It’s turkey left-overs this week at the Roys. Tune in everyday to find out some of our favourite post Thanksgiving recipes. This recipe was originally taken from the Winnipeg Sun. I have made it several times and we always enjoy it. This makes a great brunch dish or a main course for dinner.
Turkey Mushroom Quiche
Ingredients:
1 – 9″ baked pie shell
3/4 cup cooked turkey, chopped
1/4 cup canned mushrooms, sliced (I use fresh)
1 cup light cheddar cheese, grated
2 green onions, thinly sliced
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup 1% milk
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt
Method:
Arrange turkey in a baked pie shell. Top with mushrooms, cheese and onions. Combine eggs, milk and seasonings. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Serve with a tossed salad and buttermilk biscuits, if desired.
Makes 6 servings.
If you are interested in learning to blog, do not miss this opportunity to learn how the pros blog, with a revolutionary new blogging platform that is launching this week!
In all honesty, this post is much more about semantics than it is about getting a great new Italian recipe.
Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Healthy Style? No Dice!
Last winter, we went through a three to four month stint in which we followed a Primal diet (very similar to eating Paleo, with a few differences). The main thing with a Primal diet is the exclusion of all grains from your diet. During that time, I had to get really creative as my family was not embracing our new lifestyle to the extent that I was. Although they adhered to the plan, they were not pleased about the absence of grains, especially pasta. Long before the Primal diet, I had tried to introduce my family to spaghetti squash as a much healthier alternative to pasta. They would have no part of it, so I would eat squash and meat sauce while the rest of the family would eat pasta. It was frustrating, but they simply did not like it.
Don’t Give Up ~ Your Family is Worth It
I am not one to give up on anything very easily. I find that with most problems, it is at the point of highest frustration that one usually gives up. However, I have often found that if I persist just beyond that point, the solution is almost always around the next bend. The key is really sticking with it long enough to reach the solution. I really wasn’t ready to give up on the idea of substituting the pasta in some of our meals. I love this quote because I find that we often have the answer already, it is just a matter of thinking “outside the box” and looking at the problem from a new perspective.
“The problems are solved, not by giving new information, but by arranging what we have known since long.”
― Ludwig Wittgenstein
Such was the case of spaghetti squash vs. pasta. In the end, I simply applied a strategy that has worked well for me in the past. I changed up what I was doing ever so slightly and re-named the dish. So instead of spaghetti squash and meat sauce, we have Italian Casserole. Same ingredients, with a different presentation and a new name!
What is Italian Casserole you may ask?
Homemade meat sauce (1 to 2 lbs of ground beef)
One cooked spaghetti squash
Mozzarella Cheese
Optional additions: parmesan cheese, butter
Cooke spaghetti squash according to the directions on the sticker. I generally poke it and microwave it for about 5 minutes before attempting to cut it in half. I then cut it in half length-wise and scrape out the seeds (similar to a pumpkin). The remaining “meat” is cooked (boiled, roasted or microwaved) until the flesh is soft and can be scraped away from the outer shell with a fork. Slide the fork down the flesh to create spaghetti like strings.
Pierce, microwave and slice.
Scrape out seeds.
Drag fork through cooked flesh to create spaghetti like strings of squash.
You can stir in some butter and parmesan cheese at this point, if you wish. Grease a 9″ X 13″ casserole dish and line it with a small amount of sauce. Spoon all of the cooked spaghetti squash onto the sauce and spread it out. Cover with all of the meat sauce and then place grated mozzarella cheese on top. Cook for about 20 minutes. You may want to broil for a minute or two at the end to brown the cheese. Finally, the most important step…..tell your family that you are having Italian Casserole for dinner. My family loves Italian Casserole, but continues to hate spaghetti squash and meat sauce. It really is all in the presentation and semantics. Ha! Ha! Mommy wins!
Variation:
Mix one cup of cottage or ricotta cheese with frozen spinach (thawed and drained) and a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Spread this layer over the squash, so it forms a middle layer between the squash and thick layer of meat sauce. Yummy and quite like lasagna. Enjoy!
Want to learn how the pro’s blog? If you’re interested in earning money from home, it makes sense to learn blogging and internet marketing techniques from the best on the web. If you’d like to receive the same training that’s helped me to launch my blog, you should click to find out how I did it.
Well, summer camp week has come to an end and I am off to pick-up the kids today. Can’t wait to see them. The weather has not been great here, so I hope they had a good time and didn’t get too much rain at camp. As usual, my “to do” list is far from done, but I did manage to get through many things on my list. This year I was bound and determined to take some time away from giant list of projects and spend a nice evening out with my husband.
The Decision
We contemplated trying something new as there are so many great restaurants in town, but we decided to go back to a place we know and love. The regular menu at Fude offers a great selection, but they also offer a feature menu that is always incredible. The food they serve is very unique and often a mixture of unexpected flavours and combinations. Much of the menu consists of “Manitoba grown ” food and they offer a “Love at First Bite” guarantee. The service is always excellent and if the owner is there, he will often come out and give you a personal welcome. We are never disappointed when we go there, but we decided to go the website to check out the current features just to confirm our decision. I immediately made a reservation when I saw that they were serving lamb burgers. Here is a screen shot of the feature menu and a description of the lamb burgers.
What’s The Big Deal With Lamb?
Well, as all of my readers know, I have been following Lyn-Genet Recitas book The Plan as a guide to healthy eating for about 2 1/2 months now. I have been extremely pleased with the results and for the first time ever, I feel completely in charge of my own body. I am still learning what foods are reactive and which are friendly through continued controlled exposure to new foods which expand my menu of friendly items. What I love is that I already have an extensive list of “go to foods” which have tested “friendly” and are easily digested by my body. Whenever I do indulge (eat a proven reactive food, try something new as a test or when eating out), I can immediately follow with a friendly day and get right back on track. So, how do lamb burgers fit into all of this? Well, the premise of The Plan is to discover what works well for you specifically. It is not about good or bad foods, but about how you react to specific foods in your diet. Which foods cause an inflammatory response in your body and thus cause weight gain? (A reactive food can cause weight gain ranging from half a pound (for a moderate response) to few pounds for a food that you are wildly reactive to.) Basically, everything is a test. I tend to test the foods that I love the most, so that I can discover how my body reacts with them. I have eaten very little lamb in my life, but many years ago I did the “Eat Right For Your Blood Type” plan and it suggested lamb was highly beneficial for my type AB blood type. At that time, the internet was not used as tool for finding great recipes and although I did eat some lamb during that time, I really never had a great recipe to work with. In Lyn’s book, she talks about what a great dense protein lamb is and how easily digested it is by most people. In her list of reactive foods, she has found that 10% or less of her clients have reacted to lamb. She even suggests that you should be able to tolerate lamb up to three times per week. (Most people who test “friendly” to beef, are still only able to tolerate it once a week or it sets off an inflammatory response in their body). She also says that ground lamb is less “gamy” tasting that other cuts of the meat. I had not yet had a chance to test lamb and although I knew that dinner out would not be a valid test (because of exposure to so many other foods at the same time), I was excited to try a lamb burger. The burger was juicy and delicious with the perfect amount of seasoning. I can’t wait to make my own!
Of course, I did not limit myself to the lamb-burg-ini. Tim and I shared an appetizer ~ baked brie with rhubarb chutney ….mmmm! I had the burger and Tim enjoyed elk tenderloin for his main entrée. For dessert, we didn’t share. Not a chance. I had a hot rhubarb crumble with vanilla bean ice cream and Tim had their signature Die By Chai Cheesecake. The meal was incredible and we enjoyed a great evening out together!
Nutritional Value of Lamb
Like beef, it is ideal if you can get grass-fed lamb. There is in excellent article put out by whfoods.com which outlines the nutritional components of grass-fed lamb in detail, but here are a few highlights from it:
great source of Omega-3
good source of Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins as well as niacin
contains selenium and zinc
conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) which reduces inflammation
great source of protein (60% of daily requirement)
rich in iron
What Health Benefits Might Grass-Fed Lamb Provide?
beneficial in general heart health and cardiovascular disease
helps in blood sugar regulation
niacin (aids in protection against Alzheimer’s and osteoarthritis and helps promote healthy skin)
B12 is important for brain functioning and supports the nervous system
zinc is important for general growth, cell development, healing and the immune system
easily digested by most people
Homemade Lamb Burgers
I must confess that I have not yet tried this recipe, but it is from “The Plan” and Lyn says that many of her clients claim it as one of their favourites. Here it is:
1 lb. ground lamb
1 zucchini, grated
4 to 5 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
Herbs and spices of choice (Italian, Herbes de Provence, cumin, turmeric, fresh ground pepper, Sriricha, etc)
Combine all ingredients, form into 4 patties, and pan sear to medium rare for 6 to 8 minutes.
If you love to share your thoughts and interests and would like to get paid for doing what you love, do what I did and find some experts to mentor you. Click here to learn how a novice like myself was able to quickly learn techniques and strategies for blogging effectively.
