Turkey Sausage and Garbanzo Soup

Easy to make, simple and delicious this soup is protein-rich and light in carbs.

The original recipe is spicy but because of my daughter, rather than including the jalapeno in the soup itself, I chop it up put on top with the avocado and chopped cilantro when serving.

Variations:

  • Instead of turkey sausage, use Italian sausage or Mexican chorizo
  • Instead of garbanzo, use white beans (or any other beans)
  • Add one or two chopped carrots
  • Add 1 chopped bell pepper (any color)
  • Add one potato, chopped smalle  so it doesn’t prolong  cooking time
  • The last 5 minutes, add spinach, kale or other chopped greens (swiss chard, mustard greens)
Spicy Turkey Sausage and Garbanzo Soup
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Spicy Turkey Sausage and Garbanzo Soup
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add turkey sausage and chopped onion, sauté until sausage is golden brown and cooked through, breaking up sausage with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and cook another 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium.
  2. Add tomatoes with their juices, sliced jalapeño, chili, ground cumin and chopped fresh rosemary. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
  3. Add garbanzo beans and 2 cups chicken broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer soup 15 minutes. If needing additional liquid, add another cup of chicken broth.
  4. Stir in fresh lemon juice.
  5. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. Serve topped with sliced avocado and chopped cilantro.
Recipe Notes

Modified from https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/spicy-garbanzo-bean-and-turkey-sausage-soup-458

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Carrot and Beet Pancakes

I’m always looking for ways to incorporate more beets into our weekly meals when staying with my father. Parkinson’s is a challenging disease; one of the ways I deal with impotence of the disease is trying to boost nutrition into my dad’s daily life.

Beets help blood flow and are brain-healthy. So beets go into breakfast smoothies and raw grated beets go into salads. These pancakes are a new way to use beets.

The first time I made them, I served them with a potato, turnip and pumpkin puree (spiced with tumeric and cumin). Yum!
And an arugula, tomato salad with green onion and CMF vinaigrette.

I’ve since made them for teatime, which is my dad’s favorite late afternoon interlude and oftentimes he wants tea rather than dinner.

I think they’d also be a lovely brunch option.

Variations:

  • Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to give spice them up
  • Serve with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or puree the yogurt with a clove of garlic and ¼ cup of cilantro, mint, or parsley.
  • Serve with sweet potato puree, a cauliflower and potato puree
Carrot and Beet Pancakes
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Carrot and Beet Pancakes
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
  2. Peel and grate beets (should be about 1 1/3 cup). Put in a mixing bowl.
  3. Peel and grate carrots (1 cup). Add to beets. Mix in egg, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper.
  4. Add flour; stir to blend well.
  5. Generously brush a baking sheet with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes or until edges begin to brown.
Recipe Notes

Variations:

  • Add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes to give spice them up
  • Serve with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt or puree the yogurt with a clove of garlic and ¼ cup of cilantro, mint, or parsley.
  • Serve with sweet potato puree, a cauliflower and potato puree
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Pumpkin Hummus

It’s such fun to flavor this hummus for fall by adding in pumpkin, knowing it also boosts the nutritional value. It’s always a hit as an appetizer at our autumn dinner parties, and it makes for a delicious sandwich spread, or wrap.

[su_expanding_quote_without_link alignment=”full” source=”SuperFoods: Fourteen Foods that Will Change Your Life, Steven Pratt M.D. and Kathy Mathews” full_quote=”Foods rich in carotenoids have been linked to a host of health promoting and disease-fighting activities.Pumpkin contains one of the richest supplies of bioavailable caortenoids known to man. Half a cup serving of pumpkin gives you more than two times my recommended daily intake of alpha-caronte and 100 percent of my recommended daily dietary goal of beta-carotene.” short_quote=”Foods rich in carotenoids have been linked to a host of health promoting and disease-fighting activities.”]

For a hummus as sandwich spread, I prefer a thicker consistency (similar to softened cream cheese). If using as a dip (with veggies, pita or crackers), I add a couple tablespoons of water.

I discovered it also freezes well, which is a great resource for an impromptu dinner party or for quick sandwich/wrap lunches during the week

 

Pumpkin Hummus
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Pumpkin Hummus
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Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Into blender (or food processor) put lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, tahini and garbanzo. Puree until smooth, stopping occasionally and mixing with rubber spatula as needed.
  2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth, adding water (1 tablespoon at a time) until it has the desired consistency.
  3. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds on top and serve.
Recipe Notes

A Color My Food Original Recipe

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Sausage Poblano Pepper Strata

The name strata come from layers. Strata is a breakfast dish made from a beaten egg mixture poured over bread (sliced or cubed). There are innumerable variations, omnivore and vegetarian

  • different varieties of vegetables
  • breakfast meats (sausage, bacon, ham)
  • herbs and spices

I like stratas because you can make them the day before and chilled overnight. In the morning bake it in the oven.

Sausage Poblano Pepper Strata
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Servings
8 servings
Servings
8 servings
Sausage Poblano Pepper Strata
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Servings
8 servings
Servings
8 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
  2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat; add onion and sauté until translucent. Add sausage and chopped poblano pepper and cook stirring occasionally until sausage is cooked through. Remove from heat and cool.
  3. Cut twenty 1-inch slices from baguette and arrange in one layer in baking dish.
  4. Whisk eggs and milk; mix in cooked sausage and all remaining ingredients until blended.
  5. Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and chill overnight.
  6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake strata uncovered until puffed and golden, about 40 - 45 minutes.
  7. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
  8. Serve with sliced avocado, chopped cilantro and/or salsa
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Coconut Red Lentil Curry

Red lentils are made from whole yellow lentils that are peeled and split in half, exposing the red color under their outer seed coat which makes them cook quickly.

This dish comes together easily and leaves bellies full and happy.
If cooking for children or those who don’t enjoy spicy food, leave the Serrano/jalapeño peppers out of the pot; serve them on the side so people can add them as desired.

I serve it over brown rice; start cooking the rice first as it takes longer than the curry.

Variations:

  • Use green or brown lentils instead of red; add 10 minutes cooking time
  • Replace cauliflower with broccoli, zucchini with butternut squash, or bell peppers
  • Use parsley instead of cilantro
Coconut Red Lentil Curry
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Coconut Red Lentil Curry
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Servings
4 servings
Servings
4 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Heat oil in a medium pot over moderate heat. Cook onion, stirring occasionally, until edges are golden, about 6 minutes. Add carrot, ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt, and chile and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
  2. Stir in water, lentils, and coconut milk, then simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini and cauliflower and simmer, covered, until lentils and vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
  3. Serve with cilantro scattered on top.
Recipe Notes

Modified from Epicurious: Coconut Red Lentil Curry

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Spicy Kale and Garbanzo Stew

This hearty chili-like stew is loaded with flavor. It’s delicious the first night, even tastier the next day and is one of my favorites to freeze for weeknights when I won’t have time to cook dinner. The trick is to remember to take it out of the freezer and defrost for dinner!

It can easily be a one-dish meal as is, but sometimes I serve it over couscous or mix in leftover grains (barley, rice, quinoa).

Serve it with dollop of plain Greek yogurt and some chopped parsley or cilantro on top.

Spicy Kale and Garbanzo Stew
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Servings
8 servings
Servings
8 servings
Spicy Kale and Garbanzo Stew
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Servings
8 servings
Servings
8 servings
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan heat oil and cook the onions over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until they become translucent. Add garlic and bell peppers and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes
  2. Add all remaining ingredients and bring the liquid to a boil. Turn down heat simmer the stew, stirring ocassionally, for 45 minutes.
  3. Add the kale and cook another 5 – 10 minutes just until the kale wilts.
  4. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Serve the stew on the couscous or rice, with a dollop of yogurt if desired.
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Moroccan Tagine with Chicken and Garbanzo

Tagine is a Moroccan stew that takes its name from the earthen pot in which it is slow cooked.  Although I don’t have a tagine pot, the dish has become a regular item in both weekly family meals and entertaining menus because of the colors, the flavors and the diversity.

Tagine is traditionally a stand-alone one-dish entrée served with Moroccan bread on the side to be used as a utensil to scoop up the stew, but I like to serve tagine over couscous (whole-wheat or pearl couscous) or quinoa.

This particular recipe can be switched around a number of different ways:

  1. Make it vegan by skipping the chicken and using only the garbanzo
  2. Use lentils instead of garbanzo
  3. Use chicken only or fish or shrimp
  4. Instead of green beans I’ve used peas or (chopped) broccoli, just make sure to add in the last few minutes so they still have a crunch and are not mushy
Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Mint
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas and Mint
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Servings
4
Servings
4
Ingredients
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Instructions
  1. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and ginger. Cover and cook until onion is tender, stirring often, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add paprika and next 5 ingredients; stir 1 minute.
  3. Stir in 2 cups water, garbanzo beans, tomatoes with juices, cilantro, lemon, and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes.
  4. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to pot. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
  5. Add carrots and more water to cover if liquid has evaporated; cook 10 minutes.
  6. Stir in green beans; simmer until chicken and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper and more lemon juice, if desired. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with mint.
Recipe Notes

Source: Epicurious: Chick Tagine with Chickpeas and Mint

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