Italian Wedding Soup

I've been meaning to make this soup for a while now. My grandparent's and aunt made it this quite often for family gatherings and I always loved it. I didn't really have a recipe so I kind of made it up. I think it turned out pretty tasty. I used spinach instead of escarole and added tortellini instead of a small pasta. I was so good! We ate it for dinner and then for lunch over the weekend.

Italian Wedding Soup with Tortellini

1 t butter

1 t evoo

1 medium onion, diced

2 large carrots, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

8 C chicken broth

2 T fresh parsley

1 bag of frozen cheese tortellini

a few handfulls of fresh spinach

Meatballs

1/2 pound of ground turkey

2 T finely minced onion

1 egg white

pinch of salt

pinch of dried basil

2-3 T freshly grated parmesan

1 T breadcrumbs

For the meatballs:

Gently combine all ingredients and form into small balls (about 1/2 inch in size). Set a side.

For the soup:

Melt butter and evoo in a large stock pot. Add onion and carrots and cook until onions are soft. Add thyme and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Gently drop meatballs into soup and simmer for 10 minutes. Add spinach and tortellini and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes. Season with salt a pepper to taste.

Note:

I made the soup one night and added the tortellini on the day we had it for dinner. It was even better after it had sat for a day or two in the fridge.

Stuffed Turkey Meatball Subs

I had some lofty goals and planned on succeeding on each one the minute I got home from work yesterday! I wanted to take Miss Saly for a hike and decompress from the work day and enjoy some time with her. I then planned on heading right into the kitchen for some much needed cooking therapy. I've neglected this blog lately and have really missed my cooking. First on the list was Meatball Subs. With the remaining ground turkey I made my version of Italian Wedding Soup. More on this recipe coming. We had a huge amount of mozzarella to use up so I decided to stuff each meatball with a little cube before baking. Add some homemade sauce and a crusty toasted sub roll and you've got a great meal. We chose a nice cesar salad to accompany. They turned out quite tasty and hit the spot on a cold fall night.
Stuffed Turkey Meatballs

a palmful of bread crumbs

1/2 white onion diced

1/2 green pepper diced

2 T Parmesan chees

2 T fresh parsley, minced

1/2 t Italian seasoning

1/2 t garlic powder

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 pound of lean ground turkey
1 egg

2 T tomato paste

salt and fresh cracked pepper
8-12 1/2 inch cubes of mozzarella

Combine onion through red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Add tomato paste and gently combine to coat. Add turkey and egg and lightly mix to incorporate. Form into "meatball" size balls and gently flatten. Place mozzarella in the center and then roll back into a ball enclosing the cheese. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Taco Bake

This recipe intrigued me. As I have said before, I LOVE anything Mexican. I just can't get enough of it. So when I saw this recipe I knew we needed to make it. I pushed around the menu for the week and fit this one in even though I had to make a special trip to the store to pick up a few things! I have made a couple of changes of my own. I don't usually use packaged seasoning but we had this party at work a while ago and I bought about 10 packets too many of the fajita seasoning and have been slowly using it up. (I mix it with light sour cream and salsa to make a dip if you are looking for a quick ap.) As always, when you are baking pasta make sure you cook to al dente. In this case I boiled the pasta for 6 minutes. I did use about a 1/2 cup of the pasta water to add a little bit more sauce to the casserole. I think it was needed but you may not. We were able to divide this into two dishes and froze one for later.

Taco Bake

1 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 t evoo
1 medium onion, diced
1 package of taco seasoning (I used fajita seasoning)
2 cans of Rotel tomatoes with green chilies
1 box small shell shaped pasta
8 oz. neufchatel cream cheese, softened
1/2 C light sour cream
1 C extra sharp Cheddar cheese
salt and fresh ground pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add evoo to pan. Add turkey and onion and cook until turkey begins to brown. Add taco seasoning and tomatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Cook pasta shells in large pot of boiling salted water. (Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water.) Pasta should still be hard and not cooked through otherwise it will get really mushy when you bake. Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl and set aside. Spray a 9 x 13 casserole pan with oil. (We divided into two pans.) Mix warm pasta into cream cheese mixture and gently stir to combine. Pour pasta mixture into prepared pan and top with turkey and tomatoes. Add reserved pasta water if you feel that it is too dry. Sprinkle cheese over the top and bake covered for 25 minutes. Remove top and continue to bake until cheese is lightly browned.

Mexican Pizza Stack

Stacked Mexican "Pizza"

1 lbs ground turkey
1 T vegetable oil

1/2 C onion, diced

1 T taco seasoning
3 8-10 inch tortillas
2 green onion. chopped
medium salsa

1/2 C black beans
1 tomato diced
1/2 C Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 T jalapenos, pickled

1 avocado

Heat medium skillet add oil and onion and cook 5-8 minutes. Add turkey and cook 6 minutes. Add taco seasoning and cook 2 minutes (add water if needed). Set your oven to broil. Place one tortilla at a time in the over until warm and slightly toasted. Remove first tortillas and place on a baking sheet (place next tortillas under broiler). Top tortillas with 1/4 cup of meat, 2 tablespoons of black beans and a spoonful of salsa. Top with a small amount of cheese and toasted tortillas. Repeat step. Finish with third toasted tortilla. Spread tomato, cheese, green onion and jalapenos on top and broil for 3-4 minutes on cheese melts. Keep a close eye on oven to make sure not to burn. Top pizza with diced avocado and serve.

Turkey Kefta

After reading through the reviews and the recipe I made some changes. The meatballs were really good. I think that these would be just as good on their own and even as a little appetizer. I would serve them over couscous or rice. We didn't since rice and couscous were on the menu later in the week. I served them over egg noodles. Not a great choice!

Turkey Kefta with an Onions and Raisin Sauce
4 C thinly vertically sliced sweet onion
1/2 C raisins
3/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
2 t Ras el Hanout (recipe follows)
2 C fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 C finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 C dry breadcrumbs
1 t salt
1 1/2 t Ras el Hanout (recipe follows)
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 pounds ground turkey breast

Combine first 6 ingredients in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Combine chopped fresh parsley and the next 6 ingredients (through ground turkey breast) in a large bowl; shape mixture into 20 meatballs. Place meatballs on top of onion mixture; cover and cook for 20 minutes or until done.

Ras el Hanout

2 t ground ginger
2 t ground coriander
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 t ground turmeric
1 1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

recipe adapted from Cooking Light (picture from Cooking Light)

Blueberry BBQ Turkey Balls

I think this bbq sauce would be great on ribs, pork tenderloin or chicken. I would double the recipe next time since it is just that good! We served this over turkey meatballs. I wish I could say I found this recipe but I didn't! I took my cue from The Noshery cooking blog.

Adapted from Cooking Light 2003

Blueberry-Balsamic Barbecue Sauce
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat; cool. Place blueberry mixture in a blender; process until smooth. (I used my immersion blender.)

Simple Turkey Meatballs
1 lbs of ground turkey meat
1/4 cup of minced parsley
1/2 large onion, minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 egg
1 tsp paprika
1/2 salt
1/2 pepper

To prepare meatballs, combine all the ingredients into a large bowl, mix together working with hands. Shape meat into about 14 1 inch balls. Set aside. Place meatballs into the same saucepan used for sauce over a medium heat and brown. Pour sauce over the meatballs, cover and simmer for about 5 mins or until meatballs are done.

We served this with some steamed carrots and Caesar salad. It was really good!

Spicy Turkey Burgers

These may have hit the top of the list. I couldn't believe how good these were. Wow. I can't wait to eat the ones we froze! The pickles really made the burger so don't omit. We didn't add anything else to these. We even used the touch of mayo. No need for katchup or mustard, lettice or tomato. This recipe is from EatingWell.

Pickled Onions
1 cup red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 small red onion, halved and very thinly sliced

Burgers
1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (used chilli pepper)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice1 teaspoon canola oil
4 whole-wheat buns, split
8 teaspoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

1. To prepare pickled onions: Whisk vinegar, brown sugar, salt and allspice in a medium glass bowl. Cover and microwave on High until the mixture boils, 2 to 3 minutes. (Alternatively, bring the mixture to a boil in a small saucepan on the stove.) Add onion and toss to coat.

2. To prepare burgers: Preheat grill to high. Place turkey in a medium bowl and gently mix in cilantro, cumin, ground chipotle, salt and allspice until distributed throughout the meat. Form the mixture into 4 patties. Brush with oil. 3. Grill the burgers until cooked through and no longer pink in the center, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Toast buns on the grill, if desired.4. Drain the onion, discarding the marinade. Spread 2 teaspoons mayonnaise on each bun; top with a burger and pickled onions.

Turkey Burgers take two or ten

I love these! I whipped them up this morning before going to work and was looking forward to one all day. There are so many variations so here is one that worked.

1 package of lean ground turkey
1 t dijon mustard
3 T minced cilantro
2 T minced red onion
1/2 t worchester sauce
2 T seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
dash of garlic salt
salt/ pepper

Gently mix all ingredients together with you hand. Be careful not to over mix because it will result in tough burgers. Score into four and form into patties. I double wrapped them in suran wrap and froze all but one. Tonight I grilled them in our grill pan- six minutes per side on medium and topped with cheese. Oh man this was so good!

Soft Taco Night

Tuesday night was the only night of this week that we will be eating at home. We've been really way too busy and need to slow down but each night we had a great time where ever we are! So on Tuesday I decided that we needed to use up some ground turkey. I really wanted to make turkey burgers but wasn't in the mood to get my hands all slimy. I really needed to vacuum and start/finish my book club book which I wanted to do on my back deck while I threw the tennis ball a thousand times to George! I had a lot to accomplish that night. Needless to say, I sat outside for about 20 minutes and read with a nice glass of wine but it was buggy and my neighbor was staining his deck and Saly kept walking over it! So we moved inside. Dave was kayaking and wouldn't be home until 8:30 or so. I started making dinner and then tried to read while watching some stupid show on Tori Spelling. I got wrapped up in that and didn't end up reading too much. Productive!

Turkey Soft Tacos

1 lb. ground turkey
1 t evoo
1 small onion diced
3-4 garlic cloves minced
14 oz can tomatoes (I used sauce since this is what I had on hand)
1 t chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 1/2 t coriander
1 t kosher salt
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1/4 water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
small soft tortillas

saute onion in medium skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes then add turkey and garlic. Season meat with salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander and brown. Add tomatoes turn heat down to low. Heat mixture until thickened and add just enough water to get to a good consistency. You may not need to water but I think that I let it reduce too much. Season with pepper flakes and add cheese. Heat until melted and serve with tortillas and avocado salsa.

Avocado Salsa
1 ripe avocado
10-15 cherry tomatoes halved
1 clove minced garlic
salt/ pepper

mix and serve.