Turkey Chili

I have to give the majority of credit for this recipe to one of my good friends, Bridget.  She had the spice quantity down pat.  This recipe is very versatile in that you can take away or add ingredients to your liking.  But, remember... don't mess with the spices.  They make this dish!

Turkey Chili

2 pounds ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel original tomatoes with green chiles
2 (16 oz.) cans chili beans in mild sauce
1 (15.8 oz.) can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15.8 oz.) can light red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, saute turkey, onion, and garlic until meat is brown and onions are clear.  Salt and pepper generously.  Once meat is completely brown, drain excess grease.  Add all remaining ingredients.  Simmer for at least 60 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes to prevent sticking.

Serve with your favorite chili toppings.  I recommend sour cream, shredded cheese, and crackers.  Fritos or Cheez-its would be great too!

A note about this recipe-
You can adjust the heat as you like.  I generally don't like really spicy chili, so I used mostly "mild" ingredients.  Definitely use a "medium" or even "hot" if you like it with a kick!

Enjoy!

Barbecue Chicken Legs

I actually have to give my father props for this recipe.  Every time I would go visit my parents, or my parents would come visit me, he would tell me how he makes the perfect chicken wings.  I thought I would give his recipe a try, only with chicken legs (they were what was on sale that week!).  They turned out perfect!  Crisp on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside.  Basically falling off the bone!

PLUS, this is so easy, it's almost a no-brainer!

The Recipe:

12-14 Chicken Legs (or wings)

14 cups water

1 large onion, sliced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Your favorite BBQ sauce*

In a large stock pot, add water, bouillon, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and chicken legs.  Boil for 40 minutes.  In the mean time, get your grill nice and HOT.   Once the legs are done boiling, transfer them to a plate and take them out to the grill.  Grill for 20 minutes, flipping every 5.  Skins should be crisp and just starting to blacken.  Brush with BBQ sauce.  Grill another 3-5 minutes.  Flip and brush with BBQ sauce.  Grill another 3 minutes and you're done!  So easy, but SO amazing!

*Now... about the barbecue sauce.  Please don't think I'm copping out of sharing delicious, HOMEMADE recipes with you by telling you to just go out and buy a bottle of barbecue sauce.  I have contemplated making my own sauce for years now.  The only problem is, I already found the perfect one and I can not deny it!  Sweet Baby Rays Honey Barbecue sauce is so phenomenal, there is no reason to slave over the stove making your own.  If you haven't tried it, try it.  It's heaven in a bottle.

Enjoy!

Three Cheese Supreme Pizza- Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

This is an absolutely delicious tomato sauce that adds a lot of depth to an ordinary pizza.  So, in this entry, I'm going to give you the sauce recipe along with the awesome Three Cheese Pizza Recipe!

Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce
1 (14.5 oz.) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons water

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl.  With a hand mixer, blend until smooth, or desired consistency (if you like it more chunky)

This is the perfect amount for 2 pizzas, just like the dough recipe makes!

Now, for that Three Cheese Pizza...

1 portion of the homemade pizza dough
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4-1 cup fire roasted tomato sauce
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese divided
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
15-20 pepperoni slices (the small kind for pizzas, like Hormel)
1/4 cup diced red pepper
1/4 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 teaspoon dried oregano


Allow dough to stand at room temperature for one hour.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Coat a 12 inch perforated pizza pan with cooking spray.

Place the dough on a light floured surface.  Roll into a 12 inch circle, or use your hands to carefully stretch out the dough.  Place on pizza pan.

Brush crust with olive oil.  Spread pizza sauce evenly over the dough, leave 1 inch of room from the edge for a good crust.  Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the parmesan around the edge of the dough.  Spread 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce.   With your fingers, break apart the ricotta and drop in small bits evenly onto the pizza.  Add pepperoni, peppers, and onions over the cheese.  Top with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella.  Sprinkle with remaining parmesan and oregano.  Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust browns.  Remove from oven and let cool before cutting.

Enjoy!

Three Cheese Supreme Pizza- The Dough

Okay, so I made a pizza using this dough (with a great about of fear) a couple of weeks ago.  All the recipes I looked at for pizza dough involved a bread hook.  Something, surprisingly, I don't own.  Although my plans are to have this available to me soon, I went through a long trial (we are taking months) to come up with simple, delicious, perfect pizza dough without a machine.  After all, being from Chicago, I know how the crust is what makes the pizza.  This crust is so so so simple and does NOT disappoint.  Not to mention, it is much cheaper than buying the pre-packaged crusts or pizza dough.  It does require some planning ahead, but it is SO worth it!

My Homemade Dough
1 packet active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups cold water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour, divided, plus additional for kneading
Cooking spray

Dissolve yeast packet in the one cup of warm water.  Let stand for 5 minutes.

Combine cold water, oil, sugar, and salt in small bowl.  Whisk together.

Measure out 5 1/4 cups flour.  Make sure flour is light and level.  Baking is a science.  Measurements must be precise.  Combine flour, yeast mixture, and ice water mixture in a large bowl.  With a hand mixer, mix until it becomes to difficult/thick to do so.

Let dough stand for 2 minutes.  It will be moist and sticky.  Sprinkle some of remaining flour over dough.  With floured hands, scrape dough out of bowl and onto a floured, smooth surface.

Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic-like.  As you are kneading, add remaining flour one tablespoon at a time to prevent dough from sticking.  Once dough has been kneaded and doesn't stick to your hands, divide dough in half.  Place each half in a gallon-sized zip-top bag coated with cooking spray.

Seal bags and refrigerate over night or up to 2 days.  Let the dough stand for one hour at room temperature before using.

This dough can be a standard for any homemade pizza.

I'll be posting the recipe for my Three Cheese Supreme Pizza along with my Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce next!  Be watching for it in a couple days!

Note- the picture of the pizza dough shown is not a picture of the pizza dough I made.  I found this picture online.  I was stupid and forgot to take a picture of my dough, but it looked exactly the same, so I am using it!