Turkey Meat Ball Soup

I love when the weather gets cold enough for soup and you can't go wrong with meatballs. What kid doesn't like meatballs. This soup has a lot of flavor and is great for dunking your crusty bread in and as I explained to my husband, we don't need a salad on the side because the salad is in the soup! :) Well it sounded good at the time. Hope you enjoy the soup, the salad is optional.

Meat Balls

1              lb            ground turkey

1/4         c              seasoned bread crumbs

1              lg             egg

2                              scallions, chopped fine

2              tbsp       grated Parmesan cheese

1              tsp          fresh thyme or sage, chopped

Soup

2              tbsp       olive oil

2              lg             carrots, peeled and chopped

1              med       onion, chopped fine

1              lg             carton (48 oz) fat-free chicken broth

1/4         c              lemon juice

2              tbsp       fresh sage, chopped

2              c              spinach, trimmed and chopped

1              c              mini pasta or extra fine noodles for soup

2              tbsp       grated Parmesan

                                salt and pepper to taste

Meat Balls

In a large bowl combine turkey and next 5 ingredients. Form into 1-inch balls and set aside.

*To really get the ingredients mixed together well this is best done with your hands instead of a spoon. I love this part. I know it's squishy; doesn't it just take you back to when you were a kid, all those mud pies you made, not. It feels kind of cool oozing through your fingers though. Don't have too much fun, now you have to roll it into little balls.

Soup

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and then add the carrots and onion cooking about 5 minutes  to soften them. Add the broth, lemon juice, sage, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a simmer. Gently drop meat balls into simmering broth then lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes. Add the pasta, cooking for 2 minutes then add the spinach and cook just until wilted. Turn off the heat and stir in the parmesan, salt and pepper. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Recipe adapted from: Family Circle | March 2011

Enjoy!!!

Skirt Steaks with Corn Cakes and Fresh Salsa

I must say that this dish has become one of my favorites. The meat is juicy and the flavor of the salsa go's perfect with the chili powder on the meat. And then you have this corn cake underneath that soaks up all the juices from both. Yum! There weren't even any left overs for lunch the next day :( Ah well, I guess I'll just have to make it again. Yeah!!

Steak

1              lb            skirt steak

1              tsp          chili powder

                                salt and pepper to taste

Corn Cakes

3/4         c              all-purpose flour

1/2         c              cornmeal

1/2         tsp          baking powder

1              tbsp       olive oil

1              c              whole milk

1              lg             egg

Salsa

1              can         corn

2                              plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1/4         c              red onion, finely diced

1                              avocado, chopped

1/4         c              cilantro, finely chopped

1              tbsp       lime juice

                dash      garlic salt

                                shredded cheese

                                sour cream

                                hot sauce

                                lime

Heat grill to med-high. Season steak with chili powder, salt, and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes per side for med-rare. Let the meat rest 5 minutes before slicing.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, and baking powder. In a separate bowl whisk together the olive oil, milk, and egg. Making a well in the middle add the milk mixture to the flour mixture, whisking to incorporate; don't over mix. Mix in 1/4 of the can of corn for the salsa in to the batter.

Heat a non-stick skillet coated with olive oil to medium high. Drop heaping spoonfuls of batter in to the skillet and cook until golden, turning once.

Serve the corn cakes topped with the steak, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce, and lime wedges

Serves: 4

Recipe adapted from: RealSimple | July 2011

Enjoy!!!

Tabbouleh with Chicken and Peppers

I've really been into trying to get more whole grains into our diet lately and this is one of those dishes that I feel I can accomplish that. It's nice and light but satisfying and doesn't leave you hungry an hour later. It's great for a light dinner but I like it even better the next day for lunch; gives it time for the flavors to really meld together. Even E. liked it, although she did pick out the peppers because, didn't you know, those are YUCKY. Hey, I'll take it. She ate the rest and that equals success in my book.

1/2         cup         boiling water

3/4         cup         shredded cooked chicken

1 1/2      cup         diced tomato

1/2         cup         chopped sweet peppers, red, yellow, orange

1/2         cup         diced cucumber

1/2         cup         chopped avocado

1/4         cup         minced mint

2              tbsp       fresh lemon juice

2              tbsp       olive oil

                                salt and pepper to taste

Combine bulgur and boiling water in a large bowl. Cover and let stand 15 minutes or until the bulgur is tender. Drain out excess water and return bulgur to bowl to cool.

Add chicken and remaining ingredients and toss well. * I usually add extra lemon juice and olive oil to moisten it up a little, plus I like the extra tang. Start with whats in the recipe then add extra to taste.

 Serve with a 7 grain baguette, sliced and brushed with olive oil mixed with garlic salt then toast in  the oven for 4 to 5 minutes.

Serves: 4

Recipe adapted from: Cooking Light  |  March 2009

Enjoy!!!!

Tex-Mex Calzones

This is one of those recipes that I've had for a few years and I always passed it up because I thought it was going to be too much work. Well, I'm happy to report that I was completely and totally wrong. (You better read it again because those words don't often leave my lips, something I'm working on admitting more often) This was super easy and really flavorful. E. and I had a blast making them. We added a bean and corn salad on the side to round out the meal. Even my teenagers loved it. Score!!!!

8          oz        ground turkey

1/2                   onion, chopped

1                       sweet bell pepper, any color

1           tbsp     ground cumin

1           tsp       chili powder

2                      cloves garlic, chopped

1/2       cup      fire-roasted salsa verde

1                       11 oz can thin crust pizza dough

3/4      cup      shredded Mexican blend cheese

                        cooking spray

                        sour cream

Preheat oven to 425°.

In a nonstick skillet cook turkey about 3 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add onion and next  4 ingredients, through garlic, to pan and cook 4 minutes or until the vegetables are tender but still crisp. Remove pan from heat and stir in the salsa verde.





Unroll the dough and divide into 4 equal portions; rolling each portion in to a 6 x 4 rectangle. Using the bottom half of the rectangle, spoon 1/2 cup of the turkey mixture and top with about 3 tablespoons of cheese then fold the other half of dough over and press to seal the side. Transfer to a baking sheet coated with cooking spry and bake for about 12 minutes or until the tops are golden. Serve with sour cream.

*I didn't post this one right away and have since made it again using chopped up rotisserie chicken instead of turkey that I added with the salsa verde. It was equally delightful and just as flavourful and it would be hard for me to pick which way I liked it better. I guess the best way is with which ever meat I have on hand :)

Serves 4

Recipe adapted from:  Cooking Light  |  March 2009

Enjoy!!!