Wednesday, October 15, 2008

$1.14 per serving - Moroccan Turkey and Butternut Squash Stew - Plus a dessert disaster!

I saw a neat recipe in the newspaper, but didn't have all the ingredients. So I improvised with what I had...

Moroccan Turkey and Butternut Squash Stew - $1.14 per serving
1 lb. 97% fat free ground turkey $1.00
(Original recipe called for chicken. You could use any ground or cubed meat for this!)
1 medium onion, chopped $0.35
2 carrots, peeled and chopped $0.50
2 tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
20 oz. broth of your choice $1.75
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes $1.00
1 6 oz. can tomato paste $0.70
1 small butternut squash peeled, seeded, and cubed $1.00
(I'm sure you could substitute other squashes, pumpkin, or even sweet potatoes!)
1/2 cup raisins $0.50
2 tbsp. lemon juice
(Original recipe called for lime juice, I had none.)

1. Brown meat until fully cooked, drain excess fat.
2. Add onion, carrots, garlic, and cook over medium high heat until softened. Stir in cumin, allspice, and red pepper.
3. Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, squash, and raisins. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
4. Stir in juice and serve. Makes 6 servings.

The Verdict
This was AMAZING. Without a doubt one of the best meals I've cooked in a long time. I can't rave about this one enough! Jim and Josh both loved it and asked for seconds, and our young neighbor Julie asked for the recipe to bring home to her mom. Wow. Just wow. This one goes into heavy rotation :)

AND NOW ~ Turning Disaster into Delicious!

So I decided to do something special for the family. I had all the ingredients to make the 7 layer brownie bars from Bitsy's Kitchen. Josh had fun layering the chips and nuts, and we couldn't wait for it to come out! But somewhere in there I blew it, and the brownie crust wound up overcooked. The whole thing fell apart and I was so upset! I felt I had wasted money and time... until Jim looked in the freezer.

"Honey, we have ice cream!"

So we each got a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with ooey gooey chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut, chopped pecans, and sweetened condensed milk. YUM! :)

It's hard to create a truly unsalvageable disaster out of such delicious ingredients... though I did sacrifice a 13 x 9 baking dish for it!

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