Turkey Club Meatballs

Vegetarian month challenge ended last week, and we have been celebrating ever since. It’s kind of embarrassing, actually- chicken, Turkey Club Meatballs, burgers, and pot roast. That’s been our list of dinners since the challenge ended, so whatever ‘good’ happened with all those veggies was completely undone within 4 days.

That’s how we roll! I still have a bunch of recipes that we enjoyed during our challenge, so I’ll continue to share those in the future- a lot of my favorites were actually just roasted veggies(mostly sweet potatoes)  with hummus and cottage cheese. I seriously could live on that, almost did in fact.

Until my body was screaming for meat, in which case I answered that plea with those Turkey Club Meatballs I was talkin’ about earlier. Whoa dang- whoever’s idea it was to blend bacon and mix it with turkey and cheese into a sizzling ball of tastiness needs to be my friend. Blenders are the business right now, folks. We had a few friends over for dinner the other night and this was a total crowd-pleaser!

We gobbled these up so fast, I only had time to snap a photo of the last two that made it into my salad for lunch the next day.

I found the recipe over here! I just added mozzarella cheese, so I could rename them Turkey Club Meatballs. Cuz I make the rules here.

And, of course, a picture of my little meatball. Dang, I wish I dressed as cute as Gabby! They should sell adult women’s outfits in ‘sets’ like they sell infant clothes. They should also be the same price. Capiche?

~M

Goat Cheese Brie Stuffed Mushrooms

Goat cheese Brie, bacon, and rosemary. These flavors belong together. Ill begin with that. The mushrooms were so delish. and Girls Wine Night was so fun 🙂 there was so much good food, good wine, and good conversation so I would definitely call it a success.
We had a wonderful range of yummy-ness to choose from: fruit pavlova, ‘crimp’ salad, chocolate covered strawberries, avocado/salsa bruschetta, pasta salad, and crackers and cheese.
Even though I’ve just had dinner, writing this makes my mouth water. I also now want to try my hand at making meringues! If you’ve never had pavlova, try it. I don’t know if the recipes vary, but this one began with meringue made into a bowl with fruit fruit and whipped cream in it. Delectable! All of us girls had a hard time not snooping all evening until we decided that snooping is totally okay and calories don’t count on wine nights. So next time I think I’ll recruit M to make me some of those cookies….
Wow. I have got to stop thinking about food now. Girls night is over- so calories count again. 😥
Make these mushrooms!!!!
~K

Goat Cheese Brie Stuffed Mushrooms
-two boxes whole button mushrooms
– 1 small wheel goat cheese Brie
– a couple (6/7) strips of thinly sliced bacon
– about a tablespoon of rosemary
– about 2 tablespoons minced garlic

Preheat oven to 350. To prepare mushrooms, pull out the stems and arrange in a baking dish upside down. In each of the mushrooms, put a bit of the garlic in the bottom. Then, on top of the garlic, put a good pinch of the cheese. Then sprinkle some rosemary on top! Once this part is done, set the mushrooms aside to start the bacon. Fry the bacon so it’s good and crispy. Then break the bacon apart into about dime size pieces and stick into the cheesy center of the mushroom. Bake until the juice is seeping a little from the mushrooms into the pan… And enjoy!

The Plum Tree by Ellen Wiseman

I feel like all the book reviews I’ve done have started with ‘This is the best book ever! Read it!’. But it’s so truuuuuue! This one was a great, great book. It’s a love story between a German girl and a Jewish boy living in Germany during World War II….and it just totally sucked me in. Isaac and Christine are falling in love just as the war is starting and very soon their world is shattered by all the new laws separating the Jews from the rest of the world. The story follows Christine throughout the entire war, and the ending was completely not at all what I had expected. I listened to it through my  Audible account while I was at work which was, let me tell you, a huge mistake. Everyone knows you don’t listen to World War II love stories in public, let alone while working. Naturally, I cried. I can just see Linds rolling her eyes at my lack of control over my emotions. 😉

I’m already listening to a new book, ‘The End of the Affair’ which is written by Graham Greene and narrated by Colin Firth. Totally chose is cuz Colin Firth narrated it. I’ll letcha know how it is 🙂

Anyways! I’m off to make some Brie Goat Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms wrapped in Bacon for a Girl’s Night that I’m hosting, so I need to get moving. Keep your eyes out for this recipe, if it turns out as well as Bacon Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Goat Cheese I will be a very happy girl. And maybe M and I will figure out a name for these things that flows a little smoother off the tongue…I’ve tried it both ways as you can see and my tongue gets tied every time.

Happy Reading!

~K

 

 

Lightened Up Spaghetti Carbonara

Joey and I had ourselves a little date night last night, in-home style. It wasn’t planned that way, but then I mentioned this recipe I found for his all-time favorite ‘restaurant’ dish in one of my magazines- Spaghetti Carbonara. Joey immediately perked up at the sound of that for dinner, and it turned into a pretty fun little cooking date! This guy loves him some carbonara…although I’m a little suspicious that he was only the kitchen to make sure I got the recipe right.

Either way, the end result was fab. Fab-ola. Fabuloso. Fantabulistic. Fabulous. You get the point.

This recipe is from a magazine subscription that my mom got for K and I for Christmas two years back called Cooks Illustrated- I would highly recommend (if you are into reading magazines about food) subscribing to this because they basically research all the issues associated with certain recipes, and then tweak things until they come up with ‘The Perfect Version’ ! Basically, they do the work and we readers benefit and save tons of frustration.

Works for me!

I love this recipe because I LOVE pasta, but lots of times the creamy sauce and bacon just puts me in a food coma afterwards. This way, I get the delicious food with a few tweaks that make it fool-proof AND just a tad healthier! ** I should add that Joey definitely liked this dish, but he did miss the creamy factor a little. And didn’t like the whole wheat pasta substitution as much as just regular pasta. Win some, ya learn some! Either way, we will make it again and I always enjoy making dinner with Joe 🙂

Joey would like to add that he’d highly recommend a glass of Merlot to accompany this pasta- you’ll have to take his word for it!

Enjoy!

~M

P.S. sorry ’bout the pictures- You basically get to enjoy the same three pictures of the pasta taken at different angles because we were so focused on perfecting the timing of the recipe that we didn’t pause for photo-ops! Maybe you’ll forgive me when you taste the food? 🙂

Better, Lighter Spaghetti Carbonara

serves 4

Ingredients

8 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup water

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 1/2 ounces Percorino Romano, grated (1 1/4 cups)

3 large eggs plus 1 large yolk

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound spaghetti

Directions

Bring bacon and water to simmer in 10 inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; cook until water evaporates and bacon begins to sizzle, about 8 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook until fat renders and bacon browns, about 5-8 minutes longer. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Strain bacon mixture through fine mesh strainer set in bowl. Set aside bacon mixture. Measure out 1 TBSP of fat and place in medium bowl. Whisk Pecorino, eggs and yolk, and pepper into fat until combined.

Meanwhile, bring two quarts water to boil in Dutch oven. Set Colander in large bowl. Add spaghetti and salt to pot; cook, stirring frequently, until al dente. Drain spaghetti in colander set in bowl, reserve cooking water. Pour 1 cup cooking water into liquid measuring cup and discard remainder. Return spaghetti to now-empty bowl.

Slowly whisk 1/2 cup reserved cooking water into Pecorino mixture. Gradually pour Pecorino mixture over spaghetti, tossing to coat. Add bacon mixture and toss to combine. Let spaghetti rest, tossing frequently, until sauce has thickened slightly and coats spaghetti, 2-4 minutes, adjusting consistency with remaining reserved cooking water if needed. Serve immediately!

Best Party Dip Ever. With BACON.

So, apparently I have a penchant for ‘quick and easy’ recipes. **This recipe is from my best friend/cousin/person who set Curtis and I up, I forgot to give her credit earlier :)** I love the holidays- everything about them. Except the frazzled, hectic, ‘work-all-day-then-do-all-the-stuff-required-for-the-holidays’ stress. It gets overwhelming! So having some easy dishes to bring to parties is really helpful especially in this holiday season that we all love so much 🙂

So choose a really short Christmas song, and let’s get cooking!

Voila! That’s it! It’s just a trip to the store and some layering. I served it with ‘everything’ crackers- the ones that have all the seeds in them.

And I didn’t use any measurements, it’s one of those ‘approximation’ recipes 🙂

~K

P.S. I know the apricot jam sounds a little weird with everything else, but please try it. It’s savory and delicious!!! And you won’t be able to stop eating it.

Party Cracker Dip with Bacon

(serves 12)

2 bricks cream cheese, I used reduced fat

1 small jar apricot jam

2 cups (ish) shredded cheddar (medium, don’t use sharp cheddar)

2 bunches of green onions, chopped

cooked (very crispy!!) and chopped bacon- I used about half a pack of the smallest package available. If you don’t want to dirty your kitchen with a frying pan, use precooked bacon! The kind you toss in the microwave- a lot easier, but I personally feel that the flavor is better with fresh bacon 🙂

When layering, you want each layer to be mostly covered by the next, but still a little visible.

Serve with crackers and wine and enjoy!

June!!

These are my favorite mornings.

Sometimes Joey comes in for breakfast when I have the day off of work, and it’s a great start to the day- it’s like a little date before the day begins! Typically we eat breakfast on the fly, since we both have to be at work pretty early. So when we have these special days, we take the time to make something really, really good. Like today, we voted french toast and bacon. I didn’t really follow a recipe for the french toast, just threw a couple eggs, milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and a dash of honey into a bowl, lightly soaked the bread in the batter, and fried it up in some butter. I made a ‘skinny’ french toast for myself- all I changed was that I used vanilla almond milk (WHAT?! But you live on a DAIRY!?! How could you?! Are you saying that milk is BAD for you?!) No, no, no. Let me tell you, we drink our milk in this house! Raw, sometimes! But I’ve come to like almond milk as a fun and lower calorie change sometimes- anyways, Joey just planted some almond trees with his dad last year, so we have to support both industries! Also, I just used egg whites. Oh, and don’t forget the pure maple syrup- if you haven’t ever tried pure maple syrup, you don’t know what you’re missing out on! It’s a little more expensive than your regular thick syrup, but oh is it worth the dough. You’ll wonder why you ever acquainted yourself with Aunt Jemimah.

When I had about half a piece of my toast left, I knew that little smidgen I had left wasn’t going to fill this tummy til lunch! So I added a dollop of plain greek yogurt (Fage is my fave), and another little drizzle of syrup.

Sorry, that plate looks pretty gross. It sure was tasty, though!

After our lovely little breakfast date, we parted ways for the rest of the day. I quick took my dogs for a little walk/swim in the canal before starting my to-do list, which felt pretty good after that big breakfast. Aren’t they cute? I think they could smell the bacon on my breath…

I was surprised with a phone call from a dear friend during our walk too! It was so good to catch up- I think friendships are one of the greatest blessings out there. Plus, this friend had a pretty hilarious scary story. She will remain nameless, but if you see a girl walking around with pig teeth marks on her calf, you’ll know who I was talking to. Oh yes, it was a good story.

After I got back from our walk, I gardened a little bit and then headed out for some errands and groceries! I also got my laptop fixed, which will make this blogging experience a whole lot more fun. Those Apple employees are geniuses, aren’t they?! It actually says the employee’s name on their name badge, and ‘genius’ too! Awesome, I wish that was on my RN license…

That breakfast kept me really full well past lunchtime, and by the time I realized I was a little hungry- it was 3:45 and grocery shopping time! We all know it’s dangerous to go into Costco with a rumbly tumbly, so I popped into jamba Juice to try out that new green smoothie they’ve been advertising.

I got a sixteen ‘Apples’n’Greens’, and it was soooo good! Hit. The. Spot. I was slightly disappointed because there wasn’t actually any veggies in the smoothie, just the usual fruit and then veggie juice. I’ll still take it though. This was about 220 calories, and 3 servings of fruit and 2 servings of veggies! A lot of sugar still, but a girl’s gotta have her snack.

After Costco, I squeezed in some gym time! Ran a fast 2 miles on the treadmill with intervals, then about 32 min on the elliptical. Finished up with 2 sets of squats, some dumbells, and planks. Man, planks are killer. I always feel so energized after a good workout, and was looking forward to the usual pit stop at the fruit stand on the way home! Seriously- all this for $8.14?!

I have come to be pretty good friends with the staff at this fruitstand, since I see them once or twice a week! I always look kinda sweaty and gross when I’m there though, since its usually after the gym… sorry guys.

Now dinner time with my man! BLT’s and salad on the menu tonight! I guess we didn’t get enough bacon this morning… gotta keep that ball rollin!

Joey had the true BLT, and I had this beauty. This may well be the best salad of my life! I added a 3 bean salad to the top there- it was a Mediterranean bean salad from Costco, 70 cal for a 1/2 cup and SO good! Plus a scoop of hummus on the side. And tons of veggies and some bacon, of course.

Dessert:

This bowl x 3. Can’t get enough of those babies!

Happy June!

~M

P.S. did I tell you that K is coming over on Sunday again?! So excited! In the meantime, have a looksy at my adorable niece and her beautiful mommy!