Greek Turkey Meatballs

Sometimes I'll cook something for dinner thinking it was the best thing I've ever eaten, and then the subsequent blog post will get a normal amount of traffic.  And then other times I'll cook something that was just pretty good or kind of boring and it will be crazy popular. 

These Greek Meatballs are one my most popular posts.  They've been pinned on Pinterest, linked to many times, and viewed more than most other recipes I've posted.  So I decided to bust them out again in case you missed them the first time.  This time I made them into a sandwich with some pita. Yum.

Greek Turkey Meatballs

1 pound ground lean, all white meat, turkey
1 10 oz box frozen, chopped spinach, thawed
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
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 bake 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. 

Tzatziki Sauce

1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 small cucumber, peeled and grated on a microplane
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
juice of one lemon
2 cloves garlic, grated on a microplane
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.

Grate cucumber and allow to set in a paper towel over a bowl for 30 minutes to an hour to allow the water to drain.  Mix cucumber with yogurt, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper, and herbs. 

Fresh Cranberry Apple Salad

Sick of leftovers yet?  How about a salad to get all that gravy out of your system? :)  This salad is so festive with the red and green...it's time to deck the halls! I think I'm the only person in the entire country who doesn't have a tree up yet...

Cranberry Apple Salad
serves 6-8

1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, coarsely chopped (I use a food processor)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 large Granny Smith apples, chopped
1/4 cup sliced green onions
romaine lettuce or spinach mix

In a small bowl, combine cranberries and sugar.  Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.  You can just do this in the morning before serving the salad.  In a medium bowl, mix lime juice and mustard.  Add oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly.  Marinate nuts, apples, and onions in dressing 1-4 hours. 

To serve (the really pretty way), line a large bowl with greens.   Spoon apple mixture over the leaves.  Make a well in the middle of the apple mixture and spoon in cranberry mixture.  OR you can just mix everything together (like I did).

Thanksgiving Rolls

Here are the rolls my mom made for Thanksgiving.  They are really yeast-y and soft.  Love them! And they way they are rolled up is so pretty.

I've never been able to make bread at all, but my mom said these are easy. I don't know about that..the recipe is really long and also includes a video (all signs of a difficult recipe).  Maybe someday I'll try to make them.  Someday when I get a little more patience...But you should bake them for Thanksgiving; they'll be worth it.  You still have time and I'll bet you have all the ingredients in your pantry!

Homemade Thanksgiving Rolls (from here)

2 cups warm water

2/3 cup instant nonfat dry milk

2 Tablespoons dry yeast (2 packages)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup butter or shortening

1 egg

5-5 1/2 cups all purpose flour (bread flour can be used)

 

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the water and the milk powder and stir so the milk dissolves.
Add the yeast to this mixture then the sugar, salt, butter, egg and 2 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed of mixer until ingredients are wet, then turn to medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and add 2 more cups of flour then mix on low speed until the ingredients are wet, then turn mixer on medium speed and mix for 2 minutes. The dough will be getting stiff and you may need to remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in the remaining flour by hand.
Add approximately 1/2 cup of flour and mix again. (This can be done by hand or mixer). The dough should be soft, not overly sticky, and not stiff. (It is not necessary to use the entire amount of flour). The less flour you use, the softer the dough will be. Scrape the dough off the sides of the bowl and pour approximately on tablespoon of vegetable oil all around the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over in the bowl so it is covered with the oil. (This helps prevent the dough from drying out.) Cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place until double in size.
Sprinkle a cutting board or counter with flour and put the dough on the flour. You can roll these into crescent rolls or do it the traditional Lion House way. Here is a video showing how to roll them the Lion House way. Roll into a rectangle. You want to cut the rectangle into smaller rectangles that are 2"X4" (a little smaller than a dollar bill). Then you roll them (or flip them like in the video) and place them on a greased (or parchment lined) baking pans. 

Let rise in a warm place until the rolls are double in size (approx. 1-1 1/2 hours). Bake in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are browned to your satisfaction. Brush with melted butter while hot. Yields 2 to 2 1/2 dozen rolls.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Thanksgiving comes once a year, you know.  Since we will be traveling on Thursday, ours came early this year.  Every family has dishes that are specific to them, be it dressing (that's what we call stuffing in the South, y'all, and we don't stuff it), cranberry sauce, or sweet potatoes.  My mom always cooks Thanksgiving, and she made this sweet potato casserole this year that was so good.  So if you're up for trying a new recipe this year, make this one!

"Another thing about Thanksgiving that is cool?  It's the only time you eat marshmallows at dinner!"-Alpha, age 8

Sweet Potato Casserole (this is a straight up Southern Living recipe)

4 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Bake sweet potatoes at 400° for about 1 hour or until tender. Let cool to touch; peel and mash sweet potatoes.
Beat mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, and next 5 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Spoon potato mixture into a greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish.
Combine cornflakes cereal and next 3 ingredients in a small bowl. Sprinkle over casserole in rows 2 inches apart.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle alternate rows with marshmallows; bake 10 additional minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ravioli with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Golden Raisins

 

This is the best left-overs meal I think I've ever made! I was trying to use up some stuff in the fridge and based the recipe on this Caramelized Brussels Sprouts recipe (which I thought was a little too sweet, by the way).

Ravioli with Sauteed Brussels Sprouts and Golden Raisins

serves 4-5

1 package refrigerated cheese ravioli

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 pound Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans

1/2 cup golden raisins

salt and pepper

freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Cook ravioli according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook garlic in olive oil for a few seconds and then add the Brussels sprouts.  Saute for 5-7 minutes, or until tender.  Add pecans and raisins and stir.  Toast the pecans in the pan for a minute or so. Take the pan off the heat, add the vinegar, stir, and toss with ravioli.  Garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Popovers

Have you ever had popovers?  Love them.  The texture is great because they are kind of crunchy/chewy on the outside and light on the inside.  The best part is that you don't have to know how to work with yeast, cut in butter, or let anything rise.  But, there are 3 things you must do (thanks, Barefoot Contessa):

1)  Make sure the pan is hot before you pour in the batter

2)  Fill each section no more than half full

3)  No peeking while they're in the oven (the most difficult)

1 1/2 tablespoons butter melted, plus softened butter for greasing pans
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk

Generously grease popover pan (use a muffin tin if you aren't as fancy as Ina and Jeffrey, that's what I did) with softened butter. You'll need enough pans to make 12 popovers. Place the pans in the oven for exactly 2 minutes to preheat. Meanwhile, add the flour, salt, eggs, milk, and melted butter to the blender and blend until smooth. The batter will be thin. Fill the popover pans less than half full and bake for exactly 30 minutes. Do not peek.

Parmesan Baked Eggs

I got a treat this morning when my friend brought over a dozen fresh eggs laid by their chickens.  We've had fresh eggs before, but never from a chicken-friend.  Ha!  Here is a pic from this summer of my baby with our friend Henry, and Nugget, his chicken.  Is that not the cutest name for a chicken?  And look at that adorable red chicken house!

Parmesan Baked Eggs

12 eggs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (freshly grated really does make a difference)
pinch of dried rosemary for each ramekin
pinch of fresh thyme for each ramekin
4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
6 ramekins

Heat oven to 400.  Spray 6 ramekins with nonstick spray.  Crack two eggs into a small bowl, and then  pour the two eggs into a ramekin and repeat until all 6 ramekins have eggs.  Add bacon, Parmesan cheese, herbs, salt, and pepper to each ramekin.  Add a dash of heavy cream to each one, too. 

Bake the eggs for 15 minutes or until the eggs have achieved desired doneness: less time for runny yolks, more time for firm yolks. Remember that shallow ramekins will cook faster than deeper ones and that they will continue to cook as they cool.   Note: you can easily remove the eggs from the ramekins to serve them to kids; the ramekins are too hot for them to touch.

Baked Pesto Chicken

I'm sure all you Martha types out there made homemade pesto with the end of season basil plants in your garden.  And that pesto will make this recipe just wonderful! But for those of us who quit watering around mid August, you can get a quality pesto in the refrigerated section of a good grocery store or Sams Club (those jarred ones at the grocery store by the spaghetti sauce? Well, don't buy them). 

This chicken was a real hit with the whole family!  And we all love roasted broccoli.  I added a little rice (about 1/4 cup per serving) when I realized all the yummy pesto sauce the chicken had made while cooking.   A big hunk of garlic bread would be awesome, too, but I've gotta wear a swimsuit next week so I'm steering clear of garlic bread right now....

Baked Pesto Chicken (another Pinterest recipe find)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup basil pesto
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used fresh mozzarella because it melts so well)

Preheat oven to 375; Cut each chicken breast lengthwise into 2 or 3 pieces strips.

Spray a 9x12 casserole dish with non-stick spray, then spread 1/4 cup basil pesto over the bottom of the dish. Lay chicken strips over the pesto, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then spread 1/4 cup more basil pesto over the chicken.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, until chicken is firm and cooked through.

Remove foil and sprinkle chicken with 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese. Put dish back into the oven without foil and cook 5 minutes more, just until cheese is melted. After 5 minutes, turn on the broiler and cook until cheese is lightly browned.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

This is such an interesting change from my usual brussels sprouts recipe.  Served with a little quinoa and my old standby, Simple Salmon, it was a quick and healthy meal.

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts from Eat, Live, Run

12-14 large brussels sprouts
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
pinch sea salt
1 1/2  tbsp brown sugar (I thought this was a tad too much sugar; I'd decrease to 1 tbsp)
1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans, toasted

Slice each brussels sprout very thin until you have a mound of brussels sprout ribbons. Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large skillet and saute the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the brussels sprouts and continue sauteing for another 4-5 minutes, until tender and a little browned. Add the sea salt and brown sugar and toss together. Finish by adding the toasted nuts.

Salted Caramel Pecan Tart

I love this tart as an alternative to traditional pecan pie.  And if you bake it in a pretty tart pan, it looks beautiful, too.

Salted Caramel Pecan Tart

3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup butter, cubed
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
2/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons whipping cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel or coarse salt 

In a food processor, pulse 3/4 cup butter, flour, and powdered sugar until it resembles coarse meal.  Pat mixture evenly into a lightly greased 11 inch tart pan with removable bottom.

Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes or until completely cool.

Bring brown sugar, honey, 2/3 cup butter, and whipping cream to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in pecans, and spoon hot filling into prepared crust.

Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack until completely cool.  Sprinkle with coarse salt.