Italian Meatballs with Smoky Tomato Sauce

I’m not really a big meat-eating person but I do love a turkey burger or turkey meatballs sometimes.  These Italian Meatballs with Smoky Tomato Sauce not only have ground turkey but they also have turkey sausage to add a little flavor.  Mixed with egg, garlic, and parmesan cheese, these meatballs can be made quickly and include one of my favorite spices – smoked paprika!  Personally, I would have preferred if there was a little more sausage in the mix but overall, I thought these meatballs were very tasty.  The tomato sauce also has smoked paprika and was a hearty, albeit garlicky, sauce.  I cut this recipe in half because I wasn’t looking to feed an army here and I still didn’t put in as much garlic as the recipe calls for.  These meatballs would make great appetizers for your next get-together – or maybe a nice topping to some whole wheat pasta!

The meatball ingredients:

In a bowl, mix together egg, garlic, bread crumbs, cheese, salt, and pepper.

Add in ground turkey and sweet turkey sausage.  Mix until just combined.

Roll mixture into balls and lay on a baking sheet.  Combine olive oil and smoked paprika and brush on each meatball.  Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes.

The sauce ingredients:

In a large saucepan, heat onion, garlic, basil, and oregano in olive oil until onion is tender.

Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, smoked paprika, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Cover and allow sauce to simmer for 20 minutes.

Top meatballs with sauce or serve it on the side.  Add more grated parmesan if you desire.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Better Homes & Gardens Magazine

Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup

I was a vegetarian for several years and used to make soups like this Spinach, Pasta, and Pea Soup often.  Soup is one of those great meals that can easily be made vegetarian by swapping out meaty broths for vegetable or mushroom broth (I used vegetable broth).  But sometimes, vegetarian soups can be boring and too soft.  This one has chickpeas which hold up well in the cooking process giving you something to sink your teeth into.  The lemon added a light freshness without being overbearing and the parmesan cheese gave a needed salty flavor.  Consider substituting kale for the spinach or swapping out the chickpeas for cannellini beans.  This soup was great for workday lunches and always left me feeling satisfied.

The ingredients:

Sauté garlic and green onions in olive oil until soft and fragrant.

Add broth and water and bring to a boil.

Stir in lemon rind, orzo, and chickpeas.  Cover and cook until orzo is cooked, about 10 minutes.

Stir in oregano, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and spinach.  Cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted.

Top soup with parmesan cheese.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions: 

  • Vegetable broth for chicken broth
  • Dried oregano for fresh oregano

Overall Rating:  Like It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

Jalapeño, Sausage, Jack, and Egg Breakfast Braid

Maybe you don’t like breakfast food and if not, too bad for you.  I’m going to cut right to the chase here – this Jalapeño, Sausage, Jack, and Egg Breakfast Braid is divine.  This delicious little package has eggs, cheese, turkey sausage, jalapeños and is full of flavor.  The recipe calls for chicken sausage with jalapeño peppers but I used hot turkey sausage instead.  The sausage combined with the peppers doesn’t overpower this dish at all but instead gives it just enough of a kick to keep eating another bite, and then another.  If you want to keep things a little more mild, you could use sweet turkey sausage here (or pork if you prefer).  I made this in June when my sister and 2-year-old niece were visiting and since I wasn’t sure if my niece would like the spiciness, I left out the jalapeños and used sweet turkey sausage.  It was just as delicious then but I really loved the fresh jalapeño pepper this time around.  This is a perfect breakfast to make for Christmas morning, in my opinion.  Go ahead and cut yourself a piece of this and see if you can keep from cutting another one.  It’s pretty much impossible.

The ingredients:

Cook onion and sausage in a skillet with the olive oil until sausage is fully cooked.

Add in slightly beaten eggs and cook until set.

Unroll the pizza dough and shape into a rectangle on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle cheese down the middle of the dough, leaving 2 inches on the sides.  Top the cheese with the egg and sausage mixture, remaining cheese, and chopped jalapeño.

Using a sharp knife, cut slits into the sides of the dough, about an inch apart.  Fold dough strips over the mixture diagonally, overlapping strips to look like a braid. 

Brush dough with egg white. 

Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Hot turkey sausage for chicken sausage
  • Reduced-fat Colby-Jack cheese for Monterey Jack and cheddar cheeses

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

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