Greek Turkey Meatballs

I actually made these up during naptime and put the cookie sheet in the fridge until dinner.  Then, I just popped them in the oven when it was time for dinner.  Fast, healthy, pretty, and delicious! And 2/3 of the children liked them, too. 

Greek-ish Turkey Meatballs
1 pound ground all white meat turkey
1 box frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (leftover from the grilled pizzas)
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
 
Add ground turkey, spinach, garlic, feta, egg, oregano, salt and pepper to large bowl and mix well. Make small meatballs by either rolling in your hands or using a ice cream scoop (I used the small ice cream scoop I use for cookies).
Place meatballs on a lightly greased cookie sheet and place in oven for 10 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and return to oven for 10 more minutes.
I served them with grilled pita bread and tzatziki sauce.  We also had a little hummus, but I'll post on that later.

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 seedless cucumber, peeled grated on box grater
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon champagne vinegar
juice of one lemon
2 cloves garlic, grated
fresh mint, to taste
fresh dill, if you like dill. I do not. If you know about my pickle aversion, you don't need to ask why I hate dill.

Mix it all together.

Irish Soda Bread

I'm no good at baking bread.  I don't have the patience for it, I think.  But Irish Soda Bread is no usual bread...no kneading, no rising, no yeast, no waiting.  And it's supposed to be ugly once it's baked!  I can handle that.  So in honor of St. Patrick's Day, we had some Irish Soda Bread to go with Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Sams (and our pot o' gold from the end of the rainbow).

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen, but I left out the caraway seeds 'cause I don't like 'em.   Oh, and even my little boy with a stomach bug devoured it! Who doesn't love fresh bread out of the oven?

4-¾ cups Flour
½ teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
3 Tablespoons Honey
1 whole Egg
1-½ cup Buttermilk
3 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

To a bowl add together dry ingredients: the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
Now add in the honey, egg, and buttermilk. Stir it up until a dough just begins to form.
Add in the melted butter and knead dough until all ingredients are combined. Don’t overknead.
Form into a ball and cut a plus sign at the top of the loaf. Put dough on a baking sheet and place in an oven preheated to 350ºF for 50 minutes to an hour.

John's Smoked Brisket

John went to Sams again.  Since he came home with enough beef to feed a small third world country,  we had his Smoked Brisket on Saturday (um, and Sunday, and probably again for lunch a couple of times this week).

Spice Rub for Brisket
3 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons  pepper
2 tablespoons tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon cayanne

 

Smoke the brisket, fat side up, over hickory wood for 1.5 hours per pound. 



It's really good, but better, I think after it's been in the refrigerator overnight.  It's just like the fabulous brisket from the Benton deli, Breitweiser's (doesn't have a website). 

Here's my menu for the week:
Monday: Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Irish Soda Bread
Tuesday: Greek Turkey Meatballs with Tzataki; Hummus and Pita Bread
Wednesday: Salmon with Roasted Cauliflower
Thursday: Breakfast Burritos
Friday: Refrigerator clean-out buffet

Double Dose of Cute

Ever have a night when you eat a Tootsie roll, half a bag of daughter's Skittles, 5 m&ms, and a bowl of cereal for dinner?  I spent the evening at a school dance instead of at home chain watching Sons of Anarchy (our new fave show).   I see more Friday nights of eating cereal while my kids are having fun in my future...

Here are Alpha and one of her bffs headed into the dance.  They closed the place down!  Such fun.

Feta, Potato, and Rosemary Grilled Pizza

Have you ever grilled a pizza?  You must try it!

The dough:
I've made dough from scratch before and I've also used the refrigerated dough, but really, that's all just too much for a weeknight dinner as far as I'm concerned.  The Walmart bakery has a premade thin pizza crust they call "napoli style" that is perfect for grilling.  It's thick enough that it doesn't burn and thin enough to get good and crunchy. 

The toppings:
I made a cheese pizza for the kids that was just spaghetti sauce and mozzarella.  For John and me, I copied a pizza I love at ZAZA in Little Rock: Feta, Potato, and Rosemary. The ingredients are olive oil (instead of sauce), caramelized onions (I made these earlier in the day because it takes 20 minutes or so), feta cheese, leftover potatoes, cherry tomatoes, fresh lemon juice, and rosemary (also leftover from Tuesday). 

Grilling:
After grill is hot, grill top side of pizza crust first until brown.  Turn down the grill to low, flip the crust, put on all the toppings, and close the lid.  Cook until everything is hot, checking to make sure the bottom doesn't burn.  If it is burning, you can move the pizza off the direct heat. 

Fish Tacos

I love fish tacos, but had never made them before, so I researched a lot of recipes and they all seemed too complicated (not to mention unhealthy with the fried fish and the heavy cream sauce).

I ending up adapting several recipes and the tacos turned out SO great! And it only took me 35 minutes from start to sitting down eating, including thawing the fish. Not bad, considering I spent 5 minutes or so looking for my camera so I could take a picture of the darn thing!

For the fish:
2 large tilapia filets (this fed 2 adults and 1 child; 2 children ate cheese tacos instead)
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon flour

For the sauce:
1/3 cup Homemade Ranch Dressing (no herbs added)
juice of 1 whole lime
2 teaspoons honey
cilantro to taste
a pinch of cumin and chili powder

For serving:
6 inch corn tortillas (I'll use flour tortillas next time)
shredded red cabbage
cilantro
salsa (I made a quick pico de gallo with grape tomatoes, onions, lime, cilantro, and salt.)
lime wedges

Thaw and pat dry tilapia.  Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Sprinkle with a little flour and shake off the excess.  The flour will create a little crust on the fish.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons of canola oil.  Cook fish 2-3 minutes and then flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.  Remove fish from pan and assemble tacos.

Lemon Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes

Lemon Chicken
boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 lemon
1 tablespoon butter

Remember the Pan Roasted Chicken from a couple of weeks ago?  Use the same technique to cook the chicken for Lemon Chicken.  When cooked, remove the chicken from the pan to rest and make the sauce.  Pour about a cup of chicken stock into the pan and cook until reduced by half, 3-4 minutes. Add the zest of one lemon, the juice of the lemon, and a tablespoon of butter.   When the butter melts, taste for salt and pepper and add some if necessary.  Spoon over the chicken (and the potatoes, too!). 

Rosemary Potatoes (adapted from Ina Garten)
In a dutch oven or big pot with a lid, heat a tablespoon of olive oil.  Add whole fingerling or new potatoes, salt and pepper, and toss well. Cover the pot tightly and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender when tested with a small knife. From time to time, shake the pot without removing the lid to prevent the bottom potatoes from burning. Turn off the heat and allow the potatoes to steam for another 5 minutes. Toss with fresh rosemary, and serve hot.


We also had a spinach salad dressed with just balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.  I went a little crazy with the little tomatoes, but we all love them, except for Beta.  She proudly stated that while she likes tomatoes, she doesn't like grapes, and those little tomatoes look like grapes, and she wouldn't try them...that's 5 year old logic for ya.

White Bean Turkey Chili

There are a lot of recipes out there for Turkey Chili, so I combined a few I've tried in the past to make my own version of White Bean Turkey Chili using ground extra lean all white meat turkey. 

1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound extra lean ground turkey
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 cans cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
chicken broth to cover,  5-6 cups
cilantro to taste

In a large pot over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic and ground turkey and saute for 10 minutes, or until turkey is cooked through. Add all the spices, stir to combine, and then add the beans and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes or longer. Add cilantro and taste for salt and pepper before serving.  Top with shredded cheese and sour cream.    


This recipe makes a lot, so you can share with a neighbor or freeze the leftovers for another day.

Spaghetti Carbonara

I really can't look at Rachael Ray anymore.  At least I try not to, but good grief, she's everywhere.  Back in 2000 when I was a newlywed and learning to cook, I watched her 30 Minute Meals show on Food Network every night when I got home from work.  She taught me to chop onions, how to use olive oil, and to deglaze a pan, along with how to prepare a meal from start to finish.  If you don't know how to do those things, I would suggest tuning in to her show once or twice (if you can stand it).   And please, if you do watch her show never say EVOO.  Ever.  Please.  Annoying.

One of my favorite recipes of hers is the classic Spaghetti Carbonara.  It's so fast to make that it takes longer to get the pasta water to boil than to prepare the actual meal.  And the kids liked it, too. But check it! You have read the directions very carefully. 

Spaghetti Carbonara* (adapted from Rachael Ray)

1 pound spaghetti (use whole wheat or Barilla Plus)
3-4 slices of thick cut bacon, chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
5 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used champagne, because I'm fancy. Really, I just had it leftover from New Years, but it worked just fine. You can use chicken stock, too, if you don't do wine.)
2 large egg yolks
Handful of finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I didn't have any, so I left it out. It's better with.)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Add a liberal amount of salt and the pasta. Cook to al dente, about 8 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and brown for 5-7 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and garlic and cook 2 to 3 minutes more. Add wine and stir up all the pan drippings.

3. In a separate bowl, beat yolks, then add 1 large ladleful (about 1/2 cup) of the pasta cooking water. This tempers the eggs and keeps them from scrambling when added to the pasta.

4. Drain pasta well and add it directly to the skillet with bacon. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta. Toss rapidly to coat the pasta. Remove pan from heat and add a big handful of cheese, lots of pepper, and a little salt. Continue to toss and turn the pasta until it soaks up egg mixture and thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Garnish with parsley and extra cheese.

*One serving of pasta is just half a cup, which is about the size of your fist. Don't eat too much! Fill up your plate with salad first (ours was just spring mix with yellow peppers and homemade balsamic vinaigrette), before plating the pasta.

Honey Lime Salmon

Marinade for 2 salmon fillets.

1/4 cup soy sauce
juice and zest of one lime
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 olive oil
2 cloves garlic, smashed

Marinate salmon for 15-30 minutes in big ziploc bag (you can marinate for less time, but not much more time or the acid from the lime will break down the fish and make it mushy).  Heat a nonstick pan over medium high heat, and place salmon in pan and cook until crusty, about 5 minutes or so.  Flip fish, reduce heat to medium, add about 1/4 cup of the marinade, tent pan with aluminum foil,  and cook 7-10 minutes until salmon is cooked.  Spoon a little of the sauce and a squeeze of fresh lime over the salmon before serving and sprinkle with a little salt (be careful and don't over-salt it...soy sauce is salty) and pepper.

We ate the Honey Lime Salmon with roasted asparagus and a green salad.   To roast the asparagus, just drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Cook at 400 degrees until brown, about 15-20 minutes.