Turkey chili

This is a turkey chili we make in bulk and freeze for leftovers.

Turkey chili

Ingredients (serves 6):

2 lbs ground turkey
2 white onions (diced)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
1 can Brooks Chili Hot Beans
2 cans diced tomatoes
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp parika
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp salt
1/2 cup Mr. and Mrs. T's Bold & Spicy Bloody Mary Mix

1. In a large pot over medium heat, cook turkey until it's browned.
2. Add onions, pepper, beans, tomatoes, and spices. Cover ingredients with Bloody Mary Mix.
3. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 3 hours. Then serve!

Turkey pepperoni and mozzarella roll ups

Turkey pepperoni and mozzarella roll ups

Ingredients (makes 8 roll ups):

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
40 turkey pepperoni slices
4 mozzarella string cheese sticks
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp pizza seasoning

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Lay out crescent rolls. Cut string cheese sticks in half. Place 5 pieces of turkey pepperoni and 1/2 of a stick of string cheese on the wide end of each crescent, then roll the crescent roll up, tuck in the ends, place them on a baking sheet, and bake them for 13 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, heat butter until melted.
4. When crescent rolls are done cooking, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. Brush each roll with the butter, and immediately sprinkle each one with pizza seasoning. Serve warm.

Ricotta breakfast open-faced sandwich

This breakfast is fast, healthy, and surprisingly very filling. Enjoy!

Ricotta breakfast open-faced sandwich

Ingredients (serves 1):

1/2 English muffin
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp olive oil
Dash of salt
Dash of pepper
1/4 cup baby spinach
1 egg
1/2 tsp hot sauce

1. Toast half of an English muffin.
2. Meanwhile, fry an egg. For this recipe, I like to cook it sunny side up, so I fry the egg on low in a skillet, and cover it with a lid until the egg sets.
3. Spread ricotta on the English muffin. Pour oil over the ricotta. Add salt and pepper.
4. Add spinach on top, then place the egg on top of that. Add a few dashes of hot sauce to taste.

Honey Butter Fried Chicken

Tonight, we ate dinner at the hyped new restaurant, Honey Butter Fried Chicken, on N Elston Ave between Sacramento Ave and School St in Avondale.

We ordered the 4-Piece Chicken, which came with a drumstick, thigh, 2 breasts, a side of honey butter, and 2 pieces of cornbread shaped as honeycombs. We spread the honey butter onto the chicken, as is the thing to do at this place, and it quickly melted into the chicken. Without it, the chicken was kind of dull, but with it, it was amazingly delicious! We got 3 sides to share: The Pimento Mac 'n Cheese with Garlicky Bread Crumbs, Schmaltz Smashed Potatoes with Chicken Fat Gravy, and Kale and Cabbage Slaw with Dried Pomegranate and Yogurt Cumin Dressing. All of the portions are quite big for sides. Everything was really good! We had a lot to take home for leftovers.

We'll be back!

Turkey sausage and pepper rigatoni

Tonight's dinner!

Turkey sausage and pepper rigatoni

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz turkey smoked sausage (sliced)
1 green pepper (cut into small strips)
2 cups rigatoni
10 oz pasta sauce
2/3 shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Add olive oil to a saute pan or skillet over high heat. Add sausage, then add green pepper about halfway through cooking the sausage. Cook the sausage until it's lightly browned and the pepper strips until they're flagrant.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed on package.
4. Put sausage and pepper mixture, cooked pasta, and pasta sauce in a baking dish, and mix all together. Bake for 17 min, or until heated through.
5. Top with cheeses and bake for 3 min, or until cheese is melted.


Cooking the sausage and pepper


Dinner!

Turkey pepper jack roll ups

A snack for today...

Turkey pepper jack roll ups

Ingredients (makes 8 roll ups):

1 can Pillsbury crescent rolls
4 slices deli turkey
4 slices pepper jack cheese
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp poppy seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 375°.
2. Lay out crescent rolls. Fold and place 1/2 a slice of deli turkey and 1/2 a slice of pepper jack cheese on the wide end of each crescent, then roll the crescent roll up, tuck in the ends, place them on a baking sheet, and bake them for 13 minutes or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, heat butter until melted.
4. When crescent rolls are done cooking, remove them from the oven and transfer them to a cooling rack. Brush each roll with the butter, and immediately sprinkle each one with poppy seeds. Serve warm.

Cheesie's Pub and Grub

I recently went to Cheesie's Pub and Grub, a grilled cheese sandwich-centric restaurant and bar, on Belmont between Wilton and Sheffield in Lakeview.

I split a few sandwiches with friends, and got a side of Seasoned Fries. The fries were okay. I ate 1/2 of The Tradicion, which is Chihuahua Cheese, Chorizo, and Fresh Jalapeno Slices on Texas Toast with a side of Spicy Chipotle Mayo. It was hot, and only okay. Next, I ate 1/2 of The Frenchie, which is American, Mozzarella, Cheddar Cheese Sauce, a Bed of Thick Cut French Fries, Bacon, and Chives on Sour Dough Bread with sides of Sour Cream and Creamy Pesto Mayo. The bacon was just some crumbles, which was disappointing, and I didn't get the Creamy Pesto Mayo with my order, but I didn't even notice that. The Frenchie was pretty flavorless.

The menu as a whole is completely unhealthy. The food is very heavy, and not very good. There are few options in terms of bread, and almost every sandwich has American cheese. The sandwiches are squishy, and the bread is covered in butter in the bad way.

The atmosphere is pretty obnoxious. The restaurant layout is weird with the counter where you order being in the back corner. The music is loud, and again, in the bad way. It's just not my kind of place, and I'm sure I won't be back.


The Tradicion with Seasoned Fries


The Frenchie