Moroccan Meatball and Cauliflower Stir Fry

10 frozen meatballs, thawed
1 slice of yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Moroccan Herb & Spice Blend
Few dashes of red pepper flakes
About 10 small cauliflower florets
½ cup of rice
1 cup of chicken broth
Salt to taste
EVOO

Cook rice and chicken broth in rice cooker, about 15-20 minutes.

Add cauliflower to a shallow glass dish with ½ inch of water at the bottom. Cover with clear wrap and microwave for 2 minutes and 35 seconds. Uncover and drain excess water from bowl.

Heat EVOO in a frying pan over medium high. Sauté meatballs, cauliflower, onion, garlic, Moroccan spice blend and pepper flakes, until meatballs are warm all the way through.

Serve stir fry on top of rice.

Lasagna

Fresh from the oven. I usually top each tomato slice with a basil leaf, but I didn't have any. It looks really pretty.



I like to use a clear dish so you can see all the yummy layers and colors.



Wait for the lasagna to cool about 10 minutes after removing from oven so you can slice it nicely. Otherwise the cheese will be to soft and runny and you'll have a mess.


I box of non-bake lasagna noodles
I jar of spaghetti sauce
1 lb of beef (or turkey or ½ and ½)
1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise, lightly salted
3 mushrooms, sliced
Onion, a few ring slices, separated
1 tomato, sliced, lightly salted
½ cup cottage cheese
1 cup frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and water squeezed out
1 egg
1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup of shredded parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a sauce pan, sauté beef until almost done. Drain fat. Return to stove top and add spaghetti sauce, about ¼ of jar. Mix with beef and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix cottage cheese, spinach, egg, ½ bag of mozzarella and ¼ cup of parmesan cheese together.

In a casserole dish (9" x 9"), add a few spoonfuls of spaghetti sauce. Spread around to cover the bottom of the dish. Start to layer from bottom to the top: lasagna noodles, beef, lasagna noodles, spaghetti sauce to cover noodles, cottage cheese mixture, zucchini, onion rings, mushrooms, lasagna noodles, spaghetti sauce, the rest of the mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, and then the rest of the parmesan cheese.

Cover with aluminum foil and back for 45 minutes. Uncover and back for an additional 10 minutes, so top cheese melts and browns. Let lasagna sit for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Moroccan Turkey Meatballs with Green Rice

Meatballs
¾ lb of ground turkey
1 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Moroccan Herb & Spice Blend
A bunch of cilantro, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 egg
1 thick onion slice, diced
¼ cup of bread crumbs, add more if meat mixture is too wet
S & P

Rice
1 cup of rice
2 cups of chicken stalk
2 stalks of green onions, diced
1 Tbsp Gourmet Garden Basil Herb Blend
1 zucchini, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 large handful of raw Spinach, ripped apart or chopped
EVOO
Feta cheese (sundried tomato flavor)

Start rice in rice cooker by adding rice, chicken stalk, green onions, basil blend, a few drops of EVOO and a few dashes of salt.

In a large bowl, add turkey, Moroccan herbs, cilantro, garlic, egg, onion, bread crumbs, s & p and mix well with your hands. With wet hands, shape 3 inch meatball rolls in the palm of your hands.

Over medium high, heat EVOO in a frying pan. Add meatballs and brown all sides so they are brown and crispy. Lower heat and cover until the meatballs are cooked all the way through and no longer pink in the middle. Don’t overcook otherwise they will be too dry.

Sauté zucchini and garlic with a little EVOO and salt until tender. Once rice is finished, add zucchini. In same pan, add spinach, sauté until wilted. Add to rice, and mix everything together.

Plate rice and meatballs together and sprinkle with feta cheese for a very tasty dinner!

Fajita Burgers

1 lb of ground beef
1 tsp of seasoned salt
Few dashes of Worcestershire
Red and/or orange bell peppers, sliced in strips
2 onion slices, separate rings
1 tsp EVOO
1 large, ripe avocado
¼ fresh lime juice
Salt
Lemon pepper seasoning
Pepper Jack cheese
2 sesame Kaiser rolls
Frozen steak fries

Heat oven according to package directions for fries. Heat up grill for burger patties.

Add Worcestershire and seasoned salt to beef, mix well with your hands. Shape beef into two patties. Add to grill once fries are half way through cooking.

Slice veggies and cheese. Make guacamole by mashing avocado with lime juice, salt and lemon pepper. Season to taste.

Heat EVOO in a frying pan. Sauté peppers and onions until tender.

Cook burgers until barely pink in the middle. Add cheese until melted. Toast rolls on grill.

Plate burgers (in order from bottom up: bottom bun, patty with cheese, peppers and onions, guacamole and top bun). Serve with fries and a cold cerveza.

Mac n Cheese with Grilled Chicken Jalapeno Sausages

Mac & Cheese
2 cups of elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
3/4 cup shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of gruyere cheese, in two parts
2 ounces of Velveeta cheese, cubed
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 Tbsp flour
1 cup of milk
4 Tbsp of butter

2 Chicken Jalapeno sausage links
A few cherry tomatoes, halved

Fruit Salad
Strawberries, chopped
Blueberries
Cantaloupe, chopped
Blackberries
Red grapes

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook macaroni according to package directions. In a saucepan, under medium heat, add butter, flour s & p and whisk until smooth. Gradually add milk and whisk in until blended and thickened. Stir in all of Cheddar, Velveeta and ½ of Gruyere, stirring until cheese is melted. Drain macaroni. Add macaroni to sauce pan with cheese mixture and mix until pasta is covered with cheese.

Transfer macaroni to a greased casserole dish. Top with second half of Gruyere. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes until top is golden brown.

Grill sausages until cooked all the way through. Cut fruit for salad.

Served mac & cheese with sausages, sliced bread and a few cherry tomato halves. Serve fruit salad for dessert.

Open Faced Breakfast Sandwiches

Saturday morning breakfast for my hubby.

1-2 eggs
1 Tbsp of heavy cream or milk
Couple dashes of hot sauce
Salt & pepper
2 slices of Black Forest Ham
Gruyere cheese, shredded
2 Sourdough bread slices
2 slices of cantaloupe
A few grapes

Heat some EVOO in a frying pan. Whisk eggs, cream, hot sauce, s & p until fluffy. Scramble eggs until they are barely runny. They will continue to cook in the hot pan and you don’t want to overcook them so they’re dry. Move eggs to the side and heat ham in the same pan until it’s warmed through.

Toast bread. Top with ham, eggs and cheese. Put back in toaster oven so cheese melts. Top with freshly cracked pepper. Plate sandwiches with a side of fruit. Serve with OJ and coffee.

Albondigas Soup (My version)

6-8 servings (Yes, I make this much for just the 2 of us because it’s so good we eat it all week!)
About 2 hours to prepare and cook (So worth it!)

Meatballs
1 lb of beef
1 egg
¼ onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced (2/3 for the meatballs, 1/3 for the soup)
¼ cup cilantro, minced
1 tsp of dried oregano
Salt and pepper

Soup
2-32 oz. broth (beef and/or veggie)
2-14.5 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, undrained (I used one can with onion & garlic and one with green pepper and onion)
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped (I love carrots in soups and stews!)
2 red potatoes with skin on, chopped in bite sized pieces
1 jalapeno, diced (use gloves when handling)

Sourdough bread
White aged cheddar, shredded

In a large pot, add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a bowl.

In a medium bowl, add all ingredients for meatballs and mix together with your hands. Form little walnut shaped balls and plop into boiling soup.

Chop all the veggies and add to soup. Add garlic. Bring to a low, simmer and cover for about 40 minutes, until carrots and potatoes are fork tender.

When soup is almost ready, slice the bread, top with cheese and toast in oven until cheese melts. Broil for the last minute or so to get some color.

Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken with Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Ben's dinner with no green onions in his mashed potaotes and cucmber instead of broccoli.



2 chicken breasts, marinated in Italian dressing over night
1 large Russet potato, cubed
¼ cup cream
3-4 slices of butter
¼ cup of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
1 bunch of green onions
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cups of broccoli or sliced cucumbers

Heat grill for chicken. Grill chicken until no longer pink in the middle.

Boil potato until fork tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. Add cream, butter, salt and pepper and mash together until smooth. Mix in cheese and green onions.

Steam broccoli by adding broccoli crowns to a shallow bowl with a little water at the bottom. Cover with clear wrap and microwave for 2-3 minutes.

Plate chicken, mashed potatoes and veggie of choice. Top broccoli with extra cheese or add a little salt to cucumber slices.

Special Saturday Breakfast

Pillsbury biscuits

Home-style herbed potatoes
1 large Russet potato, cubed into small pieces
¼ small red onion, chopped
¼ - ½ green bell pepper, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
Sprig of Rosemary, minced
Handful of parsley, minced
Salt & Pepper to taste
EVOO

Eggs Scramble
2 eggs
A few sprigs of chives, minced
¼ cup of shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
Dash of Tabasco
EVOO

Heat oven to 350 degrees for biscuits. Brush top of biscuits with egg for a nice, brown top. Bake for 13-15 minutes.

Heat EVOO in skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and brown. When potatoes start become soft and translucent around the edges, about 15 minutes or so, turn down heat, add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cover with lid and occasionally sauté until veggies get soft and potatoes are tender when poked with a fork. Sprinkle with herbs towards the end, right before veggies are done.

Heat EVOO in skillet over medium-high heat. Scramble eggs in a bowl, add salt, pepper, and a dash of Tabasco. Scramble eggs in skillet. Once eggs are almost done, mix in chives. Once everything is plated, top eggs with cheese.

Plate eggs, potatoes and a biscuit. Enjoy with a Bloody Mary or Mimosa!

Grilled Chicken with Rotini Pasta Salad

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup BBQ sauce

Pasta salad
2 cups of rotini pasta
¼ of a green bell pepper, diced
3 green onion bunches, sliced
I small can of sliced black olives, drained
¼ cup of cheddar cheese, cubed
¼ cup of pepper Jack cheese, cubed
5+ cherry tomatoes halved or quartered depending on how big they are
1 small jar of quartered artichoke hearts, might want to cut them in half if they are large quarters, drained
Handful of parsley, chopped
2-3 Tbsp of pesto from a jar
EVOO
Juice from ½ lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Add chicken and BBQ sauce to a zip lock bag or bowl to marinate. Heat up grill.

Boil pasta until tender, drain and let cool. Chop, slice and cube your veggies, cheese and herbs. Once pasta is cool, toss with a drizzle of EVOO. Add pesto to pasta and mix. Add veggies, cheese and parsley. Add lemon juice and parsley, mix everything together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until chicken is done.

Grill chicken until done, until no longer pink in the middle.

Note: The longer the pasta salad sits, the better it will taste. You can make the day before or eat the next day as yummy left overs. Another potluck or BBQ favorite that’s easy to make.

Pork Tenderloin with Dirty Rice

I just put this dinner together using leftover pork from the previous night's grill out, made with my version of "dirty rice."

Grilled pork tenderloin, sliced (leftover from BBQ night before)
1 cup of Basmati rice
2 cups of water
Taco seasoning, about ¼ packet
1 can of red beans (Louisiana style), drained
Few dashes of Cholula hot sauce
Salt
¾ - 1 cup of frozen, chopped spinach (I also use Collard greens)
6 cherry tomatoes, halved

Add rice, water and taco seasoning to rice cooker. Midway through, around 10 minutes, add beans, spinach and a Cholula. Salt to taste.

Reheat sliced tenderloin in a hot frying pan.

When rice is done, plate with pork and tomatoes.