Zucchini Meatballs

Need a sneaky way to get in your veggies? Or use up some fresh ones before they go bad? These meatballs are awesome! I made them using my food processor to grate the zucchini and onion and stir up the meat!

Ingredients: 

1small zucchini
1/4 small white onion
4 garlic cloves
1lb ground beef (use turkey if you want to be super healthy!)
1 egg white
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs (the original recipe used 1/2 cup panko, which I didn't have on hand)

Directions

Grate the zucchini and onion in the food processor, using the attachment, add in garlic.

Change the blade to the S shaped plastic blade, and add in remaining ingredients.

Shape in to meatballs and place on lightly greased rack.

Bake at 400* for 20-25 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.

Serve with your favorite sauce and noodles or on a hogie bun for a meatball sub!

These are a great thing to eat half of, and freeze the rest! When you are ready to eat them, pop them in the microwave for 4-5 minutes, or bake them at 350* for 20-25 minutes.

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats

BBQ Turkey Pizza

With Thanksgiving coming up, you will probably have a lot of turkey left over.  These pizzas are quick, easy, and anything but Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

• shredded turkey (or chicken breasts)
• BBQ sauce- I like KC Masterpiece
• Red onion 
• garlic (1 clove for 4 pizzas)
• olive oil
• Shredded Pepper Jack cheese or Mozzarella 
• Tortilla, naan, pita or any other pizza crust you like 
• Pizza sprinkle

Directions: 

 In a skillet cook the onions until translucent, add garlic and shredded cooked turkey.  Add BBQ sauce to cover turkey, you don't want it to be too soupy. Let the flavors meld together for a few minutes. While that is cooking, brown the crust, by drizzling it with olive oil, and popping it into the oven. After the crust is lightly toasted, spread BBQ sauce over the crust, add toppings, and sprinkle with cheese and pizza sprinkle. Bake until cheese is melted and lightly brown.

sauce & crust

skillet mixture

Before going in the oven

What I've Been Eating...

Sometimes this blogging thing is hard work and it slows down my cooking! So I have compiled a list of a few of my favorites that I have made over the last few weeks. Why re-invent the wheel if something is good!

Pioneer Woman Restaurant Style Salsa this salsa is by far one of my favorite things from PW! It is so easy, and does not require fresh tomatoes, which my garden had very few of this summer! You don't need to cook it either!

Dinah's Dishes Enchiladas Casserole this is a mom from my school. She makes some great things! This casserole isn't as creamy as some and is probably a lot better for you!

Roasted Veggie Sandies I put my pesto to use and made these delicious sandies! The veggies would be amazing alone too!

King's Hawaiian Roll Ham Sandwiches we did half turkey, half ham and both were yummy! These however, are NOT healthy! They have a whole stick of butter, but man were they great!

Stuffed Peppers

After visiting my mom, I decided I was going to make her dinner. She had been living off of Cheerio's and leftover lasagna! We have both been wanting to try stuffed peppers for a long time. So stuffed peppers it was! They turned out pretty good, and are healthy too!

The ground turkey is a great alternative to ground beef or sausage that is usually found in stuffed peppers. They would be a great thing to make if you had some cooked rice to use up.


Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Servings: 6 servings (1/2 pepper) • Time: 55 minutes

• 1 lb lean chopped turkey meat
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 onion, minced
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large sweet red bell peppers, washed
• 1 cup fat free chicken broth + 1 cup for rice/quinoa
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice or quinoa (I used a mixture of both)
• Olive oil 
• 1/4 cup shredded taco blend cheese
• salsa

Turkey & rice mixture.

Heat oven to 400°.  Cook rice/quinoa in a mixture of water and chicken stock to add flavor. Drizzle a little olive oil in a medium size saute pan and on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and cilantro to the pan. Saute about 2 minutes and add ground turkey. Season with salt, garlic powder, and cumin and brown meat for several minutes until meat is completely cooked through. Add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce and 1/2 cup of chicken broth, mix well and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Combine cooked rice and meat together.

Try to find peppers with few groves. 

Cut the bell peppers in half lengthwise, and remove all seeds. (This can be difficult, one of mine ended up with a hole in the bottom!) Place in a baking dish. 

I learned, the hard way, this spoon was too big.
A tablespoon works much better!

Using a small spoon the meat mixture into each pepper half and fill it with as much as you can. Place all stuffed pepper halves on the baking dish and pour the remainder of the chicken broth on the bottom of the pan. Cover tight with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes.  Remove foil, and top with shredded cheddar cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes.  Serve with salsa and enjoy.

Adapted from www.skinnytaste.com

No Manwich In This House!

I was trying to think of something to make for dinner.  I had turkey and buns. I didn't want burgers, so I settled on Sloppy Joe's.  I was on the phone with my friend, Annie, while deciding what to make.  I told her I was looking for a recipe on Pinterest for Sloppy Joe's.  She asked, "How do you make those? I always use Manwich!" Come to find out after surveying my friends, many of them make Sloppy Joe's with Manwich.

So here, Annie, is how you make Sloppy Joe's!

Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m| Total Time: 15m

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 pound ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
kosher salt and black pepper
4 hamburger buns


Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the turkey, onion, and garlic and cook, breaking the meat up with a spoon, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomato sauce, sugar, barbecue sauce, and Worcestershire into the turkey mixture; season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Eat them and sing "Sloppy Joes, slop, sloppy Joes"

Adapted from www.realsimple.com

Edited to add:
After showing my mom this post, and talking with her, I learned that she always made homemade Sloppy Joe's.  She refused to use Manwich.  I hardly ever remember my mom cooking. She hates cooking, but I guess she can cook real things when she needs to!  She also never made us Chef Boyardee, frozen meals, or Hamburger Helper.  Maybe that's why I can't stand those foods! What about your childhood food experience? Did you eat canned and boxed meals?