Cranberry Peach Turkey Meatballs with Peach and Parsley Yogurt Sauce

I've not been a timely blogger lately (obviously). Namely due to traveling quite a bit and being a busy bee in general, but I will do my best to get back on the blogging bandwagon. Tonight, I wanted something very quick, light and flavorful....and this recipe was born! And, by the way, I'm not a big measuring person (except for when it comes to baking). So I just pull ingredients and put in what feels right....that's probably no real help to all of you "measurers"...but I will try and ballpark how much I used of each ingredient.

Cranberry Peach Turkey Meatballs with Peach and Parsley Yogurt Sauce (and a pesto vegetable stir fry)

INGREDIENTS (for meatballs)

1 lb Ground Lean Turkey Breast

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Sliced Peaches (canned is fine), diced

Dried Cranberries

Minced Garlic

Minced Parsley

Sea Salt

Coarse Ground Pepper

1/2 cup Chicken Broth

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Yogurt Sauce

Plain Greek Yogurt

Juice from Canned Peaches 

Minced Parsley

Sea Salt

Coarse Ground Pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. In a large bowl, mix turkey, 1/3 cup dried cranberries and 1/3 cup diced peaches, Mix well and add 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Add minced garlic and parsley (about 1/8 -1/4 cup each, depending on your preferences), salt and pepper. Form into meatballs. This recipe makes about 8-9 meatballs.

2. In a separate bowl, mix 3/4 cup yogurt, 1/4 cup diced peaches, and parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

3. Place meatballs into heated skillet and turn until browned (about 7 minutes). Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and let meatballs sit in the broth for 7-10 minutes. Meatballs will absorb some of the liquid.

4. Plate and serve with yogurt sauce, and a side of your choosing. 

Serving suggestion: I made mine with stir fried broccoli slaw and sliced summer squash. I added some pesto for flavor and a mild creamy consistency. It was delicious. ENJOY!

Roasted Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Yogurt Sauce

Ever since I began roasting shrimp, I can barely cook it any other way! It's so quick and easy. I really wanted some tacos the other night,so I whipped up this delicious recipe and created a yogurt sauce that I thought you all might enjoy ....

 CHIPOTLE YOGURT SAUCE

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp adobo sauce
1 squeeze of lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste

ROASTED BLACKENED SHRIMP 

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tsp paprika
1.5 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp olive oil






TACO ADORNMENTS 

Flour or corn tortillas
Broccoli slaw
Cilantro
Sliced avocado
Peaches
Cherry tomatoes
Feta or goat cheese

To roast shrimp:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Toss shrimp with olive oil, pepper, oregano, cumin, paprika and garlic.

Place evenly on baking sheet and roast for 5 minutes.

To make chipotle sauce:

Mix all ingredients in separate bowl and set in refrigerator to chill.

To assemble tacos:

Warm tortillas in pan. About 15 seconds on each side or until lightly charred.

Spread chipotle sauce on base of tortilla, then add shrimp. Adorn with other ingredients as you like.

ENJOY!

Easy Turkey Meatballs

As much as I love to cook, there are some weeks that I put off going to the grocery store for days and days....and those are the days I have to get really creative! So, I just returned from a very fun trip to Chicago, but before I left, I was in dire need of groceries...we are talking scrounging through frozen veggies and leftover frozen meat. I did not want to eat out, so I decided to make something out of what I had in the fridge and spice cabinet. And these turkey meatballs were born! 

Turkey meatballs (before baking)

 

Here is the very simple and (quite delicious) recipe:

INGREDIENTS

• Lean ground turkey 
• Minced garlic
• Minced onion
• Crushed red pepper
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp crushed rosemary
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups tomato/pasta sauce
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

A lot of recipes call for eggs, but I did not use eggs. I found that the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese helped to bind, and the tomato sauce helped to moisten.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large mixing bowl, mix all ingredients and 1 cup of the tomato/pasta sauce. I used Classico Tomato & Basil pasta sauce. Form into 1-inch meatballs. The consistency should be a little sticky (not gooey).

Place meatballs in greased baking dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes. You can check the meatballs around 20 minutes and cut into one of them to make sure the turkey is cooked. 

Serve with the remaining heated pasta sauce and your favorite vegetable. If you are a pasta lover, these would be excellent in a spaghetti or pasta dish. ENJOY!

Rosemary Cauliflower Flatbread

I'm not a big bread eater, but I was really wanting flatbread a few nights ago....so I decided to try my hand at making a flatbread from cauliflower! I had some cauliflower getting lonely in my fridge, so I gave it a turn in the spotlight and it delivered! It was actually quite easy! Here is how it all went down....

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 head of cauliflower
3 tbsp dried rosemary
Salt and pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond flour (or whatever flour you choose)

I started with one head of cauliflower, which I chopped and put in a blender until all of the chunks were crumbly. Cauliflower actually holds a bit of water, so you'll want to place the crumbled cauliflower in a cheese cloth (or you can use a thin towel or t-shirt) and squeeze out the liquid. The cauliflower will take on somewhat of a rice consistency. I then mixed the cauliflower with 3 eggs, flour, rosemary, and 1 tsp of salt and pepper. Mix until you get a consistency like this, or if you prefer, you can blend to a smoother consistency.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take a large scoop and spread in a circular shape. Bake at 390F for 12 minutes, then flip the flatbread and bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, or until it is slightly browned. The flatbread should look similar to this when it comes out of the oven (I cut mine in half).


You can add anything you like to top this flatbread! I chose to add sauteed red onions (in balsamic vinegar), avocado, figs and goat cheese. Here is how it turned out....

I encourage you to try it if you are looking for something tasty and unique! Bon appetit!

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Several red bell peppers were bought and trashed with the intention of making this recipe (why do they go badly so quickly?!?), but I finally got around to putting something together, and it was quite delightful! Traditional recipes call for rice and ground beef, but I'm not a big eater of either, so I elected to go grain-free, add broccoli slaw and substitute the beef for ground turkey. So, without further ado.... 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)

2 large red bell peppers

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup broccoli slaw

1 cup chopped red onion

4 tablespoons chopped parsley

2 tbsp minced garlic

2 cups tomato or pasta sauce (I used Classico Tomato and Basil)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp allspice

1/2 pound lean ground turkey

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cut top 1/2 inch off of peppers and discard (or reserve if you want to chop them and add them back in to stuff the pepper. Scoop seeds from the peppers and discard.
3. In large skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onions, parsley, garlic and broccoli slaw (and chopped red pepper pieces, if you choose). Saute' until onions and broccoli slaw soften, approximately 8 minutes.
4. In separate skillet, season turkey with salt and pepper and brown until cooked thoroughly (the turkey should cook while the veggies are cooking).
5. Add 1 cup tomato/pasta sauce and turkey to the skillet with the veggies. Add paprika and allspice. Stir and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
6. In baking dish, fill pepper cavities with the mixture, and pour remaining tomato sauce over peppers. Sprinkle peppers with Parmesan cheese (to your liking).
7. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes until peppers are tender.
8. Remove from oven, let cool for 5 minutes, and serve!

Salt and pepper, to taste.

These are great reheated as well! ENJOY!!!

Crab-Stuffed Salmon

I love crab. I love salmon. So why not combine the two?

Prepped salmon fillet (before baking)

Cooked salmon fillet (after baking)

INGREDIENTS

Serves 2

8 oz Lump Crab Meat (you can usually find this already prepared in your grocer’s seafood section...I like blue crab for this recipe)

½ Lemon

¼ c  Minced Garlic

3 Tbsp Parsley, minced

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Black Pepper

1 Salmon Fillet

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to bake at 400°F.
2. In a small bowl, season crab meat with minced garlic, parsley, the juice of half of a lemon, salt, and pepper.
3. Lengthwise, slice salmon fillet down the center to create room for the crab stuffing.
4. Stuff salmon with crab meat mixture, using about 4oz of crab per salmon fillet.
5. On a baking sheet, bake salmon for 15 minutes at 400°F.
6. Switch to broil, move rack to the top layer, and broil salmon at 500°F for an additional 5 minutes.

Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon....and ENJOY!

Cheat of the Week: Southern Eggs Benedict with Spicy Sausage Gravy

I spent about 20 years of my youth in a wonderfully fun town called Athens, Georgia. If you haven't been there, you need to visit! It's home to my alma mater, the University of Georgia (GO DAWGS!), and is the musical birthplace of REM and the B-52s (Love Shack, baby!!)....oh, and I must acknowledge that they were just named to Buzzfeed's "11 Coolest Small Cities" ....anyway...it's really a great place!

I left Athens in 2006, and with the move, I left behind a great little eatery called Five Star Day Cafe' (which has since closed...devastating).

Five Star Day Cafe' in beautiful downtown Athens, Georgia

Everything on their menu was absolutely delightful, especially their Five Star Benedict. The benedict was the last breakfast I ate before I left Athens, and the one meal I was sure to have when I came home to visit. I craved it so much after I left, that I experimented in the kitchen until I recreated it as best I could! Every time my sister comes to visit me, she requests that I make this for her before she leaves, and of course, I'm happy to oblige! 

So, for the Cheat of the Week, I present to you...Taryn's Southern Eggs Benedict with Spicy Sausage Gravy!

This recipe serves 2...

INGREDIENTS (for sausage gravy)

1 pound ground pork sausage

3 tablespoons bacon grease

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

Center-cut bacon

4 Eggs

1 can of biscuits (I personally prefer Pillsbury Grands Golden Flaky Layer Biscuits)

DIRECTIONS

1.  Fry bacon to get the 3 tbsp of bacon grease. Set bacon strips aside, leaving grease in the frying pan.
2.  Brown sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Set aside, leaving the drippings in the skillet. Mix bacon grease into the sausage drippings. Reduce heat to medium, combine with flour, and stir constantly until mixture just turns golden brown.
3. Gradually whisk milk into skillet. When the mixture is smooth, thickened, and begins to bubble, return the sausage to skillet. Add red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to your liking (I like mine a little spicier, so I usually use a bit more pepper than most). Reduce heat, and simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. While gravy is cooking, place biscuits in oven to bake. Poach eggs.  To prepare the benedict, place open faced biscuit on plate. Put two strips of bacon on each biscuit half. Place one poached egg on each biscuit half. Cover entire biscuit with sausage gravy...and serve!

This is a very heavy meal, so I like to serve mine with fruit...but if you are going to be eating this and you have a hearty appetite, you can also serve with roasted breakfast potatoes!