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer and cook, covered with the lid slightly ajar, for about 20-30 minutes, or until the sauce reduces slightly.

My favorite use for the BBQ sauce is on grilled pork or grilled chicken:

• Marinade a pork tenderloin or chicken breasts in 1/4 c. soy sauce and 1 t. Northwoods Seasoning for at least one hour, as long as overnight.
• Place the meat over indirect heat on a hot grill and baste top. Turn the meat over, and baste on the other side after you turn it. Turn it one more time onto the side with the BBQ sauce.
• Grill until cooked through, then let the meat rest. Enjoy!
• Pairs well with a mashed or roasted sweet potato and green beans.

What are some of your "mix-it-up" recipes and spices?

Pumpkin Muffins with Apple Butter

Well, hello there! Fancy meeting you here... it's been a while, hasn't it? Last we saw each other, we were ready to welcome the summer. And look, already we're welcoming fall. To celebrate the great things about fall I thought a pumpkin muffin might be nice...not to mention an idea for what to do with all those apples you brought home from your apple picking trip!

These muffins are gorgeous, and only pack 169 calories a piece! The recipe follows "clean eating" principles (more on that in another post) so they're really good for you.

So, without further ado, I give you:

Pumpkin Muffins
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup spelt flour (use ww pastry flour if you can't get this)
1 T. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar or sucanat
1/2 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup fat free buttermilk (lowfat is fine too...try to use a brand that doesn't have any additives like carageenan, etc.)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (none of that Mrs. Butterworth crap!)
2 eggs
1 T. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or add muffin liners (and spray those too).

In a large mixing bowl, whisk all of the dry ingredients together. Combine the wet ingredients in a large liquid measuring cup or a medium mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir only to combine. If you over-stir then the muffins won't rise.

Using an ice cream scoop (or a large spoon), fill each of the muffin cups with batter. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. Serve with some apple butter (recipe below)

Per muffin: 169 calories, 33g carbs, 1g fat, 5g protein, 4g fiber


Slow Cooker Apple Butter
4 pounds of apples (macintosh, cortland, or any other apple) - quartered (coring and peeling optional)
3/4 cup apple cider (no sugar added)
2 cinnamon sticks
1 T. cinnamon
2 T. pure maple syrup

Put the apples into the slow cooker and add the apple cider and cinnamon. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours.

Place a food mill over a large bowl; working in batches, process the apples through the food mill. Put the apple mixture - which will be a little watery - back into the slow cooker. Add the maple syrup, stir to combine, and cook on low for 8 more hours, until it's reduced. IT WILL LOOK VERY BROWN, not unlike baby poop. But it will be delicious!

If you don't have a food mill, then I suggest coring and peeling the apples, otherwise it will be a complete chore to deal with the seeds and skins. I haven't yet figured out the "serving size" and nutritionals, but it's probably about at most 20 calories per tablespoon.

The Thrill of the Grill

Oh yes, people. It's grill season again. I've been under the radar again, pesky "real" job and other things getting in the way of my blog time, although I do have a few new posts up my sleeve (thanks to "Single Jen(n)s". But given that the weather has finally started to *act* like spring here in the Boston area, and it's been wonderful to grill, I thought it would be more appropriate to talk about grilling.

Grilling is a great way to cook food in a healthy way - you don't need a lot of fat, you can impart flavor without calorie-rich sauces, and you can do a lot of "one dish" meals on the grill. You can spend time in the great outdoors, with or without a cocktail in hand (your choice), and be alone with the grill and your thoughts. To me, this is heaven.

The key to getting enjoyment out of grilling is ensuring that you are prepared. You don't need to have fancy equipment, but you do have to know how to use what you've got. "Flaunt what your mama gave you," as they say. Or, for those of us who lust after super fancy Weber grills but have an aging Kenmore, "Love the one you're with." So here are the main bits that you should prepare to make sure you are making the most of your grilling experience this summer and beyond (oh, yes - I said beyond. There will be a grilled turkey this Thanksgiving!). Mind you, I have a gas grill, so most of this is being written with a bit of a gas grill bias. Yes, I know, there are purists among you who will chide me for not embracing charcoal... but what's the working girl to do? Gas is convenient and cleaner...and it's what I have right now. So - where were we - ah, yes: healthytastyeasy's Grilling Tips!

1. Most importantly, preheat! You want to heat that grill until it's well over 500 degrees F. You can achieve this by keeping the lid closed with all burners on their highest setting, and it usually takes 10-15 minutes to get there.
   
2. Clean and season your grill: The grates clean best when they are hot. Don't let the heat intimidate you from giving the grates a good scrubbin', but don't get burned either. A good grate brush with a long handle should do the trick. Once the grill is nice and hot, brush the grates. After you have taken all the food off of the grill, turn off the burners and (guess what?) brush the grates! Seasoning the grill refers to rubbing the grate with an oil-moistened paper towel, held with tongs, to help encourage a nonstick surface.
   
3. Experiment with wood chips: I just bought a stainless steel wood chip smoker - it's a little box that you put your moistened wood chips in (hickory, applewood, whatever floats your boat). Soak the wood chips in water for about half an hour, drain, and put them in the box (or in an aluminum foil tin). Place the chips over one of the burners BEFORE YOU LIGHT THE GRILL and allow the smoke to develop as the grill heats up. The smoke of the wood chips can impart a really nice flavor that's calorie-free.
   
4. Try new marinades and dry rubs. Here are just a few of my favorites; mix the marinade in a big zip lock bag and let the meat sit for a few hours or overnight, depending on the strength of the flavor. For steaks, especially the tougher cuts like skirt or flank, pierce the meat in several places so it absorbs the flavors of the marinade:

• For beef or pork: 1 T. Chili powder (like Penzeys Chili 9000), chipotle powder to taste, 1 T. brown sugar, 1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce, 12 oz. can Beck's beer
• For chicken: Juice of 1 lemon; 8 or so fresh basil leaves, cut or torn into strips, 1 T. coarse sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
• For beef or pork: Chili powder, garlic, maple syrup, 1 T. coarse sea salt, 12 oz. dark beer (like Guinness)
• For beef or pork: 1 T. dijon mustard, 1 T. brown sugar or maple syrup, 1/4 c. low-sodium soy sauce, 12 oz. Beck's or Duvel beer.
• Dry-rub variations of the above can be done (for the beef and pork marinades) by mixing the spices, salt and sugar and rubbing it on the meat, then letting it sit, refrigerated, for a few hours or overnight.
  

Enjoy! More recipes for marinades and grilling, and sides, to follow.

What flavors would you like to see a marinade or dry rub recipe for?

The Leprechauns are Marching...

OK, so I'm a little late for a proper St. Patrick's Day post, but there are lots of St. Paddy's parades today, so I figured I could still post this recipe.

Growing up, as the daughter of a kindergarten teacher, every holiday was a big deal. We celebrated every holiday - major or minor - and Mom made a big deal of decorating and making special foods in honor of the current holiday. I remember coming down for breakfast before school on Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day, and Mom would have the table set with all kinds of decorations and a themed breakfast. It really was fun and now, as a grown-up, not even having kids of my own, I wonder how she found the time and energy to do it!

For St. Patrick's Day, mom would make this amazing Irish Scawn Bread, with raisins and this crisp sugary topping... Although it's so delicious (especially toasted and drenched in butter), it's actually quite low fat. So - I thought it appropriate to include it in healthy.tasty.easy!

This bread is so delicious it's easy to keep slicing a piece...so I decided to make muffins this year instead of a loaf, an attempt at portion control. The recipe makes 24 muffins (or two loaves) so it's up to you how to make them! Although this is an "Irish" recipe it tastes just as good in October as it does in March... you could mix it up a bit by using dried cranberries instead of the raisins. In this version I substituted half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour to add a bit of fiber.

Mom's Irish Scawn
Ingredients

• 4 cups flour (2 cups all-purpose plus 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 cup sugar
• 5 t. baking powder
• 1 t. salt
• 1 1/2 cup raisins (mini raisins work best)
  
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 - 1 1/2 cups fat free buttermilk
• 1 T. vanilla extract
• 1/2 c. granulated or sanding sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the raisins and mix well.
3. In a liquid measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs. Add enough buttermilk to bring the total contents up to the 1 cup mark. Add vanilla, then pour into the flour mixture.
4. Here's the warning about the mixing part... it's not easy. The dough is going to be a bit intense - mix the batter, and add buttermilk gradually so that the mixture is moist but not too moist. Once you've incorporated all of the dry ingredients, you're done. Turn the batter into 2 9x5 loaf pans, or 2 12-muffin muffin tins.
5. Place into the oven. For the loaves, you'll cook a total of 40-45 minutes, while the muffins will need 25-30 minutes.
6. Glaze: 5 minutes before the end of baking time, add enough water to the 1/2 cup granulated or sanding sugar to make a relatively thin glaze. Spoon it over the top of the loaves or muffins (about 1 t. per muffin) and put the pans back in the oven to finish baking. Don't worry of the "glaze" seems a bit watery; it'll all bake off.
7. The scawn is done when a toothpick (or piece of uncooked spaghetti) is inserted and comes out clean. Take the scawn out of the oven and cool. Enjoy!
   

Nutrition information: Per muffin or slice (assuming 24 slices): 137 cals, 29 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 1 g fat, 3 g protein

Holy Posole!

A few weeks ago I was skiing in Colorado... Aspen, to be specific. Just before heading home, we spent the day in Denver having brunch at Eri's friend Kimmy T's house. On the way there, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things and saw the most beautiful array of chili powders, chilies, and other Mexican spices that we just don't see here on the East Coast. Not in Hull, anyway! Eri, who was traveling with me, had told me she would be the very delighted recipient of a posole recipe from Kimmy's fiance, who is of Mexican descent. So she scooped up some chili powder and hominy, and I did the same, excitedly dreaming of the spicy soup.

Once I got home, I looked at a few recipes, and as I usually do, just made something that "felt" right. I made it once with pork (boneless center cut loin ribs) and once again with chicken breasts. The pork definitely brings a bit more flavor (and more fat), but the chicken tastes quite nice and is a bit lighter. Technically, chicken is used in "green" posole, not red, but what the heck. I'm a gringa. Also, the soup tastes much better on the second day, so I'd advise making it ahead of time to let the flavors really come into their own. You can follow the same recipe with either the pork or the chicken, so here it is...

Posole Soup (serves about 4)
Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (or boneless pork ribs) (you could use boneless or bone-in, just account for the weight of the bone in the total weight)
  
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth plus about 1 cup water
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (or the equivalent in prepared or dried garlic)
  
• 1 can hominy, drained (Yeah, I cheated and used a can of Goya hominy. If you have time and interest, you can use dried hominy, soak and cook, but allow an "overnight's" worth of work for that)
• 1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes with chilies (I used Trader Joe's fire-roasted tomatoes with chilies)
• Hot chili powder, 1/4 t. to start (I used 1/2 t.)
  
• Chipotle powder, 1/4 t. to start (I used 1/2 t.)
• Oregano, 1 t.
  
• Fresh cilantro, 1-3 sprigs
  
• 1/2 lime
• Salt to taste
• Garnishes: diced avocado, tortilla strips, diced onions, cilantro
  

Directions

1. Place the chicken in a saucepan and cover with the broth. Add the bay leaf and garlic. Place a lid on the saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
2. Remove the chicken from the broth, and strain the broth through a mesh strainer. Return the broth to the saucepan.
3. Add the spices (chili powders and oregano), tomato, and hominy to the broth. Bring to a simmer.
4. Shred the chicken using two forks, or your hands (careful, it's probably still hot!) and add it to the soup mixture.
5. Tear the cilantro and add it to the soup; squeeze the lime juice into the soup, and taste. Adjust seasonings to your taste (you may need to add salt and a bit more chili powder). Try not to add more than 1/8 t. of chili powder at a time - it's very spicy!
6. Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes, covered, to allow the flavors to blend. Add water or broth if needed.
7. Top with the toppings of your choice and enjoy!

Nutrition information per serving if made with chicken, about 1.5 cups (for soup only, no toppings included): 236 calories, 2 g fat, 29 g protein, 5 g fiber, 24 g carbs

Mardi Gras, one day late

Wow - has it really been three weeks since I last posted? Yikes! Well, a lot has happened. Actually, I was on vacation for one week - the rest of the time I was just too pootered (apparently) to post. The important thing is, I'm back!

I have another recipe to post (Holy Posole!) which I'll save for tomorrow, but today's recipe is an adapted Shrimp Etouffe, partly in honor of Mardi Gras (yes, it was yesterday!) and partially because I had the Holy Trinity (pepper, celery, and onion) in the fridge. So using a few recipes for inspiration, I created this one - the main adjustment I made was to use 1 T. olive oil instead of the 4-8 T. of butter typically called for in these recipes, saving about 700 calories total. I had this with some roasted cauliflower to get a few more veggies in.

Jen's Shrimp Etouffe

Ingredients:

• 1 bell pepper (red, yellow, green, or orange), cut into chunks
  
• 3 medium celery stalks, coarsley chopped
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1/4 c. all purpose flour
• 2 c. chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 1/4 t. (or more to taste) cayenne pepper
• 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 t. thyme
• 1 15-oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes with chiles
• 12 oz. raw shrimp, deveined and peeled
  

Directions:

1. Finely chop the celery, onions, and pepper (or pulse in a food processor). Heat olive oil in a saucepan over a medium high heat and add vegetables. Cook, stirring, about 10 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add the flour and stir completely until flour is incorporated. Stir frequently so that it doesn't burn, about 5 minutes, then gradually add the chicken broth, stirring to incorporate each addition. Turn the heat down to a medium-low. Add seasonings and tomatoes, stir to incorporate, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Stir every few minutes to ensure it's not sticking.
2. Add the shrimp, stirring to ensure they're incorporated; replace the lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes being careful that the shrimp doesn't overcook. Serve over rice.

Nutrition information per serving: 200 calories, 17g carbs, 5g fat, 21g protein, 2g fiber

Cranberry Oat Pancakes

I was looking for a way to mix up my normal Saturday morning pancakes. Having just made some delicious cranberry oatmeal muffins (aka Yummy Bliss muffins), I thought - why not make some cranberry oatmeal pancakes? I didn't get to take pictures of these pancakes, but will make them again soon, and be sure to post photos from that batch.

I took the basic Saturday Morning Pancake recipe and made the following ingredient modifications:

• Swap out 1/2 cup oats for 1/2 cup of the flour, so that you use 1/2 cup oats and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• Add 3/4 cup fresh cranberries, frozen
• Use fat free buttermilk instead of reduced fat, to make up for the fat that the oats add
  

The technique for grinding the oats and chopping the cranberries is exactly as you use them for the Yummy Bliss muffins. I made these changes to the directions:

• Add the ground oats to the flour
• Add the sugar to the cranberries as you process them, instead of adding the sugar to the other dry ingredients
• Add the cranberries to the buttermilk mixture before you combine with the dry ingredients to impart a pinkish hue. If you don't want the pinkish hue, then add the cranberries to the dry ingredients.

Cook as you would the regular pancakes, and enjoy! Here is the nutrition information - you get a little bit more calorie-wise, but you get additional fiber:
Per serving (about 4 pancakes, assuming 24 pancakes from the entire recipe): 223 calories, 40 g carbs, 3 g fat, 10 g protein, 5 g fiber.

Sneaky Chili

Lately I haven't been getting enough veggies, and I was trying to think of a more interesting way to get them than green beans. One of my girlfriends who has kids was talking about a cookbook she has that helps parents "sneak" vegetables into kids' foods. So I'm thinking... I'm on a food processor kick (see the Madras Meatballs recipe) and I'm looking for something different to do with veggies. Why not put those together and think of a way to boost the nutrient content of something I love? And hence Sneaky Chili was born! The recipe is built very much in the same way Tasty Turkey Chili was, with similar technique... If you don't like the veggies I've selected, as my sister (who hates peppers and mushrooms) doesn't, use whatever veggies you have on hand that you like.

Sneaky Chili
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground turkey breast (you can sub veggie crumbles or crumbled tofu)
• 2 small onions or 1 medium onion
• 1 T. canola oil
• 1 T. chili powder
  
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 yellow or red bell pepper
• 2 carrots
• 2 parsnips
• 1 cup mushrooms (pre-sliced or roughly chopped whole ones)
• 2 T. tomato paste
• 1/4 c. tomato sauce
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with chiles

Directions

1. Peel and quarter onion, and mince in a food processor
2. In a skillet coated with cooking spray, saute the turkey, taking care to break it up into crumbles.
3. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat; add the olive oil and heat til shimmering. Add the onions and stir. Saute for 2-3 minutes; add tomato paste, chili powder, and garlic. Turn heat to low and cook while you prepare the veggies.
4. Trim the pepper, carrots, and parsnips and add to the food processor; add the mushrooms. Pulse until vegetables are minced.
5. Add the vegetables, diced tomatoes, and turkey to the onion-tomato mixture and stir to combine.
6. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, until the vegetables are all cooked through. Serve over brown rice or a baked sweet potato

Per Serving (assuming 6 servings): 169 calories, 15 g carbs, 3 g fat, 20 g protein, 3 g fiber

Announcing Recipe Challenge!

So I'm drinking some coffee, getting ready to start the day (which just happens to involve a visit to the spa and a night out with some girlfriends, woohoo!) and I was thinking about what to post today. I have some ideas of things I want to explore and do with this blog, but I wanted to see what would happen if I got some requests from YOU, dear healthy.tasty.easy. readers?

So as of today, I hereby welcome "requests". No request is too small! For example:

• You're supposed to make something to bring somewhere (or you're hosting) and you don't know what to make
• You've been making this recipe for years but it has so many calories and so much fat! You need help lightening it up!
• You bought this freaky vegetable at Whole Foods today because it was on sale, but you don't know what to do with it!
• And so on...

I will take on the request and see if I can either find or make a recipe to meet the challenge, then post what I come up with, as your "Recipe DJ," if you will.

So, either by commenting on this post, or by emailing info at healthytastyeasy dot com (I'm working on figuring out how to do this as a permanent blog "feature" - expert techies, your help is welcome!). I'm looking forward to seeing what curve balls you send my way!

Off to get this party started...

Yours in healthy.tasty.easiness,
Recipe DJ

Name these muffins! (now known as Yummy Bliss Muffins)

Those of you who know me "in real life" know that I love to bake muffins. In fact, back in the day when I lived with my BFFs Sun-Sun and Eri, I used to bake muffins all the time. So while pancakes have become the norm on Saturday mornings, Sunday mornings are usually for muffins.

Part of the challenge with muffins is that it's difficult to find a recipe that's under 200 calories per muffin. I don't know about you, but I think that's kind of "expensive" for a muffin. So this past Sunday I wanted to try a new muffin recipe and I wanted one that was under 200 calories. After looking at a couple of recipes for inspiration, I put together these Cranberry Oat muffins. They were so good that it's hard to believe they are 145 calories each, with a respectable 3 grams of fat.

There is one tool that will make this recipe really work well - that's a food processor. My immersion blender has an attachment that acts like a food processor, and that's what I used for this job. If you don't have a food processor, then a blender should do the trick as well - last possible option would be to coarsely chop with a chef's knife - but that's annoying. It's up to you.

E so enjoyed these muffins that he declared that they were "the best muffins I've ever made". That's quite a statement considering the guy has known me for 13 years. And in light of that statement I thought they ought to be called something more exciting than "Cranberry Oat Muffins". So... dear blog followers... what do you think I should name them?

Ingredients

• 1 c. oats
• 1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 3/4 c. whole, fresh cranberries plus 2 t. granulated sugar (don't thaw if the berries are frozen)
  
• 1 egg
• 3/4 c. low-fat buttermilk
• 2 T. canola oil
  
• 1 t. pure almond extract
• 1 t. pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place muffin cups in a 12-muffin baking pan, and spray with cooking spray
2. In a food processor or blender, pulse the oats until they are the consistency of a course flour. This should just take a few pulses.
   
3. Combine the dry ingredients with a whisk, ensuring that the brown sugar isn't too lumpy.
4. In the food processor, pulse the cranberries and the sugar (2 t. granulated) just a couple of times, until the berries are coarsely chopped. Toss the cranberries with the dry ingredients to coat them a bit.
5. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, oil, and extracts. Add to the flour mixture and stir until the ingredients are just combined. Remember, like with the pancakes, you don't want to over-mix or the muffins will be heavy and chewy.
6. Evenly distribute the batter into the muffin cups - I like to use an ice cream scoop to help me do this.
7. Bake the muffins for 15-18 minutes; start to test after 15 minutes by inserting a toothpick (or wooden skewer or even a piece of uncooked spaghetti) into the muffin; if it's dry or has just small crumbs sticking to it when you remove it, the muffins are done. Take the muffins out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Per muffin: 145 calories, 26 g carbs, 3 g fat, 3 g protein, 2 g fiber

These muffins are really yummy with almond butter or peanut butter - they make a great pre-workout snack (or, as I like to call it, "first breakfast").

Saturday Morning Pancakes

Everyone has their weekend rituals. For E and me, one ritual we have is Saturday morning pancakes. Typically this involves my going downstairs first, putting on a pot of coffee and cleaning the kitchen (depending on how much cleaning up we didn't do from Friday night's dinner - if it's been a long week and there was a martini involved, chances are no dishes got done on Friday night), then getting pancakes going - and E finally comes downstairs after everything has been magically cleaned and the pancakes are nearly done. His sense of timing is quite remarkable in this regard.

Anyway, I have a pancake recipe that's now committed to memory, which I love to make - it's easy and tasty and, of course, healthy (sensing a pattern yet?). I'll make it with pumpkin and spices during the fall and sometimes into the winter, and with applesauce the rest of the time. I love topping these pancakes with no-sugar-added pumpkin butter and pure maple syrup (2 T does the trick) as I have given up artificial and processed foods - I used to be a SF syrup junkie!

Here's the recipe... it turns out best if you have a cup of coffee to keep you company as you cook.

Oh - and I've written this recipe for people who may not make pancakes that often, so it has a lot of guidance. If you're an expert pancake maker and are just interested in the recipe, well, you know what to do.

Saturday Morning Pancakes (makes 24 pancakes, 4 pancakes per serving)

• 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 T. granulated sugar or evaporated cane juice
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice (optional)
  
• 1/2 t. salt
• 2 1/2 c. low-fat or fat free buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. pureed pumpkin or 1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
• Optional add-ins: fresh blueberries, dried cranberries, chocolate chips
  

**Pre-heat an electric griddle to 350 degrees, or one of those stove-top grill pan / griddles over medium-high heat. I don't recommend using a skillet as you can only make 2 or 3 pancakes at a time and it will take forever!
1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl
2. In a medium mixing bowl (or a 4-cup measuring glass if you hate doing dishes as much as I do), whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and pumpkin (or applesauce)
3. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir gently until combined. It's important that you NOT over-mix or the resulting pancakes will be flat and sad, and nobody wants that. The batter will look a little bit lumpy, and you will see some bubbles start to form as the baking soda and powder begin to react with the buttermilk. Let the batter sit for a few moments before you start making pancakes.
4. Now, make the pancakes.

• I've found that using a 1/4 cup dry measuring cup to pour the batter works well - you end up with evenly sized pancakes at just about the right size. Spray the skillet with a little cooking spray (canola oil is best) and dab any excess with paper towel.
• Using the measuring cup, pour the batter onto the skillet, evenly spacing each pancake - you want about half an inch between them. My skillet fits eight pancakes (2 rows of 4). Bubbles will start to appear on the surface of the pancakes.
  
• When the edges of each pancake look like they're cooked, and the bubbles have slowed / stopped - this should take about 2-3 minutes - it's time to flip the pancake.
  
• This is the fun part - and the part that takes practice if you're a pancake novice. Just trust that it will work, and it will - if you get too nervous, you'll psych yourself out, the pancakes and the spatula will sense this, and they'll flop. Take a spatula and with confident, quick, movement, slide it under the pancake. Again, with confident, quick, movement, flip your wrist so that you put the pancake back on the griddle on its other, uncooked side. Smile at your mad pancake flipping skills, but briefly - you've got 7 other pancakes to flip.
• Take a moment to observe the color of the pancakes - do they look golden brown? A bit too dark? Not dark enough? Adjust the cooking time if necessary.
  
• After you've flipped all of the pancakes, they'll need another 1 or 2 minutes before they can be removed and the next batch of batter can be cooked.
• You can tell if the pancakes are done in a couple of ways: Lift the edge of a pancake with the spatula and have a peek - is it golden brown? Then it's ready. You can also poke the top of the pancake with your finger - if the surface springs back, it's ready. If not, leave it for a while longer.
• I like to put the finished pancakes on a large platter that sits underneath the griddle to keep them warm - you can also keep an oven-proof platter in the oven at about 200 degrees, and put the finished pancakes in there until all of the batter is cooked.
• Nutrition information per serving (about 4 pancakes): 186 calories, 33 g carbs, 3 g fat, 3 g fiber, 10 g protein
  

Recipe Notes

• Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk, you can use regular milk - just reduce the amount to 2 cups. You can also add plain yogurt to milk to thicken it up, or you can add 2 T. lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to the milk and let it sit to thicken for a moment.
• Applesauce vs. pumpkin: I've found that you need less applesauce than pumpkin, as the pumpkin is a bit thicker. If you're opening a new can of pumpkin for the pancakes, freeze the rest in 1/2 cup portions so you can thaw just what you need for the next batch. Or, make some pumpkin muffins with the rest. If you're not someone who eats a lot of applesauce (like me) I've found that the applesauce cups are a great way to buy applesauce for baking - they come in 1/2 cup portions and you don't end up opening a whole jar that will likely go to waste.
  

Recipe update: dark chocolate brownies

So - last night we had some turkey chili to try and ward off Snow Fatigue... after shoveling snow today for about an hour (E's forearm is still hurt from the spill he took on some ice last week, so I was shoveling solo) I thought about how it would be nice to be someplace warm. Where they have nice, spicy food. And ice cold beer. And nice, spicy food. Ooops, I said that already.

Anyway, when I posted the Dark Chocolate Brownie recipe, I had said I wanted to try them with chipotle, so I thought that today would be the perfect day to do that. I also wanted to see if I could cut the fat - and keep / increase the moisture - by replacing the canola oil with reduced fat buttermilk. I also happened to have dark chocolate on hand, so instead of the substitution I made last time (cocoa powder, canola oil, and sugar), I used the chocolate.

The resulting flavor is nice - the cinnamon really comes out, and the heat is slow to build. You don't taste the chipotle right away, rather it builds with every bite. My suggestion for serving these brownies would be topped with a scoop of either vanilla or dulce de leche ice cream, drizzled with Kahlua, and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. If you use just a small scoop of ice cream, you're not adding too many calories. Next variation will be to bake these with the Mexican spices, but add some coconut. I'll also try ratcheting up the chipotle, as these could have been a bit spicier.

Oh - and a note on moisture... I think that unless you're using the usual amount of butter called for in brownies, you're going to have a cakier brownie. Delicious, but cakey and crumbly. E said that these brownies were more delicious than the "original". In his taste buds I trust!

So - here is the revised ingredient list; follow the directions as before:

* 8 ounces dark chocolate (chips or broken into pieces)
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder (from Nuts Online)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 3/4 teaspoon chipotle powder (less or more to taste)
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
* 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
* 1/4 cup buttermilk (substitution for canola oil)
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Per brownie (assuming 24): 119 calories, 19g carbs, 5g fat, 3g protein, and 2g fiber (savings of 3g fat and 30 calories per brownie from the "other" recipe)

Chicken Pot Pie Stew with Drop Biscuits

Just before we got the Blizzard here in Massachusetts earlier this week, I started craving warm comfort food. I also want to make something delicious for E, because isn't the way to every man's heart through his stomach? Sure, I know I have his heart, but I like to spoil him - especially when he's traveling. I saw America's Test Kitchen over the weekend - one of my favorite cooking shows ever - and they did a segment on "the perfect" chicken pot pie. The key, they said, was to cook the ingredients separately before joining them together, to allow each one to develop its own personality and flavor. Makes sense to me.

I didn't want to "spend" a lot of calories on the crust, and I also wanted to save a little time on preparation, so decided to try this as a stew with quick drop biscuits.

The stew recipe is inspired by ATK and Martha. The biscuit recipe is from Cooking Light.

Chicken Pot Pie Stew (Serves 4)

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound)
• Chicken broth (enough to just cover chicken breasts)
• 1/2 c. Dry white wine
• 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 T. olive oil
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 onions, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 t. dried thyme
• Low fat milk (about 1 1/2 cups)

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Poach the chicken breasts in the broth - cover the breasts in broth, and bring to a boil. Cook about 10 minutes, until breasts are fully cooked through. Remove breasts from poaching liquid and transfer to a cutting board to cool. Strain the poaching liquid into a 4-cup measuring cup, ensuring you add no more than 1 cup of poaching broth. Add the wine to the measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the total amount of the liquid to 2 1/2 cups.
- When it is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken using two forks.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onions and carrots in the olive oil with the thyme until the carrots are tender; add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the flour to the onion / carrot mixture and stir for about 1 minute.
- Add the liquid to the pan gradually, stirring as you add it, and cook it, stirring, until it thickens.
- When the sauce has thickened, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the peas and the chicken. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish, and bake for about 20 minutes, or until it bubbles around the edges.

Per Serving: 272 calories, 20g carbohydrates, 6g fat, 30g protein, 3g fiber

Drop Biscuits

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup fat-free milk
• Cooking spray

Directions
- Preheat oven to 450º.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives** until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add milk; stir just until moist.
- Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove biscuits from pan immediately, and place on a wire rack.

**after trying to use two knives, I tried an apple corer / slicer and found that it works as well as a pastry blender!

Per biscuit: 119 calories, 17g carbohydrates, 4g fat, 3g protein, .5g fiber

Bring it all together
Use pasta dishes or plates with rims to serve. Slice one biscuit (or two!) in half and spoon one fourth of the stew over it. Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate Brownies

Yesterday, a recipe for dark chocolate brownies popped up on my Facebook news feed. The recipe was from Ellie Krieger, the healthy cooking chef from Food Network, and Paula Deen and Ina Garten's caloric opposite. I decided to make them, but on further inspection of my pantry I had to make a few adjustments. So here is the recipe with my adjustments. The result is a cake-y, moist, not-too-sweet brownie with a nice chocolate flavor. The cinnamon gives it a nice flavor dimension. You can save calories by omitting the walnuts, though they don't add too much fat - and provide Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for you!

The recipe makes 24 brownies, each with 142 calories, 8g fat, 15g carb, 3g protein, and 2g fiber.

* 80 g (3/4 c) raw cacao powder (from Nuts Online), plus 1/4 c. canola oil and 1/2 c. granulated sugar (this was a substitute for 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, which I did not have on hand)
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder (from Nuts Online)
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 4 large eggs
* 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
* 1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
* 1/4 cup canola oil
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup walnuts

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Combine the cacao powder, granulated sugar, 1/4 c. canola oil, and butter in a double boiler or heatproof bowl set over a pot of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally, until butter is melted and mixture comes together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, Dutch process cocoa, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.

In a large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until smooth. Add the yogurt, 1/4 c. canola oil and vanilla and whisk to combine. Add the cacao-butter mixture to this and whisk until blended. Add the flour mixture to this and mix until just moistened.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and sprinkle with nuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into 24 squares.

Serving size: 1 square

Notes on this recipe:
* Whole wheat pastry flour: I used Bob's Red Mill flour, which you can find in the natural foods section of most grocery stores, or at Whole Foods. You can also order this from Nuts Online, which is where I source a lot of my ingredients.
* Bittersweet chocolate vs. Cocoa / Cacao: According to joyofbaking.com, if you don't have bittersweet chocolate, you can substitute unsweetened chocolate and sugar at the ratio of 1/2 oz. cocoa plus 1 T. granulated sugar for every 1 oz. bittersweet chocolate. If you don't have unsweetened chocolate, you can substitute 3 T. (20 g) cocoa powder plus 1 T. melted butter or oil for every 1 oz. of unsweetened chocolate you need.
* Brown sugar: I used dark brown sugar in this recipe, although the original called for light brown sugar, in an attempt to deepen the flavor a bit.
* Yogurt: The original recipe called for "low-fat yogurt" but I used low-fat Greek yogurt. What's different about Greek yogurt? It has a thicker, less watery consistency which I thought would contribute to a thicker, denser brownie.
* Cinnamon: The original recipe didn't call for cinnamon at all, but I added this to lend a bit more depth of flavor. Next time I'll try a "wicked" brownie by adding chipotle and cayenne pepper in along with the cinnamon.