Simpleton Turkey Meatballs

When I say these turkey meatballs are simple, I mean it, and not only that, you can feel good eating them because they are 99% fat free! We've purchased the frozen turkey meatballs before, and let me tell you, they taste fine enough, BUT, why not make them yourself and freeze some for later? At least then, you know exactly what you put in them and can get creative and add in your favorite seasonings and other goodies.

Ingredients: (per lb. of ground turkey)
1 lb. ground turkey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup rolled oats (healthier than using breadcrumbs)
A mixture of seasonings to your preference (salt, pepper, basil, oregano, thyme--basically, anything italian related will taste good)

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly oil/grease a baking dish, 9x13 is a good size
3. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. The key: use your hands. Really get in there and mix everything together.
4. Roll meatball mixture so they are gold ball sized. Place meatballs 1 inch apart in baking dish.
5. Bake for 15 minutes, and then flip over and bake for another 5 minutes. (My tip: Watch the baking time. Every oven is different. Ours bakes rather quickly, so I would adjust the time to 10 minutes and then 2-3 minutes.)
6. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack or paper towels so they don't continue cooking.

We used half for our spaghetti dinner that night. I let the sauce simmer until ready and then just placed the cooked meatballs in the sauce to simmer for another minute or so, not too long, since they were already cooked. I froze the other half to use for another dinner, but you could double or triple this recipe if you wanted to have even more at your fingertips for future meals. Easy peasy!

Fall favorites: Molasses Cookies

Nothing welcomes in the holiday spirit more than the smell of baking, especially when molasses cookies are in the oven getting nice and toasty. For those of you not familiar with molasses cookies, welcome, and prepare your taste buds for the quintessential holiday cookie: sugar and spice and everything nice.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup shortening
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg

Directions:
1. Mix together shortening and brown sugar. The mixture should get a little creamy.
2. Stir in the egg and molasses.
3. Mix all dry ingredients in separate bowl and fold into the wet mixture.
4. Cover the dough and chill for 1-2 hours or until firm.
5. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
6. Roll dough into small golf balls and then roll in white sugar.
7. Place dough balls on a lightly oiled/greased baking sheet 1/2-1 inch apart.
8. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Remove and let sit for 1minute and then transfer to a cooling rack or if you're like me, you can just spread some paper towels on the counter and let them cool there.

This recipe will make about 3.5 dozen cookies. Yum! You'll have plenty to enjoy, but lots of extra to share with friends, co-workers, and maybe your significant other...maybe. ;) Molasses cookies are best enjoyed in the evening, while wrapped in a cozy blanket, with the fireplace lit (or some fall/winter smelling candle), and a cup of something hot, like hot cocoa or apple cider.

Pancakes vs. Waffles

The battle rages on.

I woke up this morning craving something for breakfast that didn't consist of bran flakes or toast. Instantly, I began the debate between pancakes and waffles. The debate finally ended when my stomach let out one painfully loud growl, and I decided that pancakes were just too heavy and that waffles it would be. From what I can tell, there really aren't that many tricks to making homemade waffles. You can add a few slight variations, but ultimately, you'll follow a recipe like this:

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl until fluffy. Mix in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, until smooth.
2. Spray waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown.

I remember being so intimidated to try my hand at waffles, and then I realized how simple and easy it really was. To top it all off, we bought some strawberries at the local farmer's market on Friday and they added a fresh, sweet berry topping to the waffles. Mmm! This recipe makes 6-8 servings, so I just put the extras in a freezer bag, once they cooled down a bit, and will freeze them for later...or tomorrow. ;)

Crab Alfredo

I'm not the biggest seafood fan, and only in recent years have I developed a taste for tilapia, salmon and the occasional sushi (haven't graduated to raw just yet), but tonight I ventured into the deep blue and cooked up some quite delicious crab alfredo. I love cooking up some very complex, layered dishes, but during the week, my energy level sinks after 5 p.m. This crab alfredo recipe is definitely no frills, but is sure to satisfy your appetite while requiring very little work.

The shopping list:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 head of broccoli (chopped into florets)
• 1 12 oz package of crab meat
• 1 10 oz jar of your favorite alfredo sauce
• 1 package of fettuccine or linguine noodles

How to:

1. Get a pot of water boiling for the pasta. Add pasta and cook until ready, drain and set aside.
2. Heat up the olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium-low heat.
3. Add the garlic and broccoli and add the 3 tbsp of water. Sauté until warm.
4. Add the lemon juice, crab meat and alfredo sauce.
5. Cook over medium heat until cooked through.
6. Add the pasta to the alfredo mixture and stir to coat evenly.

The finished dish!

I think the recipe could be improved significantly by adding the following things:

• Freshly chopped parsley
• A pinch or two of ground pepper
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese on top

I loved the overall consistency and freshness of the pasta, and that none of the flavors overwhelmed the others, but worked together to create a creamy, blissful dish. The whole dish can be made in 30 minutes or less, which makes a great weeknight meal idea!

Food trucks are taking over the world!

....in the best possible way. Food trucks have traditionally received a bad wrap as a less than desirable and somewhat seedy place to get some grub, but today they have become rather gourmet and unique. Living in So Cal, I get a great sampling of what the world of food trucks has to offer. Here are a few of the ones I've indulged in, once, or twice or maybe more. (I'm not telling.)

Calbi - A Korean/Mexican fusion truck with all sorts of yummy goodness oozing onto your plate. Their Black Jack quesadilla is to die for. The flavors are truly unique, and easily something worth trying if you're in the area.

El Flamin' Taco -  What can I say? It's not your average taco truck. As you can see, they've got the decor down, complete with two TV screens. They make their own tortillas, and if el pastor is your cup 'o tea, you can watch them BBQ it. Great quality ingredients, and this place stays open until 4 a.m. for all you late nighters.

Salinas Churros - I have to post about this lovely find. It was our first food truck experience in So Cal, and will always have a special place in our hearts. If you couldn't guess, churros are their specialty, along with some other yummy Mexican dessert dishes. Don't ask for a burrito, because they only serve dessert. The churros are worth the drive!

These three trucks are literally only the tip of the iceberg here in So Cal. You can find a truck for any kind of food you're in to, here are some exciting finds:

The Grilled Cheese Truck
Crepes Bonaparte
Frysmith
PattyWagon

And the list could go on, and on, and on....

For those of you in the So Cal area on Fridays in the summer, you can get your pick of food trucks during Art Walk, an increasingly popular public art spectacular in downtown Los Angeles. Usually over 30+ trucks turn out for the festivities. So whether you can partake in the So Cal food truck extravaganza, or hunt around your local area to find a hidden truck treasure, it's definitely worth trying!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

A few weeks ago, I bought one sweet potato from the store with the intent of whipping up some yummy mashed sweet potato side dish for dinner. Well, a few weeks later, that potato remained untouched, so I decided to turn it into a lunch side dish of sweet potato fries! I love how simple and easy this side dish is, and how it automatically spruces up your simpleton meal into a bistro dish.

1. One sweet potato serves 2 people. Cut the potato into small fry-like wedges. You can make them thicker or skinner, depending on how hearty you like them. You can peel the potato or leave the skin on, it's up to you. (I like mine peeled) While you're prepping, go ahead and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Prepare the fry seasoning. 1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic,  pinch or two of salt, pinch of pepper, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp. ground cumin. You can also skip all the dry ingredients and use an all purpose seasoning, like Pappy's. (If you've never had Pappy's, then you haven't truly lived.) Toss the sweet potato fries with the oil and dry seasoning mixture until coated evenly. Spread out in one layer on a baking sheet.

3. Cook the sweet potato fries 20-30 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on how thick you cut your fries, so check in at the 2o minute mark to see how they're coming along.

4. Take out of the oven once fully cooked (should be golden brown and crispy on the outside). Serve hot and enjoy!

I paired the fries with a turkey panini, and a phenomenal sweet potato fry dipping sauce, courtesy of Giada's recipe which is a very simple mixture: 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 tbsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tsp. minced garlic. Of course, mix these and taste test...add more of anything you want to taste more of! I added my own twist to the sauce and added a little bit of mustard, BBQ sauce, and honey. Sounds strange, but the combo of flavors, plus having time to "marinade" in the fridge, really was the perfect combo.

Brown Rice Risotto Kicked My Butt

At 8:30 p.m. last night, I realized that the brown rice risotto I just spent the past 2 hours on was not going to turn into that wonderfully creamy and soft concoction I had dreamed up. *sigh* I know a risotto is a bit ambitious, I mean you literally have to stir a pot for an hour, but add on top of that the fact that I threw in long grain brown rice to make the dish "healthier" and you might think I'm crazy. Well, as the saying goes: if it 'aint broke, don't fix it. Google gave me some assurance that others have mastered the brown rice risotto, but for some reason mine just didn't cook right. The flavor of my risotto was amazing, exactly like I'd dreamed it up to be, the mixture had exactly the right creaminess to it, despite brown rice being low in starch, but the rice just wasn't cooked enough and far too crunchy for the amount of time it had been cooking. I have a sneaking suspicion it was because I used long grain brown rice.

So I'm writing this post a little disheartened, because all weekend I was so excited to "wow" my husband with this risotto and also to share with you all, but let this be a lesson: it's ok to fail every now and again. (even in the kitchen) As sad as it was, and as silly as I felt being that "wife" who burned the dinner, it gave me that much more motivation to get down and dirty and make it right the next time. I WILL master the brown rice risotto and it will be amazingly delicious. You all will be the first to know! Before I consult Google for any tips and tricks with brown rice risotto, any kitchen chefs out there have any suggestions?