Corn and Potato Chowder

Recently made a corn and potato chowder with bacon:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/corn-and-potato-chowder-recipe.html

It was delicious. Amber thought it could use a little less bacon.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups chicken broth or stock
4 cups peeled, finely diced all-purpose potato
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Directions
Sling the butter into a soup kettle and melt over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook till crisp. Scoop out the bacon and drain on paper towels. Save for later--don't nibble too much.

Pour off all but 1/4 cup of fat from the pot. Toss in the onions and peppers, seasoning them with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook till soft and then throw in the garlic, cooking it all for 1 minute more. Sprinkle on the flour and mix into the veggies. Dump in the broth and potatoes. Cover the pot and bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, or till the potatoes are tender. Add the shredded carrots and corn. Cover and simmer everything 5 to 6 minutes longer to blend the flavors.

Stir in the half-and-half. Season with the thyme, cayenne, some more salt, and lots of freshly ground black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with parsley and the bacon bits you've been saving. Give it one last stir, and ladle it up piping hot.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/corn-and-potato-chowder-recipe.html?oc=linkback

new ground turkey recipe - ground meat saboro
http://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/basic-meat-soboro

Amber thought it sounded like hamburger helper. So at some point she gets that too:
http://www.farmgirlgourmet.com/2012/12/homemade-hamburger-helper.html

Meat soboro

• 450g / 1lb ground beef, pork, veal, turkey or a combination of any
• 1 to 2 Tbs. sesame oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green onion, green and white parts both (about 2 stalks)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 piece fresh ginger, finely chopped to yield about 2 Tbs. of chopped ginger
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 2 Tbs. sake
• 3 Tbs. dark soy sauce
• 3 to 4 Tbs. oyster sauce

Equipment: a large non-stick frying pan or a wok
Chop up all the vegetables as fine as you can.
Heat up 1 Tbs. of sesame oil in the pan. Add the vegetables and stir fry until softened. Add the meat and brown well.
Add the sugar, and stir around until it’s caramelized a bit.
Add the sake; stir around to evaporate.
Add the soy sauce and oyster sauce. Let simmer until the liquid is almost gone, but the meat is still moist. Taste for seasoning at this point and add a little soy sauce or salt if you think it needs it. (Keep in mind that it’s made to eat with something bland, like rice, so it should be quite strongly flavored.)
Note: if you keep cooking it until the meat is thoroughly dried out, it becomes a meat furikake with longer keeping qualities. I prefer to keep it at the soboro stage though.

Amber

Red Beans, Rice, and Sausage

Easy and delicious

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/sausage-red-beans-n-rice/detail.aspx

That link doesnt seem right, trying this tonight:

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil pure
• 2 links chicken sausage all natural, cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1/2 medium onion(s) diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 large carrot(s) chopped
• 1 can beans red, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup chicken stock or bone broth low-sodium
• 1/2 cup tomato(s) jarred, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning no-salt
• 1 cup quinoa raw

Directions

Heat the olive oil on medium high heat and sear the sausage for 2-3 minutes on each side or until dark brown and crispy. Remove the sausage and turn the heat down to medium.

Saute the onions, garlic, and carrot for 5 minutes.

Puree 1/2 cup of beans, 1/2 cup of chicken stock and the tomatoes in a blender until smooth. Add the tomato-bean puree, spices, remaining stock, remaining beans and sausage and cook for 20-25 minutes or until thick.

Rinse the quinoa and drain. Add two cups of water, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed.

Serve the red beans and sausage over the quinoa.

Polenta with balsamic kale

Recipe here. I've never fried polenta before. Which is a shame, because it's delicious and fries up surprisingly well for something that seems like mostly water. This recipe is super simple, and pretty damn good. I want to give it another go, soon, when I have the time to reduce the vinegar as suggested in the notes. Yum!

Pumpkin Pie

As someone who obsesses about pumpkin pretty much year-round, I have no idea why it's taken me this long to make pumpkin pie from scratch. But it has. Nick bought me a couple of pie pumpkins on a whim last week (isn't he sweet??) so I decided that was the kick in the butt I needed. I followed the directions on this site (baked the pumpkins), and even made my own crust (used a mix of butter and shortening). It was a good way to spend the afternoon, between bouts of data analysis and reading papers, but that's another story... :)

Bulgur Pilaf

The usual kale and tilapia but this time accompanied by bulgur.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Bulgur-Pilaf-233989

Ground turkey

We've been making this Turkey and Quinoa Meatloaf recipe a ton lately. It's easy, delicious, and you can convince yourself that it's really good for you, too :)

Also recommended? Turkey meatballs.