Trust Me Stir Fry

This is my FAVORITE stir fry and one of our all time favorite dinners. Last night Ben said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but it really is better with the tofu." This dish is based off of a dish my college boyfriend's mother makes. I've changed it a bit, but overall it still resembles her dish. I don't know what it's called in Chinese. I call it Trust Me Stir fry because it doesn't have a lot of ingredients, and the ingredients it does have may not be your favorite. But when you combine them they are DELICIOUS! Trust me, you will love this dinner, even if you don't like green peppers or tofu. 

Every adult that I've made this for has really liked it. Tommy's the only kid that's tried it, so no guarantee your kids will like this. Tommy ate the turkey and a piece of the tofu. He didn't like the green peppers, but since he's just a toddler he gets a pass. =) I'm hoping that in the near future he'll come to realize how amazing this dinner is. 

You can make it without the tofu, but it really adds a great texture and smokey flavor. If you can find it I highly recommend it. Locally I find it at Winco. One of the tricks to getting green pepper haters to like this dish is to thinly slice and slowly cook the peppers. Once the peppers are almost cooked, add soy sauce and continue cooking until they've absorbed the soy sauce flavor and are soft. But be careful not to burn them! Once you add the soy sauce stir the dish often or the soy sauce will burn. 

Ben and I ate it with white rice. We've had it with cooked millet before, but the millet flavor overpowered the dish. If you can't or don't eat rice (like Tommy), I would recommend just having the stir fry by itself.

Trust Me Stir Fry

Makes 5 Servings

1 lb ground turkey
4 poblano peppers (sometimes labeled pasilla peppers), sliced into matchsticks
2 green bell peppers, sliced into matchsticks
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce, divided
1 Tbsp canola oil
7.4 oz package smoked tofu, sliced into matchsticks
Chili garlic sauce to taste

1. Brown and crumble the turkey in a very large nonstick skillet or dutch oven sized pot over medium high heat. When the turkey is almost cooked, add 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce.
2. Remove the cooked turkey and set aside. Add the oil to the pan and reduce the heat to a little under medium. Add all the peppers. When the peppers are mostly cooked, add 2 Tbsp soy sauce. Stir frequently after you add the soy sauce to prevent burning. 
3. When the peppers are soft, add in the tofu and the final 1 Tbsp soy sauce. Cook until the tofu is warm.
4. Add in the cooked turkey and stir well to combine. Serve with chili garlic sauce to taste.

Nutritional Info (From My Fitness Pal, this is just for the stir fry)
Calories: 251
Fat: 14 g
Fiber: 5 g
Sugar: 2 g
Sodium: 982 mg
Protein: 25 g

Sloppy Salad

Yesterday I didn't feel like going to the store, so I decided to make Sloppy Joes for dinner since I had a can of Sloppy Joe Sauce and extra buns from the weekend. Today I used the leftover meat in a salad for lunch. Disclaimer: this recipe isn't really Tommy safe. The prepared sauce has "spices" and "natural flavors", which may mean that it contains mustard. So no sauce for Tommy. But, it is dairy, gluten, rice and egg free. I bought a ton of tomato paste at a case lot sale recently, so in the future I'll make my own Sloppy Joe sauce that Tommy can eat too. Dinner last night was good, but this salad was delicious!  

Sloppy Salad

1/2 cup Sloppy Joe Meat

2 cups chopped lettuce

1/2 avocado, diced
Juice from 1/2 lime

1. If using leftovers, warm meat.

2. In a salad bowl or plate, layer lettuce, meat and avocado. 
3. Squeeze lime juice over the top. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joe Meat

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 large onion, diced

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 bag coleslaw mix (just the vegetable mix, not the kind that has dressing)

1 can Manwich Sloppy Joe Sauce

1. In a large skillet, cook turkey, onion and pepper over medium heat.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook over medium low heat until the cabbage is wilted and the sauce warmed.

3. Serve on buns or use in Sloppy Salad

Leftover Madness Part 2 (Turkey Tetrazzini with Spaghetti Squash)

The second recipe in our leftover series is Turkey Tetrazzini with Spaghetti Squash. I have fond memories of my mom making turkey tetrazzini after Thanksgiving. I always feel a little nostalgic when I eat it. The recipe I've made before has a lot of Parmesan and cream cheese, but I'm hoping coconut milk will give it a similar richness. 

It tastes surprisingly like the original. It probably wouldn't survive a side by side comparison  but when you haven't had turkey tetrazzini in a long time it's a great knock-off. And the spaghetti squash is a lot less calories than regular spaghetti. It definitely has a coconut flavor, but it's not too overwhelming. I'm looking forward to making this again with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Cooked chicken would work just as well too. 

Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spaghetti squash (~2-3 lbs)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Rinse spaghetti squash and pierce several times with a knife.
3. Bake on a cookie sheet for 45 minutes, until you can easily stick a fork through the skin. Let sit for 30 min to cool.
4. Slice in half and discard seeds.
5. Shred with fork to produce strands.

Gluten and Dairy Free Turkey Tetrazzini

1 Tbsp canola oil
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp tapioca or potato starch
2 cups chicken stock
13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk
2 cups diced cooked turkey
1 medium spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded
3/4 cup gluten free breadcrumbs

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. 
3. Add celery, onion, shallots, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook until mushrooms brown and onions soften.
4. Add balsamic vinegar and starch. Cook for 2 min, stirring frequently.
5. Add chicken stock and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer.
6. Simmer for 15 min until thickened.
7. Add turkey and spaghetti squash.
8. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Pour tetrazzini into dish. Top with breadcrumbs.
9. Bake for 30 min until the top is browned.

Poblano Pepper Vent (Turkey Pepper Stir Fry with Cooked Millet)

One of my favorite go-to meals is turkey pepper stir fry. It’s easy to prepare and doesn't have many ingredients. We usually eat this several times a month.

For some reason all the grocery stores here label poblano peppers as “pasilla peppers.” I have no idea how this trend started. Pasilla peppers are dried chilaca peppers. Poblano peppers are fresh, and even in the dried form they’re called ancho chiles. The other day a cashier apologized to me because now instead of saying "pasilla peppers", the poblanos ring in as something completely different. I told her that's ok, pasilla peppers was incorrect too. She looked at me like I was a nutcase. 

This is a pasilla pepper. 

This is a poblano pepper. 

We love this stir fry over white rice, but since Tommy’s allergic to rice, he gets the stir fry over cooked millet. Cooked millet tastes a lot like brown rice. It has sort of a nutty flavor and lots of fiber. I think the flavor is kind of overpowering for the stir fry, but it's a good substitute if you don't want to have rice or are looking for something to get your intestines flowing. And it's cheaper than quinoa.

If you've never heard of millet before, don't worry, I hadn't either. It's an ancient gluten free grain that's now mostly eaten by livestock and people in Africa. And Tommy.

Turkey Pepper Stir Fry

20 oz ground turkey
2 large heads of broccoli, or 3 small ones

2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 poblano peppers, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided

Chili garlic sauce (optional)

1. Steam the broccoli in a large skillet. When the broccoli is cooked, transfer it to a large bowl.

2. Add the ground turkey to the pan. Cook over medium-high heat. When the turkey is almost cooked, add one tablespoon of soy sauce. When the turkey is cooked, add it to the large bowl.

3. Add one tablespoon of canola oil and turn the heat to medium. Add all the peppers. Cook until softened but not browned. When the peppers are almost done, add one tablespoon of soy sauce.

4. Add the broccoli and turkey back into the pan, add one more tablespoon of soy sauce and stir. Cook until the turkey and broccoli are warmed.

5. Serve over white rice or millet with chili garlic sauce.

Cooked Millet

½ cup hulled millet

2 cups water

1. Add the millet to a medium saucepan. Run your fingers through the millet to look for little rocks.

2. Toast the millet over medium heat stirring frequently for approximately 2 minutes, or until it starts to smell toasted. Be careful not to burn the millet.

3. Add the water and cover. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Do not open the lid and do not stir while it’s simmering.