Crock Pot Turkey Mole Tacos

Today I have a new recipe post for you, although it’s from a meal we ate a while ago. These crock pot turkey mole tacos have been a popular recipe request from you guys, although I have to admit we didn’t adapt it much from the Food Network magazine article where we found the recipe in the first place.

I feel like I should also admit that when Tim first told me he wanted to have turkey mole tacos for dinner (via text), I had no idea what the heck mole meant. I was pronouncing “mole” like the word “bowl,” and I didn’t really understand what Avogadro or a small animal had to do with tacos, but that’s okay. How the heck was I supposed to know that “mole” actually rhymes with “oh hey” and is really a Mexican chocolate sauce? This is why Tim is the main chef in the house.

Crock Pot Turkey Mole Tacos

Recipe adapted from the Food Network

Ingredients

• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained (15 0z.)
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for topping
• 4 scallions, chopped, plus more for topping
• 2 tablespoons unsalted peanut butter
• 1.5 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chile powder
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 skinless, bone-in turkey breast (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• Tortillas of choice
• Optional toppings: avocado, shredded lettuce, plain Greek yogurt, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, etc. (We topped with avocado and the pico de gallo recipe that I linked to).

Directions

1. Combine the tomatoes, carrots, bell pepper, cilantro, scallions, peanut butter, soy sauce, chile powder, cocoa powder, and cinnamon in the crock pot, and stir to combine. Add the turkey and turn to coat. Cover and cook on low, 8 hours.
2. Remove the turkey and transfer to a large plate. Shred the meat with 2 forks, discarding the bone. Return the shredded turkey to the slow cooker and stir to coat.
3. Warm the tortillas in a dry skillet or in the microwave. Serve the turkey in the tortillas and top with more cilantro and scallions.
4. Enjoy!

I’m always a big fan of crock pot meals to save time, and this meal was a nice change of pace from our usual taco nights.

–Let’s chat–
Have you ever heard of mole sauce before? What are your go to taco toppings? Who is the main cook in your house?

Don’t forget to join in on my 7-day Heart My Health Valentine’s Challenge. You could win a personal training plan from me just from sharing your healthy pics on social media this week!

Grilled Shrimp “Niçoise” Salad

As I was flipping through our latest issue of The Food Network magazine while at the beach with my girlfriends on Saturday, one particular recipe caught my eye. Once I read through it, I just knew I had to add this recipe to our meal plan for the week. Last night we made a spin on a niçoise salad for dinner, and it did not disappoint.

I believe that a traditional niçoise salad involves green beans, tuna, anchovies, eggs, tomatoes, and potatoes – but I’m not certain. This is a spin on the traditional version because instead of tuna we used shrimp, and some of the other “usual” ingredients were eliminated in lieu of others. Either way, I enjoyed switching things up from our typical dinner choices and trying something new.

Grilled Shrimp “Niçoise” Salad

Recipe serves 4

Ingredients

For the shrimp

• 1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1.5 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Ground black pepper, to taste

For the salad

• 4 ounces of yellow wax beans, trimmed
• 4 ounces green beans, trimmed
• 1 pound of fingerling potatoes
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

For the dressing

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• S&P to taste

Directions

1. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice water and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted cold water to a boil. Add the yellow and green beans, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until just crisp. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to stop the cooking. Let sit in the ice water for a few minutes, and then drain well.
3. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan, cover with salted cold water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are almost cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well and let cool slightly.
4. Heat your grill to high. Then, once cool enough to handle, slice the potatoes lengthwise, brush with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Place on the grill, cut side down, and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn over and grill until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Keep the grill on.
5. Combine the cooked beans, grilled potatoes, tomatoes, onion, basil and parsley in a large bowl. 
6. Mix the ingredients for the vinaigrette together, then add to the bowl with the beans and potatoes. Gently toss to combine and then season with salt and pepper. Cover and let sit at room temperature while you prepare the shrimp.
7. To make the spice rub for the shrimp, combine all the seasonings with the s&p in a bowl. Then put the shrimp in a large bowl and toss with the spice rub until evenly coated.  Add the 1/4 cup olive oil and toss to coat. Place the shrimp on the grates of the grill in an even layer and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 1.5-2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over and continue grilling until just cooked through, 45 seconds to 1 minute longer.
8. Divide the salad among four plates and top with the shrimp, and enjoy!

For all you lettuce haters out there, this salad is for you!  I liked how I didn’t feel like I was eating a salad because there were no lettuce or greens involved besides the green beans. For me that’s important because I get easily bored with lettuce salads as part of healthy eating. I also really enjoyed the crunch of the ingredients as well as the flavor of the vinaigrette. It tasted very much like a honey mustard dressing, except no mayo was involved (score). I will definitely be making both this salad and the dressing again. One thing, this recipe makes more dressing than you might need, so same some for leftovers! If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it!

What comes to mind when you think of a niçoise salad?

Chicken Sausage Linguine with Mushrooms

Happy Friday, friends!

As some of you may know, I am not a huge fan of sausage (pause for dirty joke…).  Chicken sausage, however, is a different story and a good compromise for when Tim wants to make a dish with sausage and I don’t.

Here’s a yummy recipe that uses chicken sausage, if anyone needs any inspiration for their weekend cooking!

Tim and I decided that it would be fun to subscribe to The Food Network magazine and actually get issues of it to our front door.  I still get excited about snail mail, ok?  Anyways, this recipe is one we adapted from a sausage recipe in their December issue.  We switched around a few other ingredients as well to “healthify.”  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 12 ounces of whole wheat linguine
• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1/2 pound chicken sausage
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 1/2 pound of sliced mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup low-sodium veggie or chicken broth (or dry white wine)
• 2/3 cup milk – we used 1% here because we thought almond milk might give the dish a funny flavor
• 3 tablespoons parsley
• ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Add the pasta and cook as the label directs. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta.
2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken sausage and cook, stirring, until browned, 3 minutes.  Increase the heat to high; add the onion, celery and mushrooms and cook, stirring, until tender, 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
3. Reduce the heat to medium high; add the tomatoes and broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Add the milk and cook until slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Stir in the parsley and reduce the heat to low.
4. Add the pasta to the skillet and cook, tossing, until it absorbs some of the sauce, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I don’t often have pasta dishes, but this one is a keeper.  We are probably going to put it on our weekly meal plan for a night next week.  We’ll see!

What’s everyone up to for the weekend?  I have lots of celebrating to do!  Tonight a bunch of friends are getting together for dinner to celebrate Slesh & Will’s recent engagement (you can read the proposal story here!), tomorrow the family is celebrating Papou’s 84th birthday party, and Sunday the other side of the family is celebrating my god-daughter’s 4th birthday.  Lots of things going on!

Do you like sausage or chicken sausage better?

Enjoy the weekend, and Boston readers – stay safe in the snow!