Ground Turkey With Zucchini Ribbons and Tomato

So for my first real post about food I decided to show you an easy weeknight dinner I made last week. This is based upon many recipes that used the same combination of ground turkey and zucchini but took much longer, such as stuffing the zucchini with the ground turkey. I like the combination of turkey and zucchini but I wanted something I cook make in no time when I got home from work. This is what I came up with. I will try and give amounts of ingredients but feel free to do as you wish.

1 lb ground turkey
1 can San Marzano diced tomatoes
1 zucchini, shaved or cut into ribbons
garlic powder
onion powder
chili powder or cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
extra virgin olive oil
brown rice, cooked

Get a skillet nice and hot. Add in olive oil. I just go two turns around the pan. Then add the ground turkey.

Once the turkey is added season it with salt and pepper. I also add some garlic powder, onion powder, and chili or cayenne for some kick. Just add however much you like. I like a lot.


As the turkey is browning cut up or julienne the zucchini. I recently received as a gift a set of Swissmar peelers which are amazing (http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku7018542/index.cfm?pkey=cctlslcpel). The set includes a peeler which juliennes vegetables. So it was the perfect tool to cut the zucchini into nice ribbons.


Here is the zucchini after it has been added to the browned turkey. Look at how nice the zucchini looks and it only took minutes to do with the peeler.

Cook this until the zucchini is wilted and soft. Then add the diced tomatoes.

Cook this for 10 - 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning as necessary. I served it over brown rice for a quick healthy weeknight meal.

Here is the final plating:

Let me say that this is one tasty meal that is so simple and easy to make. The turkey and zucchini taste great together and the addition of cayenne or chili powder gives it a nice kick.

Welcome!

Recently, I was sitting around reading "How I Learned to Cook" by Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Meehan, a book about how some of the world's top chefs were inspired to take up cooking, I thought about how it was that I decided to start trying to cook. It was sometime eight or nine years ago that I first watched the food network and saw Emeril. For some reason, that I still cannot figure out, his "Bam"-ing somehow inspired me to learn more about food and how to cook. Well now eight or nine years later I have eaten things I never thought I would (goat, tripe, foie gras, bone marrow), cooked things I didn't think were possible for me to do (sweet potato angnoloti) , and have a devotion to food that I did not think was possible.

After all this I decided there was one more thing I should try. A blog. I decided that since I was always cooking I should try and document my adventures. I cook about 5 nights a week so I decided this was a good way to share my thoughts and ideas.

So what is there to expect? Posts about restauarants I have been too recently, my attempt to follow in the footsteps of the French Laundry at Home and make a recipe from the French Laundry cookbook, and recipes I experiment with.

H/T Amateur Gourmet, Ruhlman for the inspiration