Chinese Lion's Head Meatball Soup

Servings: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:
Meatballs:
1 pound ground pork or ground turkey
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs [or Panko]
1 TBSP sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root [1 tsp ground ginger powder]
2 green onions, chopped

1 tsp garlic powder
1 TBSP low sodium soy sauce

1/8 tsp black pepper

Soup:
1 head napa cabbage, cored and cut into chunks
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 clove garlic, crushed
1 green onion, chopped
Optional add-ins I highly recommend: 2 sliced or grated carrots, and 1.5 cups broccoli florets

DIRECTIONS:
1.
Mix the ground pork, egg, bread crumbs, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, ginger, 1 TB soy sauce, salt, and half of the chopped green onions together in a bowl. Use your hands to mix until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.
2.
Put chicken broth and soy sauce in large pot, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium.
3.
Use a spoon to form the meat mixture into 1 inch balls. Drop them into the boiling soup. When the last ball has been added, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add bok choy or cabbage, additional 1 or 2 thinly sliced green onions, crushed garlic, [carrots and broccoli] and a bit more soy sauce — DON'T SKIP THE SESAME OIL, this is key to the flavor. Simmer for 10 more minutes.

The meat filling and broth would also be good for wonton soup!

**Serve over rice, or with noodles** [or not, up to you!]

Asian Meatballs with Bok Choy

serves 6-8

*This makes a gumbo type stew.*

My sister in law, Cele, introduced my husband and I to this dish recently, and IT. IS. AWESOME!

For Stir fry:

1 bunch bok choy, well rinsed and patted dry, then sliced in 1 inch pieces

2 carrots medium size, cut thin on the diagonal

1/2 head of savoy cabbage, sliced into strips

2 cloves garlic, mashed 

1 tsp fresh minced, or 1/2 tsp ground— ginger 

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 medium onion, diced or sliced thin

celery 2 stalks, cut on the diagonal

 Broccoli—1 fresh crown, or 2 cups frozen florets

green onions and sesame seeds for garnish

optional veggies: mushrooms, water chestnut, bamboo shoots, green beans...the possibilities are endless. 

for the sauce: 

1.5 cups chicken stock [or 1.5 cups water and 1.5 tsp chicken bouillon granules]

2 TB corn starch

1/4 cup Soy sauce

1 tsp rice wine vinegar 

1 tsp dry sherry [or any dry wine will work fine]

1TBSP toasted Sesame oil 

1 tsp white sugar

1/2 tsp powdered ginger 

1 tsp garlic powder

*optional*: 2 tsp sirachi or asian chili sauce [or 1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes]

mix all ingredients well with a whisk-- adding the corn starch last while whisking. 

for the meatballs: 

in large mixing bowl mix: 

1 pound ground turkey, or grass fed beef, or pork

1/2 cup regular fine bread crumbs

1 egg

1 TB soy sauce

1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

2 cloves garlic, minced [1 tsp powdered]

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 TBSP. sesame oil

**I also add 1 cup —finely chopped— cole slaw— or just cabbage)

mix well and form into meatballs about 1.5-2" in diameter 

**Cooking the meatballs:

1. in a hurry?—Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add meatballs and cook, turning, until lightly browned and just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon or spatula and set aside.

~ OR~

2. have a few more minutes? BAKE them: line large baking pan with parchment paper [or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray]

Bake at 400 degree-- for 20-25 minutes.

(These will also go into the pot with the sauce and veggies to simmer, so any residual cooking can be completed then) 

Now onto more veggies!

In a large deep dish skillet or wok, heat 2 TB. of veg oil. add add onions. Season with pinches of salt, pepper and sugar. Cook until just barely translucent. Add garlic, carrots, broccoli, and celery; cook about 1 minute. Add bok choy and stir-fry about 2 minutes [ until bright green]. 

Add the sauce and meatballs and simmer for about 5 minutes on low heat. 

* OPTIONS! OPTIONS!* Serve over quinoa, jasmine rice, brown rice, or egg noodles [cooked according to package directions] 

Garnish with chopped green onion and sesame seeds 

Nana Hank's Mexican Lasagna

My wonderful mother in law made this fantastic lasagna for my birthday dinner last weekend, and I loved it so much I am making it again for my family tonight.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 TB chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cup onion, chopped [or 1 tsp powder, or 1 TB dried, minced]
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
• 1 cup medium heat taco sauce or 1 (14-oz) can stewed, or fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 8 (8 inch) spinach flour tortillas, [yep, the green ones!]- the multi-grain ones are good too!
• 3 cups shredded Sharp Cheddar
• 3 or 4 scallions, finely chopped

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add turkey and season with chili powder, cumin, and onion. Brown the meat, 5 minutes. Add taco sauce or stewed or fire roasted tomatoes. Add black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through, 2 to 3 minutes then season with salt, to your taste.

Spray 9 X11, or whatever similar sized baking dish you have, with cooking spray. Cut the tortillas in half or quarters to make them easy to layer with. Build lasagna in layers of meat and beans, then tortillas, then cheese. Repeat: meat, tortilla, cheese again. Bake lasagna 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly. Top with scallions and serve.

This Cook's Notes: ok, I added about 1/2 cup worth of the white part of the scallion, thinly sliced, to the meat mixture [in addition to the onion powder listed above] and saved the dark green parts for on top.

I also added 1 large tomato, diced, just because I wanted to!

Turkey Meatloaf

1 small onion, chopped [ 1 tsp onion powder, or 1.5 TB flakes]
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 egg
1/3 cup catsup

1-2 tsp spicy mustard ( like Gulden's)
1-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. Melt butter in a skillet.
2. Cook onion and garlic in melted butter for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Place mixture in a large bowl to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Combine everything
5. Press meatloaf into an 8x4-inch loaf pan.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 60 minutes.

Tastes a LOT like my favorite Patty Melt!

Homemade Baked Italian Meatballs

Baked Italian Meatballs 

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef or turkey, or half of each
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 small onion, diced , or 1/3 tsp onion powder
1/3-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 TB Italian seasoning [oregano+thyme]
1/2 tsp basil or marjoram
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1TBSP milk

1 Egg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese , or 1/4 cup powdered from can
1/2 cup bread crumbs or panko crumbs

Makes 20-24 meatballs , *Mine were about 1.2-2 inches in diameter and it made 16 DIRECTIONS:  1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), and line baking pan with parchment paper [ or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray] 2. Place everything in bowl and mix thoroughly. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto baking sheet.  3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 22-25 minutes.  Instead of baking these, you can simmer them in Maranara or meat sauce, Covered, for 30-35 minutes on medium low .

Baked Asian Pot Stickers [a.k.a. Dumplings]

**Make sure you have PLENTY of time to make these puppies [allow at least an hour before they even START to cook!]— they aren't for a night when you are pressed for time that's for certain!**

*Makes about 40 Dumplings*
2 cups [half head] napa cabbage, sliced finely

1 lb browned ground meat: chicken, turkey, pork or beef [ I went with half turkey/ half beef] 

3 green onions, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 cup shredded carrot

1 TB soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

Pot sticker [wonton] wraps

Vegetable  or canola oil (for cooking)

• Cook meat, drain grease and add: cabbage, green onions, garlic, carrots, soy sauce, sesame oil. Stir until thoroughly combined and cook on Medium for about 5-8 minutes [until cabbage and carrot is soft and wilty], stirring occasionally.
• Spread out the pot sticker wraps and scoop a heaping teaspoon of filling onto the center of each wrap. 
• Wet the entire outer edge of each pot sticker wrap with finger tips
• To fold the pot sticker: Bring corners up together and press seams together.
• Really make sure they are sealed, so the filling doesn't fall out.

**I've tried recipes that pan fry the steam and one that suggested boiling. Both met with less than stellar results. I liked the baking or steaming with an asian bamboo steaming basket methods best. 
*Next time I will mist dumplings with a spray bottle before baking to give them more of the traditional soft texture.

1.  Line baking pan with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray [or use parchment paper.] Bake the pot stickers at 425 degrees for 8 minutes. Come out perfectly crispy outside with the piping hot filling juicy on the inside. * I fit about 20 pot stickers on a baking sheet*

**P.F. Chang's Mongolian Dipping Sauce**

1 tsp Extra light olive oil

½ tspn ginger powder

1 TB minced garlic 

½ cup soy sauce 

½ cup water 

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 large green onions 

Make the sauce by heating everything together to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat. 

Bamboo Steamer directions: 

Lay a single layer of lettuce leaves along the bottom, leaving a bit of space in between, set dumplings on  lettuce. Perfect! Steam for about 12-15 minutes.

Old School Enchiritos like the kind Taco Bell *Used* to make back in the 1980s

Taco Bell reintroduced these a few years ago, but what they are today is a pale, pale, imitation of what the used to be. 

THIS is the recipe for the Old School original, the way I remember it.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef or turkey [93% fat free]
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika

1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup water
1 can refried beans
10 small flour tortillas (fajita size)
1cup, finely diced onion [1 small onion, diced]
2 (10 ounce) cans enchilada sauce *I like mine SAUCY, You could get away with just using 1 can*
2 [ or 3- I LOVE me some cheese!] cups shredded cheddar cheese
small can sliced black olives, drained

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine the meat with the water in a skillet over medium-hi heat. Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula, and break up the meat thoroughly as it cooks.

Heat for 8 to 10 minutes, or until browned. The finished product should be very smooth with no large chunks of beef remaining. Add seasonings to the meat and combine well. [just like you do when making tacos]
Spray a large casserole pan with non-stick cooking spray.

• Spoon about 3 tablespoons of refried beans down the center of each tortilla.
• Spoon 3 tablespoons of meat on top of the beans, followed by a couple teaspoons of finely diced fresh onion.
• Fold the two sides of the tortilla over the beans and meat and carefully place in the casserole dish.
• Pour all of the red sauce over the top of the enchiritos, then sprinkle  the shredded cheddar cheese over the top, and finally the sliced black olives.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit  for 30 minutes]. 

*Garnish with sour cream if desired. *

Unstuffed Peppers Skillet Dinner

a.k.a. deconstructed stuffed bell Peppers

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef, or ground turkey
• 2 green peppers, sliced and diced
• 3/4 cup minced onion [whole medium onion, minced]
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes 
• 1-2 TB Worchestershire Sauce
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 2 cups shredded cheddar
• couple shakes of Tabasco Sauce, depending on how zesty you like it

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef or turkey; drain and rinse off fat.
2. Return meat to large skillet.
3. Add onion and green peppers, crushed tomatoes, seasonings and cooked rice. 
4. Cook on med-low for 30 minutes
5. Serve in a bowl topped  [or in my case, LOADED] with shredded sharp cheddar cheese

**I worked with uncooked instant rice in step#4, and added equal water to rice ratio. Results were great and saved an extra prep step—which I am Always in favor of!**

Perfect Roast Turkey in just 2.5 hours!!!

20.5 lb turkey COMPLETELY cooked, start to finish, in 2.5 hours!

2.5-Hour Roast Turkey
1 18-22 pound turkey (I’ve used both a 20.5, and a 21.5 pound turkey with great results)

• Juice of 1 lemon                                                                              
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder 
  
• 2 TB poultry seasoning [ I used McCormack’s Roasting Rub French Herb seasoning] 

butter brown paper Grocery bag [Kroger still carries these.]

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and let it pre-heat for half hour. Meanwhile, remove giblets and neck and wash the turkey. 

Thoroughly rub inside of the cavity of the turkey with seasonings. 

Combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper and seasonings in a small bowl. 

With your hands, rub the entire turkey with the lemon juice mixture. Try to get some under the skin of the breast to really flavor the meat.

Place the turkey breast down (this is opposite of how a turkey is normally cooked – so just flip the turkey upside down) in a large roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the hot oven for as many minutes as the turkey weighs (ie.20 lb. turkey = 20 minutes). Bake for the allotted time.

Meanwhile, grease a large brown paper bag with softened [NOT MELTED] butter on both sides [Took about 2/3 of a stick]. 

Remove the roasting pan from the oven and carefully make a tent out of the paper bag and drape it over the turkey, taking care to tuck the sides of the bag into the roasting pan. **MAKE CERTAIN NONE of the bag edges hang over the edges of the roasting pan  where they might drip down onto the heating coils and cause a fire.  

Turn the oven down to 400 degrees and cook the turkey for two hours 10 minutes.
Remove the roasting pan and turkey from the oven and let turkey sit, covered, for 20 minutes. 

Remove turkey from the roasting pan. 

The paper bag should be greased with butter on both sides and tucked in like picture below. With my large roasting pan, I still had to trim about 8 inches off the side of the paper bag so it wasn’t too long to tuck in. My bag touched the top of the turkey and it was fine.

**I’ve read a few variations of this recipe where they staple or otherwise seal the bag— but I can’t figure out how that happens when working with a 500 degree turkey.**

Crispy Baked Egg Rolls!!

Something new for dinner tonight! Yea, I LOVE egg rolls and can't wait to try these they look amazing!

Baked Egg Rolls

•     1/2 pound ground turkey or beef
•     1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
•     2 TB soy sauce
•     1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
•     2 green onions
•     2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
•     2 or 3 cups shredded cabbage [you REALLY want to try and use the pre-shredded coleslaw mix here and if so, omit the carrot listed below. I chopped my own and they rook longer to cook and were harder to fold up in the wrappers]
•     1 shredded carrot
•     1 celery stalk, sliced thin
•     8 (7 inch square) egg roll wrappers
•     1 TB canola oil

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425°. Line baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Combine celery, carrots and cabbage in medium microwave safe bowl. Cover with wet paper towels and heat/steam for 5 minutes.
Add canola oil to large skillet heat to medium-high. Add onion, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cabbage mixture, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, flour and pepper. Cover and chill 15 minutes.
Place 1 egg roll wrapper at a time onto work surface with 1 corner pointing toward you (wrapper should look like a diamond).  Spoon 3 tablespoons filling into center of wrapper. Fold lower corner of egg roll wrapper over filling. Fold in trimmed corners. Moisten top corner of wrapper with edge of tightly folded wet paper towel [ I just licked mine, but hey, I'm family!] ; then roll up wrapper like a burrito.
Lightly coat egg rolls with cooking spray, and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet lined with foil and lightly [or generously, like I did] coat with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

Meatloaf, beatloaf. I...well, I LIKE meatloaf.

Meatloaf, beatloaf. I...well, I LIKE meatloaf:

1 tsp onion powder--1 heaping TBSP dried minced, or 1 large onion chopped fine

1 tsp garlic powder--**or 1 minced clove of garlic

2/3 cup oatmeal

1/3 cup milk (not skim)

1 pound 96% lean ground beef, **or any combination of ground turkey, pork, bison and beef

1 large egg

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce [if making without beef go with 1 tsp]

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup tomato sauce or ketchup

2 TBSP parsely flakes

Squish it all together and lay it in a greased 9X9 or 9X5 pan. I use a glass bread baking dish to hold all of the juices inside of the loaf.

350 Degrees  1 hour

Italian Turkey Soup

It's officially Autumn, both according to the calendar and now the temperatures have finally come into agreement as well. Woo hoo!! I LOVE Fall! And in honor of my favorite season, soup's on!
Italian Turkey Soup
I adapted this from a recipe I found last week at ourbestbites.com


1/2 lb Italian sausage [ I use Johnsonville Mild, 1 or 2 fat links, skin removed and smooshed really good by hand to separate.]
1/2 lb ground turkey [ in the picture I used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. Delicious!]
1 medium onion (about 1 cup), diced
5 garlic cloves, minced [or smashed to bits with a hammer between two paper plates, the way I like to do it!]
1 TBSP Dry Italian seasoning [= 3 tsp Oregano + 1 tsp Thyme]
1/2 tsp Salt
Pepper
1 can (15oz) canned diced tomatoes
1 can (15oz) white beans (Cannelini, Great Northern, etc) drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken broth [I did 4 cups water and 1 TBSP bouillon granules]
1 tsp dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
1 TBSP dried parsley (or about 1/4 C fresh)
4-6 C fresh spinach (I used between 1 1/2 and 2 cups frozen)* KALE can be substituted here-(use 2 cups fresh)
fresh grated Parmesan cheese

* I like to sometimes add zucchini too

**I like to cook the meat separately covered in water, so as to separate the fat more effectively. Drain when no longer pink. Rinse and drain again before adding to rest of soup.**

In med/large pot on med-hi heat add everything but meat together and bring to boil. Then reduce to medium heat and add in cooked meats. Last, add in spinach and parsley and simmer all together about 30 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

** I Highly recommend you serve this with a big chunk of your favorite bread. This broth demands--yes, I said DEMANDS, that you sop up every possible drop! Followed up with perhaps even a quick sliding of your finger across the bottom of the bowl just to be sure you got it all!
I like to use a rosemary French bread. SOOOO GOOOOOD!

Ultimate Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

Ultimate Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
*Turkey can be substituted* 
Thanks mom for this recipe!

1 med onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup-- or cream of mushroom
1 cup milk
1/2 box spaghetti pasta

1 tsp Lawry's Seasoned salt
2 cups extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2-3 cups cooked chicken or turkey, bite size or shredded

black pepper to taste

**the original recipe called for this to go together as layers. After many years of doing it this way, I started rolling it into one dish, more like a casserole since it was much easier to assemble and tasted the same.

~Instructions~
Sauté onion, celery, and bell pepper in small amount butter until soft and browned.
Add milk and can of condensed soup
Add half of cheese, and stir until thickened.
Add the turkey/chicken and the boiled pasta and fold it together. I use a pasta fork to really pull things up from the bottom. Add rest of cheese and combine well.

Place mixture in large, sprayed casserole dish, cover and cook @ 350 until bubbly (about 30 minutes. You are not cooking anything, just allowing flavors to come together). Of course, you can sprinkle more cheese on top to melt.
Enjoy!