Tuscan Ravioli Stew

I got some new cookbooks right after the New Year started, and I spent 3 days going through them and marking what I would like to try. Then, I handed them off to the husband and told him to pick three-five meals he wanted to try and I would pick up the stuff for them when I went shopping. So he did. And all was well.

The first book we deicded to try (and remembered to take pictures of) is Our Best Diabetic Living Recipes. I picked this one up for several reasons: One, I have loved the recipes I've tried out of the magazine so much so far; Two, the other book I wanted was not available; and Three, the pictures were pretty. I made a very good decision. The first recipe we tried was this stew/soup. Now, I've never cooked or even eaten Broccoli Rabe (which I have also seen spelled raab), so I was a little unsure how it was going to taste or even how to cut it up. But this was by far, one of the best soup/stews that I have ever eaten, and it was easy to make. Another thing that we think helped, was freshly grated Asiago cheese. Instead of buying that prepackaged stuff, we went to New Seasons and got a big hunk of it and grated it ourselves. And then we started using it on everything. See what you think.

Totally worth every penny and the time and effort

Tuscan Ravioli Stew
makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 large leek, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 1/2 oz. no-salt added stewed tomatoes, undrained*
1 14 oz. can beef broth**
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
5 cups coarsely chopped broccoli rabe or Swiss chard (about 6 oz)
1 9 oz. package refrigerated chicken or cheese filled ravioli***
1 Tablespoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
Fresh rosemary sprigs (optional)****
1/4 cup finely shredded Asiago Cheese

1. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add leek and garlic; cook about 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in undrained tomatoes, beef broth, the water, and if desired, crushed red pepper; bring to boiling.

 

2. Stir in broccoli Rabe, ravioli and rosemary. return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 7 to 8 minutes or until broccoli rabe and ravioli are tender. Ladle into shallow bowls. If desired, garnish with rosemary sprigs. Top individual servings with Asiago cheese.

 

*I used cut up stewed tomatoes, rather than whole stewed tomatoes

**Again, I used Better Than Bullion, it just has better flavor and you don't have to worry about waste

***We bought our fresh ravioli at New Seasons, but couldn't decide on a flavor, so we got Cheese, artichoke and olive; and chicken mushroom, I think. Both were fantastic. I highly suggest freshly made (like that day, if you can), it takes less time to cook, and the flavors are usually amazing.

****Fresh Rosemary tastes great. Problem is? I don't like sticks in my food. The dried spices are easy to grind down and still have that flavor, so that's what I do. But I don't need it as a garnish. All it is, is for looking anyway, so unless you're having the queen for dinner, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

How fabulous and tasty does this look to you?

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I am not a big fan of Swiss cheese. I only eat it in a few things - Reuben Sandwiches and this recipe. The husband seems to like it no matter what, but I just think it has the wrong taste for me. I am broadening my horizons with cheese, don't get me wrong, but as a girl raised on American cheese, this always tasted a little weird to me.

That said, I got this recipe from dLife. And it's really tasty. We use Black Forest Ham, and a fairly high quality (and sometimes, Guyere) Swiss. We have also finally been able to afford Foster Farms chicken, instead of the icky stuff (fatty, and veiny) that comes in a bulk bag. Things are starting to taste better! This is a fairly easy recipe to make, and we served it with lightly steamed broccoli. Fabulous dinner!

Chicken Cordon Bleu
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients
8 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts (4 small)
2 oz sliced, smoked ham , cut in half
2 oz Cheese, Swiss, reduced fat, thin slice, cut in half
1 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp white all purpose flour
1 cooking spray
1/3 cup fresh chopped onion*
2 1/2 oz Soup, cream of chicken, condensed, canned (1/4 can)

 
 1. Flatten each piece of chicken to about 1/4-inch thickness by placing the chicken breasts in between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap and then using a meat mallet or rolling pin to flatten them out.

2. Next, place one-half slice each of ham and cheese in the center of each chicken breast half. Roll up lengthwise, and then secure with wooden toothpicks.

 

3. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Dip each chicken roll in egg and then dredge in flour. Place the chicken rolls seam side down into a shallow casserole dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Bake for 20 minutes. While baking, combine the onion and soup, stirring well. After the first 20-minute baking period, pour the soup mixture over the chicken and then continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the chicken is done.

*If you prefer, mushrooms may be substituted for the onion in this recipe.

Yummy!

Turkey Vegetable Soup

There is no wrong time of year to make soup. At least that's what I think. I love soup. I could eat it every day. Seriously. My dad told me once, that when I was a kid, I used to try to order soup with every meal when we'd go out. Of course, I also tried to order the most expensive on the menu, but that's another story (and really, who could blame me? It always sounded good).

I started making my own broth from chicken and turkey bones only a few years ago, and I've never gone any other way. It's so wonderful. And the beauty of it is, you can make it with any spices you want, or none at all. You can what you want, you can take away what you don't want. This particular version, I went with the less is more method. By the time I started working on this broth, I was pretty tired, but I made it, and just added what I had on hand, or what I wanted. It's nice and warming during the winter and the broth is great to keep handy for future recipes (which I did). You can do this with leftover chicken or turkey carcasses (I haven't made any beef or pork broth yet, so I'm not really clear on how to pull that off).

Turkey Vegetable Soup

For the Broth:
1 Turkey carcass with a little meat left on it
2 celery stalks, cut in halves or thirds
2 carrots, cut in halves or thirds
1 onion, quartered
about 3-4 garlic cloves, quartered
Any spices you like (I use Poultry Seasoning, Thyme, Oregano, Parsley and Celery Seed)
Sea Salt
Pepper
2 bay leaves

Heat the oven to 375 degrees ( I sometimes will go higher, but I like mine to get almost burned before I use it, it also depends on how much meat you have on there). Spray a pan that will fit your turkey carcass with non-stick coating. Place turkey carcass in the pan and put in the over for 1-2 hours. I do really like my bones to be crispy. But make sure they are roasted well.

Boil water in a large pot - for as much broth as you want. I use a couple gallons at least. You can do this one of two ways - put the carcass directly in the pot of water, or wrap it in some cheesecloth. I put mine directly into the water. add the vegetables, and spices, salt, pepper and bay leaves.

Turn down to simmer. I leave mine for a couple of hours to get maximum flavor. Sometimes, after I do that, I will add some water to the broth so there is even more for other cooking projects. Not too much water, but maybe a few cups or so. It doesn't dilute it too much.

Remove the carcass and vegetables from the pot. Put them on a plate and let them cool before tossing them out. At this time, you should have a beautiful golden broth, somewhat like this:

Now, is when you get to be creative. I do not make measurements, because it's up to you. But here are some options to add.

For the Soup:
Celery
Carrots
Onion
Garlic
Turnips
Potatoes
Mushrooms
Green Beans
Snow peas
Kidney Beans
Corn
Tomatoes
Fresh noodles
Wild rice

The list is really endless (and yes, I have put all this stuff in my soup at one time before, and it was fantastic)

Also add some turkey meat to it. Usually about two cups or so will do you just fine. Cook it until just heated through. Then, you'll have a very good soup, and it freezes extremely well.

This particular batch, I ended up using the leftover veggies and turkey from the Pasties I made the night before. And it turned out just fine. I hope you enjoy yours.

Turkey Pasties

No, this isn't a mis-spelling. It's not supposed to be pastries. Pasty. Pasties. The idea just makes me giggle. With more leftover turkey, I decided that my husband and I were going to make these. He helped me with the crust.

But first, let me tell you a story. Pull up a pillow and your blanky and get comfy. It's not long, but it's kind of cool. My husband is of Welsh/Cornish descent. He remembers Christmas Eve with his Grandma making Pasties. There were made with beef and potatoes. They are filled pie crust and almost look like Calzones. The husband told me that his Grandma used to make these for his Grandpa for lunch. They would be wrapped in tinfoil, and they were perfect to take down in the mines in Montana. You could eat them with one hand, and generally, they were still warm at lunchtime.

Since I have met the husband, he has been telling me how wonderful these pasties were. I thought about them, and even one time, my mom and I went for high tea, and they were served. While they were good, they were somewhat dry. I found out later that they should not have been. so, every year, I have been hoping that the husband would make them for me around Christmas time. He never has. So I finally asked him why not. He told me that while he watched his grandma make them, he never learned how. So, with that in mind, and leftover turkey in mind, I looked for a recipe so I could make these special treats for him.

I found a recipe that sounded easy enough for a beginner, yet yummy enough to work for the husband without beef or traditional. I ran it by him and he said it sounded good. I got this recipe from Leftover Lovers.

Leftover Turkey Pasties

Ingredients: 

For the filling

• 1 cup carrots, sliced in 1/4″ rounds
• 1/2 cup celery stalks, sliced 1/4″
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 4 Tbsp. butter or margarine
• 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
• 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced*
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cups leftover turkey, chopped
• salt and pepper (to taste)

For the dough**
Use leftover pie crust or use the following ingredients:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 cups flour
• 6 T water

Preparation:

In a skillet, sauté the carrots and celery in the water, butter, and chicken bouillon for 5 minutes.

The one that would eventually belong to the husband

The one that would eventually be mine

Add potatoes, onion, leftover turkey meat and poultry seasoning.

Potatoes and onions

Turnips and onions

 

Husband's potato mixture

 

my turnip mixture

Salt and pepper and mix well.
Divide into fourths.
Mix dough ingredients and roll into four 10- inch circles.
Put the meat mixture on one side of the dough.

Husband's pasty

my pasty

Fold the other half of the dough over and seal with fingers or a fork.

two down, two to go

Aren't they so cute and shiny?

Bake 1 hour at 375°.

The beautifully finished product. Husband said they were perfect. And wonderful.

Our initials are forked in on the top so we could tell who's was who's.

Serves 4.

*I mixed this up a little. Potatoes, as we all know, can be the devil for us diabetics, so I have learned to substitute turnips. They don't taste bad in most cases, and can easily be substituted with no taste or texture difference. I gave the husband two potatoes and I ate two turnips. 

**I used a pre-made refrigerated crust. We rolled it into balls and rolled it out with a rolling pin, cut each one in half, and used it that way.

Mom's Stuffing

Warning: This is NOT diabetic friendly, unless you eat it in very small amounts (like 1/2 cup).

This is my favorite stuffing ever. It's my mom's recipe, and it's fabulous. I hated stuffing when I was a kid, but grew to love it. Especially once it was not cooked in the bird anymore (yuck!) My mom told me that if you plan on putting this stuffing into the turkey, to make it a little dryer, but if you want to leave it out, add a little more chicken broth. I found that I actually didn't need to add any, it was perfect for me.

So, here is the recipe:

Mom's Stuffing

2 cubes butter
1 whole box Mrs. Cubbison's cubed stuffing (not corn bread and not torn bread), this comes seasoned
2 cans chicken broth*
2 cups chopped celery
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning

Melt one cube of butter in large skillet or deep pan, add onions and celery.

Cook until opaque.

Stir in 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning.
Add 1 can chicken broth and the other cube of butter. Stir, heat, melt.

 In a large bowl put bread crumbs and pour mix over it, stirring until mixed well. If it's dry add some more chicken broth, until you reach the desired consistency that you want.

Bake @ 325 degrees for 25 min covered
Cook for another 20 min uncovered.

*If you do not used canned chicken broth (I don't, I use Better Than Bullion), each can is 10 1/2 oz. 

Gingered Cranberry Chutney

You'll have to forgive me, some recipes I have, I've gotten online, but I didn't keep track of where I got them from and I can't remember to save my life. So, if you happen to see something that sounds like a recipe that you have posted or you know who posted, please let me know, and I will happily give credit where credit is due.

This happens to be one of those recipes. I had been on the hunt for a good cranberry chutney recipe for ages, and finally found this one. Ah... I found it - All Recipes. Anyway, this has brown sugar in it, but I just substituted Spenda Brown Sugar to make it more diabetic friendly. It worked wonderfully.

This chutney is good on chicken, pork, and turkey. I also made this last year, put it in a jar and froze it. It was still amazingly wonderful when I defrosted it and at it at Christmas. I hope you enjoy it.

Gingered Cranberry Chutney

1 cup packed brown sugar*

1/3 cup red wine vinegar or cider vinegar

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 pounds fresh pears, peeled and diced

1 (12 ounce) package fresh or frozen

cranberries

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, cayenne and salt. Bring to a boil. Add pears. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until pears are tender. Strain, reserving liquid. Return liquid to pan. Discard ginger root; set pears aside. Stir cranberries into pan. Cook over medium heat until berries pop, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain berries, reserving liquid. Return liquid to pan; set berries aside. Bring liquid to a boil; cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Stir in pears, cranberries and cinnamon. Serve warm or cold. Store in the refrigerator.

*I used 1/2 Cup of Splenda Brown Sugar, it worked just fine.

Black Bean and Chipotle Pepper Soup

This has become one of my favorite recipes. And it has become this for several reasons: 1. It's easy. 2. It tastes fantastic. 3. It's Diabetic friendly. Very Diabetic Friendly. It's a little hot, so you may want to experiment with how much chipotle chilis you actually want to put in the recipe. My husband actually begs for this recipe. And it may be pretty good for kids, if you really slow down on the peppers. Oh, and it's mainly vegetarian, except for the beef broth. Which can be substituted, of course. I got this recipe from a friend, who apparently got it from the Better Homes and Gardens Website.

And as usual, I made a change here and there. I also double the recipe so I have some for dinner the following night (it reheats beautifully and even more flavorful).

Extremely bad picture of a most tasty chili

Black Bean and Chipotle Pepper Soup

• 1 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 large)*
• 1  cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 2  cloves garlic, minced
• 1  tablespoon olive oil or cooking oil
• 2  15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  14-ounce can beef broth **
• 1  cup chopped tomato (2 medium)***
• 2  tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro or parsley
• 1  tablespoon snipped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 2  teaspoons snipped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 2  teaspoons chopped canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce ****
•   Dairy sour cream (optional)
•   Fresh cilantro sprigs (optional)*****

1. In a large saucepan cook sweet pepper, onion, and garlic in hot oil for 3 minutes. Stir in black beans, beef broth, tomato, snipped cilantro, thyme, oregano, and chipotle pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
2. If desired, mash beans slightly.# If desired, garnish with sour cream and cilantro sprigs.
3. Makes 4 servings (5 cups)

* I omitted the bell pepper

** You can substitute veggie broth if you want to keep it vegetarian.

*** I accidentally forgot to buy tomatoes for this the first time I made it, but had a can of tomato paste. It was awesome. More chili-like in it's consistency, but still amazing taste.

**** Make sure you wash your hands WELL after cutting this stuff up. It is HOT.

***** I am sure you already know that I did not use any cilantro in the making of this recipe. :-)

# Note: For a pureed bean soup, cool soup slightly. Place half of the soup in a food processor or blender. Cover and process or blend until smooth. Repeat with remaining soup.