Meatballs and Salad

Getting back on the health kick, I keep looking for recipes that offer lots of veggies (without spending too much time extra prepping them!).

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, turkey, chicken, or bison

1 t. lemon zest

2 T. lemon juice

1/4 c. non fat greek yogurt

1 T. water

1 T. chopped fresh chives

Arugula

Sliced tomatoes

Sliced avocados

1/4 chopped red onion

2 minced garlic cloves

Directions:

Combine meat, red onions and garlic. Season with some salt and pepper. Form the meat into about 12-15 meat balls.

Cook them in a pan until done.

In the meantime, mix together the yogurt, water, chives and lemon zest in a small bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together 3 T. olive oil, lemon juice, and some salt and pepper.

In a large salad bowl, place the arugula, tomatoes and avocados. Mix with the olive oil mixture. Top with the meatballs and drizzle the yogurt sauce on top.

Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

If you’ve got some already made meatballs, this is a snap! A few weeks ago, I had made some smallish meatballs with beef, ground sausage, spices, breadcrumbs, and egg. I made a double dose and froze half of them. I pulled them out for this recipe.

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

3 T. soy sauce

1 1/2 t. sesame oil

1 1/2 T. fresh lime juice

1 1/2 T. water

1 T. chopped green onions

Meatballs in Mushroom Cream Sauce

I’ve always loved this dish, only when I was a little girl, we used to use Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup. This was delicious but now I like to know what’s in my food, so I try to make everything from scratch. This recipe is delicious and just as good as that other stuff!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground pork (or ground Italian sausage without fennel)

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 onion (1/2 sliced and 1/2 diced)

1 clove minced garlic

1/3 c. bread crumbs (high quality)

1 egg, beaten

1 t. Italian seasonings or Herbs de Provence (your preference)

1 T. Worchestershire sauce

2 c. sliced mushrooms

2 T. flour

1 c. beef or chicken broth

1 c. fat free milk

1/4 fat free sour cream

Directions:

Saute the minced onions and garlic in some olive oil. Place into a bowl. Add the meats, bread crumbs, egg, Worchestershire, and spices. Using your hands, mix altogether until well combined. Form meatballs about the size of a ping pong ball (or slightly smaller).

In a frying pan, heat some oil and brown the meatballs well on all sides. Remove from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add the sliced onions and the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and all the liquid has evaporated. Add the flour and stir. Cook for a few minutes. Add the broth. Whisk in the milk and sour cream. Bring to a boil.

Return the mushrooms to the pan and reduce the heat. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes, making sure that the liquid doesn’t dry out too much. Season to taste.

Serve over some rice or pasta or mashed potatoes.

 

Stuffed Eggplant

Much like stuffed zucchini, this was pretty good. The only thing that maybe I’d change is to try to pre-cook the eggplant prior to stuffing it – or else use smaller eggplants. The shells were a little tough and not soft.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, or 4 small eggplants

1/2 bag frozen spinach, thawed and water squeezed out of it

1 lb. ground meat

fresh snipped sage

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup beschamel sauce

1 egg

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the eggplants lengthwise and remove the center, leaving only a shell about 1/8 thick.

Salt the inside of the shells and turn them upside down on paper towels for about 30 minutes.

Place the  scooped out flesh into a colander and sprinkle with salt. Let it drain for 30 minutes. Blot it dry and chop into small pieces.

Heat some olive oil in a pan. Add the ground meat and garlic and cook until the meat is done. Add the sage, salt & pepper and mix well. Add the spinach and chopped eggplant that was in the colander and cook until all is warmed up. Place it in a bowl.

Make the beschamel sauce. Let it cool slightly.

Add an egg to the meat mixture and mix well. Add the beschamel sauce and mix well. Add about 1/2 c of parmesan cheese and mix well.

Blot the inside of the eggplant shells. Grease a baking sheet and place the eggplant shells on top. Drizzle olive oil over the shells. (this is where you might want to ccok them slightly to soften).

Fill the boats with the meat mixture. Drizzle the top with olive oil and sprinkle with some parmesan cheese.

Bake, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until they start to brown.

 

The Easiest Chili Ever

If you are in the mood for some hearty chili, but didn’t think of making it before the last minute (I usually make mine in a crock pot), this is a perfect alternative!

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground meat

1 can of black beans

1 can of Rotel tomatoes with chiles

Mexican seasonings

Shredded Mexican cheese

:

Brown the meat in a large skillet. Add the beans, tomatoes and seasonings and simmer all together until the meat is cooked and the flavors have melded together.

Place the chili in a bowl and add some cheese on top.

Hamburger Casserole

 

Another one pot meal – protein and vegetables all in one! You can spice this dish up any way you like – I just happened to make it Mexican last night!

Ingredients:

12 oz bag of frozen riced cauliflower

1 lb. ground beef

4 oz. pancetta cubes

14 oz. can of diced tomatoes with green chiles

Pico de gallo – to taste

Seasonings such as cumin, garlic powder, pepper, etc.

Shredded Mexican cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400.

Brown the pancetta in a large pan. Add the ground beef until the beef is cooked through.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except the cheese, and cook until everything is mixed up and cooked through.

Put the mixture in a greased 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.

Cover with the cheese and bake it for about 20 minutes.

 

 

 

Meatball Parmigiana

Looking at the picture, it looks like a pizza! But really, it was a plate full of medium sized meatballs covered with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese…and it was delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1/2 lb. ground veal

1/2 lb. ground pork

4 minced garlic cloves

1/4 c. chopped parsley

1 c. bread crumbs

1 c. grated parmesan cheese

2 eggs

2 cups marinara sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Mix together the meats, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, eggs, and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Season with preferred seasonings. Form the meatballs (not too large – about 1 inch in diameter) and set aside.

Heat oven to 395.

Pour some sauce in the bottom of a casserole dish. Position the meatballs all around. Cover the meatballs with the remainder of the sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and cook in the oven until the meatballs are cooked through (about 45-50 minutes). Be careful taking the dish out of the oven as the sauce may have boiled over.

Zucchini Boats

Once I figured out the easy way to hollow out zucchini boats, I was sold on this recipe. For those that struggled like me, this new way of hollowing out a zucchini will bring a smile to your face! Maybe everyone already knows this method and I was just a little behind, but here’s how you do it. You cut a zucchini in half lengthwise and then using a teaspoon, you start scraping the pulp down the middle until you’re left with a nice hollow indentation in the zucchini that you can then fill with all sorts of yummy concoctions! Here’s what I filled it with:

Ingredients:

1/2 chopped onion

1/2 lb. chopped mushrooms

1 lb. ground turkey

Marinara sauce – I make my own from fresh tomatoes and basil

Shredded cheese

4 large zucchini

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350.

Saute the onions in some olive oil until they are golden. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have released all their water.

Add the ground meat and any seasonings you might like. You can add fresh herbs to your taste. Brown the meat until it’s no longer pink.

Place the zucchini halves in an oiled casserole dish. Spoon some of the marinara sauce into each shell. Fill the shells with the meat. Sprinle the grated cheese on top.

Place them into the oven for about 25 minutes -until the cheese is melted and the zucchini shells are tender. If it’s taking too long for the shells to get tender, cover the dish with foil and cook until done. If you do this, cook uncovered for a few more minutes after removing the foil.