Italian Wedding Soup (from Ina Garten)

I love this soup! It's hearty with the zesty meatballs and all the healthy veggies, and it's so comforting on cool nights. We had another cold snap earlier this week, so I made this delicious soup. I've made it before, but just now have tweaked it to our liking.
The recipe calls for ground chicken for the meatballs, but our stores rarely have it, so I use ground turkey most of the time. Ground beef also makes some tasty meatballs. This recipe makes a bunch of soup, plenty for company. But if you are going to make it for just 2 or 3, I advise you to cook the pasta separately, and add it to the bowls individually when you are ready to serve the soup. The pasta really soaks up the broth if cooked in it and then not eaten right away. This soup is delicious on it's own, but also good with a salad and some crusty bread. The meatballs have tons of flavor and the veggie filled broth is super good. Hope you'll give it a try!

Italian Wedding Soup
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:
For meatballs:
3/4 pound ground turkey (or ground chicken or beef)
1/2 pound turkey sausage, casings removed ( or again, chicken, beef,)
2/3 cup fresh, white breadcrumbs
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons milk
1 large egg, beaten
salt and pepper- I only use about 1/8 teaspoon salt because the cheese is salty. But I'm also a low salt cook, so use your judgement.

For the Soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
10 cups homemade chicken stock, (or use canned, low sodium chicken broth or stock)
1 cup small pasta-I used Ditalini
2 teaspoons dried oregano
about 6-8 ounces kale, washed and chopped-about 4 cups or more (may sub spinach if preferred)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a bowl combine the ground turkey, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, cheese, milk egg, salt and pepper and mix with a fork. With a spoon drop about 1 inch meatballs onto a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. You'll have around 40 meatballs. Bake for about 30 minutes.

While meatballs are cooking, heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a heavy soup pot. Add the chopped onions, garlic, carrots and celery. Saute until softened, about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock or broth and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the kale, meatballs and the oregano or other herbs of choice, and simmer about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into soup bowls and top with Parmesan cheese. Yum! Enjoy with bread and/or salad!

Asian Turkey Meatballs

 I am a meatball fan and though spaghetti and meatballs is one of my favorite foods, I was so anxious to try these Asian Turkey Meatballs when I found the recipe. Meatballs make such yummy appetizers and these did not disappoint me. Even though my supermarket was out of cilantro, I made them anyway and they were still really tasty. The recipe also call for coconut oil in the meat, but It bothers my stomach, so I left it out. I added garlic which was a good call. The dipping sauce adds tons of flavor too and they would be a great addition to your football parties, (or any party for that matter), so hope you'll give these a try.

Asian Turkey Meatballs
Adapted from The Chew

Meatball Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
2 green onions, white and green parts, diced
1 tablespoon Sesame oil
(I left out 1 tablespoon of coconut oil-can't eat it)
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped (I did not add this; store was out)
1 large clove garlic, minced- my addition
salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and form into small meatballs. I made about 24. Place on baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes until done.
Make dipping sauce while meatballs bake.

Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 slices fresh ginger, smashed
Add all ingredients to a saucepan and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until brown sugar is dissolved and sauce just begins to thicken. I didn't let the sauce thicken hardly at all, just slightly. Serve with meatballs. Enjoy!

Ina's Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast

Turkey isn't just for Thanksgiving. A whole turkey breast cooks in less time than a whole bird does and you can do quite a bit with the left-overs. This recipe from Ina Garten is full of fantastic flavor which comes from the herb and garlic rub that is put under the skin as well as rubbed over it. A mixture of garlic, rosemary, sage and thyme as well as a few other ingredients gives this turkey breast personality! I've made this recipe several times and my husband and I always enjoy it. It is my favorite way to prepare turkey now. This Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast is wonderful for leftovers too.

Leftovers are delicious used in sandwiches, or can be used in any recipe where cooked chicken is used. This is just your average supermarket whole turkey breast, that when prepared this way, will give you a fantastic dish for your family or guests. I wanted to make this last week before the weather got too much warmer. I hate heating up the kitchen after it turns warm outside. I hope you will give this recipe a try.

Herb-Roasted Turkey Breast

slightly adapted from Ina Garten

Hint: Use fresh herbs for maximum flavor! I have used dried thyme, but the rosemary and sage are best fresh, in my opinion.

Ingredients:

1 whole bone-in turkey breast 6-7 pounds

1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup chicken broth (recipe calls for wine)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place turkey breast skin side up on a rack in your roasting pan.

In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, garlic, herbs, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. Loosen the skin carefully from the meat of the turkey. ( Take your fingers and just carefully push underneath the skin to loosen all the way to the back.) With your fingers, gently smear half of the herb mixture underneath the skin. Pat skin back in place and then rub remaining herb mixture over the skin. Pour the chicken broth into the bottom of the roasting pan.

Roast the turkey breast, uncovered for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, or until an instant read thermometer inserted at the thickest part of the meat reads 165 degrees F., and the skin is golden. If the skin is getting too brown, cover loosely with foil. When turkey is done, remove from oven, and let meat rest for 15-20 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the meat.

NOTE: I let the meat rest about 30  minutes this time, so that I could remove one half of the breast from the bone. To do that, take a boning knife and cut done the middle of the breast next to the bone. Cut down as far as you can. With fingers of the other hand, pull the meat back from the bone and cut down the rib cage. You will be able to remove the side in one large piece. Then, slice the meat as shown in my picture and place on a platter. Enjoy!



Farfalle with Turkey Italian Sausage and Provolone

 Well, I'm back from our short, but very enjoyable anniversary trip. We enjoyed a few delightful, but very rainy days in Branson, Missouri. Branson is only about 1 1/2 hours from here so we've had many of the same storms. We've had so much rain and it's rather cool outside, but that's another story.
One of the best things about going on a trip is eating out. I loved not cooking and not having to clean up a messy kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I do love to cook, but a break every so often is something I look forward to. And now that we are back home, I'm having trouble getting back in the groove of making meals. Sigh. I didn't even have to cook for Easter. Eric, son number 1, and his wife Steff, had us over for a delicious ham dinner, so no kitchen duty that day either!
Last night I wanted something easy to make, so I used mostly what was on hand. I had gone grocery shopping and picked up some Turkey Italian Sausage and the other ingredients were items I had in my pantry.  Nothing fancy, but it was delicious and full of flavor. I browned the links of sausage in a skillet and then sliced it when cool, but you could break up the meat if you like. I used a jar of marinara, and some pasta that needed to be used, and a few spoon fulls of ricotta cheese that needed to be used. Yup, this is a pantry meal, but it turned out very tasty! Here's what I did.

FARFALLE with TURKEY ITALIAN SAUSAGE and PROVOLONE
from Lynda's Recipe Box

8 ounces farfalle, or other pasta
save about 1/2 cup water from the cooked pasta
1- 24 ounce jar of marinara sauce, or about 2 1/2 cups of homemade sauce
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
pinch of red pepper flakes
12 ounces of Italian Turkey Sausage links - or other Italian sausage or ground beef
Provolone cheese slices- or mozzarella cheese
grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Save back about 1/2 cup of the water. In skillet over medium  heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and brown the sausage, covered for about 10 minutes, or until done. Reduce heat if necessary. Remove sausages to a plate to cool. Slice sausage into 1/2 inch pieces. Mix the ricotta cheese and the marinara sauce together in a bowl. Stir in the pasta, red pepper flakes and the sliced sausage. The ricotta cheese will make the sauce thicker, so use some of the pasta cooking water to thin the sauce if needed. Pour into a casserole dish and top with slices of provolone or mozzarella cheese. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake in a preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted. Serves 4-6 people. Enjoy!

What to do with those Thanksgiving turkey leftovers!

Got Turkey? Make a delicious Pot Pie. You can't go wrong with this classic dish.

Or how about Turkey Tetrazzini? This casserole is great with leftover turkey, or even chicken.

Use turkey, instead of chicken, in these yummy Enchiladas with Sour Cream Sauce.

These are just a few ideas to use up your Thanksgiving bird. Have a wonderful weekend my friends!

My Mother's Chicken (or turkey) Pot Pie

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! If you still have turkey leftovers, this Pot Pie would be a good choice to make. This is similar to my Mother's Pot Pie. I say similar, because she did not use a written recipe, so I've had to write one so that I could pass this on to my kids. This was one of my favorite meals when I was growing up. My brother and I came running to the table when we knew this delicious Pot Pie was on the menu for dinner. Most of the time Mom used chicken for this recipe except at Thanksgiving when we had turkey. She always used Bisquick to make the biscuits on top, which is an easy choice of topping. That's what I used this time because I was lazy! But, of course you can use your homemade biscuit recipe in its place. Or use a pie crust topping, if desired. It will taste delicious either way. Likewise, my husband and kids
love this dish! When my kids were little, this was one of the few meals that everyone would eat. I had a couple of picky eaters, so when the weather is cool, this Pot Pie has been a staple in my recipe rotation. It's hard to pass up such good comfort food! I'm submitting this recipe to Shelby, of The Life and Loves of Grumpey's Honeybunch and Laura, of The Spiced Life, for November's Family Recipes, Memories of Family, Food and Fun. Be sure to check out their blogs for other submissions.
MY MOTHER'S CHICKEN (OR TURKEY) POT PIE

3 cups cooked, shredded chicken or turkey
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour, plus 1 tablespoon
1 cup diced onion
1 stalk diced celery
2 1/2 cups chicken or turkey broth
1/2 cup milk, or you may use more broth, if desired
16 ounces of frozen vegetables, or use an equal amount of leftover veggies
salt and pepper to taste-I used 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp.pepper, but it will depend on whether you use canned broth or your own broth.

TOPPING: Either use your own biscuit recipe, or use about 2 cups of Bisquick and mix according to box directions.

This recipe is easy to adapt to what you have on hand. I used mixed, frozen vegetables, but you could also use peas and carrots or even add mushrooms, if desired.
In a large sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat and saute the onion and celery until soft. Stir in the 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon flour until smooth. Pour in the 2 1/2 cups broth; stir until combined and bring to a boil. Simmer until thickened and then cook a couple of minutes. Stir in the milk and bring back to simmer. Now, add the frozen vegetables and turkey. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture into a 3 quart baking dish. Stir up the biscuit topping and place tablespoonfuls on top of potpie. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until the biscuits are done. Enjoy!