Turkey Meatballs

I had 1/2 lb. of ground turkey left over from a prior meal and I needed to find something to do with it.  So, off I went to Recipezaar.com to find a recipe that would work.  Wouldn’t you know, I found a recipe?  Oh, I love you Recipezaar.com. 

This recipe had great reviews and I had all the ingredients, so it was perfect.  These meatballs were so easy to make and quite tasty too!  I cut all the ingredients in half, since I only had 1/2lb of turkey, used dried parsley, and baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. 

Since Jeremy says he “doesn’t like” ground turkey (even though he eats it just fine when he doesn’t know I’m feeding him ground turkey), I decided to add some BBQ sauce to the meatballs and throw them on a hot dog bun, in order to make a meatball sandwich.  Plus, I grilled up some onions and melted some cheese on top…deeelicious!  These meatballs would be great with spaghetti, gravy or other type of sauce.  Try them out!  The possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!

Just out of the oven. Plain.

 

BBQ meatball sandwich!

Turkey Meatballs, by Recipezaar

1 lb lean ground turkey

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Mix all the ingredients and shape into 30 meatballs approximately.
2. Spray a nonstick pan lightly with vegetable oil
3. Cook the meatballs for 5-6 minutes or until cooked through and nicely browned on the outside.  You will likely have to repeat the process for a second batch unless you have one big frypan!

Chicken Parmesan

This Chicken Parmesan is a quick and easy recipe, from Robin Miller’s Quick Fix Meals.  A few years ago, Robin did a demonstration at a cooking store in the fabulous city (and my home) of Scottsdale (she and her family live there).  Once my parents and I heard about the event, we knew we were definitely going.  At the demo, she made tasty food, answered questions and of course, signed her cookbook.  This is one of my favorite cookbooks, not only because (so far) it’s my only autographed one, but also because I love Robin’s idea of “morphing” recipes to give you different meals through out the week.

I’ve made this recipe a few times and it’s for sure a keeper.  The sauce is delicious and so easy to make.  Plus, it takes minutes to bread the chicken and throw every thing into the oven.  I only make two chicken breasts, so I cut the breading ingredients in half.  However, I do make all the sauce because I serve this with pasta and Jerm and I are saucy kind of people.  

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Pre-trip into the oven.

Post-trip into the oven and served with pasta.

Chicken Parmesan, by Robin Miller (Quick Fix Meals)

Ingredients

• One 14 oz. can crushed tomatoes
• One 6 oz. can tomato paste
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 dry seasoned bread crumbs
• 3 – 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 4 tsps grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees.  Coat baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and garlic powder.  Set over medium heat, bring to a simmer and let simmer until ready to use (about 10 minutes).
3. In a shallow dish, combine the flour, salt and pepper.  Place eggs in a separate shallow dish and the bread crumbs in a third. 
4. Dredge the chicken in the flour, evenly coating both sides and tapping off any excess.  Dip both sides of the flour-coated chicken in the egg and then in the bread crumbs.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes per side.
6. Transfer chicken to the prepared baking dish.
7. Top with tomato sauce, mozzarella an Parmesan.
8. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake 5-10 minute, until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and the cheese is golden and bubbly.

Iced Mocha Coffee

Alright, so this is a lame excuse of a recipe...but it's deliciousness in a glass, so I felt the need to post about it.

 

I love coffee. Ever since Girl Scout camp when I was a kid, I have loved the smell of coffee (the leaders would drink it in the morning and the smell would fill the dining hall). On the rare occasions that my family would go out to breakfast, my parents would get coffee and I'd always ask to smell it or have a sip (which I didn't like at the time). Once I got to college, I realized the caffeine benefits of coffee, but would only drink it mixed with half a packet of hot chocolate. Now, I love coffee. I love it hot with cream and sweetener, I love it in Caramel Macchiatos and Skinny Vanilla Lattes from Starbucks, I still love it mixed with half a packet of hot chocolate, I love coffee beans covered in chocolate, I love it as ice cream, I love it in baked goods and I love it cold.

 

Jerm and I have a really nice coffee maker (yay, for bridal registries and my friends at US Airways!), but I don't use it a lot. You see...Jerm doesn't drink coffee and we always have coffee at work, so every weekday I think, "I'll just have some at work." Well, this past weekend our puppy, Diesel, decided to wake up at 4:45am... so I was feeling the need for coffee and I decided to brew a pot. It was warm outside (hi, I live in AZ) so I thought, "Mmmm, iced coffee would be delicious!" And ta da, this deliciousness in a glass was born. It's cold, it's light and there is just a hint of chocolate in there. Definitely try out this drink or a version of it. What else would be good in iced coffee?

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sara's Iced Mocha Coffee

Ingredients

• 2/3 glass of coffee
• Skim milk
• Ice
• 1/2 - 1 tsp sugar
• 1 - 2 tsp Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Directions

1. Brew coffee. Either use it hot and add lots of ice, or let it chill for a bit to cool down.
2. Fill a large glass with ice and add about 2/3 of the way full with coffee.
3. Add as much skim milk as desired.
4. Add sugar and chocolate syrup.
5. Drink up!

Classic Baked Ziti

This a a pretty basic recipe but it's always a delicious one!  Usually when I'm making baked pasta, I just kinda throw together what I think sounds good (spaghetti type ingredients), add some cheese on top and throw it in the oven.  Well, last week Jeremy specifically requested "Baked Ziti," so that set me on a search for the recipe. 

I used a recipe from my old standby, Recipezaar.  Whenever I search for a recipe on that website I always sort by "Rating," and this one was high up on the list.  It's simple, it's cheesy, it's Baked Ziti! :)  I cut the recipe in half since it was just for Jerm and me, and it turned out nicely.  Add some breadsticks and salad and you've got a delicious meal.  Definitely try it out if you're looking for easy and classic dinner. 

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Pre-baked.

Post baked.

Classic Baked Ziti, by Recipezaar

Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (32 ounce) jar meatless sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta, cooked and drained
• 2 (8 ounce) cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, cook ground beef, onions, and garlic over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until beef is browned; stirring frequently.
3. Stir in spaghetti sauce, chicken broth, and oregano.
4. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Stir 1 cup of the sauce into the cooked ziti noodles.
6. Spoon 1/2 of the ziti mixture into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
7. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
8. Top with 2 cups sauce, then remaining ziti mixture and remaining sauce.
9. Cover and bake 20 minutes.
10. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
11. Return to oven and bake uncovered for 10 minutes or until heated through.

On a quick side note, I' like to thank finsmom for giving me this lovely award!  I've never gotten a blog award before.  "You like me...you really like me!"  Who knew that people other than my mom, my husband, and my in-laws read my blog! :)  Thank you!!

These are the rules of this award:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
I think 15 is A LOT, so I'm not going to have quite that many...7 is a good number...how about 7?  Therefore, I would like to pass this award on to the following great blogs:

Stacy Runs

Baked Perfection

My Baking Addiction

Iowa Girl Eats

My Kitchen Cafe

Loves to Eat

Latest Addictions