Turkey Meatballs

I've mentioned before that my sister is the real chef in the family. She can make a gourmet meal out of the most random ingredients you could think of. I was in Palm Springs with the fam last weekend, and my sister made some great meals.
These turkey meatballs were no exception. Healthy, surprisingly easy, and incredibly delicious. I would definitely recommend giving this recipe a try.




Turkey Meatballs


Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs Ground Turkey


• 1 Egg


• 2 tbsp Chopped Onion


• 1 tbsp Parsley


• 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs


• 1/2 cup Pecorino, Romano, and Parmesan blend (or just Parmesan)


• 1-2 cloves Minced Garlic


• 1 tsp Oregano


• Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:


Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with tinfoil, and lightly grease with cooking spray (trust me-this will definitely help with clean-up later)
Mix everything together in a medium-large bowl. Separate and roll into balls.
Bake on the tinfoil-covered baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Top with a spoonful of pasta sauce and some cheese and return to oven for about 5 more minutes.
It's a good idea to cut one in half to double check they are thoroughly cooked prior to serving.
They would also be good to freeze and heat up at a later time.

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

Starting this blog has really gotten me to step outside my comfort zone in the kitchen. I am much more ambitious than I ever was (which is awesome). The craziest part is that every time I take on a recipe that I think will be difficult or fancy, it ends up being super easy--which I think impresses me even more.

Take today's recipe for example. This really good Italian place back home makes this incredible, spicy roasted red pepper sauce that I always mix with Alfredo sauce over raviolis, and I have been craving it big time, so I decided I would try it out on my own. This Roasted Red Pepper Sauce is delicious, and surprisingly simple. It is also vegetarian (told you to keep your eyes out for it Margie), and has just enough of a kick from the cayenne pepper to keep things interesting. I ended up eating it all week with different types of pasta (it went really well with tortellini and with angel hair).
Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
adapted from Rachel Cooks

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion ( about 1/2 of an onion)
• 1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic, sliced
• one 12 to 13 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, about 1 1/2 cups–drained
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• fresh basil leaves to garnish (I just used the jar I had in my spice cupboard)

Directions:

(While pasta is cooking) Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, reduce to medium and cook until the onions are softened and translucent. Stir occasionally.

Place the cooked onion and garlic, drained red peppers, half-and-half and cayenne in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth.

Drain the pasta, return to pan, pour sauce over. Stir to coat the pasta with sauce. Garnish with basil.

Viola! You are a culinary genius.

Courtney's Pizza Crescents

This semester has been hectic already. I am apologizing again for the lack of updates. I have like half a dozen recipes that I want to post, right now it is just about finding time to get around to writing them.

First and first mostly, I have to congratulate everyone who brought food to the Super bowl party last weekend.  The niners didn't come out on top, BUT I had a full tummy so that dulled the ache considerably.  It was pretty much impossible to decide on a winner because everything was so good, so I might end up posting some consolation recipes for the other people who wow-ed everyone with their culinary skills.

In my opinion, everything was great... But one thing stood out above the rest.  Probably because it was entirely gone in about 60 seconds.  We ended up making another batch the a few nights ago and they disappeared just a quickly.  I think helping Courtney make them the second time around solidified her first place finish in the dish off.  It took about 3 minutes to whip them up, and then only about 15 minutes in the oven.  The most awesome snack recipe I think I've ever seen.

Enjoying her Victory

Congratulations Court on winning the first annual College Girl, College Food Dish Off!

Crescent Pepperoni Rolls
(adapted from: Plain Chicken)

Ingredients:

• 1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
• 40 slices (turkey) pepperoni
• 4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, cut in half
• Garlic Powder
• Pizza Sauce (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Unroll the crescent rolls and separate into triangles. Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll and top pepperoni with string cheese half.  Roll up and sprinkle with garlic powder.

Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. The original recipe suggests serving with a side of warm pizza sauce, but we just ate them plain and they were awesome.  To be completely honest, they didn't last long enough to make heating up pizza sauce even worth it.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Its GAME DAY people! I feel like a kid on Christmas morning :)

I'm really excited for some football, but I'm also pumped for the grown-up football party we are having today (we even bought themed paper plates and tables cloths, we're going big) Everyone is pretty hyped for the cooking contest, and I'm pretty hyped to eat all the awesome stuff they are bringing.

In honor of the big game, I decided to take on something that for some reason I thought would be a lot more difficult than it actually was: Red Velvet Cupcakes...

Or as I like to call them... 'Kap-cakes'


The recipe was actually really easy. I ended up just buying a tub of cream cheese frosting to save some hassle, but I'll include the icing recipe in case you are more intrepid than I was.

I had some friends over to help with the 49ers themed decorating and some (Stryker) got a little enthusiastic, so some of the cupcakes ended up mounded with icing, but other than they they turned out pretty good I think :)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (or add 1 tbsp lemon juice to 1 cup milk, mixed together and let sit for 1-2 minutes)
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (I used about 1.5 little bottles which isn't a full 2 tbsp, but they turned out pretty red)
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined. (Haha let's be serious... I didn't sift anything. Or use an electric mixer...)

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish (optional)
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Also:
I learned a new kitchen trick I will be posting about making "edible glitter"

Essentially it's just how to make your own colored sprinkles and it is super easy, just put some sugar in a container with a lid, and drop in a few drops of food coloring. Shake it up until it is combined. I baked it for a few minutes to remove the moisture, but I'm not convinced that it was entirely necessary.

Crispy Honey Chicken

Adjusting to this new semester is taking some time, hopefully soon I will get into more of a routine so I can post more regularly. My little sister, Alex, came into town last week to surprise me for my birthday, which was awesome. Best. Present. Ever. She is the real chef in the family, so we took a night and made dinner for the boys. This Crispy Honey Chicken was (mostly) my dish, and she made fried rice to go with it.

I was trying to find a vegetarian recipe (that I would want to eat) for a family friend, and thought fried rice would be good.... but then I realized it has eggs in it so it might not actually be vegetarian... oops... so back to the drawing board on that one.

I have gotten some positive feedback about the recipe index I finally figured out how to put up (thanks Coach K's Sister :] ). Hopefully it helps you navigate around the site a little bit easier.


Crispy Honey Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 pound thinly sliced, boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 4 breasts to feed 4 people with rice on the side)
• 2 egg whites
• 1/3 cup cornstarch (or flour – for dredging, I ended up using a bit more than this, but it was a good amount to start)
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
• a handful of sugar snap peas (about 3/4 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Prepare and slice all of the vegetables. I used what I had, and what I like, so bell peppers and onions, but I left the broccoli and snap peas in from the original recipe in case you are more adventurous than me.

Prepare the chicken by cutting it into 1-inch pieces (I used scissors) and season with salt and pepper.

In separate bowls, add the egg whites (lightly beaten) and the cornstarch or flour. (The cornstarch will yield a “crispier” chicken).

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add veggies with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add in soy sauce and garlic and stir so veggies are coated, about 60 seconds. Remove from skillet and set aside in a bowl.

Now here is the trickier part:
Heat the same skillet (or you can use a different one, but lets think about doing the dishes later people--Cough Alex Cough) over medium-high heat and add remaining olive oil. Dip chicken pieces in egg whites and then lightly dredge in cornstarch. Add to the skillet and let brown for 2-3 minutes, then flip. Continue with remaining chicken pieces, and do so in batches if needed.

Once chicken is cooked, add veggies back in the skillet. Add honey and thoroughly mix to combine. Taste and season with salt, pepper, additional honey or soy sauce.

It was really good with fried rice, but plain rice would be just as awesome. Mine didn't turn out all that crunchy necessarily, but the honey gave it just enough sweetness... my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

And the boys loved it, so that is a plus :)

In other news:
I am super excited for the Superbowl next weekend (go Niners!) and we are having our second annual "dish-off" party, so stay tuned because whoever brings the best dish will be featured with their recipe on the blog!

Recipes

Breakfast

• Apple Cider Pancakes
• The Best College Breakfast
• One Minute Microwave Breakfast Mug Muffin
• Incredibly Easy Breakfast Bake
• Crumble-Topped Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze
• Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits

Pasta

• Microwave Mac and Cheese
• Light Cajun Chicken Pasta
• Spaghetti Squash
• Almost Lasagna
• Creamy White Garlic Pasta

Protein

• Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
• Turkey Meatballs
• George Foreman Lemon Garlic Chicken
• George Foreman BBQ Chicken
• Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken
• Crispy Honey Chicken
• Crockpot Lemon Chicken
• Balsamic Chicken and Stove-Top Potatoes
• Chicken Rollatini
•  Protein Pancake

Sides

• Tuscan Vegetable Soup
• Sautéed Zucchini
• Stove-Top Potatoes
• Sweet Potato Souffle
• Honey Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Snacks/Appetizers

• Bloomin' Onion Bread
• DIY Brown Paper Bag Microwave Popcorn
• Courtney's Pizza Crescents
• BBQ Chicken Dip
• Fresh Homemade Guacamole
• Super Easy Feta Dip

Sweet Treats

• Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits
• Nutella Banana Bread Swirl Muffins
• Healthy Zucchini Muffins
• S'mores Puppy Chow
• Snickerdoodle Bars
• Homemade Applesauce
• Easy "Mayan" Hot Chocolate
• Cookies and Cream Cupcakes
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
• Microwave Coffee Cake
• "Healthier" Sugar Cookies
• Cinnamon Sugar Quick Bread
• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Microwave Mug Sugar Cookie
• Microwave Scones
• Microwave Pizookie
• Cookie Dough Icing for Brownies

Kitchen Tricks

• Keep Water From Boiling Over
• Thawing Frozen Chicken
• Orange Peel Candle
• Dicing Onions
• 5 Freezer Essentials
• Shredding Chicken

Homemade Applesauce

I am finally back at school which means I am in my own kitchen and in my own routine.  As much as I love being home with the family, it is nice being back in my apartment.  After a regrettably long absence, I am finally getting back into the blogging world with this really cool and surprisingly easy recipe my friend Stryker taught me last night.  It is honestly the most incredible applesauce I've ever tasted, and it made the whole house smell awesome (it almost covered up the burnt toast smell I got from accidentally forgetting I was broiling a sandwich earlier that night).  Trust me, this recipe is definitely worth a try.

Meet Stryker!

Ostafew Family Homemade Applesauce Recipe

Ingredients:

• A bag of apples (I googled "best apples for applesauce" while I was in the grocery store and found this site with a chart of best types of apples for different things.  Stryker said his mom usually used Cortland apples because that is what is available around where he grew up, but the Fuji apples we used smelled really good and really sweet, and a big bag was like $6.. I wish I had gotten more than one!)
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla Extract
• Sugar
• Water

Directions:

Peel and chop the apples. It is ok if they aren't super fresh, ours had a few dark brown marks, but we just cut those parts out.

Rinse the apple chunks off and place them in a big pot. Add enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, maybe 1/4 inch deep. 

Stryker kind of eye-balled the ingredients, so I don't have exact measurements, but according to him, "worst case scenario, if you over-season it, it just ends up tasting like apple pie..... which really isn't that bad of a scenario"

Add about 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, 1 to 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and 2 to 3 tablespoons vanilla extract 

You can always add more seasoning as the apples begin to boil down.

Place the pot on medium to medium-low heat and cover with a lid. Let simmer for an hour or two, stirring occasionally. When the apples start getting soft you can take the lid off and let everything keep cooking. Keep stirring and checking on it every once in a while.  It will seem like there is a lot of water in the pot, but everything will cook down and turn into applesauce (I was pretty impressed by the process)

Stryker left halfway through the process, but I was able to finish on my own. I just let the apples keep cooking down until the sauce was the consistency I wanted it.  The whole process took about three hours. I personally enjoy it a little chunkier, but he recommended smooshing up the apples, or even putting everything into the blender if you want it a little more smooth.

It was pretty irresistible when it was done.  The only thing that kept me from eating the whole batch at once was Stryker's assurance that even though it was so good warm, it was even better once it cooled down....... well..... that and I got a stomach ache after my second helping.

He stores his in mason jars and stores it in the fridge.  I had to make due with tupperware, but overall I was pretty impressed with the process (cough ** myself ** cough)