Turkey Forentine Meatballs with Cheese Sauce

I swear I'm still trying (really hard) to keep up with posting new recipes. I've tried three new recipes in the last few weeks and they've all just been 'eh, nothin' special' recipes. Pinterest, you've failed me again!

That said, I've been making these meatballs for years now.  This is one of the first recipes I started making after Jay and I got married. They're really easy to make and since you use your hands to mix everything together, the kids can help too. The original recipe comes from Rachel Ray and can be found here. I've changed it some because the original recipe makes a TON of sauce, so I've cut it in half and it still makes plenty.

Meatballs

1 box frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry, and roughly chopped

1 pound ground turkey

1 small onion, finely chopped, set aside 1-2 Tbsp for cheese sauce

3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk

1/2-3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 tsp kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Cheese Sauce

1-2 Tbsp finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp flour

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
5 oz shredded cheese (I usually use a mixture of cheddar and parmesan, but you could use any mixture you like)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place turkey in a bowl and make a well in the middle of it. Add the spinach, all but 3 tablespoons of the onion, all of the garlic, 1 large egg, about 1/4 cup milk,  1/2 cup bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well. If the mixture feels too wet, add more bread crumbs until you can easily form into balls. Form into 10-12 large balls. Place on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment or non-stick foil and bake 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

While meatballs are in the oven, heat a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of butter. When butter has melted, add 1-2 tablespoons of finely chopped onion and cook 2 minutes then whisk in flour. Cook flour 1 minute, then whisk in 3/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup stock. Bring liquid up to a boil, whisking constantly. Decrease heat to medium and stir in shredded cheese a handful at a time, stir after each addition until fully melted. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and turn heat to the lowest setting. 

Serve meatballs with cheese sauce and garnish with chopped parsley. 

Review - There's no pleasing a 6 year old at the dinner table. I'm sure of it. I could serve up ice cream sundaes for dinner and I'm sure she would find something wrong with the temperature of the ice cream or the selection of toppings or the fluffiness of the whipped cream. Just make these meatballs and let your six year old eat veggies and fruit instead.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup, with chicken and quinoa

It's been two years since my last attempt at this cooking blog. I have no idea why I'm deciding to start back up again. All I know is that I love to cook (and eat!) and I want other people to love to cook too, or at the very least not dread it like the plague.

My kids are still pretty picky (the 6 year old especially!), but the rule is that they have to take at least one bite, which was the inspiration of my new blog title (I hated the old title!) and then if they decide they don't like it, they're allowed fruit or vegetables instead. My husband is great about trying new foods and he never, ever complains about what I make for dinner, even though he'd probably be happiest eating pizza or Mexican food every night of the week.

I still try to cook a lot of vegetarian recipes, but we do eat meat in this house a couple times a week, usually turkey or chicken. This recipe has chicken in it, but you could very easily omit the chicken, use vegetable stock, and it would be vegetarian and still really good.

I found the original recipe here, but have changed it quite a bit.


1 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1-ince pieces
1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sage
1 bay leaf
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
1/2 - 1 tsp kosher salt
10 cranks of black pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1/2 - 1 cup kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

1. Place butternut squash through black pepper in slow cooker and cook until chicken is fully cooked and squash is soft. My slow cooker runs hot, so for me, this was about 4 hours on High.

2. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with two forks. Remove bay leaf and discard. Take an immersion blender and blend the squash, tomatoes and onions until desired texture is reached. I left it slightly chunky. Add chicken, quinoa, and olives to slow cooker and stir until everything is combined. Set on low or warm, depending on how hot your slow cooker runs. Nothing needs to be cooked after this point, so I set mine on warm and let it go until dinner time.

3. If soup is too thick, you can add more broth to thin it out, but we liked it thick. Ladle soup into bowls and top with chopped parsley. 

Review - Jay and I both enjoyed this thick soup. It's really filling, but there isn't any dairy in it, so you won't feel uncomfortably full afterwards. (I love dairy, but it doesn't love me) Eli (almost 4) was happily eating it until he heard his sister (6) declare that "this isn't soup" and "I'm just going to eat carrots." So both kids ate carrot sticks and milk for dinner. We're having this again tomorrow night (it makes quite a bit!), so hopefully they eat a bit more for Round 2. The olives add a really nice flavor, so definitely don't leave those out. Next time I might add a bit of the brine from the jar of olives for extra flavor.

Herbed Goat Cheese and Veggie Paninis

Oh boy these sandwiches were good! A friend shared the original recipe with me (thank you again Danielle). I tweaked it a little only because I couldn't find herbed goat cheese, only plain. So I made my own. 

Herbed Goat Cheese

3 oz fresh goat cheese
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 green onions, chopped
1 TB chopped fresh parsley
1 TB fresh chopped basil
1 large clove of garlic, crushed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Whisk together goat cheese and yogurt until combined.  Stir in remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Sandwiches

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 cups baby spinach

1 clove of garlic

Salt and pepper

8 1/2-inch thick slices artisan bread

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 small zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced

1 large tomato, sliced

1. In a food processor, combine mayo, 1 cup of spinach, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix until combined.

2. Brush outside of bread with olive oil. Top with goat cheese spread, followed by spinach, tomato and squash. Spread spinach/mayo mixture on top slice of bread. Place on top of sandwich, spread side down. Brush outside of bread with olive oil. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 

3. Cook sandwiches over medium-high heat in a large skillet or griddle. Turning (carefully) once. You could also use a countertop grill (George Foreman).

Review - YUM! I loved these sandwiches. Jay did too. We each ate one and a half. I ate the leftover sandwich for breakfast the next morning. Nothing like a little garlic to start your day. I didn't even attempt to feed these to the kids. They have a hard time with the toasted/chewy bread. They had mac and cheese.

Cajun Shrimp

This is one of my go-to recipes for a quick and easy dinner. The only time consuming part is the cooking of the brown rice. I usually cook it early in the day and toss it in the fridge until I'm ready to cook dinner. 

3 Tbsp olive oil
3 - 4 cloves garlic minced

1 small onion, diced
2 Tsp Cajun seasoning
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off
Kosher salt and pepper 

2 medium tomatoes, chopped or a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
3 cups cooked brown rice
3 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and onions. Saute until onions are translucent. Add Cajun seasoning and shrimp. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Stir in rice and 1/4 cup of water. Cook for 3 minutes. Top with chopped parsley.

Review - Super easy and everyone loves it. There's nothing crazy in this dish, so the kids willingly eat it. That's always a plus. Now you could make white rice to speed up the cooking time. I'll leave that decision up to you.  I usually serve this dish with a salad.

Greek Salad Pitas

Have I mentioned that it's hot here in Texas? Ugh. It's been over 100 degrees for the last week or so and it's not supposed to drop until October. I don't even bother looking at the weather forecast anymore. It's hot. It's humid. Everyday. The point of this whinefest is to point out that this recipe is excellent for the hot weather. You don't have to turn on the oven. Score! 

Thank you Danielle for sharing. 

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup plain greek yogurt

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2-3 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

3 cups lettuce or spinach, torn into small pieces

2 medium tomatoes, chopped or cherry tomatoes, halved

1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped

2 ounces feta, crumbled

1/4 cup Kalamata olives, chopped

Whole wheat pita pockets

1. In a food processor, blend chickpeas, yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices until smooth. 

2. In a large bowl combine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, and olives. I added a splash of the juice from the olives. Toss to combine. 

3. Spread chickpea mixture inside of pita. Fill with salad. Enjoy!

Even though my stomach hurts from eating too much at dinner, looking at this picture makes me want to go into the fridge, drag out the leftovers and eat another one.

Review - I ate too much and am uncomfortably full after this dinner. They were really good and so, so easy! Jay and I each ate two pitas. I gave the kids pitas cut into wedges and then let them dip the wedges into the chickpea spread, with salad on the side. They mostly just ate the pitas and spread. I actually doubled the spread but had a ton left over, which is fine because it would make a great sandwich spread or dip for carrots. It's only a couple ingredients different than hummus, but the texture was really creamy from the yogurt. If you wanted to spice it up even more you could add some diced red onion to the salad. We'll definitely be making these again!

Zucchini Parmesan with Garlic Polenta

I think I'm finally starting to get back into the swing of things in the kitchen. The Texas heat sure doesn't inspire me to cook though. It inspires me to order a pizza or go out for tacos and a beer. I just need to get creative and limit my time spent hovering over a hot stove. I don't particularly like sweating.

A friend shared this blog with me a few months ago and I've finally gotten around to trying one of her recipes. I love the author's logic. Eat 80% healthy and 20% good. I think the last few days I have been more like 60/40.

Onto the recipe.

3 medium zucchini, sliced 1/4" thick

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salt

Pepper

Italian seasoning

Jarred marinara sauce (I used Muir Glen Roasted Garlic)

4-6 cloves of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp olive oil

3 cups vegetable stock

3/4 cup polenta

2 Tbsp grated parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 450. Grease a large, rimmed baking sheet. Set aside.

2. Toss sliced zucchini with olive oil until well coated. In a shallow baking dish, mix together bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. If you use seasoned bread crumbs you can omit the extra seasonings. Dip each slice of zucchini into the bread crumb mixture to thoroughly coat. Lay each piece in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

3. While zucchini is baking, heat marinara over low heat in a sauce pan. In a separate saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute minced garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add vegetable stock. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Whisk in polenta slowly making sure to break up any clumps. Turn heat down to low and continue stirring while polenta simmers. Cook for 20-25 minutes.* Stir in grated Parmesan.

4. Spoon some polenta onto a plate, top with zucchini slices and a couple tablespoons of marinara. Enjoy.

*For some reason when I cook polenta it never takes as long as the recipe says it's going to take. The original recipe said to cook for 35-40 minutes. Mine was done in half that time. I suppose it's possible that I'm doing something very wrong and my polenta would be way better if I cooked it longer, but I kind of doubt it. 

Right out of the oven.

Please excuse the color of my polenta. I used a really dark vegetable stock which turned my polenta an unappetizing brown mustard color.

Review - EXCELLENT! We all really loved this. Eli inhaled two bowls full. I couldn't believe it. I made the mistake of telling Josie I would make caramel corn after dinner so she needed a little help focusing on eating, but in the end she ate almost all of it. Jay and I both cleaned our plates. I'll definitely make this again. Hopefully next time I'll be able to use zucchini from my garden.

Ultimate Breakfast Cookie

It's not "Cookies for breakfast?" 

It's "COOKIES for breakfast!"

It's hot here in Texas, imagine that. Too hot to take the kids on our normal 10 o'clock walk to the park. I need to get out of the house earlier. I've contemplated waking them while it's still dark out, but Boy Child still doesn't sleep through the night, so I refuse to get out of bed before seven. In order to get out of the house quickly I need to feed these two munchkins breakfast in the stroller. I realize I could have purchased some sort of pre-packaged, foil-wrapped stuff but if you know me, you know that's not my style.


I found this recipe and tweaked it up to my (and the kids') liking.


3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or bread flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup unsweetened, natural peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup high-fiber, high-protein cereal, crunched up a bit (I used Kashi Go Lean)
1/3 cup raisins


1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.


2. Whisk together flours, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.


3. With a wooden spoon mix butter, sugar, honey and peanut butter until well blended. Add egg and vanilla mix well. Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Fold in oats, cereal and raisins. 


4. With hands roll about 2-3 tablespoons of dough into a ball. Flatten on prepared baking sheet. Cookies won't spread a lot so make sure you flatten them well. Repeat with remaining cookie dough. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for a minute and then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.


Yield: 12 cookies

Review - Well I thought they tasted ok. Josie said, "Not yummy mama.  I don't like the raisins." Then she hid it in the refrigerator of her play kitchen. Eli took one bite and said "Tsee" and shook his head. The cookies turned out a little dry.  I think 1/4 cup of applesauce would help. The flavor was good, the texture was just off a little. I'll keep trying.