White Turkey Chili

Don’t have time to make dinner?  This takes about 20 minutes, give or take.  No more excuses!  I mentioned this chili in a previous post, when I said one of my favorite pairings is my Jiffy corn muffin hack with white turkey chili.  Since I’ve had a lot of requests for recipes that are easy and can be done in a crock pot, this was a natural next choice.  Also, many of my friends have enjoyed this chili over the last several years, and they’ve all been yelling at me to blog about it. 🙂  One thing, though.  I’m not just giving your the recipe, I’m giving you 3 recipes in 1.  You get the original version, with 2 other variations on the same thing.  Have fun experimenting!

This is not your mama’s chili, but as soon as you make it, your mama will want to too.  In fact, this is not my mama’s chili either– it’s my aunt’s.  She used to make this all the time when we all would come for family gatherings, and then finally I just bummed the recipe off of her.  I made it in college for my friends, and they were always insanely impressed.  What I didn’t tell them is how stupid easy this recipe is.  Now that Liz and I are married, her coworkers can’t wait until it’s her turn for soup day, because they know that means I’ll be making this to send in with her (even though I’m the cook around here, even she knows how to make this, it’s so simple).  It’s quick, easy, delicious, and filling.  Also, it’s easily adaptable and you can do about 8,000,000 different things with it.

Like the other chili I posted, this is not a traditional kind of chili where you have to use a hodgepodge of ingredients to get a great flavor.  You can adapt and add things though, if you like certain things that aren’t in there, or to get the level of spiciness you want.  My White Turkey Chili literally only has 4 ingredients. I’ll list those first, because I can tell you, this chili is outstanding with just these 4 things.

THE ORIGINAL

• 1-2 lbs. ground turkey
• 1 – 48 oz. jar (glass jar) Randall great northern beans
• 1 – 16 oz. jar salsa of your choice (I use Pace mild, you can use whatever you want)
• 1 – 8 oz. block of monterrey jack cheese, cut into small chunks

All you need to do to make a pot of the good stuff is to first brown the turkey in a large pot.  After that, you could then transfer the turkey to a crock pot, or you can continue in a regular pot.  If you’re going to have people over, you might want to go the crock pot route.  Next, throw everything else in and heat it until the cheese has melted.  You’ll need to stir a lot to get the cheese incorporated– everything should become thoroughly mixed, and the cheese will lighten the color of the soup.  Serve it hot, obviously, and with tortilla chips.

Now.  Now that I have told you how to make it with the basic 4 ingredients, let me give you 2 ways you can adapt it.  First off, If you’re making this for a crowd, you might want to think about making a little extra.  Also, when I went to the store this last time, they didn’t have the big glass jar of beans, so I had to improvise.  Here’s an extra large recipe, with a little something-something extra.

FOR A CROWD… AND WITH A TWIST

• 3 lbs. ground turkey (I found a 3 lb. package at the store)
• 4 – 15 oz. cans of great northern beans
• 1 – 16 oz. block of PEPPER JACK cheese (see what I did there?) 😉
• 1 – 24 oz. can of salsa of your choice
• 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes and green chillies
• 2 Tbs. ground cumin

The process is the same for this, just make sure you’re using a really big pot.  After you brown the turkey, season it with the cumin.  Then go about the rest, and just dump in everything and heat it until you can incorporate the chunks of cheese fully.  If you don’t want to make this much, just use the measurements for the original version, but add a little cumin and sub in the pepper jack.  Next up is the way my mother-in-law makes it.  It’s more like a chicken enchilada soup this way, but it’s just as easy and just as good!

MAMA ROSE’S CHICKEN ENCHILADA WHITE CHILI

• 3 cans of chunk chicken in water
• 1 – 16 oz. jar salsa of your choice
• 1 – 8 oz. block of pepper jack cheese, cut into small chunks
• 1 – 48 oz. jar Randall great northern beans
• 1 – 15 oz. jar of corn
• 2 C. chicken broth

The process is now even simpler, because you don’t have to brown any meat.  You just throw everything together and heat it until the cheese melts.  Enjoy!

Classic Tuna Melt

If you’re a fan of the classic cafe tuna melt, this one is calling your name.  No kidding, this sandwich may have changed my life.  Seriously?  So good.  In this recipe, there are a few other tips you can use for other things, too!  Keep your eyes peeled.  For this grilled sandwich, we’ll grill the bread without the fixin’s on it, so that we don’t make a mess.  Also, it’ll keep the tuna salad cool and the bread hot, which is a great contrast.

This is like two recipes in one, because the first and most important step in the process is having a really good tuna salad to go on your really good tuna melt.  Having a mediocre tuna salad would give you a mediocre sandwich, right?  Don’t be that guy.  Or gal.  I’ll share all my secrets for a great tuna salad, because keeping it a secret would not do me any good since I’m the only one at my house who likes tuna salad to begin with.  You could doctor this up if you wanted to by adding some diced onion, celery, walnuts, or grapes, but I don’t honestly think it’s necessary.  When I made this, I thought it was so good that I’m not sure I would want to try to change it.  Here’s what you need:

TUNA SALAD (1-2 servings)

• 1 small can chunk light tuna in water
• 1 tbs. soy sauce (secret ingredient)
• 1 tbs. regular mayonnaise
• 1 tsp. spicy brown (or dijon) mustard
• 1 tbs. sweet pickle relish

DIRECTIONS:

1. With the lid of the can, squeeze the water out of the tuna.  In a small bowl, mix the tuna and soy sauce and allow to sit and marinate for a few minutes.
2. Add in the other ingredients and stir to combine.  Taste it and adjust to taste.

If you’re like my mom, you’ll say “I don’t like soy sauce.” and avoid using it altogether.  Don’t.  Because it’s awesome, and in the tuna salad, you can’t taste it at all anyway.  It’s just a little added kick and a bit of saltiness that you WILL miss if you don’t add it in.  Trust me.

NEXT STEP.  The sammich.  Oh, the sammich.

• 2 slices of some really good 12 grain bread
• 1 tbs. butter (don’t you DARE substitute!)
• ground sage
• sea salt
• sliced cheese of your choice– I recommend swiss or farmer’s cheese, but white cheddar would be nice as well

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remember when I said there would be other tips you can use for other things?  You can use this any time you make grilled cheese or any kind of grilled sandwich.  Melt the butter in a medium pan (needs to fit both pieces of bread).  When the pan is coated, dip each piece of bread in the butter to coat one side of each slice.  This is the solution to un-spreadable refrigerated butter.
2. Here’s another tip to use for grilled sandwiches:  Lightly season the buttered side of each piece of bread with the sea salt and sage.
3. Buttered-side down, place the bread in the pan over medium-low heat.  Top each piece of bread with a slice of cheese.  This is important.  It will create a barrier preventing the tuna salad from making the bread soggy.  Toast the bread until it’s golden brown and the cheese is melted.
4. Put the tuna salad between the cheesy sides of the bread and cut it in half.  Nom away.

Southwest Stuffed Shells

Here’s one to start you off.  I made these the other night, and Liz loved them. Also, I tested the water on Facebook, basically just sharing the picture and the recipe… people jumped on it.

I was motivated to make a stuffed shell primarily for nostalgic reasons.  I remembered back on my childhood when my mom used to make stuffed shells all the time (I’m remembering like… at least once every two weeks, but I was a kid.  I’m thinking it was realistically more like once every month or two).  I thought to myself, God, I haven’t had stuffed shells in like… probably 10 years.  Mom always did it lasagna style, with ricotta, mozzarella, meat sauce, and whatever.  She also uses cottage cheese.  Some people are shocked when I say that, but I’m telling you, it’s a good texture.  I think it adds some substance to the mixture of cheeses and sauce and pasta, where it usually would be somewhat homogenous in texture… gooey and chewy and whatever… I don’t know.  Call me crazy, but I was raised on lasagna/ stuffed shells that had cottage cheese in them… and loved it.  Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.

This is not my mom’s stuffed shell recipe.  Nope.

These are Tex-Mex stuffed shells.  I know I am not the first person who thought… “That’s probably a good idea.” I know, because as soon as the idea dawned on me, I immediately googled it for a little inspiration.  Here’s what I came up with.

• 1 lb. lean ground beef
• 1/2 medium-sized onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 1 or 2 Tbs. of Adobo sauce (from a small can of chipotles with Adobo sauce–adds a smoky kick)
• 1 C. cooked white or brown rice
• 1 regular can enchilada sauce, divided
• 1/2 can black beans
• 1/2 can fiesta corn (regular corn would be fine too)
• 1/2 ripe avocado (sliced)
• Salsa (about a half of a jar or so)
• Large stuffing shells, cooked and rinsed in cool water (about 20-24)
• 1 or 2 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro
• Shredded Mexican cheese
• Salt/Pepper to taste

Follow the directions on the package to cook the rice.  In a reasonably sized skillet, brown the beef.  Add to it the chopped onion and garlic and sautee it until it’s soft.  Add the taco seasoning, 1/2 of the enchilada sauce, and optional Adobo sauce (you can add more to taste if you like it spicier).  Add the rice to it.  Then, mix in the cilantro, beans, corn, and about 4 Tbs. of salsa. Let it simmer for a few.  Then, pour the other 1/2 can of enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9×13 Pyrex and spread it out evenly.  Spoon the filling into the shells (there will be quite a bit of extra filling), and arrange them in the Pyrex.  I think I got about 20 of them in there, but you might be able to fit 24 if you’re really awesome.  Top each shell with a spoonful of salsa and then bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.  In the last 5 or so minutes, top generously with the cheese and leave in the oven to melt for 5 minutes.  Serve hot, each topped with a slice of ripe avocado.  You won’t be sorry.