I have so much to tell you about this simple brown, dump, and walk-away turkey chili recipe. It’s so easy that I shouldn’t have anything to share, but somehow…

The first thing is these chips! They are so good that I am never buying them again. I’ve made the chili twice a week and I’ve gone through two bags of these devilishly yummy chips. Five pounds on the hips later and nope, I’m done with them! So take that, Tostitos Hint of Jalapeño.

Next is this cheese. I hope that all Trader Joe’s lovers, like myself, know about TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar. It is the bomb! It makes me unsatisfied with plain old cheddar now. There is just something about this cheddar-Parm combo that makes me happy. The texture isn’t great for slicing, it is a bit crumbly, but I don’t care, I use it on Harmony Boards anyhow just to spread the love.

Now for an explanation as to why I used a slow cooker instead of my Instant Pot for this chili. Laziness is the simple reason. Both my slow cooker and Instant Pot are in this cupboard on the left in my garage. The day before I made the recipe for the first time, I’d bought a bunch of wood for Harmony Boards. The sanded, branded and oiled boards that are ready to go are in the rolling bin to the right. The new wood is stacked against the bin and is blocking half of the cupboard. The Instant Pot is behind that locked door on the right and the slow cooker is behind the unblocked door on the left. That’s the reason. You could easily use an Instant Pot for this recipe and cut out the step of browning the meat in a skillet and brown it directly in the pot.

Lastly, I want to share a “Grandma Tip” that I’ve always assumed everyone knows and uses. And that is when you use canned food, such as the diced tomatoes used here, and you have a liquid that is also added to the dish, such as the water in this recipe, you pour the liquid into the empty can to wash out the can and get every little bit of the food out. You do that, right? If you don’t then your grandma or mom messed up. You need to do that. And in the case of this recipe which uses two cans of tomatoes, you add the water to one of the cans and then pour it into the other can to wash it out and then pour it into the slow cooker.

See, I had a bunch to share! Now on to this delicious recipe! I love it because the addition of tortilla chips at the end gives it a hint of tamale taste. YUM!

This quick and delicious vegetable side dish just screams “Mediterranean” to me. I love every single distinct flavor here. I served this with the mahi-mahi from yesterday’s post, but it just as easily compliments pork or chicken as it does fish. And it takes literally, only about 7 minutes to put together, well OK – depending on your knife skills! So sharpen your chef’s knife and have a wonderful weekend!

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My girlfriend, Lorie, was recently in town from California; along with her sister, Cathy, who was in from Indiana. We had a great night out and Lorie was raving about a roasted vegetable and polenta lasagna she had ordered at a Los Angeles area restaurant called Zinc Café & Market.

Let me tell you, I am a fool for polenta and there aren’t too many things more fantastic than roasted vegetables! Since I won’t be getting to LA in the near future, I had to make my own concoction! The polenta fills in as the “noodle” layers in this healthy, gluten-free, and vegetarian lasagna. You can purchase prepared firm polenta in a tube at most grocery stores and always at Trader Joe’s. Thank you Lorie for a great night, dinner, the cute little glasses you gave me, and the idea for this scrumptious lasagna. It was a bonafide hit with Dave, me, and (believe it or not) even my Dad!

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So, before we get to today’s recipe – how about that picture above? Those are just 3 of about a dozen cool cocktail napkins I have which have fun riddles for parties to work out. When using them, it is best to have guests try and solve them before too many beverages are consumed –  just a helpful little FYI.  Study them and leave me a comment if you figure out all three! (And just in case the top one isn’t completely visible – it reads, “52 C in a D +2 J’s”). Plus if you are a fan of the Les Petites Gourmettes Fan page on Facebook, you already know something special, so put on your thinking caps and comment as soon as possible!

Last night I had two of my very best friends, Peggy and Anne, over for a little happy hour to celebrate Peggy’s upcoming birthday, which is actually on February 26th. Happy Birthday, Peggy-Sue! Now that all of our kids are teenagers (and beyond, in Marissa’s case!) – we just don’t get together as often as we used to or anywhere near as often as we would like. So when we do – men and children, be forewarned -watch out! As the aforementioned kids know, all too well, we love to be together! I made these spicy little empanadas, crab cakes (that recipe is to be posted tomorrow), and grapefruit-cranberry martinis … love you, girls! (and even with all the love I have for you both – you may not comment on the riddles – although I would still love to get a comment of any other sort!) xoxo

Birthday Girl Peggy, me, and Anne with delish pink martinis plus a camera with a timer – what more do you need?!

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There is a multitude of things I like about this soup; #1 It is super green – one of my favorite colors, #2 It is super healthy – no roux or cream to thicken, and #3 It is super versatile.

Plus, it is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day thanks to its super greenness (only about 23 days away – yes I do count it down- I can’t help it – I’m 100% Irish !) It is already plenty healthy as is, but even more so when prepared vegetarian style using vegetable broth and tofu instead of chicken broth and chicken. And it is perfect for Lent, just replace the chicken with cooked and diced shrimp and you’re all set for a Friday night meal.

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Today I am sharing another Southwestern-inspired recipe from my friend and mentor, Barbara Fenzl of Les Gourmettes Cooking School. I helped Barb teach a couples’ class earlier in the week and this was just one of the six delectable dishes the class made. If you’re looking for something special for you and your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, these quesadillas will fit the bill. Enjoy them before you head out to a romantic dinner, or make them together and then sit down, relax, and enjoy them with the champagne. Avec amour (with love) xoxo

Here is a picture of the roasting of the two peppers used. A poblano has a much thinner skin than a bell pepper, so watch it more closely and turn it more often, it will roast more than twice as fast as the bell. These two peppers began roasting at the exact same time, but as you can clearly see, the poblano is ready to be covered with plastic wrap to steam, and the yellow bell still has a ways to go.

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Ahh, to be able to eat and live a vegetarian lifestyle! It is something I often think about, but in the middle of the thought process, the answer is always, “Yeah, I don’t think so!”  I’m Irish, I’m a meat and potatoes girl, a carnivore at heart. There aren’t many meats I haven’t or wouldn’t eat. My daughter, Marissa, was vegetarian for a couple of years, back in high school, and what a pain it was, for me – the mom, the cook! But in reality, I would love to give it a try – so to that end, my goal this year is to eat “vegetarian” at least one meal a day (not that hard, when you count in breakfast!) and to make dinner, that one meal a day, at least twice a week. To that end, a new “Vegetarian” category has been added to The Recipe Index on the left.

On the Tip Index, at the left, there is already a listing and link for “roasting peppers” plus there are additional pictures here. So if you need a refresher on the process, check out the previous listing on the Tip Index.
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