Spring Vegetable & Turkey Shepherd’s Pie

Recipe by Karen Rankin via Cooking Light

6 Servings (1 ¾ cup each)

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This is a delish comfort food dish that you can easily make on a week night and will please the whole family. It’s a bit healthier than the usual shepherd’s pie because instead of a mashed potato topping, this pie has a cauliflower topping. Cauliflower has twice the fiber and half the carbs of potatoes. (It turned out that I only had one package of frozen riced cauliflower and so I just halved the cheese as well, so my topping didn’t quite cover the whole “pie” like it should have, but it was perfectly delicious anyway.)

2 (12 oz.) packages frozen riced cauliflower

1 (6.5 oz.) package light garlic-and-herb spreadable cheese (such as Boursin)

1½ Tablespoon canola or olive oil

1 lb. ground turkey (white and dark meat)

2 cups chopped carrots (about 2 medium)

1¾ cups chopped zucchini (about 1 medium)

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 cup frozen or fresh peas

¾ teaspoon kosher salt

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour or whole-wheat flour (For gluten-free, use 2 Tablespoons cornstarch instead of the flour.)

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1 teaspoon dried thyme

1½ cups unsalted chicken broth or vegetable broth

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Microwave the cauliflower according to the package directions until tender.  Place the cauliflower and cheese in a food processor; process until smooth.  Set aside. 

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high.  Add the turkey, and cook, breaking up with a spatula or spoon until turkey begins to brown.  Add the carrots, zucchini, onion, and peas; stir to combine.  Add salt, and cook, stirring often, about 4 minutes.  Sprinkle on the flour and thyme.  Stir to combine.  Increase heat to high, and add the broth.  Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.  Spoon cauliflower mixture over the turkey/veggie mixture.  Smooth the top with a spoon and sprinkle with pepper.

Turn on the broiler.  Broil the shepherd’s pie until the cauliflower is golden brown in spots, about 3-4 minutes and serve.

Nutritional Info:  (For 1 ¾ cup serving) 295 calories; 14 grams fat (5 grams sat. & 9 grams unsat.); 24 grams protein; 21 grams carb.; 6 grams fiber; 8 grams sugars (0 grams added sugars); 540 mg sodium; calcium 7% DV; potassium 20% DV

Spring Vegetable & Turkey Shepherd's Pie
makes a great leftover lunch!

Immunity Soup

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Immunity Soup straight from the freezer.  Great to have on hand
when you are feeling a bit under the weather and need a good hot
soup.  Just thaw, heat and eat.

Recipe from Cooking Light

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Serves 8

A good chicken soup is something I always crave when I’m feeling a bit puny.  This one is not only tasty, but it has lots of immunity boosting ingredients:  chickpeas and chicken for zinc; kale for antioxidant vitamin C; garlic for allicin, one of the most powerful antioxidants; crushed red pepper for capsaicin for adding heat to clear sinuses; mushrooms for vitamin D; and steaming hot stock that not only keeps you hydrated but will make your nose run and help flush out congestion.  When you feel a cold coming on, prepare this easy-to-make soup. This recipe makes plenty of soup to last through a typical cold.  Drink lots of liquids and get some rest and you’ll feel better in no time.  Try making yourself a Hot Toddy to sip right before bedtime too.

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ cups onion

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced

2 large carrots, scrubbed and thinly sliced

1 lb. mushrooms (I use baby Portobello mushrooms.)

10 cloves garlic, minced (I know this seems like a lot, but garlic mellows as it cooks.)

8 cups unsalted chicken or vegetable stock

4 thyme sprigs or 1 heaping teaspoon dried thyme

2 bay leaves

1 (15 oz.) can unsalted chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 lb. skinless, bone-in chicken breasts

1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

12 oz. curly kale, stems removed, leaves torn

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion, celery, and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.  Add the mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring often, 3 minutes.  Stir in the stock, thyme, bay leaves, and chickpeas; bring to a simmer.  Add the chicken, salt and red pepper cover and simmer until chicken is done, about 25 minutes.  Remove chicken from the Dutch oven; cool slightly.  Shred meat with 2 forks; discard bones.  Stir chicken and kale into soup; cover and simmer until the kale is just tender, about 5 minutes.  Discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves.  Serve.

Nutritional Info per 1 ½ cup serving:  253 calories; 6.5 g fat; 28 g protein; 22 g carbs; 6 g fiber; 5 g sugars; 54 mg cholesterol; 2 mg iron; 581 mg sodium; 116 mg calcium

Turkey Cheeseburger Soup

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Serves 6

Recipe from Skinnytaste.com

Adapted and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

If you are craving some comfort food, this soup is the answer.  This is a more healthful version of other cheesy soups, but it tastes so good that you won’t feel cheated.  In fact, we thought the soup tasted best the day after it was made which means this would make a great casual dinner party meal served along with a crisp salad and some whole-grain bread.  As you cut up the veggies for this soup, be sure to cut some extra carrot, celery and cauliflower pieces to pop in your lunchbox or to eat for a crunchy snack.

½ pound lean ground turkey

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

3 ½ - 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (or homemade chicken broth)

10 oz. Yukon Gold potatoes, finely diced (peel, if desired)

¼ of a large head of cauliflower, florets cut up into bite size pieces*

1 cup to 1 ¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2 Tablespoons chopped scallions, for garnish (optional)

Spray some cooking spray into a large soup pot.  Add the ground turkey to the pot and turn on the heat to medium.  Break the turkey meat up into small clumps as it browns.  Drain and then set aside in a small bowl.  Add the butter to the same pot.  Once it melts, add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic.  Cook, stirring often, until softened.  Sprinkle with the flour, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute to cook the flour.  Return the turkey to the pot.  Add the broth, potatoes, and cauliflower.  Bring to a boil.  Then turn down the heat and cook, covered, until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender, about 25-30 minutes.  Transfer 1 cup of the soup to a blender and blend until smooth. (If you have a stick blender, just place the stick blender into the soup and blend for a few seconds.)  Stir the puree back into the soup.  Stir in the cheddar cheese.  Top with the scallions, if using, and serve.

**Nutritional Information:

Yield: 6 servings (1 ½ cups per serving) Calories 254; Total Fat 11.5 grams (Saturated Fat 6 grams); Cholesterol 52 mg; Sodium 670 mg; Carbohydrates 19 grams; Fiber 3.5 grams; Sugars 5 grams; Protein 20 grams; Freestyle Points 7, Points +

Notes:

*The original recipe calls for ¼ of a large head of cauliflower, stem attached.  Then when the cauliflower is tender from cooking, you would then remove the entire stem with the florets attached and add them to a blender along with 1 cup of liquid.  Blend and then pour back into the soup.  However, I like having the soup a bit chunkier (plus I don’t like having to clean up another appliance) and so I cut up the florets. Then I just used a stick blender and blended just a few seconds to make the soup somewhat creamy.

**You can cut back on the fat by using 1 cup of cheese (I thought that was plenty.) You can cut back on the sodium by using homemade chicken broth.  You can increase the fiber of the soup by not peeling the potatoes or the carrots and by using whole-wheat flour.