Turkey and chickpeas crockpot "chili"

Hi guys!!!

How have YOU been doing?? Like I said in my last post, a cute little furry life event has been the reason for the sluggish blog output at PITK these past two months.

But I'm back! And today is a snowday here in Boston. So let's kick-start the 2015 PITK season in style and make a crockpot chili :)

Enjoy!




INGREDIENTS (2-3 people):
- 1.5 lbs ground turkey
- 3 rashes of thick cut bacon
- 1 large Idaho potato, peeled and diced in bite sized cubes
- 1/2 large or 1 medium onion
- 1x 15oz can of chickpeas, juice reserved
- 1x 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1tbsp salt
- 1tbsp ground cumin
- 1tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp chili powder

RECIPE:
- in a dutch oven, fry the chopped bacon until crispy and golden over medium high heat then add the chopped onion and saute until translucent over medium heat

- add the ground turkey and cook until golden, using a wooden spoon to break off any large chunks

- when the meat is brown, but not completely cooked, place in the slow cooker together with the chickpeas, diced potato, tomatoes and spices

- stir well and cook on HIGH for 4 hours

- stir every 30 minutes and adjust the consistency to your liking with the reserved chickpea liquid

- serve sprinkled with grated cheddar and a few slices of avocado
- enjoy!

Spicy roasted chickpeas

Ok, the first thing I need to do is warn you against the highly addictive nature of those fabulous roasted chickpeas.

Now that that's out of the way, here's how you can make the most delicious of delicious snacks.

Try them, they really are a treat :)


INGREDIENTS (yields about two half-pint mason jars):
- 2 15oz cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained really well
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- a pinch of ground pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil


RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 425F
- in a large baking sheet, or baking dish, spread the drained chickpeas in a single layer and pat them with paper towels until very dry to the touch

Note: if they are even a little bit moist, they will not get crunchy. You can let them air dry an hour after  for better results
- in a bowl, mix the spices and the olive oil until well blended, add the dry chickpeas and stir until uniformly coated

- spread the spiced chickpeas in a single layer on a baking sheet or baking pan in a single layer and bake for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until golden

Note: the chickpeas will still be a little soft when hot. They will get crunchier as they cool down
- let cool completely before storing them in an air tight container. They will keep for about a week in the fridge (if you can refrain yourself from wolfing them down, that is...)
- eat those right out of the jar (ahem), as a snack with a cold beer, or sprinkle them on soups or salads
- Enjoy!

Zucchini, chevre and spicy cured sausage quiche

This recipe is a tweaked recreation of a quiche my sister made and told me about yesterday. It sounded so good that I just had to try and make it for myself.

She used real spanish chorizo, a spicy cured sausage, but unfortunately it is very difficult to procure this kind of chorizo where I live. Same thing goes for the goat cheese that she used: she used an aged french chevre, but that is not readily available here either... *insert sad face*

Oh, one more thing... You'll notice that in the ingredients picture, there is a roll of pie crust. Ahem... ok, well I failed Like A Boss at blind baking mine, so I adapted my regular quiche-to-be into a crust-less one. As annoyed as I was at the time, it also shows you how I actually proceed in the kitchen and how it is important to be able to adapt when things don't go as planned :)

Hope you'll like!



INGREDIENTS (for 4 people as a side dish, 2 people as a light dinner):
- 1 large zucchini, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 small brie-like goat cheese, or any aged goat cheese you like (or can find), cubed
- about 1/2 cup hot dry sausage of your choice (spanish chorizo or sopressata would be best, but I used hot italian sausage that was available at my supermarket), diced
- 2 large eggs (i know only 1 is pictured, but I ended up adding another one, mid-recipe)
- 1 cup of light cream (only 1/2 cup is pictured, but I added another 1/2 cup mid-recipe)
- optionnal: 1 pie crust (i was planning on using it, but failed miserably... you'll get the details further down)
- salt, pepper to taste
- a sprinkle of smoked paprika (not pictured, but added mid-recipe)


RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 350F
- crisp up the diced sausage in a dry pan on high heat, until it has rendered a little fat and is golden, reserve on the side

- saute the onion and zucchini in the drippings and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, cook for a few minutes on medium heat and let cool on the side

- in a bowl, mix the eggs and cream

- add the cheese, sausage cubes and zucchini, pour in a dish sprayed with cooking spray and sprinkle with a little smoked paprika

Note: this is where you would have used your pie crust, pre-cooked for 15 minutes at 350F, but as you can see in the picture below, my pie crust was a super-fail! so I improvised and did without!
oopsies!!
- bake in the oven at 350F for 35 minutes, or until firm

- let cool for 10 minutes before serving with a side salad (I used fresh spinach, lemon juice and olive oil)

- enjoy!