Merlot meatballs

May 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Merlotmeatballs (2)

Did you ever just crave a really good, hearty meatball with an ooey gooey sauce? I know I am not the only one. This recipe will be sure to take care of those cravings, no problem. I usually only make meatballs for holidays but one rainy day I just had a hankering for some comfort food and my husband is crazy for meatballs, especially mine :) –So I whipped these up with some roasted red potatoes, steamed broccoli and they went over really well, even with one picky little 2 year old.

Merlotmeatballs (3)

There is something so comforting and homey about a juicy meatball with the right sauce, I’m not quite sure why.  These meatballs are made using Tastefully Simple’s Merlot Sauce, which has always been a favorite of mine and I think they really make the flavor of this sauce stand out. I love using Merlot Sauce as a steak sauce alone but it is great in my meatloaf recipe and delicious in these savory meatballs. If you need some Merlot Sauce you can find it here.

Merlotmeatballs (4)

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Ingredients

Instructions
  1. In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef, garlic, seasoned salt, merlot sauce, salt, pepper, onion, breadcrumbs, and beaten eggs.
  2. Mix ingredients with your hands and roll into ½inch-1inch balls, depending on your preference.
  3. Place on a baking stone or greased baking pan.
  4. Heat meatballs at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Be sure not to over cook or the meatballs with get tough.
  5. Remove meatballs from oven and use tongs to place them in a slow cooker.
  6. Whisk together maple syrup, ketchup, honey and grape jelly in small bowl.
  7. Pour sauce mixture over meatballs and heat on low-medium for at least 10 minutes or until you are ready to serve.

 

Merlotmeatballs (5) Merlotmeatballs

We have been out all week enjoying the sunshine-y, summery weather, doin’ summer things! I even have a slight tan! Thanking God for this beautiful week! Although it is supposed to cool down for this Mother’s Day weekend, we have some fun things planned! I hope all you mothers out there have a lovely weekend and I tip my hat off to you all. Being a mother is the hardest job ever with the most rewarding results. We all deserve a day totally devoted to us mommys!

 

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Cilantro lime quinoa salad

April 25, 2013 by

quinoa salad mexican (1)

This salad completes me. It is everything I love about mexican food with an added boost of protein and that guilt about eating a flour tortilla, GONE. This will surly take care of those mexican cravings of yours without all that extra calorie and gluten nonsense. Oh and the dressing. Don’t get me started on the dressing. Tangy and fresh with a little kick.

quinoa salad mexicanAlong with my quinoa veggie salad with lemon basil dressing, this salad will definitely be on repeat throughout the warmer months. It keeps in the fridge for a good week, you may just have to add a little squeeze of fresh lime to moisten it up a bit. I added a little extra cumin myself because I like it spicy. I also added a bit of extra cilantro to my individual serving because I am the only heavy cilantro lover in my family.

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Cilantro lime quinoa salad
 

Ingredients
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1½ cups frozen corn, thawed
  • 1½ cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 5 green onions, diced
  • ¾ cup chopped cilantro
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp. cumin
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Juice from 1 lime
  • ¼ tsp. salt

Instructions
  1. Cooke quinoa according to package.(add 2 cups of water per 1 cup of quinoa, bring to a boil, and simmer until quinoa is tender or about 20 minutes)
  2. While quinoa is cooking make your dressing.
  3. In a bowl whisk together olive oil, cumin, garlic, lime juice and salt. Store in fridge.
  4. In a large mixing bowl combine the cooked quinoa, peppers, green onions, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, corn and black beans.
  5. Pour dressing over ingredients and stir to coat.
  6. Store in fridge for at least an hour and serve cold for best results.

 

And the sun is still hanging on over in our neck of the woods! Yesterday we played outside all day with some friends–boy do I appreciate the days we get to play outside, bedtime is such a breeze! Tonight we are heading to a cook out and this weekend is supposed to be sunny and in the high 60′s….we’ll take it! I like to really get excited about little victories, being a stay at home mom of 3, and right now the weather is one of them! Happy weekend to you all!

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Quinoa patties with Greek yogurt sauce

April 10, 2013 by

Quinoapatties

Quinoapatties (1)

I know I say this a lot but this is SERIOUSLY one of my new all-time favorite recipes. These are so refreshing and light but filling at the same time. The flavor is incredible! And the sauce is that of a gyro yogurt sauce with a garlic flare. Ugh that sauce! Quinoa patty recipes always made me run the other way in fear of them being really bland because quinoa can be very bland in the wrong recipes. But that is why this recipe with the yogurt sauce appealed to me so much, I knew I could spice it up with some garlic. So far from bland! These have even more flavor the next day re-heated. And can you even imagine all the protein that is in these puppies, with the Greek yogurt and the quinoa? You guys we are never getting enough protein in our daily diets, in fact to get the right amount of protein we need daily we would need to eat about 20 eggs, in one day! I anticipate these being a hot menu item over the summer in our house. They are really pretty simple too, it sounds like a lot when you look at the recipe, but it really isn’t. And you can mix it all ahead of time and store it in the fridge if you’d like, because if your weird like me you will need to have supper just about ready around lunch time (or what I call “oven ready) to eliminate dinner time stress and mess.

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Ingredients
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 3 large handfuls of spinach, washed & chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil (plus more for frying)
  • ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • ½ cup cheese of your choice (I recommend feta, gouda or mozzarella)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • ⅛ of a teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • ½ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
  • black pepper to taste
  • 2 cups plain greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoons Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
  • 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
  • ½ tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
  • ½ tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions
  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet.
  2. Add onion and garlic and heat on medium until onions are translucent.
  3. Stir in the spinach and heat for 3 minutes.
  4. Transfer mixture into a large bowl.
  5. Cook quinoa according to package and let it cool.
  6. While quinoa is cooking mix together yogurt, garlic garlic, dill, mint, ½ tablespoon olive oil, lemon juice and salt and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
  7. In your large bowl of spinach and onions, add your eggs, cheese, parsley, lemon zest, salt, pepper, and quinoa once it has cooled.
  8. Finally add the bread crumbs and let the mixture sit for a few minutes to soak in the moisture.
  9. Scoop about a tablespoon of the mixture to make your patties.
  10. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on a hot skillet or pan and press quinoa patties on the skillet.
  11. Heat for about 5 mintes on each side or until slightly brown.
  12. Serve warm with yogurt sauce. (remember when reheating always use your oven or stove top instead of your microwave because the microwave will kill all the nutrients in your food)


 Quinoapatties (2) Quinoapatties (3)

 

 

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Spicy Thai noodles

February 25, 2013 by

spicy thai noodles

spicy thai noodles (3)

These are my new favorite Thai noodles, wowza. I am in love with these noodles. They are a perfect, no- fuss dinner that the whole family will love. Tone down the red pepper flakes if you are serving to children, and add a little more peanut butter. All I had to tell my kids was that the sauce was made out of peanut butter and they that they could put peanuts on top of their noodles and they thought it was a really special treat. They looked at me like I had just told them they could eat cake for dinner. Anyway, if you like Thai food TRY THESE. And if you don’t like Thai food we can no longer be friends. Just kidding, but seriously I can’t imagine someone not liking these scrumptious noodles! Totally added this to our meal rotation. Also a good option for Fridays in Lent when you are sick of fish:: you can still get some of the protein without the meat.

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Ingredients
  • ¾ cups sesame oil
  • 1-2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
  • 6 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 6 tablespoons honey
  • 1½ tablespoons peanut butter
  • spaghetti noodles, cooked
  • ⅓ cup green onions, chopped
  • 3 shredded carrots
  • ⅓ cup cilantro, chopped
  • ¾ cup of peanuts, chopped

Instructions
  1. Combine crushed pepper and sesame oil in a pan, heat over medium for about 3 minutes.
  2. Strain pepper flakes out of oil.
  3. Pour remaining oil into a medium mixing bowl.
  4. Whisk honey, soy sauce, and peanut butter with remaining sesame oil.
  5. Mix sauce with cooked noodles.
  6. Stir in green onions, carrots, cilantro and half of the chopped peanuts.
  7. Use the rest of the peanuts for topping, serve warm.

Notes
Beware of the crushed red pepper! It gives this dish more of a kick than you may think. 1½ teaspoons was plenty spicy for me and my family.

Recipe adapted from : here.spicy thai noodles (1)

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{fresh} corn black bean salsa

February 20, 2013 by

freshsalsa (1)

We are such a salsa family let me tell you. We make this at the beginning of most weeks and it is usually gone by the end of the week. I love a good chunky, fresh salsa and this one is so simple to throw together and adjust to your liking. Every year my dad cans a bunch of salsa, so we are spoiled with always having that around. But when we run out this is the recipe we turn to. No boiling the tomatoes, or taking of the skins of the tomatoes, or chopping a bunch ingredients. Just throw it all together and enjoy a fresh, chunky salsa that will last up to a week in your fridge.

freshsalsa (2)

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{fresh} corn black bean salsa
 

Ingredients
  • 1 16 ounce jar of salsa
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
  • 1 bag frozen yellow corn
  • 1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
  • ½ cup chopped cilantro

Instructions
  1. Mix together salsa, tomatoes, frozen corn, black beans and cilantro.
  2. Store in fridge for at least 2 hours or until ready to serve.
  3. Serve with your favorite chips or in your favorite mexican dishes.

Notes
We made this salsa totally organic but you don’t have to. Here are the organic brands we used:: ones we use all the time and have come to love, and are affordable. -Muir Glen organic canned tomatoes (& fire roasted) -Wild Harvest organic thick & chunky salsa (medium), organic black beans (canned) -Sno Pac organic frozen corn -local organic cilantro -Garden of Eatin’ organic Blue tortilla Chips gluten free *this makes about 6 cups of salsa

 

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