Southwestern Turkey & Dumplings

Ingredients
3 cups diced, cooked turkey breast
7 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 1/2 cup diced Russet potatoes
3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1 shallot, minced
4 oz crimini mushrooms, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon hot Mexican chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
salt
black pepper

for the dumplings:
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup diced green onion (green parts only)

Directions:
Heat the butter and oil in a large pot with a lid. Add the onions, carrots, celery, poblano pepper, potato, garlic and mushrooms. Saut� until the potatoes start to soften. Add the chipotle pepper, spices and stock. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add the turkey and corn. Then whisk together the baking powder and flour in a medium sized bowl. Stir in the buttermilk, egg and green onion. Mix to combine. Scoop out 2-3 inch dumplings with a spoon or old fashioned ice cream scoop. They do not have to be particularity round and the dough will be very sticky. Carefully (to avoid splashing!) drop the dumplings one at a time into the pot. Cover and cook until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through.

My thoughts:

I am always thinking of new ways to use up cooked turkey. While I love a turkey sandwich, there is only so many of them you can eat before collapsing of taste bud fatigue. I do occasionally freeze pre-measured amounts of cubed, cooked turkey breast for future use in soups, stews and chili but I don't mind using up some freshly cooked turkey in a new way. I've made some excellent chicken & dumplings in the past and thought I could revamp the recipe a bit to bring out the best in turkey. Turkey has a slightly stronger flavor than chicken so I decided to go for a full flavored, spicy dish.

This version of turkey and dumplings will make memories of bland chicken and dumplings completely disappear. Tons of vegetables and chiles give this a rich flavor without adding fat and leave the dish tasting fresh rather than heavy or insipid. It is just a revelation. I honestly can't wait to make it again!

Smoky, Spicy Bison Chili

Ingredients:
1 lb ground bison
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 cup diced poblano peppers
1/3 cup smoked sun-dried tomatoes, julienne cut
30 oz canned fire roasted diced tomatoes with chipotle
30 oz canned dark red kidney beans, drained
1 teaspoon habanero hot sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cayenne
1 teaspoon hot paprika
1 teaspoon ground jalape�o
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon allspice


Directions:

Slow Cooker directions:
In a dry skillet, saute the onions, carrot, celery, poblano peppers and bison meat. Break the meat into small bits and saute until the meat is fully cooked. Bison is very lean so there shouldn't be grease but if there is, drain it off. Add to a slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Cook on low for up to 9 hours.

Stove top directions:
In a dry, wide pot, saute the onions, carrot, celery, poblano peppers and bison meat. Break the meat into small bits and saute until the meat is fully cooked. Drain off any grease. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir. Cook on low, stirring occasionally, until some of the liquid has evaporated and the chili is cooked through and hot.

My thoughts:

I was excited to finally get a bunch of poblano peppers from my garden that I had to put them in this chili. Last year we had peppers growing all summer but for some reason, this year they waited until September. I had a couple of cans of fire roasted tomatoes with chipotle I've been waiting to use until it got cool enough to make chili. If you can't find these particular tomatoes, substitute 30 oz fire roasted or plain diced tomatoes and 2 minced chipotle peppers. Ground bison (we get ours from Gunpowder Bison) is an excellent meat to use in chili, it is flavorful but very lean. I like making it in the slow cooker best, the prep is pretty quick (you can even chop the vegetables the night before) and I think the flavor is more developed but the stove top method is a great alternative.

This is a spicy, smoky chili thanks to the chipotle and the lovely smoked sun dried tomatoes. If you can't find smoked sun dried tomatoes, substitute regular sun dried tomatoes and a bit of liquid smoke. The tomatoes rehydrate in the chili and add a lot of texture interest so I wouldn't leave them out entirely.

Ham, Cheddar & Poblano Corn Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup cubed smoked ham
2/3 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar
1/2 cup diced poblano pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Grease or line 12 wells in a muffin tin. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Beat in the egg, buttermilk and oil until well combined. Fold in the ham, peppers and cheese. Divide evenly among the wells and bake 15 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the center muffin comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.

My thoughts:

I love when I can take leftovers and make something entirely new with them. I had some ham leftover from a recipe development gig I am working on and while ham sandwiches are always tasty, I wanted to try to use it in a different way. I loved the contrast of the smoky ham, sharp pepper and cheddar against the lightly sweet cornbread. They would be great as a treat for breakfast but they were also wonderful when served instead of a roll with soup or chili.

Note: Like most muffins, these muffins reheat and freeze well. Never be without breakfast again!

Roasted Poblano & Green Tomato Chili

Ingredients:
2 poblano peppers
2Anaheim peppers, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 lb green (unripe) tomatoes*, chopped
15 ounce can hominy
12 oz chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons PLUS 1 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon cumin
juice of 1/2 lime


Directions:
Place the cubed chicken in a resealable bag. Sprinkle with lime juice, cumin and 1 teaspoon ground chipotle. Marinate 20 minutes. Meanwhile, place the poblano chiles in a heat safe dish and broil 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a towel and allow to cool, five minutes. Gently use a towel to remove the skins from the chiles, using a circular motion. Cut a slit down one side of each chile (or in the middle, if a split formed while removing the skin) and remove the seeds with as spoon. Discard the seeds. Cut up the chiles into 1/2 inch pieces. Saute the onion, red pepper flakes and garlic in olive oil until the onion is just translucent. Add the chicken, remaining spices and Anaheim chile and saute until the chicken is almost cooked through. The chicken should look white on all sides, but night still be slightly raw in the center. Stir in the poblano chiles, hominy and chicken broth. Cook covered for about 15 minutes, then remove lid and cook 15 additional minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.


*Some unripe tomatoes will be green on the outside and slightly pink on the inside. This doesn't make much difference to the dish.

My thoughts:

When I saw that Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen was hosting a green tomato contest I knew I had to give it a shot. I've fried green tomatoes and ripened them in paper bags but that was about it. I like the flavor of green tomatoes a lot so I thought this would be a good excuse to do some experimentation. The only problem was finding the green tomatoes. After an extremely violent storm in late Summer toppled our tomato plants we dug them up. But a quick call to my mom revealed that she had plenty of green (unripe) heirloom tomatoes still on the vine. I told her about the contest and when I picked them up she had them waiting in a paper bag neatly labeled "For Rachel 'unfried' green tomatoes". So what to make with them? The weather has taken a turn towards the seasonal so I thought something warm might be in order: chili. The combination of the different peppers and spices give it a complex spicy flavor that the cool tartness of the green tomato tempers slightly.

Poblano Peppers Stuffed with Chicken, Zucchini and Spinach

Ingredients:
4 large, fresh poblano (sometimes labeled as pasilla) peppers
4 cloves garlic, smashed
3 dried chipotle peppers
28 canned whole tomatoes in juice, pureed
2 medium sized onions
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 medium zucchini, cubed
1 cup corn kernels
1 cup cooked spinach*
1 cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
salt
pepper
juice from 1 lime
shredded cheddar cheese (for sprinkling)

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, add the chicken breast, broth, garlic, lime juice, cumin, salt, ground pepper, one onion (quartered) and the dried chipolte peppers. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and is easily shredded with a fork. Remove the breast from the broth and set aside. Strain the broth, and puree the solids. Reserve the broth. Shred the chicken and mix it with the onion/pepper puree. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 3 tablespoon olive oil, add the remaining onion (diced) and cook until golden brown. Add the tomato puree, 1/4 cup reserved broth** salt, ground pepper and cinnamon. Cook until the sauce has reduced to form a thick sauce, about 20-25 minutes. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil, add the zucchini and cook over high heat until the zucchini starts to brown. Add half of the tomato sauce, corn and reduce heat to medium. Cook an additional 15 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in the chicken mixture, spinach and salt to taste. Place the poblano chiles in a heat safe dish and broil 5 minutes on each side. Remove to a towel and allow to cool, five minutes. Gently use the towel to remove the skins from the chiles, using a circular motion. Preheat oven to 375. Cut a slit down one side of each chile (or in the middle, if a split formed while removing the skin) and remove the seeds with as spoon. Discard the seeds. In a shallow baking pan, spread 1/2 of the remaining sauce along the bottom. Place the chiles slit side up and carefully fill with the chicken mixture.Do not over fill, the chile should be able to "close" when filled. Repeat for each chile and reposition them so the slit side is directly on the bottom of the pan. Distribute the remaining sauce over the peppers and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.





*if frozen, defrost and drain thoroughly.
**use any leftover broth instead of regular chicken broth in another recipe.

My thoughts:

This is a colorful dish that is sort of a reinvention of the dish chile rellano (which literally means "stuffed chile" but generally refers to poblano peppers that have been stuffed with cheese and then deep fried) but is much healthier and in my opinion, tastes even better. Poblano peppers are on the mild side and surprisingly sturdy which makes them great candidates for stuffing despite their long and sort of pinched shape. Rather than just filling them with cheese, we combined chicken, zucchini, corn and spinach for a really fresh tasting and light filling. The poaching with the chile and onion adds great flavor the chicken, but if you were short on time, you could just shred leftover roasted or rotisserie chicken and use that instead. Rather than add the cheese to the filling, we sprinkled it on top for a little extra flavor. These were great for a meal, and any leftover filling you have makes yummy tacos or burritos.