A Southwestern Meatball's Chance in....

The view from my front door this morning. ACK!

Well, the prairies woke up to a blanket of snow this morning.  It was pretty wet snow and it melted off the sidewalks pretty quickly so I don't think it will last.  I hope it won't last.  I do enjoy the snow and in fact it looked quite pretty out there this morning.  I am just not ready for it yet. Also, I think I need a new winter coat but haven't had the time to go shopping yet....It also means there were PLENTY of snowballs being thrown out on the playground today!! (And not by me!!)

Tonight is a gym night, it has to be.  I have a headache but I need to go. My local expert tells me it is the best thing to do. When I got home from work I prepared everything to cook dinner. A mise on place if you will. I made the turkey meatballs and placed them in the fridge, cut up all the veggies for the warm corn and black bean salsa.  All I have to do when I get home is cook everything and according to the recipe in the October 2011 edition of Clean Eating Magazine, this will only take 10 to 15 minutes to cook....

Mise en place: everything is ready to go

Turkey meatballs ready for the fridge.

Okay, I am back from the gym and ready to cook.

Southwestern Turkey meatball skillet
Adapted from Clean Eating Magazine October, 2011

1 lb ground turkey
2 large egg whites (I used one whole egg)
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs (I used wheat germ tonight but don't tell Hubby or the Boy....)
1/4 tsp sea salt (I used kosher)
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp olive oil (I may have used a little bit more...
1 cup frozen corn
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth (I used water because I only had broth frozen in 4 cup blocks....)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tsp cumin
1/4 fresh cilantro

I also added
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic

First mix up the meatball mixture.  In a bowl mix together the turkey, egg, crumbs, salt and pepper.  I also added extra cumin to the meat balls but after eating them, they need way more spice.

Heat a large skillet over medium, add the olive  oil, then the meat balls.  Brown the meat balls, turning to a new side as they brown for about 5 minutes.

Once the meatballs have a decent brown going on, add in the onions, green peppers, tomatoes, corn, black beans, broth, cumin, and lime juice. Mix everything up, being careful to not break the meatballs up. (This is where I added the garlic.  I grated it in with the micro plane...I just love garlic and I am glad I added it)

Slap a cover on the pan and let it all get happy happy for about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle on the cilantro and another squeeze of lime juice.

I served this with rice tonight, but the Boy ate his with multi grain tortilla chips.

It really did only take about 15 minutes to cook this dish!! Overall the warm salsa very tasty and I got the approval to make it again.  The meatballs were quite bland and I kind of knew they would turn out that way when I started. We decided however to add more spice to the meatballs. The winners of the spice discussion were smoked paprika and come chili flakes along with more cumin. (Perhaps some crushed garlic as well).

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!!

On Top of Spaghetti, All Covered With Cheese, I Lost My Poor Meatball When Somebody Sneezed.

You know what I don't make as often as I would like?  Meatballs.  Spaghetti and meatballs to be exact!  Of course it is impossible for me to make just one dinner's worth of meatballs.  I must make extra for the freezer.  It seems now that the holiday season has passed and freezer space is no longer dedicated to baked holiday treats, it is time to fill it with dinner type goodness.  The some 10 dozen perogies I made yesterday will serve us well but a family cannot live on perogies alone (despite the attempts of a certain teen age boy).

Today was a busy day for stocking the freezer but the meatballs were also a part of tonight's supper.   I didn't feel like thawing the ground beef from the freezer so I sent the boy out to the store....he is so helpful.  This is one of those dishes that I make different every time I put it together.  I really have no measurements for this one.  Please bear with me.

Meatballs
In a small bowl, combine:

between 1/2 to 1 cup of bread crumbs (tonight I used panko because that is what I had)
enough milk or half and half for the crumbs to soak up

Not pretty, but it all adds flavour!

Let this sit for about 10 minutes.  In the meantime:

Grate 1 medium sized onion and place in a large bowl. (or grate the onion right into the bowl).
Using a micro plane or a garlic press, get 3 or 4 cloves of garlic into the mix.
Add 1 or 2 eggs, a healthy pinch of salt and pepper.
Don't forget the handful of grated Parmesan!!
Add the meat as well!Today I used a large family size pack of ground beef but a combo of beef and pork is good, so is ground turkey or chicken...use what you like!

Add the milk and breadcrumbs to all of this and mix it together with your clean hands.

I used a scoop to help portion out the meat balls.

 Bake in the oven at 350F for about 20 minutes.

If you forgot to tell your teen shopper to pick up lean ground beef, and had to use regular ground beef, there will be a lot of grease on the baking sheet.  Let the meatballs cool for 10 minutes then transfer to a paper towel lined sheet or to a cooling rack.  Once cooled, lay the meatballs in a single layer and freeze until solid.  Now transfer the frozen meatballs to a zip top bag or other freezer safe containment unit, label and place back in the freezer until you next spaghetti night!  (Meatballs thaw so well in your favourite sauce!)

A very simple sauce to go with your meatballs!

Heat a pan and add a tbsp or so of olive oil.  Now saute up 1 medium onion, chopped and 1/2 a bell pepper of your choice....today I had a yellow pepper so I used that.

Grate or press in 1 or 2 cloves of garlic and keep cooking for a minute or two.  Open up a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes and add this to the mix.

Pop in a bay leaf and let this simmer on low for about 15 minutes.
Next add about 24 meatballs and continue to cook on medium until the meatballs are heated through.

Enjoy with a helping of your favourite pasta.