food

SOMETIMES THE BEST thing about Thanksgiving is the leftovers. I know you haven’t even cut into your turkey yet, and you’re stressing about what side dishes to prepare and how to get it all cooked and then served hot at the same time. Whew! It’s stressful sometimes, but just for a moment, I want you to close your eyes and imagine with me...

Your family and friends had a great time. They loved all the food you prepared, especially the lingonberry sauce. The children didn’t make too much of a mess. The Lions and Cowboys won their respective football games (hey, we’re dreaming here). The dishes are all washed and NOT by you. (Again, you may have to use your imagination.) The house is cleaned up. Everyone is full and happy. You glance out your window, and it’s sunny and 80 degrees. You strap on your sandals and head to the beach. 

Sorry, I was getting a little carried away there. Some of that may actually happen, but the warm weather and sandy beaches are probably out of the question if you live in Alaska. This is precisely why my family and I took the trek to Hawaii for Thanksgiving. Sorry, I can’t take you with me, but I’d like to transport you there through food. We’re going to turn your leftover turkey into a tropical vacation! 

I made up a recipe for Tropical Turkey Salad and continued to modify it until I had something I absolutely LOVED. Even with the less-than-perfect-tropical-produce available in Alaska, it was still great. It’ll be even better when we make it in Hawaii. (sorry, not rubbing it in. Well, maybe a little…). 

Wherever you make it, I guarantee if you close your eyes and eat it, you can envision yourself on a warm and sandy beach, with your children playing lovingly in the surf, while you relax and take it all in. Yep. Just ignore the children that are screaming “Mom’s asleep! Mom, wake up!” Well, it was fun while it lasted…

Tropical Turkey Salad with Mango and Macadamia Nuts

• 2 cups leftover cooked turkey or chicken, diced
• 1 mango, peeled and diced
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• ½ cup macadamia nuts*
• ¼ cup sweetened coconut flakes
• ¾ cup plain yogurt 
• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped fine
• 1 lime
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• salt, pepper to taste

Add the chopped turkey, mango and celery to a large bowl.

Toast the macadamia nuts and coconut together (I’m probably breaking some culinary code by toasting them together, but I’m just being practical. Feel free to toast them separately.) in a small sauté pan on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until browned on the edges. WATCH CAREFULLY, as it will burn quickly. Immediately transfer to a paper towel to cool. 

Make the dressing: combine yogurt, cilantro, Dijon, and curry powder and mix well. Note: If you’re not a curry fan, you may still like this! If you’re adverse to curry, try cumin or chili powder.) Using a fine grater or microplane, remove zest from lime.  Cut in half and extract juice.  Add lime juice and zest to dressing and mix well.

Add dressing mix to the turkey, mango and celery. Mix in half the nut/coconut mixture. Stir well, and add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with remaining nut mixture when serving. 

This can be served many ways: on a bed of lettuce or romaine, atop of crisp or soft pitas, in a sandwich between two toasted pieces of your favorite bread, or all by itself. 

*I could only find chopped macadamia nuts at the Alaska grocery store. If you have whole nuts, chop them first, then toast them with the coconut.

For another Thanksgiving leftover idea, try Turkey Minestrone! 

THANKSGIVING IS JUST around the corner. No other holiday is more focused around food. We gather around the table, and give thanks. Thanks for our life, our food, our many blessings. Everyone has different traditions, but in our house, we stuff ourselves with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie. We unbutton the top button of our pants as we sit on the couch and watch the Detroit Lions get annihilated. These are memory makers: food, fun, football and giving thanks.

I love it that food is so closely tied to memories - good or bad - tastes and smells can bring back a moment in time. Food is so much more than just physical nourishment. It nourishes our body and soul. 

I want my children to associate food with good times and wonderful memories. I savor the moments when they’re in the kitchen with me, creating memories to last a lifetime. My heart beams when I hear my children say, “Someday, I’m going to make this for my kids, Mom.” Or, my favorite: “Will you give this recipe to my future wife?” Um…that might not be the best idea.

Part of our family memories are picking berries every summer. In our house, it’s a crime to serve the canned cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving - especially when we have a freezer full of Alaskan berries. I look forward to breaking out the lingonberries (aka low-bush cranberries) each Thanksgiving. They are very similar in taste to commercial cranberries, but are smaller and have more flavor and color.

Kids rule at picking lowbush cranberries because, well, they're closer to the ground...

When we serve lingonberry sauce each Thanksgiving, our family loves to reminisce about the fun we had while picking them. This year, we had to forage for a long time, since our usual picking spots didn’t produce very well. Thankfully, we still had some from the year before, when the yields were plentiful. When properly stored, lingonberries can last over two years. 

This is our favorite lingonberry sauce. In other words, this is the “give-the-recipe-to-my-future-wife” recipe. If you don’t have lingonberries, substitute cranberries. This can be made ahead of time, as it will keep for over a week in the refrigerator. We like our sauce tart. If your family prefers it sweeter, add more sugar.

Orange-Ginger Lingonberry Sauce

• 4 cups fresh or frozen lingonberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 8 ounces pomegranate juice
• 1/3 cup candied ginger, sliced thin or chopped
• 1 mandarin orange, sliced thin with peel

Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

For more berry delicious recipe ideas, check out Low-fat Mini-cheesecakes with Berry Compote; 5 Things to do with Berries.  

"I LIKE CHICKEN!" My oldest son says that all the time. I don’t know why. It will come out when you least expect it. We’ll be sitting around playing a card game and he’ll spout out “I like chicken!” He’ll be with his friends and they will all start saying it, producing gales of laughter. Maybe it’s code for something else. Or maybe he just likes chicken. Or maybe I have weird children. I think that’s it.

Weird or not, they really do like chicken. It used to be that buying a whole roasting chicken was the frugal thing to do. This isn’t the case anymore. Depending on where you buy food, it’s actually cheaper to buy it cut up, or even better, pick up a cooked rotisserie chicken...

 ...and turn it into this!

I’ve gotten into the habit of buying a rotisserie chicken almost every time I go grocery shopping. It’s a wonderful time-saver. It only takes about 5 minutes to turn a rotisserie chicken into a pile of chicken to use for recipes. Here’s what I do:

1. Rip off the lid. You can use the lid to put the chicken into.

2. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty. Don’t bother with a knife. Just put your hands in there and start ripping off the meat. Wear gloves if you must, but it’s much more satisfying, in my opinion, to use your clean bare hands. Channel your inner cavewoman/man.

3.I start with the breast. There’s a bone in the middle, so start by separating each breast from the bone. Yep, get your fingers in there and tear it right off. Feels good, doesn’t it? Take out your frustrations on this chicken! 

4. When you get as much meat as you can off the breast and have it transferred to your lid, start with the legs and thighs. You may even get some meat off those little wings. Just pull the meat right off the bone, careful not to include the ligaments and cartilage. 

5. There’s great meat hiding on the bottom of the chicken. It’s been sitting in the chicken juices, soaking in all that wonderful flavor. So, flip over that bird and pull away the meat on the underside of the chicken.

6. When all you’re left with is a one container of boney carcass, and one full lid of meat, the hard part is done! Rejoice! In less than five minutes, you’ve created enough meat for one or two meals! 

7. Tear or chop it into smaller pieces if desired, or leave it in larger portions. Freeze in freezer bags or use right away. Here’s one idea our family uses for a quick and easy meal using diced up rotisserie chicken!

Quick Teriyaki Chicken

• 1-2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce (about ½ of a 7 oz. bottle)
• 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh or canned pineapple (optional)
• 3 cups diced rotisserie chicken

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the onions in sesame oil, about 4 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.

Add remaining ingredients (except chicken) and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tablespoon of water if sauce gets too thick for your liking. Add chicken and stir until chicken is heated through.

Serve over rice. We also like this wrapped in butter lettuce with carrot slices. Either way, it’s simple, quick, and delicious!

For more ways to use a rotisserie chicken, check out these recipes for frittata or cupcake-sized quiches!  

HALLOWEEN, FOR ME, didn’t used to be about bags of candy. My mom would make popcorn balls of all different hues, wrapping them around tootsie pops to hand out to trick or treaters. Since there wasn’t a stranger in the small Alaska town where I grew up, no one had a problem with this. The children came, they trick-or-treated and they ate because we didn’t worry about tainted candy back then.  

My husband fondly remembers one of his teachers setting up a propane stove in his front yard every Halloween. On it was a huge pot of simmering soup. Instead of candy, he’d hand out bowls of his hot soup to trick-or-treaters. That sounds like my kind of treat! 

Now, I love my peanut butter cups just as much, if not more, than the next person and I know my kids love to sort their candy and eat it (3 per day is our limit). I even have them trained to save a few of those peanut butter treats for me!  BUT, I have seen healthier alternatives. Some of the edible ones include; bags of pre-packaged pretzels, small bags of microwave popcorn, trail mix, granola bars, juice boxes, and cheese sticks. My children have also had some non-edibles end up in their treat bags: toothbrushes (I think that was from a dentist) and Halloween pencils. One person I saw even gave out quarters to trick-or-treaters!  

So, here’s my family’s favorite soup. We like it any time of year, for any occasion. I even made a batch this week for the teachers at my kids school. The pot came back empty. I may set up on the porch to serve it to trick or treaters, but really this is a great, slow-cooked meal that can be kept warm for when you come back in from the cold after an evening of collecting candy.  

CROCKPOT TACO SOUP

Yield: about 15 generous portions. Leftovers freeze well.

• 1 pound ground beef or moose
• 1 pound hot pork sausage
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can diced tomatoes (I use fire-roasted)
• 3 (14oz.) cans of beans, drained and rinsed.  We like one can of black beans, one can of garbanzo beans, and one can of kidney beans
• 1 (14 oz) can of corn, drained
• 1 ½ cups water

Seasoning mix:

(I changed the original recipe which included packets of taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix. Being salt sensitive, I found the sodium content too high. Not to mention all those ingredients I can’t pronounce. I came up with my own “seasoning mix”, but if you’re in a pinch, feel free to substitute the taco seasoning and ranch dressing mixes.)

• 1 Tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon dill weed
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon paprika
• 1/8- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 ½ tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. salt

Brown the beef and sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until all the pink is gone. When the meat starts to render some fat, add the onions and cook with the meat until soft. Drain fat by tipping the skillet and scooping out the fat that accumulates.  

Transfer to a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker, and add the remaining ingredients. 

Stir and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours.  

Serve with optional toppings if desired: shredded cheese, green onions, sliced olives, sour cream.  

Dine with your trick-or-treaters!

For more warm, soup goodness, check out Italian Wedding Soup with Meatballs, Pasta e Fagioli,  Alaska Cabbage Soup, Turkey Minestrone.  

I'M ADDICTED TO Pinterest. There’s so much to look at. It’s a literal feast for the eyes. I love all those beautiful food photographs, exotic locales, recipes, crafts and funny sayings. I could spend hours a day just drooling over my computer, but I try to limit myself to 15 minutes, a couple times each week. I just get sucked in too easily. (Case in point, I just got on pinterest to copy the URL, and wasted 20 minutes pinning recipes. Ooops.) (Editor's note: as did I when I double-checked the link just now.)

You would probably guess that of all the things on Pinterest, the food and recipes are my favorite. Lately, there’s been many pinnings of Halloween-type food. You know, the pretzels that look like a bloody finger, the donut holes that look like eyeballs, candy that looks like boogers and the like. Usually, these require not only skill as a cook, but also a fair amount of craftiness. Food I can do; crafting, not so much. Also, even if I did go to all that trouble, would my kids actually eat it or just be grossed out? Would they even benefit nutritionally from all my hard work of being crafty-cool-“gross-out-the-children”-mom?  

I did, however, find something I thought I could duplicate. Something my children might actually eat. Something that wasn’t entirely unhealthy. Something that’s Halloween-y without being too gross. Something I might actually be able to “craft” without a Youtube video to show me how. I give you….Egg spiders!   

I whipped up my own, quick, version of deviled eggs to recreate this Pinterest find!

Egg Spiders

• 6 eggs
• 1 teaspoon Dijon or spicy mustard
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons dill pickle relish
• Salt, pepper to taste
• Can of medium or large whole olives

1. Place eggs in one layer in a saucepan. Cover with water about 1 inch over the eggs.  

2. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and cover tightly. Let it sit, covered, for 15 minutes.  

3. Bring pan to sink, remove lid and run cold water over the eggs until the hot water turns cold. Let sit for 10 minutes, then remove eggs.

Cool off those eggs...

4. To easily peel the eggs, crack each end on the counter, then gently rub between your hands (this is great activity for kids to help) until the membrane is separated from the egg white. Rinse under water until the shell is completely removed.

Egg peeling trick: roll between the palms... 

5. Cut eggs in half lengthwise, remove the yolk to a bowl, and crush with a fork.  

6. Add mustard, mayonnaise, pickle relish and salt and pepper.  Mix well.

7. Carefully stuff mixture back into egg white halves.

8. Now comes the fun part! Place a whole olive in the center of each stuffed egg, pushing down. You have now created the spider body. Whew!  

9.Slice one whole olive in half lengthwise, then each half into fourths (spiders have eight legs, you know!) Place four slices on each side of spider body, creating the spiders legs.  

10. You did it! Now, wasn’t that easy?  

11. Impress your children with how crafty you are with food!

12. Now take pictures and pin it on Pinterest! Oh, wait, I already did that.

You can follow Jennifer on Pinterest for more spooky and/or delicious recipe ideas. Also check out 5 Fun Fall Projects to Make With Kids for more hands-on Autumn fun!  

THE THINGS I'VE learned from carving pumpkins with my children for the last 10+ years:

1. Every child needs their own pumpkin. Let their creative juices flow. They can take ownership and take pride in their finished product. Even if it does end up looking a little unpolished and unprofessional. This isn’t about perfection or winning carving contests. Of course, help them when they’re little, but they can always take a sharpie and draw their design, letting their parents do the hard work of cutting it out. Just stand back and watch their little faces light up when they see their creation come to life.

2. Don’t carve pie pumpkins. Save those little ones for pies or decorating them with pens. They may seem cute - and they are - but there’s not much room for error and larger pumpkins are easier to work with. So, when your daughter cocks her head and looks at you with those beautiful eyes, begging for a cute little pie pumpkin, just say no. I’m talking to myself here.

3. Imperfect pumpkins are perfect. My kids always liked to pick out the perfectly shaped, unblemished pumpkin. I like the warty-looking, off balance, imperfect ones. It’s a good lesson that nobody is perfect, even pumpkins, on the outside. It’s what’s inside that matters. Never mind that you’re eventually going to throw the pumpkin in the garbage once it rots or gets eaten by moose…which brings me to #4...

4. Take pictures right away. I’ll never forget the year we made intricately designed pumpkins. We were all very tired by the end of it so we decided to take pictures later, leaving them on the porch until the next day. When we went to look for them, all that was left were the stem lids. The moose had eaten them all. Our beautiful pumpkins were moose vittles. Now we had no pumpkins, no pictures, and no proof. They were beautiful. Take my word for it….

Greasy, grimy pumpkin guts!

5. Don’t throw out the pumpkin seeds! I know the “innards” of the pumpkin aren’t fun to deal with sometimes. In the midst of that slimy, stringy, globby mess are some very tasty and nutritious seeds! Pumpkin seeds are loaded with zinc, magnesium, and vitamin E, and other health-promoting antioxidants. Here’s our family’s favorite recipes. Sweet or savory, take your pick!   
  

Savory Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat oven to 300˚ 

• 1 ½ cups pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Dry pumpkin seeds well with paper towels. Even better, dry them overnight in a single layer on a baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  

Add dried seeds, mixing well until thoroughly covered with spice mixture. Place in a single layer on a parchment-covered baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, stir seeds, then bake for 25-35 more minutes. We like our seeds very crispy and not chewy. The longer you bake them, the crispier they will be.

Sweet Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Preheat oven to 300˚

• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• Additional spice mixture: 1 tablespoon white sugar + 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Dry pumpkin seeds lightly with a paper towel. A little moisture is okay for this recipe.

 Follow directions as above, but after 40 minutes, add additional spice mixture, sprinkling on seeds, stirring to mix well, and bake an additional 5 minutes. The additional moisture in the seeds will help the spice mixture “stick”.  
 

For more delicious Autumn recipe ideas, try Squash & Apple Ohs, Baked Pears and Pumpkin Bread.
 

MY CHILDREN LOVE to guess about what I ate while I was pregnant with them and they've formed some very interesting theories... For example, my redheaded daughter thinks I ate lots of tomatoes when I was pregnant, making her hair red. My son Josh thinks I ate lots of meat while he was in my belly because he’s a certified “meat-atarian”. There really isn’t a food my son Jimmy doesn’t like, so of course, I wasn’t very picky about what I ate. Hmmm…they may be onto something. 

The truth is, when I was pregnant, I only craved one thing: Pizza. I couldn’t eat enough of it. The crunch of the crust, the tang of the sauce, the salty and hot  oooey-gooey cheese. Even cold and straight out of the fridge would suffice. (It may have had something to do with the 60 pounds I gained...) 

I still love pizza, pregnant or not. I love to make it from scratch, but since that can be time consuming, I save it for weekends. During the weekdays, though, when that bag of pepperoni seems to be calling my name, I go for the Pizza Salad** (yes, I call it salad. It makes it seem healthier).

The key to this recipe is the bread. I like to use bread with lots of “stuff” in it, like the whole grain loaf that Costco makes. I’ve used Dave’s Killer Bread, too. Use the bread your family likes. The trick is to get it VERY toasted and crunchy in the oven so it can hold up to the other ingredients without getting too soggy. I’ve tried speeding up the process with a toaster, but the results weren’t the same as in the oven. It didn’t get the insides dry and crisp enough. If you’re in a pinch for time, though, go ahead and drop them in the toaster. Everything else is just chopped up and added, which makes this a very quick and easy recipe! It can be a side dish, but my family prefers it as a main dish.

Preheat oven to 350˚. Serves up to 6 hungry people
 

• ½-1 pound loaf of bread, sliced, toasted
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 cups mozzarella*, diced
• 1 cup Kalamata or black olives, sliced
• 6 oz. turkey pepperoni (not as spicy as regular pepperoni, and is lower in fat)
• 1 cup prepared basil pesto (available in the condiment aisle of the grocery store or Costco)

Place sliced bread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, flip and bake for 10 more. Watch them carefully, they may brown faster depending on the type of bread, how thick it is, and your specific oven.

Let cool and tear into bite sized pieces - a great job for kids to do! It can also be cut into cubes, but I like the rustic look of ripping and it’s so much more fun!

While the bread is in the oven, prep the other ingredients. Add the tomatoes, mozzarella, olives, and pepperoni to a large bowl. When the bread has cooled, add it to the salad along with the basil pesto. Stir well, incorporating the pesto evenly. You may need to add more pesto if the salad looks too dry for your taste. 

*I like to use fresh mozzarella because it has a better flavor, but low-moisture mozzarella will work nicely because the crusty bread will not soften as quickly. Just use whatever you have on hand.  I always have grated mozzarella in the freezer for an impromptu pizza. 

**No, I’m not pregnant.
 

Jennifer McGovern is a dietician, mom of three and is a professional taker of delicious food photos. You can follow her on Twitter @hungryAKgirl for more Alaskan culinaria.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS ARE finally at the farmers market! I know what you’re thinking: “My kid would never eat that.” Or, maybe even: “I would never eat that.”  Well, I admit, I never tried a Brussels sprout that I liked until fairly recently. I had always had them boiled too much and overcooked so they were mushy and gross. I’m always determined to try new things, and I’m on a mission to get my kids to try new things, as well.

We have a rule at our house:  You must try everything on your plate.  You don’t have to like it. You don’t even have to eat it all. But you must TRY it. We call it a “no thank you portion”.  Some experts tell you that you should serve new foods and not necessarily make your kids eat it. Just keep serving it and they will eat it eventually.  I disagree. I’m mean, though - if my kids don’t try something, they don’t get dessert. I’m not asking much, just stick some in your mouth and chew.

Here’s where I do agree with the experts. Children (as well as some adults), prefer foods that are familiar, and tend to reject new foods.  We as parents have control over what’s served, and children have control over how much they eat (even if bribed with dessert). Parents tend to give up serving a food after it’s rejected, but studies have shown that it can take as many as ten exposures to a food before a child starts accepting it. Therefore, it may take some time (even years), but eventually, they may learn to appreciate foods they used to reject.

Don’t believe me? I have been serving Brussels sprouts to my kids for years. I have one child, Joshua, that turns up his nose every time. He takes his “no thank you portion”, and nothing more. The last time I served it, he said to me “Mom, I think I’m starting to like Brussels sprouts, but only how you make them. When they’re almost black and crunchy.” This is what makes a food-geek mom like me beam with pride. That gave me as much joy as when my oldest boy, Jimmy, asked for beets with his birthday dinner. Josh, unfortunately, still hates beets. I’m still working with him on that one. 

If you can, I encourage you to buy Brussels sprouts right on the stalk, the way you see them at the farmers market. Let your kids see how it’s grown. They can even help pull or cut the buds off the stalk. This recipe also calls for bacon.  Yes, I’m a firm believer that everything tastes better with bacon. Especially vegetables. Leave it out if you wish. The Brussels sprouts will still taste great.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

• 1-2 pounds Brussels sprouts
• 2 T olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• 5 slices center cut bacon
   

Prepare sprouts by removing outer discolored leaves and cutting large sprouts in half.

In a large bowl, toss sprouts with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Dice bacon with kitchen shears and add to sprouts.  Place on a parchment lined baking sheet, spreading them into one layer, making sure bacon is evenly distributed.

Roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes, or until dark brown (almost blackened), shaking baking sheet once or twice during cooking. Let them cool slightly before placing them in a serving dish. Sprinkle with salt and serve to your picky eaters.

AUTUMN HAS ARRIVED, 0fficially, even though I know it feels like it’s been around for months. These days, it feels like stews and soups slowly simmering on the stove (say that seven times!) is a better alternative than firing up the grill and dodging raindrops. It doesn’t seem right to see all these leaves on the ground already, not yet anyway, but this is our reality. We’re tough Alaskans. We roll with the punches. Or in this case - we roll with the pumpkins.

I give you “iron chef” McGovern’s secret ingredient: pumpkin. Shhhh…don’t tell the kids. They didn’t know we’ve hidden pumpkin in our dinner this evening. Pumpkin chili, to be exact. I’ve served it before, but I’ve tweaked it many times and finally have a version I love. Just the right blend of the sweet of the pumpkin and the mild kick I like from chili. Then McGovern Dad got in on the act, and while he was making cornbread, scooped up some pumpkin and mixed it in before baking. Do you think they will guess what the secret ingredient is?

We served dinner, told them to guess what ingredient was shared in both the chili and the cornbread. They were stumped. They raced into the kitchen, looking at the ingredients that I hadn’t yet cleaned up. “Onions”. No. “Beans”. No. “Olive oil”. Good guess, but no.  Finally, seeing the can on the counter, they shouted in unison “pumpkin!” Cheaters….

Cheater cheater pumpkin eaters...

Whether you can taste the secret ingredient or not, it will add not only flavor, but also pack a nutritional punch. Loaded with protein, fiber, vitamin A, C and E as well as essential minerals like iron and copper, pumpkin will help children’s eyesight, immune function, and help prevent disease. So, you can feel good about dinner and  have fun stumping the children!

Pumpkin & Moose Chili

• 2 tsp. Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 red or green pepper, diced
• 1 pound ground moose or beef
• 1 pound sausage *
• 1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (28 oz.) whole tomatoes
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) pumpkin
• 1 Cup water
• ¼ Cup chili powder
• 1 T cumin
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 2 cans (14.5 oz.) black beans, drained
• Optional toppings: pepitas (pumpkin seeds), grated cheese, sour cream

In a large dutch oven or saucepan on medium-high, saute onion and peppers in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add ground meat and sausage. Cook until no pink remains. Drain sausage of fat by tipping pan and scooping out accumulated fat to an empty can.

Add canned tomatoes (whole and crushed), pumpkin, water, and spices. Mix well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add more water if chili is too thick. Add black beans and heat for another 10 minutes. Serve with toppings if desired. 

* I use Jimmy Dean’s hot pork sausage for extra flavor.  I find that it’s not too spicy (and I don’t like spicy), but if your kids don’t like ANY spice, try regular or mild Italian sausage. I have one child that thought it was too spicy, but still ate it when toned down with some sour creamt (you can also use plain yogurt) mixed in. 

WE LIKE TO have fun at the dinner table and one of the most fun meals is one that comes with a dipping sauce! Some current favorites are barbecue sauce, honey mustard, and mayo with rooster sauce (aka Sriracha) or Tabasco. We especially love to dip our chicken McNuggets - but wait a sec! - I know what you’re thinking and the Mc is for McGOVERN!

So, it was McNugget night recently, but didn’t have any chicken.  Thinking fast, I pulled out a package of something we will never run out of: wild salmon. Feeling like the Iron Chef Mom of the kitchen, I set out to make salmon McNuggets! They turned out very good, but the dipping sauces needed some work. I’m not too fond of barbeque sauce on my salmon. We’ve tried some different combinations, but our favorite is tzatziki sauce. It’s a dilly, tangy blend that goes great with salmon. Next we tried an avacado dip, similar to guacamole (also great). Honey mustard sauce also works well.

The hardest part of making salmon nuggets (besides catching the fish), is deboning and skinning the fillet. These annoying bones are called “pin bones”. You can feel them with your fingertips running down the thicker middle part of the fillet. If you still aren’t sure, setting your fillet skin side down on an inverted bowl will help separate the layers and expose the bones more easily.

Use tweezers to remove pin bones
 

I use tweezers for this task. The secret to deboning without mutilating the fish is to pull out the bones in the same direction they are “pointing” (don’t pull them straight out vertically, but at an angle).

To skin salmon, use the sharpest knife you have. Preferably a fillet knife, but a sharp chef knife will work, too. Avoid using a serrated knife. With your non-dominant hand, grab the tail end of the fish. You will use this as a “handle” to keep pressure on the skin while cutting. With your dominant hand, cut into the salmon about 1-2 inches away from the tail until you “hit” the skin, then angle your knife towards the head end of the salmon.  Keeping pressure with your other hand, cut towards the head, keeping the knife angled down as you go. Keep sawing back and forth with the knife (if you’re strong enough and your knife is sharp, you can do this without moving the knife back and forth) until you reach the end. It sounds difficult, but with a little practice, it’s easy!

Salmon Mc(Govern) Nuggets

Preheat oven to 425˚

• 2 pounds salmon, deboned and skinned
• 1 T fresh lime juice
• 6 oz. (3/4 Cup) plain greek-style yogurt
• 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
• 2 Cups panko crumbs
• 1 Cup sweetened coconut

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut boneless, skinless salmon into 1 inch chunks. Toss with lime juice and salt and pepper to taste.

In a small plate or bowl, combine yogurt and Dijon mustard. In a separate plate or bowl, combine panko and coconut.
One at a time, lightly coat each chunk of salmon with yogurt mixture, then the panko mixture , pressing to coat. Transfer to parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining salmon.

Bake 7-8 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving. Serve with desired dipping sauces.  Below is a recipe for our favorite.

Quick Tzatziki Sauce

• 1 Cup plain Greek yogurt
• ½ cucumber, seeded and finely diced
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 T fresh dill, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried dill)

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, and mix well. Taste and add salt and pepper as desired. 

P.S. This combo makes awesome fish tacos, too!