Swiss Turkey Broccoli Bake

This is the first time I return to the South Arm Seniors Kitchen after the summer break and South Arm kitchen renovation. I think I missed at least one kitchen due to my trip to Beijing. The new senior kitchen facilitator is Michelle Li.

Stella, the South Arm seniors program coordinator decorated the table with a Christmas theme since this is the last kitchen in December. Michelle also prepared some festive recipes which can utilize leftover food from the holiday feast.

Here is some tips that Michelle shared with the seniors on food safe regarding leftovers. The excerpt is adapted from dietitian Heather McColl.

• Ensure the fridge is at the correct temperature, 4 degrees Celsius or colder; a fridge thermometer is a great tool to have.
• Refrigerate leftovers immediately after dinner or within 2 hours of cooking
• Cool food quickly by storing in shallow containers on your refrigerator’s wire shelves to promote maximum airflow and even cooling.
• Quickly cool a large pot of hot food like soup or stew by chilling in an ice bath and stirring frequently before storing in the refrigerator or freezer
• Chill large  pieces of mat or poultry quickly and safely by deboning and dividing into small portions before storing in the refrigerator.
• Date your leftovers and use within 3 to 4 days or store in the freezer for up to 6 months
• When heating leftovers, be sure to heat foods to an internal temperature of 74 degrees Celsius or bring liquids like soup to a rolling boil
• Since you cant tell the safety of food by its look, smell or taste, a good rule of thumb is “when in doubt, throw it out”.

The main course for this kitchen is Swiss Turkey Broccoli Bake. This is a good recipe to encourage kids to eat vegetables with the incorporation of a cheesy creamed sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken or turkey
• 3 cups broccoli florets or asparagus, cut into 1″ pieces, steamed
• 1/2 cup grated swiss, chesddar or parmesan cheese

Cream Sauce

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups milk, half and half or light cream
• salt and pepper to taste
• pinch of nutmeg

This recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey and already cooked vegetables. Leftover can be packaged into individual portions and freeze for enjoyment later.

Source: via Michelle Li

Serve 4 to 6

Beef Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce on Pasta

The main dish for the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors was Beef Turkey Meatballs with Tomato Sauce on Pasta. We also made a Pesto Sauce with Walnut to go with the pasta which I will blog later.

The difference in this meatball recipe is the incorporation of ground turkey. The lean ground turkey makes these meatballs more healthy. Turkey meat has fewer calories, less fat, less cholesterol, but high in protein compared with other meat.

Most of the fats in turkey is within the skin and most of the fat within the meat is the dark meat. The white meat with skin removed is a good food source for people on low fat diet.

The turkey meat fiber is easier to digest than other types of meat, which makes it a good choice for individual who may have digestive problems.

Turkey is an excellent source of several important vitamins and nutrients such as iron, niacin, zinc, potassium, and B vitamins.

The Canada food guide recommends 2 to 3 servings of meat, fish or poultry per day for individual 50 years and up. A serving of any type of cooked meat is equal to 3 ounces and is about the size of a deck of cards.

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup dry whole wheat bread crumbs

Yields 4 servings

Tomato Sauce

• 1 can plum tomatoes
• 1 can tomato puree
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1/4 cup packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
• grated Parmesan cheese
• pinch of sugar

Yields 6 to 8 servings

Source: unknown via Marian

Turkey Corn Chili

The South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors whipped up a south western theme meals. To start off, Sydney, Chris and Frank made a Turkey Corn Chili.

This is a good recipe for times when you’ve leftovers chicken or turkey. Adjust the amount of broth according to your preferred thickness.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large bell pepper, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 1/2 pounds cooked chicken or turkey, diced
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1 (32 ounce) can diced or crushed tomatoes
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 scallions, white and greens, chopped
• salt to taste

Source: adapted from Rachel Ray

Prep time: 20 minutes;  Cook time: 15 minutes;  Serves 4 to 6

Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-dried Tomatoes

The Richmond Community Kitchens resumed on the first week of January 2010. The Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen was the first kitchen of the year. Minoo prepared 4 dishes to celebrate the starting of a new year.

The first dish is Turkey Meatloaf with Feta and Sun-dried Tomatoes. This meatloaf is moist and colourful, white from the feta, red from the sun-dried tomatoes and green from the parsley.

Ingredients

• vegetable cooking spray
• 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup garlic and herb-marinated sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound ground turkey

This recipe is adapted from http://www.allrecipes.com and it serves 5 to 6.

Updated: 28th July 2011: This recipe is adapted from Giada De Laurentiis of Food Network.com and it serves 5 to 6.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Turkey Meatloaf

Marcel and Sydney worked together to make Turkey Meatloaf as the main dish at the South Arm Cooking Club for Seniors.  This lean and yet moist meatloaf is simple to make and is wonderful for dinner or as a sandwich filling.

When making meatloaf for solo dining, don’t form the meat mixture into one large loaf.  Instead, spray a muffin tin (or two) with cooking spray and fill with meatloaf mixture.  Fill each muffin cup to the top, but don’t pack down the mixture.  Bake at a preheated 375F oven for about 25 minutes.  A good way to save your hydro bill.

You can freeze the individual muffin loaves for future meal.  Just thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave when you’re ready to eat.

Turkey Black Bean Chili

Minoo made a Turkey Black Bean Chili in the South Arm Community Kitchen. I had blogged about 3 other chili recipes here:

• Chili Con Carne
• Beef Chili
• Chili in Indian Sauce

Chili is a very versatile dish. You can serve it on it’s own or serve it with bread, noodles or rice. It’s an almost complete meal by itself as it has protein from the meat and beans, and fiber and vitamins from all the vegetables in it.

You can double the recipe to freeze the leftovers in single portion containers or ziplock bags for days that you dont feel like cooking. Defrost it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on low heat on the stove.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 lb ground turkey or chicken
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 can (28oz/796ml) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (19oz/540ml) black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 small zucchini, cubed
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1/4 cup minced fresh coriander or parsley
• sour cream and sliced jalapeno peppers (optional)

This recipe is adapted from Canadian Living.

Roasted Turkey with Stuffing

Jean made a 24 lbs turkey for the Gilmore Community Kitchen Potluck Party. She told us that she woke up at 4.30 am to roast the turkey as it takes 4 1/2 hours to roast such a big turkey. Jean, you are the best.

I know what you all must be thinking. It looked like the Roasted Turkey

is all burnt right. But let me tell you, that is the best part. It is not the skin that is burnt but it’s the garlic. Oh yummy!

The turkey is flavourful and moist. Jean demonstrated how to roast the turkey in the kitchen but scale down to chicken for the time constraint.

Ingredients

• a whole chicken
• celery, diced
• onion, diced
• chopped garlic
• poultry blend herbs which consist of sage, rosemary and thyme or poultry seasonings
• lemon
• butter
• salt and black pepper to taste
• bread