Baked Turkey Meatballs

I was in such a hurry tonight, I had every intention of putting these meatballs together during the day but just never got there.  Every other obstacle got in the way and so here I was at 5:45pm with some defrosted turkey meat looking at me, two hungry kids and it was all I could do not to pick up a beer!  I decided NOT to pick up the beer but instead, get cooking.  I would normally saute some onions and garlic and add that, cooled, to the meatballs but alas no time.  I ditched that idea and went straight for a quick and easy solution.... onion powder.  I used some fresh herbs which I even surprised myself at having this time of year and a dash of the secret ingredient.. worcestershire sauce.  I have to admit this dish did end up being incredible probably largely due to the fact that over summer when I was in the height of my summer produce from our garden and farm box deliveries I had made no less than about 2 dozen jars of homemade tomato pasta sauce which does contain the essential onions, garlic, basil, oregano and red wine vinegar.... so together this was a match made in heaven.  I'm sure you have a trusty pasta sauce either in your cupboard or if you were not running quite as late as I was, then putting it together really only takes about 10 minutes more so I would still call this a quick weeknight meal.

makes approx 18 meatballs.

Meatballs:
400g (just less than 1lb) ground turkey
1/2 tspn onion powder
salt and pepper
2 tblspn freshly chopped parsley
1 tblspn freshly chopped basil
2 tspn worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg


when ready to bake, add:
1 1/2 cups homemade pasta sauce
chunks of feta
shaved parmesan
basil leaves, ripped

Method:

• Add all the ingredients of the meatballs in a large bowl and using a fork, mix well until fully combined. 
• Roll into large tablespoon balls and place on a baking tray
• Refridgerate for 15-30mins (or longer) if time permits 
• Pre-heat your oven to 350'F
• In a hot skillet, brown the meatballs in a drop of olive oil.  Toss and turn until browned all over but not necessarily cooked through. I turned the heat down and put the lid on my pan for about 3mins.

• Place about 1 cup of homemade pasta sauce in the bottom of a pyrex dish, add your meatballs on top and then pour the remaining 1/2 cup of sauce over the top.  Rip up some fresh basil leaves and break off chunks of feta cheese, add a few shavings of parmesan and bake in your pre-heated oven for about 10mins.

• Serve on a bed of rice or pasta if you wish, I had it with a simple side salad of mixed spring greens, kalamata olives, pine nuts, cucumber and parmesan.  I used a jalapeño olive oil with a tangerine balsamic.... just awesome. 

Homemade pasta sauce:  
loads of your favorite tomatoes, preferably roasted
onion, diced
garlic, crushed
fresh basil
fresh oregano
red wine vinegar
olive oil
sea salt and pepper


My method and exact quantities will be provided another time!  All I will say is, when tomatoes are in season, tasting their best and are at their cheapest - go to town and make it up in large batches so you always have some on hand.

Roasted butternut squash risotto with chicken

It's pumpkin harvest time again so time to enjoy some gorgeous roasted pumpkin (or squash) any which way you can!  I love risotto in the winter so these two ideas came together beautifully on a cold night.  I have been making macaroni and cheese with roasted squash for some time now so the girls are quite accustomed to the sweet flavor (and orange color) that I can pretty much misrepresent this new look as 'cheese sauce'.  The pureed squash gives it such a subtle sweet flavor that I think it would almost be impossible to have an issue with it.  In this risotto, with roasted garlic, wine and fresh thyme it was so delicate I was almost tempted to crumble some fresh blue cheese on top but it may have ruined the softness of this dish.  We all enjoyed this one so I hope you try it too.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
6 tblspn butter
1 brown onion, finely diced
1 zucchini, finely grated
3 cloves garlic, (roasted if you have time)
2 cups arborio rice
1/3 cup white wine
1.5 L chicken stock
1 roasted butternut squash, 2/3 of which are pureed
3/4 cup shaved parmesan
additional butter
2 chicken breasts, diced
5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves

Method:

• Cut the butternut squash into 2-3"pieces and place in a bowl.
• Drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper and fresh thyme
• Roast a head of garlic at the same time.  Chop the tip of the garlic head off to expose the cloves, cradle it in a small piece of aluminum foil and drizzle olive, salt and pepper and thyme over it and cover in foil.
• Place both the squash and the garlic on a roasting tray with parchment paper and bake for approx 25mins until the squash is cooked and lightly browned on the edges.
• Puree the majority of the squash using a food mill, or press and allow to cool.  Retain about 6 small pieces per person which can be placed under the broiler just prior to serving as a crunchy garnish 
• Set the garlic aside until you are ready to compile the risotto

For the Risotto:

• In a large non-stick soup pot, add about half of the butter and a dash of olive oil and heat
• Add your diced onions and cook until softened and translucent
• Add your grated zucchini and allow to sweat until the water has evaporated out.
• In a separate saucepan, begin to heat your stock 
• Now squeeze out 3 roasted garlic cloves and add them to your onions, pressing them against the base of the pan until you get a paste.  Stir until fragrant and well combined
• Tip in your rice and allow it to scorch in the hot pan.
• Now add your wine and allow it absorb completely.
• You can now add 2 ladle fulls of hot stock to your rice and stir regularly until it is completely absorbed.  Continue to add more stock, 2 ladles at a time until your stock is used and approx 20mins has passed. 
• At the same time, in a small skillet, cook your chicken pieces in a hot pan until just cooked.
• Add your chicken to your rice and the pureed squash.  If you need a little extra liquid, taste and decide whether you need more stock or just hot water. 
• Your rice should now be cooked through. 
• Turn on your broil/griller and heat your remaining pieces of squash to be used as a roasted garnish
• Turn the heat off, add the parmesan cheese, the remaining 3 tblspn of butter and stir gently.
• Adjust the seasoning if necessary and serve immediately with your additional roasted squash pieces, a shaving of parmesan and some freshly cracked pepper.

Sweet potato tots

Tater tots...  Not something I buy too often but wondered whether it would be worth making them for myself.  Verdict: they were so simple and really tasty.  I used some fried bacon for a bit of extra flavor but it would be equally as nice without it I think.  We had them with chicken parmesan and steamed vegetables so they weren't the highlight of the meal but for my salad lunch the next day, they certainly were the stand out! 

You could use regular white baking potatoes if you prefer regular tater tots but these were so sweet, they were almost like a butternut squash.  Once rolled, I kept them in the fridge until I was ready to fry them in the pan so they had a chance of holding their shape, they would certainly be a good thing to freeze and have ready when you wanted them.  I'd do them again for sure.  I did have the oven on as well so that I could fry them in small batches until golden and crispy and then finished them off in the oven for about 5mins.  I will try baking them from the start next time but I wanted to ensure these were crunchy as well as hot.

Ingredients:
2 sweet potatoes, boiled and grated
3 rashers bacon, sliced
3 tblpsn all purpose flour
salt and pepper

Method:

• Boil the potatoes (with skins on) in hot water for about 10 -12mins until partially cooked then remove and run under cold water.
• Dice the bacon and cook in a skillet pan until browned and crunchy, drain on paper towel.
• Once cooled, dice the bacon further until you have small bacon bits.
• Peel the skin of the sweet potatoes and then using a box grater, roughly grate them 
• In a large bowl, mix the grated potato, flour, bacon and season
• Take a tablespoon of the mixture in your palm and roll and squash into a rough ball, then shape into tater tot size logs. 
• Leave on a tray and refridgerate (or freeze) until ready to pan fry or bake in the oven
• Serve as a side dish to your main meal or with a simple honey mustard dressing for a game day snack.

Honey mustard sauce
4 tblspn mayonnaise
2 tspn honey
2 tspn dijon mustard

Slow Cooked pulled BBQ pork

Pork shoulder was on special last week so I got myself about a 4.5lb piece - not for any real purpose, other than thinking I would grind my own delicious pork mince for my next batch of spaghetti bolognese. However instead of grinding it, I decided to throw it in the slow cooker and see what would happen using my trusted pork spare rib rub recipe.  It was so easy it was almost unbelievable. My rub blend is probably a tad too hot for my girls so if you want to make this for your whole family I suggest you just switch the cayenne pepper out for some dried oregano but otherwise the flavors were awesome.

I had this in the slow cooker by 1pm and by 5pm I literally could break the pork using the back of a fork, it was completely shreddable and there was plenty of liquid to keep it moist.  Again, the beauty of the slow cooker is that it stays warm all evening long so on those nights when people are coming and going, you can be flexible.  

Ingredients:
4lb pork shoulder
Pork spare rib rub (see my previous post http://whatsfordinner-mum.blogspot.com/2012/07/best-baby-back-ribs.html)
1/3 cup BBQ sauce (homemade or store bought)

Method:

• Cut pork shoulder into fist size pieces to ensure a greater surface area to coat the rub.  Massage  the rub onto each piece of pork
• Pour about 3/4 of the BBQ sauce into the bottom of the slow cooker
• Add the spice rubbed pork on top
• Cook on high for 4-5hrs or until the pork can be pulled apart with a fork
• Shred the meat and mix through the remaining sauce if needed.

Serve in a hamburger bun, taco or wrap with a simple coleslaw or avocado and sour cream

Penne with chicken and spinach

This was a hit last night.  I was intending to make a carbonara but we didn't have any bacon or eggs and I had some leftover cooked spinach I wanted to use up.  My friend Mel gave me a new tip - peel a zucchini and finely grate it and add it in with the onions.  The girls never notice or taste it and I feel better about adding some extra vegetables to their meal.  I used cream today because I had no eggs but you could probably make a white sauce using butter and flour if you wanted to avoid the cream.  I wiped up some yummy garlic bread by defrosting a leftover bread roll from my freezer, made a quick garlic butter and had that in the oven while I prepared and cooked this, we were eating within 20 mins easily and we all had a relaxed and enjoyable mealtime.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, diced
1/2 brown onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic
1 zucchini, peeled and finely grated
1/2 cup cooked spinach, chopped
1 cup portobella mushrooms, sliced
knob of butter
olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1/3 cup cream
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
400g penne pasta

Method:

• Boil pasta in salted water until al dente
• Drain and rinse in cold water
• Saute/steam spinach in a hot skillet with a lid on, in a drop of water until wilted. When cooked, drain and chop in a mini processor to a fine chop.
• Saute onions, add garlic and then grated zucchini
• Move to one side of the pan and add butter and mushrooms. Stir frequently and season well with salt and pepper. Saute until mushrooms are well browned.
• Add chicken pieces and cook through.
• Add cooked pasta, cooked spinach, cream and parmesan and stir until well combined and heated through
• Taste and adjust seasoning.
• Serve with garlic bread, a side salad and a sprinkle of additional parmesan cheese.