Greek Turkey Meatballs

Recipes from skinnytaste.com

These were very good, moist, easy to make meatballs.  Instead of cooking them in a skillet I decided to bake them.  Only because when I made these, I had too much going on with the stove top as it was.  🙂

I served these on whole wheat sandwich thins (cut the meatballs in half to make it easier to eat) with some tomatoes and tzatziki sauce.  I made them a couple days ahead, then just reheated them in a small pot when we were ready to eat.


Ingredients:
1.25 lbs lean ground turkey
1 c zucchini, grated and squeezed to remove excess liquid
2 slices whole wheat bread
1/4 c bread crumbs (I used Panko)
1 large egg
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c red onion, finely minced
1 1/2 t dry oregano
1/2 c fresh parsley, chopped
1 t dried mint
Salt & pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Wet bread with water and squeeze dry.  Break into small pieces and place in a medium bowl.  Combine remaining ingredients until just mixed.

Form into small meatballs – about 1″ in diameter.  I made about 18 meatballs.

Place on lightly greased baking sheet.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes, turning once, until internal temperature reaches 165.

 

Curry Egg Salad Wraps

Recipe from Tasty Kitchen

Curry isn’t something that I use much, maybe once, ever.  But I really like the flavor of it!  I had red curry powder in my spice cabinet, so that’s what I used here.

I like the addition of the apple to give it a bit of crunch and sweetness, and the cayenne gives it just a hint of spice. 

I hard boiled the eggs for this on Sunday, then put together the egg salad on Wednesday for dinner.  It’s nice to be able to do things in advance, so I have more time on the weeknights that isn’t spent in the kitchen. 🙂

Ingredients:
12 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped
1/2 c red onion, finely chopped
2/3 c mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 T curry powder
2 t whole grain or Dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1/8 t cayenne

Whole wheat sandwich wraps
Tomato and/or lettuce

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the egg, onion and apple.  In a small bowl mix the mayo, lime juice, curry, mustard, salt and cayenne.  Pour the mayo mixture into the eggs and gently stir to combine well.

Place the egg salad in your wrap, top with tomato and/or lettuce and roll up to eat!

 

Portobello & Brie Panini

I had some brie left over from the Eggs ‘n Bellas I made the other day, and, of course, I didn’t want it to go to waste.  Since I’ve been trying to have one or two meatless nights a week, I decided on a portobello and brie panini.

I have to say, this was absolutely delicious! A bit messy, but delicious nonetheless. 🙂

Ingredients:
2 large portobello mushroom caps, stems removed, and sliced
4 thick slices bread (I used sourdough)
4-6 ou brie cheese, sliced
Roasted red pepper, sliced
Balsamic vinegar
1 small onion, sliced into half moons
Roasted Garlic and Yogurt Sandwich Spread (recipe below)

Directions:
In a medium skillet, saute the onions, mushrooms and a splash of vinegar until the onions and mushrooms are tender.

Spread the sandwich spread on one side of a piece of bread, and butter on the other. Layer the mushrooms and onions, cheese and peppers onto the sandwich spread side of the bread.  Top with a second slice of bread (with the outside buttered).

Cook with a panini press or on a grill pan until cheese is melted and both sides are golden brown.

Sandwich Spread:
Ingredients:
1 head roasted garlic
1/4 c plain Greek yogurt
2 t mayo
1 t Dijon
1/2 t dried thyme
1 t dried parsley
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Mash the garlic into a small bowl, then mix in remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Will keep up to 2 days in the refrigerator.

 

Pork Au Poivre Panini

I decided to use our leftover Pork Au Poivre to make some very delicious paninis for dinner last night, using the panini press that I got for my birthday. 🙂

All I did was thinly slice the pork and throw it in a skillet with some of the sauce to heat it up a bit.  Then I put it on 2 slices of thick Italian bread with some provolone cheese, dijon mustard and apple slices and pressed it in my panini press.

So good and so simple – this was a great way to use up some leftovers! 🙂

 

Tex-Mex Pulled Pork

Recipe from allrecipes.com 

I realized that I haven’t been using my crockpot much lately, so it was a nice change to come home to my house smelling delicious. 🙂  Of course, I completely forgot to put the pork into the crockpot and turn it on that morning, so I had to run home during lunch.  Luckily I’m not too far away.

I made pulled pork sandwiches with this recipe.  It makes a lot, so I plan to use the leftovers for quesadillas and tacos.  My only issue with this recipe is that the sauce ended up very runny. I would’ve liked it a bit thicker.  Maybe next time I’ll use cornstarch or something at the end to thicken it up a bit.

Ingredients:
1 (8 ou) can tomato sauce
1 c bbq sauce
1 onion, chopped
2 (4 ou) cans green chilies
1/4 c chili powder
1 t ground cumin
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t ground cinnamon
2 1/2 lb pork loin roast (the original recipe called for boneless, but I had bone-in)
1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro (I used about 1/2 this.  I don’t think a whole 1/2 c is necessary)

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except pork and cilantro in a medium bowl.  Please pork in slow cooker and pour mixture over the pork.

Cook on high for about 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours.

Remove pork and shred. Stir cilantro into sauce, and then return shredded pork to sauce.  Serve as desired.

 

Turkey Meatball Hoagie

Remember the Turkey Meatball and Spicy Tomato Sauce I made earlier in the week.  Well – it made plenty of leftovers, so I used them for Meatball Hoagies!

I just reheated the turkey and sauce in a saucepan on the stove.  Then put about 6 meatballs per hoagie roll and topped with Provolone cheese.  I stuck them under the broiler to allow the cheese to melt and the hoagie roll to warm up.  That’s it!  A great, quick meal that I served with a small side salad. 🙂

 

Curry Chicken Salad Wrap

Recipe from Ellie Krieger

I really liked this chicken salad.  I loved the melding flavors of curry and grapes.  And it was extremely easy to throw together on a Sunday for a Wednesday meal. The recipe didn’t specify what kind of curry, so I used red.  I would say use what you like.

Ellie actually makes this as a salad, but I decided to eat it as a wrap.  I bought some whole wheat flatbread to use and I also added tomato and onion.  It was delicious!  And J was in agreement. 🙂

Ingredients:
1 c chicken broth
1 c water
1 1/4 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 c sliced almonds
1/2 c nonfat plain yogurt
2 T mayo
1 t curry powder (I probably added in about another 1/2 t just for my own personal taste)
1 c halved red grapes
1/4 c chopped cilantro leaves (I didn’t have any, so I think I actually sprinkled in some dried thyme)
1 c mixed greens
1 t EVOO
1/4 t lemon juice
1/2 small tomato, diced
1/4 small onion, sliced into half moons

Directions:
Bring the broth and water to a boil and then add the chicken.  Simmer, covered, for 8 minutes.  Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken and cool completely in the refrigerator.

Cut the chicken into 1/4″ dice.  Toast almonds in a small dry skillet for about 2-3 minutes.

In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, mayo and curry powder. (I also added the thyme here.) Fold in chicken, grapes, cilantro (if using), and season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

In a separate small bowl toss the greens with the EVOO, lemon, tomato and onion.

Place some chicken salad down the center of your wrap, then top with the greens mixture.  Roll up and eat!

 

Ham, Brie, Pear Panini w/ Apple Waldorf Salad

I made these paninis out of what I had in the refrigerator, and I thought they were delicious!

I served them with Apple-Waldorf salad.  I found this recipe from a Cooking Light – 5 Ingredients or 15 Minute Cookbook.  I can’t find it online (and I forgot to take a picture), but J and I both thought it was really good.  Just combine 2 Granny Smith apples (cored and diced), 1/4 c light mayo, 1 T lemon juice, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 c cranberries, and about 2 1/2 T toasted walnuts, and then allow it to chill.  It would probably be great with some Greek yogurt in place of the Mayo. 🙂

Panini Ingredients:
Thick slices of bread (I cut thick slices from a loaf of multi-grain)
Sliced ham
Sliced brie
Baby spinach
Pear slices
Spicy mustard

Directions:
Preheat a panini grill, skillet or cast iron to a medium heat.

Build your sandwich and spray the outsides of the bread with cooking spray.  Cook both sides until lightly browned and the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

 

Cheddar Stuffed Chicken Burgers w/ Sauteed Apples and Mushrooms

Inspired by Joelen’s Culinary Adventures

This is my second post for this month’s Ingredient of the Month: Apples!  Instead of pairing them with pork as I did the last time, I’m using the flavors of chicken and cheddar.

 

When I saw these flavors used on Joelen’s blog, I had to try them out myself.  I decided to go with Chicken burgers.  I sauteed the apples with a bit of nutmeg and cumin, and also sauteed some onion and mushroom.  And stuffed the burgers with cheddar.  J and I both thought these were delicious!

I really don’t know my exact amounts of anything, so use your best judgement. 🙂

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground chicken
Nutmeg (about 1/4 t) plus a bit for the apples
Cumin (maybe 1/2 t) plus some for the apples
Approximately 1/4 c Panko bread crumbs
Salt & pepper, to taste
2-3 T shredded cheddar
1/2 apple, cored and thinly sliced
4-5 button mushrooms (or small portobellos), sliced
1/4 small onion, sliced
1 T olive oil, split
Dijon Mustard
Hamburger buns

Directions:
In a medium bowl, mix the ground chicken, nutmeg, cumin, Panko, salt and pepper.

Split the ground chicken mixture into two equal portions. Then split each portion in half.  Form each portion into a patty.  On 2 of the patties, place about 1-1 1/2 T cheddar cheese.  Top with the other 2 patties.  Make sure to seal the patties all the way around, to contain the cheese.

Cook the patties on the grill or in a skillet (I used our cast iron), for about 4-5 minutes per side.  Until cooked completely through with no pink in the middle (about 165 degrees).

Meanwhile – take out 2 medium sized skillets.  Place about 1/2 T olive oil in each skillet and turn to medium heat.  In one skillet toss the apples with the olive oil, then season with cumin and nutmeg. Saute until soft.

In the other skillet saute the mushrooms and onion until tender.

To build the burger, place the burger on the bottom bun, then top with the apples and the mushroom/onion mixture.  Spread dijon mustard over the top bun.  Enjoy!

 

Pulled BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

Recipe from Ellie Krieger
  

We have a ton of shredded chicken right now in our freezer, and I wanted something quick, easy and healthy to make with it.  I came across these BBQ chicken sandwiches.  I liked the idea of making my own sauce, but still keeping everything extremely simple.

J and I really liked these!  The sauce was so easy to make, and we loved the flavor!!  It made a lot of chicken, but we’ll probably just freeze the leftovers for another day.

Ingredients:
1 T canolo oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14-ou) can tomato sauce
1/4 c tomato paste
1/2 c water
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
5 T mollasses
1/4 t pepper
1/2 t liquid smoke (I didn’t have any, so I skipped this)
4-4 1/2 c shredded chicken
Whole wheat hamburger rolls
Toppings of choice – we just used mozzarella cheese, but tomatos and lettuce are good options as well.

Directions:
Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the onions and saute about 5 minutes, until soft and translucent.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add remaining ingredients through liquid smoke, bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 15 minutes.

Finally add the chicken and simmer for about another 10 minutes.

Build your sandwich and enjoy!