Turkey and Watercress Stuffed Portobellos

On a string of hits from Everyday with Rachael Ray, I wanted to make this delicious sounding meal, but could not think of a way to make it meat free; instead I substituted ground turkey for the ground beef.  I know there's got to be a way to make it meat free without using tofu (I wonder, though, how it would be with tempeh?), but I haven't given that a try yet.

This was so delicious.  It was another one of those meals the boys wouldn't eat, but my husband and I both loved it!

 Turkey and Watercress Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms Source:  Everyday with Rachael Ray

Ingredients

    4 large portobello mushroom caps, gills scraped
    2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus more for brushing
    Salt and pepper
    1 pound ground beef, at room temperature
    1 small onion, chopped
    2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
    3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
    1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano
    1 cup watercress, chopped and packed
    1/2-3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
    1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
    1 1/2 cups shredded provolone cheese

Serves 4
Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.

On a rimmed baking sheet, brush the mushrooms with EVOO and season with salt and pepper; situate them rounded-side up. Roast until softened, 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, two turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Pat the beef dry and add it to the skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and marjoram (or oregano). Cook until the onion and garlic are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the watercress to wilt. Stir in the panko. Remove the pan from the heat; stir in the Pecorino Romano.

Flip the mushroom caps over so they're rounded-side down and fill them with the meat mixture, mounding a quarter of the beef into each cap. Top with the provolone and return to the oven to melt the cheese, 7-8 minutes.

Mini Meatloaves

This may be the most requested dinner in our house, which is super strange considering that my husband does NOT like beef.  But yet, the beef's flavor is diminished when combined with the sausage and homemade BBQ sauce, and he likes it!  I typically make the whole meatloaf mixture, and freeze whatever's leftover to make meatballs but have also made it into burgers.

Since I last blogged about this recipe in 2007, and it doesn't even have a photo, I figured it was time for an update (not that this is an awesome photo).  I love this recipe, and in its most recent appearance, my four year old helped me cook (though he wouldn't go on and reach his hands into the raw meat, but he did touch it).  I love that I can use ground turkey if it's cheap or turkey sausage, I can use raw onion or dried onion depending on what I have.  I've used a variety of different spices, depending on my mood.  This time around, I used some fresh garlic as well as some garlic powder.  You have to eyeball a few things, like the amount of bread crumbs you use, and the baking time--definitely keep an eye on them after 30 minutes!

 Little Meatloaves Allrecipes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian-style seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 pound Italian turkey sausage
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, bread crumbs, milk, cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce, Italian-style seasoning, garlic salt, ground beef and ground sausage. Mix this together well and form into individual loaves. Place the loaves in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Mix this together well and spoon some of this sauce over each loaf. Garnish each loaf with some Parmesan cheese and seasoning to taste.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 to 60 minutes.

Shepherd's Pie

 

Shepherd's Pie.  One of many comforting winter dishes one can make when she has a case of the "I need some cozy."  I've never made this before because my husband's dislike of beef keeps me away from a lot of traditional beef recipes.  Since he wasn't going to be home for dinner the other night, I went ahead and put it on the menu.  But I made it with ground turkey anyway.

This was delicious, and much easier than I thought shepherd's pie would be to make.  I ran out of cheddar, so I substituted it with monterey jack.  As usual, I couldn't be bothered to measure out tomato paste or use a partial can, so I just used a whole 8oz can of it, and I also used skim milk.

This was very yummy and very comforting.  I enjoyed it, and will be having the leftovers soon.  Hungry Baby ate and ate and ate it.  Big Brother picked at it.

I thought ahead and made this in two pans.  I put one directly in Pyrex and the other I put foil underneath it then froze the foil one.  I then wrapped the foil around the food and put in a freezer zipper bag.  Cook once, eat twice!

• 2 pounds baking potatoes (about 4), peeled and thinly sliced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 6 medium carrots, halved lengthwise, quartered if large, and thinly sliced
• 6 celery stalks, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp white cheddar (6 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450. Place potatoes in a large saucepan, and cover by 1 inch with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high. Add carrots, celery, onion, and thyme. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add beef; cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes. Add 1 cup water; bring to a boil, and simmer 1 minute. Set beef filling aside.
3. Drain potatoes; return to pan. Cook over medium, stirring, until liquid has evaporated and a thin film covers bottom of pan, about 1 minute. Remove pan from heat; add milk and 1 cup cheese. Mash until smooth; season cheddar-potato topping with salt and pepper.
4. Pour beef filling into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Drop dollops of topping over filling; spread to edges with a spatula. Using a fork, make decorative peaks; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake until topping is browned and filling is bubbling rapidly, about 20 minutes (if topping and filling were chilled, increase to 35 minutes). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

From Everyday Food, October 2008

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Cheddar-Topped Shepherd's Pie - Martha Stewart Recipes

Waikiki Meatballs

Facebook is a wonderful thing.  Not only can a person connect with current friends, old friends, friends of friends, businesses, etc etc etc, but one can also get all kinds of tips and information there.  Such is the case with this recipe, which was raved about in a facebook status of a grammar school friend.  It's originally from allrecipes.

I made it tonight, when a friend came over for dinner, and it was a big hit with everyone, including the three year old.  I made a few modifications, but they were slight.  I used ground turkey instead of beef, and I used fresh ginger instead of dried.  I was glad for this because I was really able to taste the ginger, and it was a big part of how great these were.  I also omitted the green pepper.  I served over brown rice with a salad.

Delicious, delicious meal.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 2/3 cup crushed saltine cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
•  
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 (15 ounce) can pineapple chunks - drained, with juice reserved
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, cracker crumbs, onion, egg, milk, ginger and salt. Shape mixture by rounded tablespoonfuls into meatballs.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place meatballs in skillet and cook until evenly brown, and meat is no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
3. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, brown sugar, reserved pineapple juice, vinegar and soy sauce. Mix until smooth, then pour into the skillet with meatballs. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green pepper and pineapple chunks. Heat through.

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

When I saw this in Lauren's blog, I knew it would be just the thing--fast, delicious, and filling my Asian food craving.  It was definitely fast, but it just wasn't the recipe for me.  I was really sad, though, because I had such high hopes for this one.

But maybe it will work for someone else; Lauren liked it, and so did the person she got it from.  Just not for us, I guess.

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce
from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 3 meatballs • Calories: 229 • Points: 4.75 pts

• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce

• 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 chopped fresh scallion

Preheat oven to 500°F.Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.
Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.
Serve meatballs with remaining sauce. Chances are you won't use all the dipping sauce.

No Bake Stuffed Peppers

I really need to put my meal plan on here, because the sheet of paper I do it on has gotten lost two weeks in a row. I know Stuffed Peppers was on there, and had the ingredients ready, so to the internet! I found this in my Reader, and it's from Sing for Your Supper.

This was pretty easy to put together, and though we couldn't get Little Man to eat much, we both enjoyed it a lot. This will definitely be making it into our rotation; it's like the perfect meal--veggie, lean protein, and some whole grains!

2 medium bell peppers (any color)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon basil
1-15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 pound lean ground beef I used ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups rice, cooked
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cut peppers in half lengthwise. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, drop the peppers in and boil for 5-6 minutes. In a small bowl, mix tomato sauce, basil and sugar and set aside. Brown meat and onion in a large skillet; drain. Stir in 1/2 the tomato sauce, 1/2 cup of the rice and the salt I just guessed--maybe a teaspoon or two. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes; stir in cheese. Spoon meat mixture into peppers and place into skillet. Pour remaining tomato sauce around peppers; cover and simmer. Top with additional cheese, if desired. Serve on top of remaining rice.

Fettucine with Sausage and Kale

We joined a vegetable co-op recently. We got our first box, and it contained some ingredients I've definitely never used in my cooking before, and in some cases have never eaten before. One of these things was kale. So, to the internet I went. I found this recipe and decided it was a good one to go with. As I was working with it, it occurred to me that kale is probably the green stuff in Italian Wedding soup, so yes, I have in fact had kale before.

I was really unsure how my boys would respond to this one; I feared A wouldn't try it since he doesn't so much like meat plus I got spicy sausage and I wasn't sure how he'd do with it, and I had a feeling M would turn his nose up at the kale. Low and behold, they BOTH ate it, the BOTH liked it, and I did too!

It was a little on the heavy side, so not such a great summer meal, but it was definitely a keeper (should I ever encounter kale again!)

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb hot turkey or pork sausage, casings discarded and sausage crumbled
• 1/2 lb kale, tough stems and center ribs discarded and leaves coarsely chopped
• 1/2 lb dried egg fettuccine I used whole wheat thin spaghetti
  
• 2/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 oz finely grated Pecorino Romano (1/2 cup) plus additional for serving

print a shopping list for this recipe

Preparation

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, add some minced garlic and some diced onion; cook till onion is translucent, then cook sausage, breaking up any lumps with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanch kale in a 6-quart pot of boiling salted water , uncovered, 5 minutes. Remove kale with a large sieve and drain. Return cooking water in pot to a boil, then cook pasta in boiling water, uncovered, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander.

While pasta cooks, add kale to sausage in skillet and sauté, stirring frequently, until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add broth, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, then add pasta and 1/2 cup reserved cooking water to skillet, tossing until combined. Stir in cheese and thin with additional cooking water if desired.

Serve immediately, with additional cheese on the side.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fettuccine-with-Sausage-and-Kale-233976#ixzz0tnnfQwJB

Italian Sausage and Tomato Rotini

Found this on kraft's website.

What You Need!

3 cups rotini pasta, uncooked

1 lb. Italian sausage, casing removed

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1/4 cup KRAFT Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

1 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend, divided

Make It!

COOK pasta as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, crumble sausage into large skillet. Cook on medium heat 10 min. or until done, stirring frequently; drain. Add next 4 ingredients; stir. Cook 5 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

DRAIN pasta. Add to sausage mixture with 1/2 cup cheese; stir. Top with remaining cheese.

I had a pound of turkey sausage in the fridge getting ready to go bad, so decided to use it up last night. There aren't too many recipes one can make when one hasn't been to the grocery store in a while, at least, not using what I had on hand last night!

So, I found this and it was tasty. I had half a yellow pepper in the fridge, which worked great. I even had the Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing, although it wasn't Kraft's. I used regular old mozzarella, sprinkled with some Parmesan cheese.

I read some reviews (after i started cooking, of course), and many commented that this was bland. So, I added some garlic powder and Italian seasoning to the mix before serving (had I been paying attention, I would have added minced garlic in with the onion..next time). I also would probably add some sliced mushrooms in; they would have been a nice addition here. We both liked this one, although could not get The Boy to even try it.

I like this one!

Turkey Spinach Lasagna

I found this one on Lauren's blog... see her comments here!


Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 (26-ounce) jars low-fat marinara sauce (or equivalent homemade)
• 1 (16-ounce) carton fat-free ricotta
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) preshredded fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 8 cooked lasagna noodles or no-boil
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350°.
Coat a large skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium-high heat until hot. Add turkey, onion,red pepper flakes and garlic; cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add 5 3/4 cups marinara sauce; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
Combine ricotta cheese, egg substitute, Parmesan, parsley, pepper, garlic powder, oregano and spinach; stir well. Spread remaining marinara sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles over marinara; top with ricotta mixture and half of the mozzarella.
Spoon half of the turkey mixture over the mozzarella. Arrange the remaining noodles over turkey mixture. Top with remaining turkey mixture and mozzarella.Bake at 350° for 50 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

As I made this, I realized (too late, of course) that it never tells you in the recipe to use the second layer of cheese mixture...or actually, that it said to use the WHOLE mixture, and not just half of it. Oops. So, I popped that into the freezer to save for another time.

As far as sauce goes, I used part homemade, part what was left of a jar, and part of another jar (which was spicy marinara). The combo was awesome, and this was definitely made even better with the extra spice.

This was fairly easy to make (although I wish I had known that I had no boil lasagna; that would've saved some time!) and got rave reviews. I had a lot of leftover, after 3 ate dinner, and froze the leftovers.

This was really great. Thanks, Lauren, for sharing it!!

Turkey and Artichoke Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce

I found this in my Google Reader from Made with Love.... You can see her post here. You can also find the recipe on foodtv.com.

I made my sauce a little differently than the recipe suggests. I sort of blended the sauce recipe given with the shells and Giada's Arrabbiata sauce from Everyday Italian. In addition, the sauce in the book only makes 1 quart, which I figured wouldn't be enough. So, I made the sauce in the book (minus black olives). I'm pretty sure I added an extra can of crushed tomatoes as well, to make a bit more sauce. So while I had that going, I then proceeded with this recipe's instructions of browning pancetta in olive oil, adding more garlic, etc. Does that make any sense? This of course made a lot more than the 5 cups I needed, so I just put it in the freezer for another time.

I made two trays of shells. I made a 9x9 pan for that night and a 9x13 pan for the freezer. The pan we had that night came out great, with one exception. The recipe suggests that we drizzle the sauce over the shells, but this resulted in the pasta not covered not really cooking all the way. It wasn't bad, but the softer parts were way better.

This is definitely a keeper!! No pictures just yet... maybe when I make the freezer pan, I'll take some! I enjoyed it, as did BAJ. It also makes great leftovers, which I just had for lunch. Wahoo for stocking the freezer!! Wahoo for my first stuffed shells!

Ingredients

• 1 (12-ounce) box jumbo pasta shells (recommended: Barilla) I used store brand
  
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon I used regular iodized
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus 1/4 teaspoon
• 1 (8 to 10-ounce) package frozen artichokes, thawed and coarsely chopped I used a can, which I drainied first
  
• 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves I used a combo of sweet basil and purple basil
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 5 cups Arrabbiata Sauce, recipe follows
• 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (about 5 ounces)
  

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and partially cook until tender but still very firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain pasta.

Meanwhile, in a large heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook until the onions are soft and starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the ground turkey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is slightly golden and cooked through. Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl combine the cooled turkey mixture with the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, basil, parsley, and the remaining salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

To stuff the shells, cover the bottom of a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking dish with 1 cup of Arrabbiata sauce. Take a shell in the palm of your hand and stuff it with a large spoonful of turkey mixture, about 2 tablespoons. Place the stuffed shell in the baking dish. Continue filling the shells until the baking dish is full, about 24 shells. Drizzle the remaining Arrabbiata Sauce over the shells, top with the grated mozzarella. If freezing, cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 day and up to 1 month.

To bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the shells are warmed through and the cheese is beginning to brown, about 60 minutes (20 minutes if shells are unfrozen.)

Arrabbiata Sauce:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 cups jarred or fresh marinara sauce

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the pancetta and saute until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and let cool until ready to use.

Yield: approximately 6 cups

Not so Sloppy Joes

I've made this several times before, and really have nothing new to report. The recipe is from Real Simple, and you can google it easily enough.

The reason I wanted to share this for the THIRD time, however, is that it was a meal my TODDLER, who generally refuses meat, ate it. And, he ate the meat part... ALONE...that is, without the roll.

As such, I didn't have enough to make tacos tonight as planned, but we saved the leftovers to feed...THE BOY!! Stellar!

I didn't so much like the look of the red peppers and chose green ones instead. I didn't think they would be as good as the red peppers in this recipe, but it worked just fine. I also used a leftover can of tomato paste; I think I used 2 or 3 T from it. I drained the fat from the turkey too. As a result, I didn't so much end up with a sauce; it was very thick and pastey, so I added a little bit of water. It really didn't affect the taste at all, but I might have liked it to be a little saucey.

I love this ole standby!

Turkey Roulade with Cider Apple Gravy.

I found this here. I figured this would be a great Sunday dinner, and in theory it was. It was easy, but very very time consuming. Way too much work, even for Sunday dinner. It was all good, but not so good to make the work levels worth it. The potatoes were very good, so that will be a keeper. BAJ didn't mind the cranberry relish, but I thought it was WAY too tangerine-y and couldn't taste the pear at all.

As you can see from the pics, the stuffing didn't hold together so well despite being tied up.

Not So Sloppy Joes

This is from Real Simple's Website.

I'm not sure if I've ever made it with beef, but I know that I typically make it with ground turkey or ground chicken, and it's always good that way.

This time around, I saved half the meat and used it for tacos the next night. I liked it a lot, but BAJ said he likes the meat as sloppy joes better--not that he doesn't like it as tacos, though. I suspect it's because the meat doesn't taste like typical mix taco meat.

Simple, good, and makes multiple meals? Works for me!

One Pot Thai

This came from my new cookbook from Food and Wine Magazine, One Dish Meals.

I liked that it was so veggie filled. I'm not a huge fan of radishes, but they worked in this dish. It's a recipe that calls for ground pork, but ground turkey was on sale, and that's what I used. It was pretty good and I'll probably make it again, but we're not RAVING about it.

Cleanup was nice, though, since it technically only used a skillet and a cutting board (although I didn't use a large enough skillet at first!)

Chili Mac Salad

From June/July 2008 Everyday with Rachael Ray

Can also be found here

1/3 cup fresh lime juice 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro 7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Salt and pepper 4 ears corn 2 cups elbow pasta 1 red onion, half finely chopped, half thinly sliced 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder 1 pound lean ground beef One 15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1. In a medium bowl, combine the lime juice and cilantro; whisk in 6 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn until just tender, about 3 minutes; transfer to a cutting board. Return the water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until al dente; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Cut the corn kernels from the cob and add to the pasta.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and chili powder and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a colander and drain well.
4. Add the beef mixture to the pasta; season with salt and pepper. Add the kidney beans, tomatoes, sliced onion and vinaigrette and toss to dress. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the cheese.

I used a pound of ground turkey and only half a red onion. I also served the kidney beans on the side and used dried cilantro. I used bowtie pasta. Finally, I only bought three ears of corn at the store, so that's what I used.

Overall, this was a pretty good recipe, but not for a dinner. A lunch? Maybe? A side dish for a BBQ? Absolutely. But it just wasn't RIGHT for a dinner meal for some reason. It was good, it was easy, but it just seemed to be missing something.

Baby SBF liked his meat and pasta mixture!

Turkey Meatballs with Spaghetti

From Everyday Italian by Giada Di Laurentiis
You can see it here!

Ok, so I did things my own way. I started to make the sauce, and then hungry husband started asking how much longer till dinner. I then looked at the recipe and noticed I had missed the "simmer for one hour" bit. WOOPS!

So I pulled out some jarred sauce. And when I say "some," I mean about a 1/4 cup. YIKES. So I started to make do with what I had.

Then hungry husband suggested that we put the meatballs in the pot of still cooking sauce. Ok, whatever... I said that I was planning to put the sauce in with the meatballs rather than vice versa, but he wanted to help so, sure, do whatcha like. So we ended up with Giada's sauce, Giada's meatballs, spaghetti, and a 1/4c of jarred sauce tossed in.

Anyway, our assessment of this recipe was that the meatballs were just ok. There wasn't a whole lot of flavor in there. They were good enough to eat, but not good enough to make again. The sauce was pretty good. When it's all gone, I think I'll try making it again....WITHOUT the addition of jarred sauce!

Not So Sloppy Joes

Recipe here

I don't remember when I made these, but I've definitely made them this year. I don't know why I forgot to blog about it.

We really like this sloppy joe recipe. It's not as saucy as Manwich and the like and has a nice hint of cinnamon (in Sloppy Joes? WHO KNEW??)

I almost always make these with ground turkey, since hubby doesn't like beef so much.

I've also turned the mix into tacos once or twice... I love cooking once for two meals!

Skillet Turkey Burgers

Recipe from ATK... coming soon

These were super easy to make, which is a huge plus. The only thing was that there wasn't much to it, so there wasn't a whole lot of flavor. I felt that the only flavor really came from the toppings I put on it. Plus, we had these huge buns from Shop Rite and the burgers were really small in comparison. I didn't want to make huge patties since I wanted to have some leftover for a future meal.

I didn't use the optional butter in the recipe, but I wonder if that would make it more flavorful?