Spoonachos...

It's amazing how quickly 8 months goes by...

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to make another post, it's not like I haven't been cooking all summer. So on the bright side, I have lots of things to post about but on the flip side I will make no promises on frequency.




Anyhow, on to something more interesting...

One word for you: Spoonachos

Unfortunately it's only a concept at the moment, but I and those in my home would be all over these. One of the few things I'll buy even if it's not on sale are the scoop chips from Tostidos, but these would be even better. You get the ergonomics of a spoon with the added bonus of it being edible.

I had visions of a Willy Wonka moment of being able to eat dinnerware as well, but this would due for now.



Original Article

Weight Watchers Hearty Turkey Chili

I find myself having to make things for other people quite a bit lately... just last night I threw together some apple walnut muffins (coming soon) for a function at church... I have a much harder time figuring out what to make for others than I do for myself, my lovely wife can confirm that I am perfectly happy eating the same three or four things over and over again... but most people have an expectation that something new and exciting is going to be offered, which is why I gave this recipe a chance. I'm usually confident enough to unleash something new on people without ever having made it before, which is something my home-ec teacher would probably have strongly discouraged. This was pretty foolproof though, so there wasn't too much to worry about.

I've been on a chili kick lately... I'm not sure if it's been the weather or my mood, but as most can tell comfort food has been dominating the blog lately. Some day I'll actually have to post about meatballs again. Anyhow, this recipe calls for some interesting ingredients that aren't usually found in chili but really distinguish the dish from other chili recipes. I would never have thought to put carrots in chili, but it really works in this dish. Congrats to weight watchers for making a mostly healthy chili interesting as well.

One thing to keep in mind with this recipe is that it will be quite spicy if you follow the instructions exactly. I chose to moderate the heat a bit by adding a little less spice.


(Picture coming soon)


1 tsp canola oil
1 large onion(s), chopped
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
2 medium carrot(s), thinly sliced into rounds
1 pound(s) lean ground turkey
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 Tbsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
2 medium tomato(es), chopped
1 cup(s) canned tomato sauce
1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup(s) cooked kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup(s) scallion(s), chopped

Coat a large pot with cooking spray; place over medium heat. Add oil and onion; sauté onion until soft, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and carrots; cook until garlic is softened, about 1 minute. Add turkey; brown meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Stir to break up lumps.

Add chili powder, paprika, red pepper flakes, cumin, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, vinegar, beans and green pepper; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until meat and vegetables are tender, about 30 to 45 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper; garnish with scallions.

Makes 6 servings

Adapted from: Recipe on WeightWatchers.com

Coming Soon: Chipotle Beans and Pork

Helen's Spam Fried Rice

What can I say about SPAM that hasn't already been said... probably not much. I can honestly say that I had never tried SPAM until pretty recently, and the following recipe is currently the only way that I choose to enjoy it, but wow... I never knew what I was missing. I'm still not brave enough to try the SPAM burger, which the can is usually enticing me with, but I could definitely see myself enjoying it in a variety of breakfast applications.

Christie's family was lucky enough to spent a couple years in Hawaii when she was very little and this is where my mother-in-law picked up this recipe. SPAM seems to be revered in Hawaii for some reason, it's found in all kinds of dishes there, so it's only natural that it be paired with the other thing that Hawaiians eat large amounts of... rice. I'm pretty sure you're able to get a side of rice at McDonalds' in the Aloha State.

Rice is always something that I make too much of, so making a smaller portion of this recipe would be a great way to use up any extras that you find yourself with. Also, as a note, this recipe works just as well without the SPAM... although, you'll probably want to add some vegetables (see below).

3 cups white rice (cooked)
1 can SPAM, diced into 1/2 inch cubes
2 eggs, beaten with a little water
1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
Vegetable Oil

Optional:
Green onions
1/2 cup frozen Peas and Carrots Mix

Cook SPAM over medium high heat in a large heavy skillet for 5 to 10 minutes until browned. Remove from skillet and add eggs, cooking until scrambled. Remove from pan, add some vegetable oil if necessary and add cooked rice. Once rice is evenly distributed around skillet, add soy sauce and stir until uniform in color adding slightly more soy sauce if needed. Stir in SPAM and eggs, and peas and carrots, and cook until all ingredients are warmed through. Top with thinly sliced green onions if desired and serve.

Serves 6-8

Coming Soon: Weight Watchers Hearty Turkey Chili

Stir Together Cake

In Sweden, heart decorations are traditionally used around Christmas... this really throws the wife off every once in a while causing her to ask whether something is actually meant for Christmas or if it would be better to hold off on it and put it out for Valentine's Day instead. My usual response is to tell her that she can put things out for Christmas and then just leave them out until February, but this suggestion, like many of mine, is then greeted with some funny looks and a shake of the head.

I bring all this up because this recipe was shown made in a heart shaped pan in the lovely Swedish magazine that my mother found it in, which led me to believe that it was meant for Christmas. I happened to have a similar baking dish, which is what you see below, and thought that this would be a nice recipe to share on Valentine's Day.

The beauty of this dessert is how simple it is to prepare... you literally just stir everything together and pour it into a baking dish. As a side note, this made me realize just how much I love Nutella... it's not for everyone, but my inner dutch came through when I licked the spoon... I had it on my toast the next morning. Good stuff!

100 g butter
2 dl sugar
2 eggs
1 dl vanilla yoghurt
2 dl all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 dl Nutella

Melt butter in a small pan and let cool. Stir in sugar, eggs, yogurt and flour mixed with baking powder. Drop nutella into batter in 3 to 4 drops and stir with a spatula twice around the pan so the nutella is marbled throughout the batter. Pour batter into a buttered and floured baking dish, around 20 cm in diameter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 350 degrees in the bottom part of the oven until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Adapted from: My Mom's Swedish Magazine, (unknown)

Coming Soon: Helen's Spam Fried Rice

Steak & Mushroom Stew

I'm not sure how it happens, but Christie and I always manage to receive countless catalogs in the mail every month... only a couple of them are from places that we actually shop. I'm not very likely to buy an oriental rug or Costco quantities of party supplies through the mail, but one of the catalogs that I actually enjoy paging through is from Williams Sonoma... mostly because they include recipes to entice you into buying ridiculously expensive cooking gadgets.

Following on the theme of comfort food that I've been on lately, I came across this gem for a lovely beef stew and thought I'd give it a go. Williams Sonoma helpfully included it to showcase their $300 slow cooker that has a removable insert that is oven/stovetop safe, which is probably a great idea but instead of laying out that much money for a $8 cut of meat I picked up at Safeway I went with one of the dutch ovens I have laying around to brown the meat and cook the vegetables. Our guests seemed to really enjoy the meal, so I can only imagine how much better it would have been with the high priced accessory.

As a note, the photo you see below is from the second time that Christie and I enjoyed this meal. The first time we enjoyed it with some friends and I served it as recommended by the fine people at Williams Sonoma... with mashed potatoes. This seemed a little odd to me at first, but now I'm wondering why I've never had beef stew served this way before... trust me, it's definitely worth a try.

6 oz. thick cut bacon, diced
3 1/2 - 4 lbs. chuck roast, cut into 1 in. cubes
Salt and Pepper
2 small onions, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 celery stalks, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp. tomato paste
3/4 lbs. cremini mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp. veal demi glace (optional)
3 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, cook bacon for around 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Poor bacon fat into bowl. Season beef with salt and pepper and brown in bacon fat 8 - 10 minutes, in batches if necessary.

Reduce heat to medium; warm 1 tbsp. bacon fat. Cook onions, carrots and celery 10 minutes. Add garlic and tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Add mushrooms; saute 10-12 minutes. Stir in demi-glace, mustard, beef, bacon, broth, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and transfer to a slow-cooker. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high. Skim off fat and stir in parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Serves 6 - 8

Adapted from the Williams Sonoma Catalog, Holiday 2009

Coming Soon: Stir Together Cake

Southwest Tuna Noodle Bake

A new year has come to my favorite food blog... unfortunately it has taken me quite a while to get around to updating. Reflecting on the last year I see that I've averaged about 3 posts per month, which isn't quite the one post per week the I was shooting for. Resolutions aren't really my thing, but hopefully I'll get inspired to make some more posts in this new year.

The weather around Seattle has not been nearly as extreme as in other parts of the country, but it is definitely winter here... gray and wet. What better time to sit down to a nice comforting casserole? We didn't eat a lot of casseroles in my house growing up, they're something I've come to love in my later years. Christie has probably been an influence concerning that since casseroles were a normal occurrence in her home growing up.

I'm usually prone to use the recipe you can find on the Campbell Soup website for tuna noodle casserole when I'm in the mood for some old school comfort food, but this recipe caught my eye in one of the many cooking magazines that make their way to our house. There have been a lot of terrible puns going through my head about spicing things up with this recipe, but I think I'm going to leave that alone for now. I did receive three new cookbooks for Christmas though, so hopefully some new and exciting things will be coming through here soon...

1 package egg noodles
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cans water-packed tuna, drained
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
2 cups crushed tortilla chips

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the milk, tuna, soups, cheese and chilies. Drain noodles and gently stir into tuna mixture.

Transfer to an ungreased 13 x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with tortilla chips. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly.

Makes 6 servings

Adapted from: Simple and Delicious, November/December 2009

Coming Soon: Steak and Mushroom Stew