HURRICANE HALEY’S HELL FIRE CHILI

So many exciting things happening guys!  I don’t even know where to begin.  There has been so much going on that I don’t know where to begin or how to keep track.  The main thing is this… I’ve been putting this brand new kitchen of mine to work, that’s what I’ve been doing!

I’ve pretty much got it all complete and organized and fully operational.  I say that one thing is my favourite, like my Inspiration Cabinet, (as seen in the photo above) and then I turn around and I’m overjoyed by another part of it.   A lot to take in and I’m just so appreciative.

I can’t wait to finally show it off!  You will be the first, I promise!  I’ll post all the reveal pics here before anywhere else

Do you ever just want to try something because it looks good?  Even if you might not even like it? Each grocery trip to Superstore I am enticed by the wall of peppers!  Red Thai chili peppers, Scotch Bonnets, Habaneros, all of them, GLORIOUS!  Can I even handle that kind of heat?  The Habanero sauce I buy in Mexico is so hot I only use a few drops on tacos and such….  I’ve never had a need to buy these cool peppers.  Easy problem to fix.  Create a need for them!  Spicy Chili seems just perfect for this autumn weather!

Time to get chopping.  Soothing, relaxing, therapy… chopping veg.  I know i’m weird.

Start the base of this lean turkey chili, with some onion ang garlic.  Yes that’s right, it’s more ground turkey.  So much better for ya and you really wouldn’t know the difference.  This is one big stock pot loaded with tantalizing tongue flavours.

Add in the celery and the mushrooms and let it all cook until the celery is super tender and the mushrooms lose a lot of their moisture.

I would have used fresh mushrooms but one of the good purposes of chili is to use up some of that stuff that you bought a while ago, even tho it wasn’t on your shopping list. You bought it just cuz it was on sale…multiples of whatever it was?  Oh come on, I can’t be the only one who does this.  If they are staple products then it’s all good because they’ll get used.  Besides its way easier to shop in your pantry than it is to have to put a bra on and go to the grocery store, am I right?

Once you’ve sauteed the onions, garlic, celery and mushrooms add in the cooked ground turkey.

Ok I’m standing in front of all the magnificent colourful peppers in Superstore, trying to make my selection for this chili.

I opted for a package of 3 large Anaheim Peppers, which are mild-med on the hot scale and a package of hot habanero peppers to really give this a kick.

I assure you that yes this would be considered a chili that’s more spicy or hotter than most but I still don’t think it’s like HOT HOT.  I don’t know…. I’m writing this blog at 5:15am, about 7-8 hours after the chili finished cooking…. up all night due to drinking coffee while chef’n it up, perhaps the peppers infused more and I’ll find the chili too hot when I go for another bowl the next time… I’ll have to see, and chances are I still will be in the drafting phase of this post.  For sure will let you know what happens.  See, this is the fun part of trying out new things.  Experimenting, it’s like a little science project for me.  I know for fact that my chipotle dip I make for pizza and potatoes and chicken is way hotter the next day and even hotter the following.  The longer it sits, the more potent it gets.  Now that I’m typing this I’m almost sure it’s going to to be wowzers hot tonight.  hahaha.  Good, it will live up to it’s name.

K DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYES!! I REPEAT, DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING FOR THAT MATTER.

Wear gloves when handling these peppers.

I’ve now burnt myself extremely bad for the second time while dealing with peppers like this.  You might think you’ll be ok or that you’ll be able to handle it but geez, if you’ve never had peppers burns, then just trust me.  Don’t touch!

The oils will get into your skin and no amount of soap and water really works, it’s been over a day since I prepped all this stuff and my hands are still burning even though I really only handled the outsides of the peppers.  I’ve gotten fairly decent at de-seeding and de-ribbing peppers.

I think I wiped down the counter and then rinsed the cloth under water and then the juices rinsed over my hands… Not too sure what happened.  But everything burned, my face got blotchy and swelled up, and I still light my tongue on fire if I suck on one of my fingers to try to soothe the pain… UGH!  How did I let this happen to me again….?

I even used another really cool kitchen gadget.  I’ve had these little do-dad, thing-a-ma-jigs for years now but since I was packed up and working out of that damn temp. kitchen, I wasn’t able to see things.  And lord knows I’m a visual person.

Everything up here in the new kitchen… the “Cooking With Hay” kitchen, has a home and is easy to find and easy to get to.  Convenience!!! I feel like I’m always in a commercial or an actual cooking show.  I’ve had no drawers to put utensils or knives or anything for that matter into.  Haha, oh #firstworldproblems, shut up Haley.

Check out the Typhoon, it’s a dual curved blade with 2 handles, so you rock it back in forth and it minced my habanero peppers into such a fine chop, I was more than pleased.  Although, I’m not really sure if chopping hot things really fine makes the dish more hot than if they were in bigger pieces, you know?

No culinary school for me.  I’d like to go to learn the basics and fundamentals of cooking.  Whats right and whats wrong.  More so just to inspire me to do more.  Try more.  Be more brave to try newer things and to use some new techniques or more challenging skills.

Always hungry for more, food and knowledge, yet also so dysfunctional that the thought of it all makes me shiver.  Where was I…. chili… right…

From the pantry, I found a can of sliced jalapenos, and a can of diced green chilies.  I also used a whole sweet green pepper.  All 3 of those beautiful Anaheim peppers and about 5 habanero peppers.

Now, remember, REMOVE the seeds and the white ribs, WHILE wearing gloves, AND not touching anything.

I calculated exactly how much of everything I used for spices and what not and the flavour and spicy factor was spot on so unless you want your face to sweat off, stick to this.  If you want the heat that you’ll feel the next day… maybe add 1 or 2 more habanero peps, you bad bad thing you!

You can also increase the chili powder or cayenne as well, if you want it hotter, but the point to this chili is the 4 different types of beans used and the 5 different varieties of peppers.

And OH BOY does it ever look good all mixed together.  the colours of the beans and peppers!  Wooo HOOO!  I love it!

K enough talking about them.  Add them to the onion turkey mixture.  I hope you’re using a big pot as this will make a fair amount.

Don’t forget to add in the best ones!!!!  Eeeek  so excited. I only added this one spoon of habanero at first…. I’ll be honest.  I wanted to test the waters.  I eventually added it all in ha ha yassss!

Mix up the dry spices and add them to the pot.  Again it may not look like much but I swear, the flavour is there and then some.  I added a small amount of beef soup mix to give it some depth because ground turkey can be quite bland and not very exciting.

Foods like turkey breast, that are high in protein, help you feel fuller longer and help maintain healthy muscles.  Please note I said turkey breast, just because it’s turkey doesn’t mean it’s healthier than a beef burger or something like that.  It all depends on how much dark turkey meat is included.  I like to use strictly ground turkey breast.

Stir it all up and let it simmer on low for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often.  This will start to draw out the juices of the peppers and infuse all that nice spice into the meat.

Emptying out my cupboards for this dish… I had 2 large cans of diced tomatoes and a large can of Italian San Marzano tomatoes. I put all 3 cans into my food processor and let it go until it was a nice smooth tomato sauce.

Now pour that into the pot, stir in a small can of tomato paste and give it a good stir.

Bring it gently to a slow boil.

Then reduce the heat back down to medium to simmer.

Mom adds in a can of baked beans to her chili and I copied her.  Add in all 4 types of beans.  The dark red Kidney beans, the white Cannellini beans,  Pinto beans and a can of baked beans.

Again, mix it up and bring it up to a boil.

Reduce heat and let it simmer for about an hour

Voila!!

I couldn’t help myself and dug a spoon into this right away… And then again and again.

Whatever, don’t judge me.  It was for me anyways, I had no houseguest.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese and please enjoy some Hurricane Haley’s Hell Fire Chili.  Turkey Chili made with 4 types of beans and 5 types of peppers!  Hell yes!

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HURRICANE HALEY’S HELL FIRE CHILI

INGREDIENTS
♥ 4 T. OLIVE OIL
♥ 1 LRG. ONION, DICED
♥ 4 CLOVES OF GARLIC, MINCED
♥ 2 CANS SLICED MUSHROOMS
♥ 4 STALKS CELERY, THINLY SLICED
♥ 2 LBS. LEAN GROUND TURKEY BREAST
♥ 1 SWEET GREEN PEPPER, CHOPPED
♥ 3 LRG. ANAHEIM PEPPERS,
♥ 5 HABANERO PEPPERS, MINCED
♥ 1 SM. CAN SLICED JALAPEÑOS, DICED
♥ 1 SM. CAN DICED GREEN CHILIES
♥ 3 T. CHILI POWDER
♥ 1 TSP. CUMIN
♥ 1 TSP. OREGANO
♥ 1 TSP. SALT
♥ 1/2 TSP. SUGAR
♥ 1/2 TSP. GARLIC POWDER
♥ 1/2 TSP. BEEF SOUP MIX
♥ 1/4 TSP. CAYENNE
♥ 1/4 TSP. PAPRIKA
♥ 1 SM. CAN TOMATO PASTE
♥ 3 LRG. CANS DICED TOMATOES, BLENDED IN FOOD PROCESSOR
♥ 2 CANS RED KIDNEY BEANS
♥ 1 CAN CANNELLINI BEANS
♥ 1 CAN PINTO BEANS
♥ 1 CAN BAKED BEANS IN BROWN SUGAR

DIRECTIONS
IN A LARGE STOCK POT HEAT 3 TBS. OF THE OIL OVER MED-HIGH HEAT
SAUTE ONIONS AND GARLIC
ADD IN CELERY AND MUSHROOMS AND SAUTÉ TILL TENDER
IN A SKILLET HEAT THE REMAINING 1 TBS. OF OIL AND COOK THE GROUND TURKEY
ADD TURKEY TO ONION MIXTURE
ADD IN THE PEPPERS AND THE SEASONINGS
GENTLY COMBINE AND LET SIMMER OVER LOW HEAT FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES, STIRRING OFTEN
ADD IN TOMATO PASTE AND BLENDED TOMATOES
BRING UP TO A GENTLE BOIL AND THEN REDUCE HEAT
ADD IN THE BEANS AND MIX IT UP
ONCE AGAIN, BRING UP TO A GENTLE BOIL AND THEN REDUCE HEAT
SIMMER FOR ABOUT AN HOUR OVER LOW HEAT. STIRRING OFTEN

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BAKED TURKEY & SPINACH MEATBALLS

Hello Everyone. Since adding a Facebook Page, Cooking With Hay, {please come by and LIKE my page} I have some more followers this time around and I just wanted to take this opportunity to say ‘Hello and Thank You’
I appreciate every single one of you, and any LIKE or SHARE that you can throw my way as well. You keep this fun for me.

**please look for the buttons that say previous posts or older posts to see more or use the categories at the top or the archives and links at the bottom to get around a little easier. Also look for the search bar near the bottom to make it even more easier**

In just 10 days Hubby and I will be off to Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. If you’re on my personal FB, you’re most likely annoyed with my daily countdown photos… sorry about that. I’m just super excited! The point to this rambling… I’ve been trying to empty out the freezer before we go. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t have an answer. 😜 One of the last few things In the freezer was 2 lbs of extra lean ground turkey breast!! Awesome. I bought this for one purpose and one purpose only…. our favorite meatballs, Baked Turkey & Spinach Meatballs to be exact! So lean, so good! I will serve these with some turkey gravy, garlic mashed potatoes made with no butter or milk. {I use chicken stock, salt and garlic} and sweet corn.
You may remember an older post about these meatballs, but it didn’t contain any pictures and I’ve since jacked up the spinach and the seasonings a bit. I hope you like this new tweek!

BAKED TUREY & SPINACH MEATBALLS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional – adjust to your preference)
• 2 x 16 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach (defrosted, drained, and squeezed to remove excess water)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
• 1 cup bread crumbs, {I make my own from the loaf ends if my favorite 12 grain bread.
• 2 large eggs

 
INSTRUCTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray.
• In a frying pan on medium heat, heat olive oil until hot. Then add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Sauté until onion is tender.
• Add spinach to pan and combine with onion mixture. Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth and mix well to combine. Cook until most of the liquid has cooked out. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, and egg. Add cooled onion/spinach mixture to the meat.
• 5. With your hands, create meatballs that are about 1 – 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place them on the baking sheet. Leave a little bit of space between each meatball. When you are done shaping your meatballs, you will probably have about 40-42 meatballs from this recipe. If you don’t need this many, you can freeze them after baking or cut this recipe in half.
• Bake until your meatballs are cooked through with an internal temperature of 160 degrees F – which was about 20 minutes for my oven. Remove from oven and serve as desired.

 
One my favourite smells is onions in a frying pan. Adding in the garlic and seasonings and you are suddenly transported to a very happy happy land. Haha. Ok it’s good, but maybe not that good… No, it IS that good!!

When they are done they are golden and smell divine. Here’s the before and after!
Ha! I’m supposed to freeze some if these. Dude, by the time we are finished with these, there won’t be enough to bother freezing!!

Like I said ,way back there up above, I served these with garlic mashed potatoes {no butter, no milk}. I put in 1 Garlic Ball {click this link to make them yourself} add in some salt. I use Sea Salt and some of that leftover chicken stock because I know what you were thinking when you had so much stock left… “What am I going to do with this leftover stock?” {Ok maybe you’re not thinking that, but I’m always trying to use everything. Waste not want not after all.}. So you should still have stock left after the meatballs, and the mashed potatoes so tomorrow morning you can add it to some fresh cut hash brown potatoes in a ‘barely’ oiled hot pan. So you don’t need as much oil! Hahaha! Oh, I got sidetracked…. I also served this with turkey gravy, spiced up with oregano and red pepper flake because I idolize red pepper flake hahaha and sweet juicy corn!

Here, I used my fork and broke one of these scrumptious meatballs open. I have doubled the amount of spinach originally called for to 2 packages. This ensures lots of Popeye strength, and so much healthy goodness and flavour! Your call. I say use 2 packages of spinach and if it’s too much for you cut it down next time but it’s not like it’s intolerable, I swear, you’ll thank me! Hehe!

I thought there would be some sort of drippings in the pan that I could use to make some good gravy but check out this cooking sheet…. Dem are some lean mean healthy machines…. Depending on how much gravy you put on! Another reason to make a shitload of gravy at Christmas time. Freeze it in portions for occasions such as this. I just said ‘shitload’ on my blog. Is that completely inappropriate, it’s just that that seemed like the most appropriate wording. I don’t know. I’m still learning…..

Seriously hearty, mostly healthy and your tummy will be forever thankful! Please hit me up with a comment below if you make these and what your thoughts were! I love feedback.

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Love Haleykins

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Saucy ‘n’ Savory TURKEY Crepes

** I apologize for the picture quality, dark and gloomy here and I’m working in the basement remember. thanks for understanding. **

For months now I’ve been dreaming of these Turkey Crepes that my Mommy used to make for dinner. I’ve only ever heard of people having fruit in their crepes and I can still taste the flavor of these ‘non-fruit crepes’ from my childhood. I got on my ipad and messaged mom for the recipe. Here is her response.

Love it, I now know the basics to this dish. How to make the crepes, I still don’t know, but I can work with this. Strapping on my “Will Cook For Bling” apron and into my temporary basement dwelling kitchen I go.

Saucy ‘n’ Savory TURKEY Crepes

TURKEY:
1/2 TBSP. BUTTER
2 (1 lb) TURKEY BREAST, skin removed
SEASONED WITH SALT, PEPPER, DRIED OREGANO, DRIED PARSLEY & GARLIC
Bake the turkey breast in a covered dish until internal temp is 185F, approx 30-35 minutes.

CREPES:
4 EGGS
1.5 CUPS MILK
1 CUP FLOUR
1.5 TSP. DRIED PARSLEY
Whisk together eggs and milk.
Slowly add in the flour, mix until smooth, no clumps.
Add the parsley.
Cover it with Saran and keep it in the fridge for about 30 minutes for it to set up.
TO COOK:
Spray frying pan with cooking spray, medium heat.
1/4 cup of the mixture into the center of the hot pan, roll it around until it’s thin and round.
Once the bottom is golden and the top is firm, flip it gently with a spatula, brown the other side for about 30 seconds.
Repeat process, spraying the pan each time with cooking spray.
Stack on a plate, prepare to serve.

FILLING:
2 TBSP. BUTTER
1.5 CUPS ONION, DICED
2 CUPS CELERY, DICED
2 CUPS MUSHROOMS SLICED
TURKEY BREAST, COOKED AND CHOPPED
1 TSP. POULTRY SEASONING
SALT & PEPPER
1/2 OF THE BÉCHAMEL
Sauté the onions,celery and mushrooms in the butter.
Season with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper
Add in the cooked, chopped turkey
Before serving add half the hot béchamel sauce to the filling and mix until evenly coated.
Reserve the remaining béchamel to drizzle on top.

BÉCHAMEL:
4 TBSP. BUTTER
2 TBSP. FLOUR
2 CUPS HOT MILK
4 TSP. DIJON MUSTARD
SALT & PEPPER
Melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for about a minute.
Slowly add the milk, then add the mustard, salt and pepper and cook until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.

Bake the turkey breasts in a covered dish until internal temp is 185F, approx 30-35 minutes per pound. I used my Kitchen Aid, 4 quart, covered, cast iron oval casserole dish. This thing was a gift from my wonderful mommy a few years ago and it’s the best dish I have in my kitchen for cooking and roasting! Canadian Tire has them and usually on sale before the holidays. While the meat is cooking, continue on with the next steps.

**I’ve discovered that writing a recipe is different from writing the method of procedure for the recipe. Everything is going on at the same time but yet at slightly different times. Broken up and here and there, good luck on following this one. I’ll do my best.**

Whisk together eggs and milk. Slowly add in the flour, mix until smooth, no clumps. Add the parsley.
Cover it with Saran and keep it in the fridge for about 30 minutes for it to set up.

Chop up your veggies!



Sauté the onions,celery and mushrooms in the butter.
Season with poultry seasoning, salt and pepper

The meat is done when it reaches an internal temp of 185F. I think mine was in a 325C oven for 1hour and 15 minutes. I used my meat thermometer to determine the temp. Love this kitchen gadget. How do you ensure properly cooked meat without one?

The meat will be too hot to handle right after it’s cooked so let it rest for a few minutes, I’m sure you have some dishes to do.

Remove any bones from the turkey breast and chop it up, dice it up!

Add in the cooked, chopped turkey to the seasoned, sautéed veggies.

To make the Béchamel Sauce (white sauce), melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook for about a minute.
Slowly add the milk, then add the mustard, salt and pepper and cook until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.

Before serving add half the hot béchamel sauce to the filling and mix until evenly coated.

Mmmmm this is what makes this dish “Saucy ‘n’ Savory”.
At this point, I could just skip the crepes and grab a fork!!! I may have done that, but then you would stop reading and all my hard work would be half in the trash. Please continue on and put the fork down. All good things come to those who wait.

Spray frying pan with cooking spray, medium heat.
1/4 cup of the mixture into the center of the hot pan, roll it around until it’s thin and round.

Once the bottom is golden and the top is firm, flip it gently with a spatula, brown the other side for about 30 seconds.
Repeat process, spraying the pan each time with cooking spray.
Stack on a plate, prepare to serve.

Lay out the crepe on a plate and spoon some of the filling into the center of the crepe, in a horizontal line.
Fold in the sides and then fold up the bottom. Then fold the top down. Like a cute little envelope with a precious little package inside. A “Saucy ‘n’ Savory” package that is! Drizzle them with the remaining Béchamel.
I have a friend that actually mailed a plastic wrapped cupcake across the country as a joke. Needless to say it did not look like a cupcake when it arrived in Nova Scotia. Please don’t mail these little packages. Just eat them!

And there you have it! A new recipe under my belt. I hope you try them and enjoy them!

As I had mentioned in the beginning, hard. to. write. So please do let me know if you find errors or editing that needs to be done. Once I look at these blog html codings for so long I get wonky eyes and can’t see anything wrong. I have a feeling this one will need an edit.

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Love Haleykins

BAKED TURKEY & SPINACH MEATBALLS ~ Who doesn’t love a good meatball?

I recently purchased some lean ground turkey meat and I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it at first… a girlfriend of mine started eating healthier and one of the things she did was eat alot of turkey…  well she looks great so I figured if I had it in my kitchen, I’d have to find someway to eat it…  I searched online and found a yummy little recipe perfect for my lean ground turkey meat.

BAKED TURKEY & SPINACH MEATBALLS

(source: http://homecookingmemories.com/)

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper      flakes (optional – adjust to your preference)
• 16 oz frozen chopped spinach (defrosted,      drained, and squeezed to remove excess water)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 2 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 large eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray. I actually line my baking sheet with foil and then spray with cooking spray.
2. In a frying pan on medium heat, heat olive oil until hot. Then add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Sauté until onion is tender (about 5-6 minutes total time).
3. Add spinach to pan and combine with onion mixture. Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth and mix well to combine. Cook until most of the liquid has cooked out (evaporated). I don’t have much liquid in my pan after I combine all these, but it will depend on how well you drained your spinach. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, bread crumbs, and egg. Add cooled onion/spinach mixture to the meat. I do all of this step with my hands, but you can use a spoon if you prefer.
5. 5. With your hands, create meatballs that are about 1 – 1 1/2 inches in diameter and place them on the baking sheet. Leave a little bit of space between each meatball. When you are done shaping your meatballs, you will probably have about 40-42 meatballs from this recipe. Don’t need that many? Freeze them after baking or cut this recipe in half (but I say freeze them and then you’ve done the work only once and have a future meal).
6. Bake until your meatballs are cooked through with an internal temperature of 160 degrees F – which was about 20 minutes for my oven. Remove from oven and serve as desired.

Oh my gosh, they were soooo good.  I made them bigger than the recipe calls for and so of course it didn’t make as many but I found them to be a bit more moist this way.  Turkey doesn’t have as much fat so I didn’t want my meatballs to be dry.  You also get your vitamins from all the spinach!   I just love spinach and I’m so glad hubby likes his greens too!

Mmmmm, if you are looking for a meatball fix, or if you are wanting a different little appy for your upcoming party… these little morsels will be a hit!

If you make them, please let me know what you think!