Turkey Taco Tuesdays

Ok so I haven't posted in a really long time. This blog has really turned into a recipe blog. I love to cook, I love to be creative in the kitchen (MY NEW KITCHEN if you haven't seen check out my facebook photo album Kitchen project) and because people are always asking me for recipes, I like to post it here. Last night in my new kitchen, I made my son's favorite meal...TACOS. Tacos are a GREAT way to get a healthy meal into your child by changing just a few small things. I use soft corn tortillas (better than the hard fried kind). I use organic ground turkey meat instead of ground beef and I NEVER EVER use those taco packets which contain dehydrated everything, and too much sodium and possibly MSG.

Ingredients:
1 lb organic(if you can) ground turkey.
1 onion chopped fine
1 red,yellow or orange pepper chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic pressed or chopped fine
Juice of at least 1 lime
1 chopped plum tomato
1/2 can of tomato paste
a little chicken stock
Lots of chilli powder to taste.

TOPPINGS:
can be anything you want but these are our typical toppings

tomatos
jalepeno
Salsa verde (trader joes makes an awesome one)
Shredded cheese (your favorite)
some kind of green (I substitute arugula or mixed greens for iceberg)
Corn or trader joes corn salsa
low fat sour cream

Brown turkey meat in a pan
add in onion, garlic and peppers until coated and soft
you can add salt and pepper, garlic powder whatever you want
toss in a lot of chilli powder,
juice of the lime
tomato paste and then add some chicken stock to get it all wet and a little sauce.
Cover and let simmer

While the meat is simmering, spray Pam in a frying pan and heat fairly hot. Brown the corn tortilla - not really brown but get them a little toasted on each side. Add Pam in between each tortilla.

I toast 2 at a time and then put on a plate and cover with another plate. While they are toasting cut up your toppings and put all your toppings in ramakins. Voila.

Place meat on tortilla and top with your favorite toppings! YUM!

My 6 year old LOVES them and he gets, protein, good carb, cheese, veg, everything!

Lasagna Soup

Ok so since I posted about the Lasagna Soup on Facebook I've had a lot of requests for the recipe so here it is:

1 lb ground Italian sausage
2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth or stock
1 can Italian style stewed tomatoes, chopped (14.5 oz)
1 can tomato sauce (10.75 oz)
1 1/4 cup pasta (penne, mafalda, small sea shells. I use whole wheat organic penne)
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped (about 1/2 of a 6 oz bag)
1 cup provolone or fresh mozzarella cheese, diced (I buy the shredded mozzarella)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
4 tea. fresh basil, sliced

Procedure: Brown sausage in large pot over medium high heat. Add onions and carrots; saute' 3 minutes.
Stir in mushrooms and garlic, saute' another 3 minutes
Add broth, stewed tomatoes and tomato sauce; bring to boil. Drop in pasta, simmer until cooked, about 10 min. or follow package directions.
Stir in spinach and cook until wilted.
Place 1/4 cup diced cheese (I use the shredded mozzarella) into serving bowls and pour soup on top. Garnish with parmesan and basil. Serve with crusty Italian bread. Makes 4 servings. Buono Appetito!

My notes: You can add dry or fresh basil to the soup along with oregano salt and pepper and a little Tony's. I think I used 6 cloves of garlic (yum!)

Also - when I made this I didn't have spinach or mushrooms - I used Zuchinni and 1/2 of a large red pepper instead and it was delicious! So use what you have in your fridge! I also didn't have a can of tomato sauce - I used 1 large can (28 oz) or diced tomatoes instead.