Open faced Turkey Pesto Sandwiches

I made this while mom was here. YUM!! We had it for lunch two days in a row.

Ciabatta bread (or something similar)
Mayo
Pesto (I use the recipe from mom's cookbook)
Turkey (a thicker slice is better. I used a natural brand from costco. It was honey roasted and the sweetness added the perfect flavor)
Tomatoes
Mozarella cheese

Preheat oven on broil setting. Slice bread. Spread on a bit of mayo, then a decent amount of pesto. Lay on the turkey, tomato, and mozarella slices. Place in the broiler for about 5 minutes (keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn). Devour!

Creole Meatloaves

1 tbsp. EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 large red or yellow onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 lbs. ground pork (sometimes this is hard for me to find at our grocery store, so any kind of ground meat is probably okay)

1 tbsp. paprika

2 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped (note: DO NOT put the stems in it... learned that the hard way, only the leaves)

black pepper and salt

1/4 c. grainy mustard

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1 egg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Heat EVOO in medium skillet over medium heat, add onion and garlic to the skillet and cook to soften (about 5-6 minutes). Transfer mixture to bowl and let it cool. Add (to cooled mixture) pork, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper, mustard, bread crumbs, and egg. Mix to combine and form four 2 inch thick loaves. Arrange on parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and drizzle liberally with EVOO. Then roast 35-40 minutes until firm and golden. 

This comes from Rachael Ray's recipe for Creole Meatloaves with Trinity Gravy--she made it with mashed sweet potates (which she added buttermilk too) and a gravy that she poured over it all. I didn't like the gravy very much, but I did like the potatoes. The best part was definitely the meatloaf though, so I will do that again. Kyle loved it and so did I--it's not too terribly time consuming and it is one of the only meatloaves I've had that I actually ended up liking.

Black Bean and Pumpkin Chili

No pictures yet.  This will have to do for now.  This was super yummy as Cake, Ky, and Moner can attest!  Even Mark liked it!!!    

INGREDIENTS:

1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, chopped (I used a yellow bell pepper)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups chicken broth (Let me say something about the chicken broth. I have made this with regular sodium canned broth and the super low sodium, organic, box broth. If you do use the super low sodium, organic, box broth the taste suffers. It stinks, but that's a fact of life. Salt = better taste. So I would say go normal broth or up the spices or maybe a cup of each.  I think next time I will try the low sodium, canned broth as it has less salt than regular but more than boxed.  We'll see how that goes.) 
2 cans (15-ounce each) black beans, rinsed and drained
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked turkey (I used 1 1/4 lbs ground turkey)
1 can (15-ounce) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (14-1/2 ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
In a large 12-inch skillet, brown the ground turkey (if using already cooked turkey, proceed to adding the vegetables). Transfer the meat to a 5-quart slow cooker. Add oil to the skillet. Add the onion and yellow pepper to the skillet and saute until barely tender, 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook one minute longer. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker. Stir in the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.