Suzie Carpenter - Cook With Love

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Cranberry Walnut Turkey Salad

November 27, 2018 by Suzie

Turkey day has come and gone….but it will come again. In my family, Christmas day is another big day for turkey roasting. So when the leftovers pile up in the fridge, here is an easy to make turkey salad recipe.

It’s light, crunchy and super tasty. This turkey salad tastes just like chicken salad and goes great on top of a bed of lettuce, in a lettuce wrap, in a sandwich or even just a scoop of it for a quick bite to eat. (Read more about my turkey takeaways here).

The mayonnaise is a key ingredient for this recipe. Here is the thing about mayonnaise – even mayonnaise that is marketed as healthy like Helman’s Real Olive Oil mayonnaise  – contains soybean oil and sugar. So I either make my own (recipe here) or use Primal Kitchen’s avocado oil mayonnaise.

What I like about making my own mayonnaise is that I can use bio-active oils. That is oils that contain essential fats in the proper ratio like Body Bio Balance oil. Kelly calls Body Bio Balance oil “magic oil” . That is because it turns on her brain!

Omega 6’s (the right Omega 6s) and Omega 3s are the most powerful way we can nourish our body and brain. Essential oils are just that essential. And if we do not consume them we will not survive. But, we need the right fatty acids in the right ratio in order for our bodies to function properly – these essential fats are crucial nutrients for digestive health, immune support, liver function and heart health. 

Don’t just take my word for it – read more here.

Cranberry Walnut Turkey Salad

2 cups chopped cooked turkey meat
1/4 cup Mayonaise
2 tablespoons of Body Bio Balance Oil
1 tablespoon Annie’s horseradish mustard
1/2 cup dried fruit juice sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces
2 stalks celery, chopped
3 scallions, sliced thinly

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well, adding more mayonnaise if needed. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Lunch Ideas, Salads Tagged With: Cranberry, leftovers, Mayonaise, salad, turkey, turkey salad, Walnut

Paleo Turkey Meatloaf

June 9, 2018 by Suzie

 

My hubby loves meatloaf. He loves it so much that I forgot to snap a photo before he dug into it!

Truth is I love meatloaf too. It’s such an easy meal to make and one that lasts for days, my favorite kind of home cooked meal.

Even though meatloaf seems like a warm and cozy winter meal – it is also a fabulous salad topper during the summer months.

The idea for this recipe came from my favorite butcher, Dundore and Heister, who sells ground beef with bacon. Though I must admit, I tried it a few times, and didn’t fall in love. Not to mention that their bacon was cured with sugar which I try to avoid at all costs.

So, when I went to make my turkey meatloaf this week, bacon was calling. And boy am I glad I listened. This is now my favorite meatloaf recipe – it is SO GOOD.

Turkey Meatloaf with Bacon
2 pounds ground organic turkey (mix of white and dark meat preferred)
3 organic pasture raised eggs
4 slices thick cut Wellshire Farms or Nimon Ranch bacon
1 red onion, minced
2 teaspoons herbs de provence
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon sea salt

Preheat oven to 375. Place bacon in the freezer for 15 minutes or so to make it easier to cut into cubes. Place all other ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Fold in bacon. Place mixture in a large baking pan and shape into a loaf. Bake for an hour or until no longer pink in the middle.

Note: May be made without spices

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Main Course Tagged With: gluten free, gluten free meatloaf, meatloaf, turkey, turkey meatloaf

Paleo Turkey Salad

March 1, 2018 by Suzie

The trick to making dinner easy is to cook once and eat twice. Planning is everything. Yet I suck at meal planning!

If you are like me, here’s a few thoughts. Every day, I recommend taking inventory of what is in your fridge. Ask yourself, how can I use what’s here by combining, reusing or repurposing. Make the most of what you’ve got and keep it simple. This is super helpful even if you’ve planned out your week.

Recently, I’ve gotten into a new routine. Friday is my shopping day and Sunday is my cooking day. Interestingly, I am honoring that routine more than ever before in my life. Whatever we have at home in the pantry, fridge, or freezer, we get by with until Friday. It’s like a game that feels really good to win!

Meanwhile, Sunday has become a sacred space in my kitchen for experimenting, getting creative and planning for the week ahead. That way, during the week I don’t have to spend so much time answering that dreaded question, “What’s for dinner?”

Case and point this week. On Sunday I roasted an organic turkey breast andfor dinner we had sliced warm turkey with vegetables. Then on Monday, I made a caesar salad with sliced turkey. Then Tuesday I made turkey salad with the remaining turkey. This strategy was this week’s golden nugget:)

Turkey Salad

2 cups chopped cooked turkey
1 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons hemp seeds
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/4 cup ceasar salad dressing

Place all ingredients in a bowl and toss until combined. Serve over a bed of lettuce or in a lettuce wrap.

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Lunch Ideas, Salads Tagged With: caesar dressing, dairy free salad, paleo turkey salad, salad, turkey, turkey salad

Turkey Tettrazini (Dairy and Gluten Free)

November 29, 2016 by Suzie

img_2730Some people love leftovers, some hate them.

I was always one of those kids that turned my nose up at the sight of leftovers. My aversion to them even crept into adulthood. It was mostly a texture and smell issue for me, and I believe this sensory response accompanied some of the toxic issues I was having in my gut.

Fortunately, with gut healing and the commitment to a clean healthy lifestyle, I can now embrace the ease of leftovers and enjoy finishing a meal the following day without gagging or forcing it down. Of course there is also the added benefit of not wasting and the sustainable repurposing of the food which is a rewarding accomplishment in and of itself.

This recipe is the perfect example.

Growing up, my mom used to make turkey tetrazzini with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. With a family of seven to feed, this was a perfect recipe for a post holiday dinner. She’d mix the turkey with a béchamel white sauce, cheese and noodles then bake it in the oven. The sauce definitely did a good job of dressing up the leftover dry turkey, but I still didn’t totally dig it.

This Thanksgiving, we had a ton of leftover turkey and green beans. While staring at the leftovers, I remembered mom’s turkey tetrazzini. Along with the memory of the food, my mind wandered to all my fond memories of our time together as a family in Vermont where we spent the holidays. So when I thought of the turkey tetrazzini, I felt all warm and fuzzy.

Inspired by my walk down memory lane, I decided to reinvent her recipe using dairy free and gluten free ingredients. I searched for a paleo recipe and found one that I adopted. I used red lentil pasta and the leftover green beans, some sautéed onion and a coconut milk cream sauce, no cheese. The result was actually quite tasty.Cappello’s linguine would be awesome for this recipe, but I didn’t have any on hand  or zucchini noodles would also work well.

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The sauce was slightly runny and settled on the bottom of the pan while the casserole cooked. So next time, I plan to mix all the ingredients before putting in the baking pan and perhaps may add a few more tablespoons of flour to help thicken the sauce (the recipe below has been adjusted for that).

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The day after it was even better – the leftover leftovers, ha!

Even if you don’t make this until next thanksgiving its worth the wait 🙂

Paleo Turkey Tettrazini

2 pounds of leftover turkey meat
4 cups of cooked grain free pasta
1 pound steamed green beans
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced in to thin moons
1 tablespoon olive or coconut oil

For the Sauce:
2 cans full fat coconut milk
Juice of one lemon, about 3 tablespoons juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 organic eggs
1 1/4 cups coconut butter
1 clove garlic, peeled
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup arrowroot powder (I’ve adjusted this amount from my initial recipe)

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box. Once done, drain and set aside. In a large sauté pan, cook the onion with the oil until tender and translucent.

While the onion is cooking, make the sauce. Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a large baking pan. In a large bowl mix the noodles, vegetables and sauce. Pour into the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and the sauce is bubbly. May need to stir a few times during cooking to keep sauce from settling to the bottom and drying out the top.

Filed Under: Dinner Ideas, Main Course Tagged With: casserole, dairy free, dairy free cream sauce, gluten free, green beans, leftover turkey casserole, leftovers, noodles, paleo, pasta, thanksgiving, thanksgiving leftovers, turkey

Turkey Time! Thanksgiving stuffing (gluten free, paleo)

November 19, 2014 by Suzie

 

In my memories of Thanksgiving while growing up, the bird was always the focal point of the holiday.

With it’s large breast and bony little legs sticking up out of the huge metal roasting pan, preparing the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner was a cherished ceremonious event.

The ritual began with bringing the turkey to room temperature, which was sometimes an ordeal in and of itself.  Next step was preparing our traditional family recipe of oyster dressing and eventually spooning as much as possible into the cavity of the turkey.

Before the bird was ready for roasting, the final step was finding the needle and thread needed to sew it shut.  Once it was ready to go, we carefully transferred the stuffed turkey into the oven to cook for what seemed like all day.

There was always a debate over when it would be done.  I’ll never forget the twenty minutes per pound rule because it was repeated so many times over the years;  besides, I was always good at math and remembering numbers.

This time-honored practice on Thanksgiving was almost like bowing to the buddha, the turkey ruled the day.

Not only was the bird revered, but the oyster stuffing was also up on the pedestal.  Using fresh oysters and crushed oyster crackers mixed with some sautéed onion and fresh sage, it was my dad’s favorite recipe of all.  He insisted we make it every year, a non-negotiable in our house.

I’m not sure if he really liked the dressing for its flavor or for the nostalgic aspect of making his family’s tried and true recipe.  By the time the oyster dressing cooked for six or more hours inside the turkey, those originally slimy little guys, that kind of grossed me out, were finally edible to my young tongue.

Years later, when my dad purchased Bachman pretzels, and it became our family business, he insisted that we use Bachman sourdough hard pretzels for the stuffing.  Being a perfectionist and gourmet cook, that drove my mom crazy.  Whenever she entertained the idea of going back to oyster crackers, my dad quickly caught on and vehemently squashed her plans for rebellion.

Fast forward to today.  Stuffing in my house needs to be gluten-free.  So a few years ago I created a gluten-free stuffing that was to die for.  Unfortunately I didn’t write down all the ingredients and am not sure I’ve actually recreated it exactly.  But it’s pretty damn good.

So here’s the recipe, and thanks for listening to my Thanksgiving walk down memory lane.  I am so grateful for you!   Feel free to share your own Thanksgiving memories or recipes below – I’d love to hear from you:)

 

 

Sweet Potato and Sausage Stuffing

1 pound country-style ground sausage patties or meat (not in casing)
4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
3 tablespoons olive or coconut oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
5 stalks celery, cut into thin slices
2 yellow onions, peeled and chopped
1 cup chesnuts, roughly chopped (buy them pre-cooked so you don’t have to deal with the shells – Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or Natural Food Stores will carry them )
1/4 cup golden raisins or chopped pitted dates
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup bone broth or chicken stock
1 sprig fresh sage leaves, 4-6 leaves
sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss cubed sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons oil, rosemary, coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper.  Pour onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and roast for 15-20 minutes, until just beginning to soften.

While sweet potato is cooking, add remaining oil into a large sauté pan.  Add celery and onion.  Cook for 5-8 minutes over medium high heat until onion is translucent and celery beginning to brown.  Add sausage meat, breaking it up into smaller pieces the pan.  Cook until browned and cooked through.  Stir in wine and simmer over low heat until it evaporates, about 2-4 minutes.  Transfer the sausage mixture to a large bowl and add the roasted sweet potatoes, raisins, sage, and chesnuts.  Gently mix together.

Grease a large baking pan 9×13 with coconut oil pour in stuffing mixture.  Bake covered for 20 minutes then uncover and bake for 20 minutes more.

Filed Under: Side Dish, Vegetables Tagged With: gluten free stuffing, thanksgiving, turkey, turkey stuffing

"A compelling memoir! Every mother should read this book." - Liz Feld, President, Autism Speaks


Hi I'm Suzie. I love food. Simple, delicious, clean food. Mostly plants, some meat, usually organic. As a health coach I specialize in happy bellies and yummy recipes without hidden food triggers like gluten, dairy, soy and sugar.

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