Turkey Chili for a crowd (12 servings)

In a recent perusal through my recipes, I came across this one which was hand copied from a Betty Crocker slow-cooker recipe cookbook one of my friends had purchased. Having inherited my mother's 1970ish hand wash only vintage Rival crockpot and preferring to use as few pots and pans as possible, I chose to copy this recipe as it was quick to make and one of the few in the book which used one 6 quart pot on stove top. Where this recipe makes a good amount of chili, leftovers can be frozen then thawed and eaten within three months. 

Turkey Chili 

2 pounds ground turkey 

2 cups chopped onions 

3 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, undrained 

3 16 – 15 ounce cans kidney, lima, black or chili beans 

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce 

¼ cup chili powder 

1 tablespoon ground cumin 

½ teaspoon black pepper 

Using a 6 quart dutch oven or 8 quart stockpot, cook turkey and onions over medium heat for 15 minutes or until turkey appears to be cooked through. Stir in remaining ingredients, breaking up whole tomatoes. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 1 ¼ hours.

Peas with Onion and Soy Sauce (serves 1)

This recipe was inspired by a copy of a “Peas and Shell Macaroni” recipe from Jeanne Ambutter of “Heritage Cooking”, a Boston, MA based test kitchen and food demonstration business from the mid-twentieth centry, from a “Buttery Peas and Shallot” recipe from America's Test Kitchen Quick Family Cookbook and the need to use up a onion. 

 

This is a relatively quick recipe and paired with a hard boiled egg, 1 – 2 slices of toast, left over rice or chicken makes a meal for one. 

 

Peas with Onion and Soy Sauce for one 

 

1 tablespoon canola oil 

¾ cup onion, diced 

1 ¼ cup frozen peas 

1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional) 

 

1) In 3 quart pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. 

2) Add onion and cook until lightly browned, about 2 – 5 minutes. 

3) Stir in peas and cook 2 – 5 minutes or until peas can be pieced with fork. 

4) Remove from heat and stir in soy sauce. 

5) Serve. 

6) Store any leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator. 

 

 

 

Peas with Onion 

and Soy Sauce ready to eat

Oatmeal peanut butter cookies (makes 30 cookies)

This is a quick drop cookie recipe which can be easily doubled and freezes well. If planning to freeze these cookies after making them, I recommend making the cookies on the small size as they'll thaw faster.

Oatmeal peanut butter cookies 

1 egg 

¼ cup (or ½ stick) butter or margarine 

½ cup white sugar 

½ cup brown sugar 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract  

1 tablespoon canola oil 

1 tablespoon water 

2 ¼ cups oatmeal 

1 ¼ cups peanut butter 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung and pre-heat oven to 375 degrees farneheit. 

2) In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, butter, sugars, vanilla extract, oil and water. 

3) Add peanut butter. Mix. 

4) Add oatmeal and baking soda. Mix. 

5) Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto non-stick cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake in oven for 6 – 12 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool cookies on wire rack.

6) Repeat step 5 as many times as needed. 

Serve or store cooled cookies in airtight container.  If freezing, place cookies in freezer safe container and thaw on counter top prior to serving.  

Small Batch Blueberry Jam (makes about 5 ounces)

While making strawberry jam, I would wonder how difficult it would be to make a low sugar blueberry jam. In search for such a recipe, I located a Pectin free, low sugar blueberry jam recipe on the Mother Earth News website which allows use of either fresh or frozen blueberries. This Mother Earth News recipe makes 4 pints or about 8 jelly jars worth of jam and gives instruction on how to can/preserve the jam using either hot water bath or atmospheric steam canner. 

Being more interested in using blueberries I froze when in season and not having 12 cups (6 pints) in my freezer, I adjusted this recipe for 1 pint of blueberries and skipped the canning process. The end result is about 5 ounces or ¼ pint of jam which takes under an hour to make and will keep in refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. I recommend letting the jam completely cool before serving to get the full flavor of the blueberries.  

Small Batch Blueberry Jam 

1 pint or about 2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen 

2 teaspoons lemon juice 

¼ cup to ¼ cup plus 4 teaspoons sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave nectar 

1) Place a small plate in the freezer for testing the set. 

2) Combine the blueberries and lemon juice in heavy saucepan over low heat. 

3) Let the berries cook for a few minutes over low heat (about 10 minutes for frozen), until they begin to break down, and then crush them with a potato masher. 

4) After the mixture is juicy with crushed fruit, increase heat to high and add 1⁄4 cup of sugar, maple syrup, honey or agave nectar and bring to a boil. 

5) Boil vigorously and stir continuously until the mixture is fairly thick, about 6-15 minutes. You’ll have reached the jam stage when a spoonful of jam dropped onto a cold plate holds its shape and you can leave a clean trail by passing your finger through the mixture. 

6) Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. 

7) Taste the jam and add the additional sweetener, 1 teaspoon at a time, if desired 

8) Ladle the hot jam into heat proof container with a lid. 

9) Allow jam to cool uncovered for 1-2 hours. 

10) Cover jam, store jam in refrigerator and use within 3 weeks. 

Small batch of Blueberry Jam cooling on counter top

Mediterranean Chicken for a crowd (14 servings)

In thinking of one dish meals which I've made, I remembered this one. It was hand copied from a Betty Crocker slow-cooker recipe cookbook one of my friends had purchased. While the original recipe calls for cooking this in crockpot or slow-cooker I chose to use a 3-inch deep 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish and bake in the oven. 

Mediterranean Chicken 

 

1 medium butternut squash, cut into 2-inch pieces 

1 cup chopped bell pepper 

12 chicken breast tenders or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts each cut into 3 pieces 

1 14 ounce can stewed or diced tomatoes 

½ cup salsa 

¼ cup raisins 

¼ teaspoon cinnamon 

¼ teaspoon cumin 

Non-stick cooking spray 

 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung. 

2) Pre-heat oven temperature to 350 degrees farenheit. 

3) If baking dish isn't non-stick spray inside of 3-inch deep 13-inch by 9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

 

4) Layer squash, pepper and chicken in baking dish. Pour tomatoes and salsa over chicken, squash and pepper and then evenly sprinkle raisins, cinnamon and cumin on top. 

5) Cover loosely with aluminum foil. 

 

6) Place in oven and cook 45 minutes – 1 1/2 hours or until chicken pieces in the center of the baking dish are no longer pink when cut in half. 

7) Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving. 

 

8) Store any leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies

This recipe is a combination of the peanut butter cookie recipe I learned as a child and the desire to make the classic peanut butter blossom cookies but lacking the Hershey Kisses to do so. While there was an absence of Hershey Kisses in the house there were semi-sweet chocolate chips. This is a quick recipe which makes about 3 dozen cookies. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies (makes 36 cookies)

½ cup (1 stick) butter softened/at room temperature 

 ½ cup sugar 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

1 egg ½ cup peanut butter 

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour 

½ teaspoon baking soda 

½ teaspoon baking powder 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Place oven rack on middle run setting. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit. 

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until blended. Add egg and vanilla extract. Mix. Add peanut butter. Mix. Add flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix. Gently fold in chocolate chips. 

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto non-stick cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. 

Bake in oven for 7 – 9 minutes or until bottoms appear lightly browned. 

Cool cookies on wire rack.

Short Plank Potatoes (serves 1-2)

This is a variation of the Potatoes Poupon recipe which I've had in my collection for at least a decade. Not wanting to make 8 servings nor having red potatoes in the house, I chose to scale down the recipe and use the yellow flesh potatoes I had in the house. The end result was something which tasted like a french fry without the salt which was completely consumed within one hour of being removed from the oven. 

 

Short Plank Potatoes 

 
1 tablespoon olive oil 
2 ½ tablespoons deli or brown mustard 
½ teaspoon minced garlic 
¼ teaspoon italian seasoning 
1 pound yellow flesh potatoes such as yukon gold washed and eyes poked out 
 

1) Place oven rack on middle rung. 
 

2) In a medium bowl combine olive oil, mustard, garlic and italian seasoning. 
3) Slice potatoes into planks approximately ¼-inch wide, 1 ½-inch long and 1/8-inch thick. The key is to have the planks all about the same size. 
4) Toss potato planks in oil-mustard mixture until most are evenly coated. 
 

5) Place potato planks in single layer on a cookie sheet. If all planks don't fit, that's okay. If possible, place larger planks on outside of cookie sheet and smaller pieces inside as this will help with even cooking. Lightly spread small amount of oil-mustard mixture over any potato plank not coated. 
6) Bake in 425 degree farenheit oven for 10 – 20 minutes or until majority pieces are lightly browned. 
7) Remove from oven. Cool for 5 minutes and move to serving dish. 
8) Repeat steps 5 – 7 as many times as needed. 

 
9) Store any leftovers (if there are any) in airtight container in refrigerator. 

 Short Plank Potatoes ready to be served