Week-day Recipes

Here's to good weekday food. Enjoy!

QUICK TURKEY MEATBALLS OVER GREENS

This comes from The Kitchn's emailing list. (Yes, another recipe from The Kitchen. If you haven't signed up for their emails, you really should!) This serves 4, and can be viewed online (along with Faith Durand's description) here.

1 pound ground turkey, either 85% lean or 93% lean

1/4 cup grated onion, from 1/2 small to medium onion

1 large egg

1/3 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 whole cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups tomato sauce, homemade or store-bought

2 pounds greens, such as broccoli rabe, kale, mustard greens, washed, de-veined, and roughly chopped

Shaved Parmesan, to serve, optional

Combine the turkey, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl. Mix with your hands until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Begin heating a large pot of salted water for the cooking the greens while you shape and cook the meatballs.

Roll the meat mixture into 1 1/4-inch meatballs and place on a tray or in a pan. You should have between 26 and 30 meatballs.

Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet or sauté pan. Place the meatballs in the hot skillet and brown for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Use tongs to gently rotate the meatballs so they brown evenly. (If your pan isn't large enough to brown all of the meatballs without them touching, cook them in batches and place them back on the cookie sheet once they've been browned. Then combine them back in the pan before simmering with the tomato sauce.)

Reduce the heat to medium, add the tomato sauce, and cover the pan. Simmer the meatballs and sauce for another 10 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.

While the meatballs are simmering, boil the greens in the salted water for 8 to 10 minutes, until tender. Drain. (You can also sauté or stir-fry the greens in a hot skillet with oil if preferred.)

To serve, put greens on the plate and top with meatballs and sauce.

Recipe Notes:

To prevent the meatballs sticking to the pan, make sure it is hot before adding the meatballs, and brown thoroughly before trying to turn them. They should release easily once browned. Also, using 85% lean turkey (as opposed to completely lean) should help the meatballs release more cleanly.

Storage: Store the meatballs in their sauce for up to 3 days in the fridge. Freeze cooked meatballs and sauce for up to 3 months.

PUMPKIN-GINGER SCONES

This comes from Carroll Pellegrinelli, About.com's Desserts and Baking guide. She writes, “Pumpkin-Ginger Scones have a lovely spicy flavor. You just can't beat that pumpkin-ginger combination.”

Prep Time: 25 minutes; Cook Time: 12 minutes; Total Time: 37 minutes; Makes 12 scones.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1/2 C sugar, divided

2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

5 Tbls butter, divided

1 egg

1/2 C solid pack pumpkin

1/4 C sour cream or Greek yogurt

1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger OR 2 Tbls finely chopped crystallized ginger

Preparation

Preheat 425 degrees F. Reserve 1 tablespoon sugar. Combine remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Cut in 4 tablespoons butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat egg in small bowl, add pumpkin, sour cream and ginger. Beat until well blended. Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stir until soft dough forms.

Turn out dough onto well floured surface, knead 10 times. Roll out dough into 9 x 6 rectangle with lightly floured rolling pin. Cut dough into 6 (3") squares with lightly floured knife. Cut each square diagonally in half, making 12 triangles. Place triangles 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet. Melt remaining 1 Tbls butter. Brush triangles with butter, sprinkle with reserve sugar. Bake 10-12 min or until golden brown and wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve warm or cool completely.

PUMPKIN BREAD

This is from Alton Brown, of the Food Network's Good Eats.

Total Time: 1 hr 35 min; Prep: 20 min; Cook: 1 hr 15 min; Yield: 1 loaf or 1 1/2 dozen small muffins; Level: Easy

To view this online, go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pumpkin-bread-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups shredded fresh pumpkin

1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds. Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan. If your pan is not non- stick coat it with butter and flour.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. At this point a knife inserted into the middle of the loaf should come out clean. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely. For muffins temperature should also be 325 degrees F., but bake for 30 minutes.

Calories: 205; Fat: 11 grams; Saturated Fat: 1 gram; Protein: 3 grams; Carbohydrates: 26 grams; Sugar: 12 grams; Fiber: 1 gram; Cholesterol: 35 milligrams; Sodium: 154 milligrams

CURRIED SWEET POTATO-APPLE SOUP

This comes from the Food Network Magazine. Total Time: 55 min; Prep: 20 min; Cook: 35 min; Yield: 4 servings; Level: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

3 medium sweet potatoes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 2 -inch piece ginger, peeled and grated

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish

1 1/2 teaspoons Madras curry powder

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 1/4 cups chunky applesauce

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and dice 2 1/2 sweet potatoes. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger, nutmeg, 1 1/4 teaspoons curry powder, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until toasted, 1 more minute.

Add the diced sweet potatoes, chicken broth and 2 cups water to the pot, cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and stir in the applesauce. Simmer, covered, until the sweet potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Puree the soup with a blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper; keep warm.

Meanwhile, peel and thinly slice the remaining 1/2 sweet potato and toss with the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until crisp, 7 to 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 1/4 teaspoon curry powder and cook, stirring, until browned; remove from the heat and add the vinegar. Top with the curry butter, cilantro and sweet-potato chips.

HEARTY SWEET POTATO HASH

This is also from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 36. It starts off, “Everybody loves breakfast for dinner; besides, this hearty hash is just too good to eat only in the morning!” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 large onion, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 Tbs.)

6 oz. ground soy “meat”

6 large eggs, beaten

1 cup chopped parsley for garnish

Heat 2 Tbs. oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add sweet potato and onion, and sauté 10 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Reduce heat to medium, add corn and garlic, and sauté mixture 2 minutes more.

Add remaining 1 Tbs. oil, and stir in soy “meat.” Stir in eggs, and season with salt and pepper to taste; cook 5 minutes, or until eggs are cooked through, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, spoon hash onto individual plates and garnish each serving with sprinkling of parsley.

Per serving: 258 calories; 14 g protein; 13 g total fat (2 g saturated fat); 23 g carbs; 212 mg cholesterol; 381 mg sodium; 4g fiber; 2 g sugar.

LIGHT SPINACH SALAD

Yield: 2 servings

View online: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/775.shtml

Source: Magic Menus for People with Diabetes

Book Info: http://diabeticgourmet.com/book_archive/details/3.shtml

Ingredients

4 cups torn fresh spinach

4 ounces cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 medium orange, peeled, seeded, and sectioned

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 small onion, sliced

2 ounces Cheddar cheese, cubed or in strips

2 tablespoons reduced-fat salad dressing

Directions

Combine all ingredients except cheese and dressing in a large bowl; chill. Before serving, add cheese and toss with dressing.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 302; Protein: 28 g; Fat: 15 g; Cholesterol: 422 mg; Dietary Fiber: 5 g ; Carbohydrates: 19 g; Exchanges: 3 Medium-Fat Meat, 2 Vegetable, 1/2 Fruit