Thanksgiving Twist to This Meal - Food and Health Communications

Every evening, we are all blessed, or sometimes cursed, with the task of "what's for dinner?" The Master Chef program in the US even has the same challenge - chefs get a mystery basket of ingredients and must prepare a world-class dinner under time constraints and watchful eyes. Last night was a similar adventure for me to put together a meal quickly with minimal ingredients for a guest. Worked late; tired from exercise (2 hours of running, 1 hour swimming); needed to grocery shop like 2 days ago.

I had a bag of chopped, roasted turkey meat in the freezer. And rice in the pantry. And enough items in the veggie drawer to make a salad.

Since I am now at work on all of our holiday items, thoughts of Thanksgiving popped in my head. So, dinner with a Thanksgiving twist was born.

Turkey with rice was made in the rice cooker. It always tastes so wonderful. But it is so, so easy. Pour a few ingredients in a pot, put on the lid and push the cook button.

2 cups turkey, cooked and chopped
2 cups rice
4 cups water
1/4 cup chopped red pepper or dried red pepper
1/4 cup chopped green onion
spices to taste: cumin, chili powder, coriander, granulated garlic, black pepper

Meanwhile, I put cornbread in the oven:

1 cup milk
1/4 cup egg substitute
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp sugar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tbsp baking powder

Mix liquid ingredients in a bowl. Then add the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into a nonstick pan and place in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until firm in center.

And cranberries in the microwave:

1 bag frozen cranberries
1 cup water
1 cup Splenda
1/2 cup sugar
Microwave on high until tender, about 8 minutes. Chill.

And pumpkin pudding into the oven:

1 can pumpkin
1 can evaporated skim milk
3/4 cup Splenda
1/2 cup nonfat egg substitute
1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Pour into glass baking pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until firm in the center. Chill and scoop into cups. Top with a little fat-free whipped cream.

Judy Doherty

Judy’s passion for cooking began with helping her grandmother make raisin oatmeal for breakfast. From there she earned her first food service job at 15, was accepted to the world famous Culinary Institute of America at 18 (where she graduated second in her class), and went on to the Fachschule Richemont in Switzerland where she focused on pastry arts and baking. But after learning that the quality of a croissant directly varies with how much butter it has, Judy sought to challenge herself by coming up with recipes that were as healthy as they were tasty.

Judy received The Culinary Institute of America’s Pro Chef II certification, the American Culinary Federation Bronze Medal, Gold Medal, and ACF Chef of the Year. Her enthusiasm for eating nutritiously and deliciously leads her to constantly innovate and use the latest in nutritional science to guide her creativity, from putting new twists on fajitas to adapting Italian brownies to include ingredients like toasted nuts and cooked honey. Judy’s publishing company, Food and Health Communications, is dedicated to her vision that everyone can make food that tastes as good as it is for you.