Spring Turkey Toss

This is an adaptation of one of my favorite spring dishes, called "Spring Butterflies" from 365 Easy Italian Recipes by Rick O'Connell. We had turkey for Easter this year, so this is one way we are using up the leftovers!

2 cups rice
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4" diagonal slices
3 cups broccoli florettes, chopped bite sized
2 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
2 cups chicken stock or safe canned broth
1 10 oz package frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tsp dried
2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
salt and pepper
(Parmesean cheese if you are not worried about dairy)

Cook the rice as directed on package and put aside (the recipe is also good with 1 lb farfalle pasta instead if wheat is not an issue).

In large frying pan or wok, heat oil over medium heat (3 Tbsp butter, if not avoiding dairy, is yummy instead). Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Stir in broccoli, carrots, and thyme. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add stock and turn heat to medium-high. Cook about 5 mintues - until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in peas, turkey, and basil and heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve over cooked rice (or toss with pasta).

Serves 6.

Salmon Patties

Here's tonight's meatless, relatively easy and kid-friendly fare: Baked Salmon Patties with Leek and Dill. My picky 3yo ate it all, which definitely says something!

1 14.75 can pink salmon
2-3 Tbsp eggless/dairy free mayo (we use Hain, there are others with various ingredients)
1 leek
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 -1 tsp dried dill
1 tsp lemon juice
Kaiser or other semi-crusty roll

Clean salmon of skin and bones and set aside. Cut off about 3 inches of the leek (trimming and discarding the very end of the root). Rinse, pat dry, and chop leek. Saute in olive oil for 3-4 minutes to soften, stirring constantly. (To save time, and because I can never seem to 'pat dry' well enough, I did the following instead: chopped the still dirty leek, then rinsed in a strainer, and put in a hot, dry frying pan, stirring constantly for a minute to dry them off. Then I pushed them aside and added the oil to the pan, and sauteed from there).

Add cooked leek to the salmon. Stir in the safe mayo - enough to make the salmon stick together. Add the dill and lemon juice and mix well.

Form into bun sized patties and place on non stick or foil lined cookie tray or jelly roll pan. Bake for approximately 15 minutes at 350* F.

Serve on lightly toasted kaiser rolls (although they were also good on plain ol' hamburger rolls!) My family said these were good with baby dill pickles too. :)

Serves 4-5.

Unleavened Bread (for Passover or Holy Thursday)

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp honey
1/8 cup shortening
1/2 cup water

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add next three ingredients one at a time, mixing after each addition. Knead dough 10 minutes. Roll out dough until 1/2 inch thick. Form into a round shape and cut a cross on the surface with a knife. Bake at 350* F for 35-40 minutes.

Garlic Lime Crock Pot Chicken

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp garlic powder (the recipe said 3 cloves garlic - I recommend this instead but didn't have it)
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup chopped leeks
2 small carrots, grated
Splash of lime juice (I accidentally added A LOT more, maybe a Tbsp or a bit more, and it was good!)

Place chicken in crock pot. Mix all ingredients together and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 5-7 hours or high for about 3 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Sweet Potato Stew

*1 very large sweet potato, or two medium (hmmm...I'm just realizing we actually used yams. Don't tell my kids that, they think sweet potato sounds yummier)

*1/2 cup chopped onion (we used frozen pre-chopped) - more or less to your taste

*Two 14oz cans of chicken broth (or equivalent seasoned fresh broth)

*One can full of water (about 2 cups)

*1 lb (we used less but it would have been better with more - we used what we had!) tri-color pasta. We used fiori. Pre cooked, rinsed, and set aside.

*1 tomato (large, or two small)

*1 can chick peas, rinsed

*1 tsp cumin

*1/2 tsp curry powder (mild)

*1/4 tsp tumeric

*salt and pepper to taste (we used no salt, the canned broth took care of that :-P)


Put broth and water in large pot on med heat while you dice the yams/sweet potato. Be careful, I can't tell you how many times I have hurt myself trying to cut sweet potatoes! They are sometimes hard and unwieldy. Anyway. Dice them and throw them into the broth.

Add the spices (cumin, curry powder, tumeric). Let simmer for 10 minutes (or until sweet potato is softening). Chop the onions and tomato and throw them in too while the sweet potato is cooking. I did not add the juice of the tomato (or seeds) but that might be yummy. We avoid too much tomato because it inflames my daughter's eczema. Add the chick peas and pasta and let them warm through. (I cooked them about 5 minutes, it didn't seem to do much damage, lol).

We served this on the dry side for the girls, and more like a soup for dh and I. It would go good with crusty bread and a salad, which in our house were left sitting in the fridge. Duh. Guess I was just so excited that a recipe of mine had turned out well. :)

Need the reminder

Lately, I've been feeling down about all the food allergies in our family - I guess more accurately, I've felt jealous of those who can just follow any of the million and a half recipes out there without thought or worry. So I'm starting up this blog again, in hopes that it will give me a place to contemplate that God has STILL set a bounty before us, no matter that we can't have any dairy, nuts, or eggs (or a host of other things when I'm nursing).