So Easy.... says Ellie Krieger

Honey Harvest Quinoa

White Turkey Chili with Poblano Peppers

I keep telling myself to not buy cookbooks or subscribe to cooking magazines when there are so many FREE recipes available, especially on-line.  But apparently I break weak sometimes when I see something too good to pass up.  I splurged on a cookbook called “So Easy” by Ellie Krieger a long while back. Looking for inspiration, I was thumbing through the cookbook as I prepared my grocery shopping list last week and decided to try two of the recipes from the book this week.  Honey Harvest Quinoa looked like a good choice for breakfast and White Chili looked like a good soup for lunches or dinners.  Believe it or not, I did not tweak or alter the recipes. I saw some others have posted these recipes on-line already so I will save myself the typing and add the links so you can try these recipes if you are interested.  I am enjoying both of these recipes and they are healthy and helping me keep with my HEALTHY New Year’s Resolutions. 

I have a few comments about each recipe if you care to know about them.

Click the recipe name for the Internet Link:

Honey Harvest Quinoa:  I should have followed my instincts and used a bit less water.  I had to cook my quinoa much longer in order for all of the water to be absorbed.  This recipe is easily adaptable.  Basically you are making quinoa and adding uncooked fruit part way through the cooking process.  I added diced apple and dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and cinnamon, as recommended in the recipe, but the possibilities endless.  Dried apricots, golden raisins, almonds, walnuts, nutmeg, ginger… you get the idea.  The recipe calls for adding milk at the end and warming it through. For me, I planned on making this quinoa ahead and then reheating portions throughout the week.  I recommend adding the milk and warming it through if you are planning on serving all of the quinoa at once to a crowd of people.  But if you are planning to reheat and eat like me, I recommend adding the milk to the individual portions.  This recipe makes a huge amount of quinoa and it reheats well.  Next time I make this, I might consider making just ½ the recipe. One recipe is supposed to feed four people if I am not mistaken but the portions would be huge. 

White Chile with Turkey:  Oh my goodness! Use gloves when you chop the poblano peppers!  I did not do this and every time I got my hands in warm or hot water after dicing the peppers, it was like I activated a chemical burn on my hands.  Ouch!  Wear gloves.  This soup is good and not overly spicy despite the fact that the peppers burned my hands.  I used 1.25 pounds of ground lean turkey because the package I bought contained that much.  If you don’t care for hominy you could leave that ingredient out all together and the chili would still be good.  The chili is more soup-like (with a brothy consistency).  If I make this again, I might consider mashing up some of the white beans before adding it to the soup to give the dish a thicker consistency.  The recipe recommends serving the chili with sour cream and fresh cilantro.  My cilantro rotted in the refrigerator and I am using plain, low-fat yogurt in my soup.  It’s cold out and this soup hits the spot.  Good stuff.  I am looking forward to freezing a few portions as well to add to my stockpile of soups in the freezer.