Turkey Stroganoff

A "Pantry Cooking" blog...

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'Food was important: food for a long winter, one that would follow a bad crop, one in which everything we ate would come from the garden. There was nothing unusual about this, except that there wouldn't be a spare dime to buy anything but flour, sugar, and coffee. A good crop meant that there was a little money tucked away under a mattress, a few bills rolled up and saved and sometimes used for luxuries like Coca-Cola's, ice cream, saltines and white bread. A bad crop meant that if we didn't grow it, we didn't eat it.'

John Grisham - A Painted House




I come from a long line of Kitchen Witches.

Women who grew their own food, crafted their own recipes, and with a pinch of this and a dash of that, were able to put together tasty, soul satisfying dishes meal after meal.

New vegetables from the garden in cream sauce.

My grandma called this "Hodge Podge."



Warm buttery bread straight from the oven



And meals thrown together with items from a well stocked pantry.



Kitchen Magic.

A craft passed down through the generations so that everytime I bake my grandmother's dream bars or stir up a pot of her jam, I am once again priviledged to touch her soul.

People live on in their recipes and in the memories created by good food.

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After many years of living an extremely frugal lifestyle as a stay at home mom, I learned the magic of creating new recipes from ingredients found in the pantry.

So I thought it would be fun every now and then to share some of my favourite "cooking inexpensively and healthfully from the pantry" recipes. And what better today than to start with my recipe for:

Turkey Stroganoff

I created this recipe because I sometimes crave the taste and comfort of turkey dinner, but don't want the fat and calories.

This dish is a delicious and healthy, high fibre weeknight alternative.

And the beauty is that it uses ingredients that can be found in most pantries. It's also a great way to use leftover turkey.

Your Magical Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 12-15 sliced white mushrooms
• one pound cooked ground turkey, or 4-5 cups shredded leftover turkey meat
  
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 cup low sodium chicken stock
• One cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp herbes de provence or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
• Fresh cracked black pepper to taste
• One can Campbell's Half Fat Cream of Mushroom Soup
• One cup craisins
• 1/4 cup toasted almonds
  
• 2-4 dashes worcestershire sauce (to taste)
• 3/4 package Healthy Harvest whole wheat egg noodles

Spray a heavy bottomed dutch oven with cooking spray and sautee the apples, mushrooms, celery, and onion over medium high heat.



Cook until the onions begin to caramelize and are soft and translucent and the mushrooms begin to release their water. (You can add 1/4 cup of the chicken stock to the pot at this point if the veggies begin to stick. This is a healthier alternative to sauteeing in oil)

Add the cooked turkey and continue to sautee.



Add the rest of the chicken soup stock (3/4 cup), the herbs, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and frozen peas.

Bring to a boil and let simmer until the peas are cooked (about 3-4 minutes).

Add the cooked onion, mushrooms, celery, and apple mixture, one cup craisins, and the tin of soup.

Add about 2- 4 dashes worcestershire sauce to taste (I start at two or three, taste, and go from there)

Adjust any other seasonings to suit your taste.

Simmer on medium heat stirring often.

Meanwhile, cook 3/4 of the package of egg noodles according to package directions to al dente (boil app five minutes).

Add the noodles to the stroganoff mixture. Toss in the 1/4 cup of toasted nuts. Stir together, and serve.




















If you close your eyes you might even think its Thanksgiving again...

From my cauldron to yours, keep those pots stirring!

Bippity

Boppity

Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For printable recipe click here:

Healthy High Fibre Turkey Stroganoff