Glazed Turkey Meatballs

I have fallen in love with a new recipe!  My first bite automatically reminded me of a pot sticker, but healthy...without the pork sausage and pan frying!  The crunch of the water chestnuts and the full flavor of fresh ginger make this dish OUT OF THIS WORLD!  I found this incredible recipe here.  I strayed just a bit as my cilantro happened to be fried by the hot sun and I eliminated crushed peppers. I served these meatballs over white rice with zucchini.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons  Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger root
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 scallions, minced plus sliced scallion greens for garnish
• 1/2 cup drained, finely chopped water chestnuts
• 1 pound lean ground turkey
• 1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce 
• 1 freshly squeezed lime  
• White sesame seeds, for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 400º F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or use a Silpat
2. Whisk  soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in cornstarch until smooth. Stir in 2 minced scallions and water chestnuts. Mix in turkey with hands until completely combined.
3. Roll turkey into balls and place on cooking sheet.  Spray with olive oil cooking spray and cook for 17 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Mix Hoisin sauce and lime juice in a large bowl. Add the cooked meatballs and gently stir to coat. 

Serve over rice with vegetable of choice and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

For the zucchini, I simply sliced lengthwise on both sides to create 2 long flat surfaces.  Then I cut off the ends and sliced lengthwise in 1/4" increments.  I had 5 flat pieces of zucchini.  On a super hot non-stick pan, I sprayed some olive oil and placed each strip on top.  I cooked each side for 1 minute and seasoned with salt and some soy sauce.  Then I sliced across the zucchini to make short strips.

Happy Eating!

Linking up with Lady Behind the Curtain and

RED, WHITE & BLUE Stuffed Pancakes

We love pancakes at our house.  I grew up on pancakes.  Actually I grew up on very unhealthy delicious apple pancakes that were cooked in bacon grease.  Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it.  They are out of this world!  I still make pancakes like that, but we only do it once a month.  The other times I make pancakes, I do not use bacon grease or bacon, rather we use a canola spray if needed and chicken apples sausage.  My mom always used Bisquick mix...I don't like pancakes any other way.  With Bisquick, they cook up nice and thick.  Several months ago I ran out of mix and went in search of a homemade substitute and found it on the world wide web.  Aaaahhhh, how did we ever live without the internet?!  I haven't bought Bisquick since.  I have used this recipe for both pancakes and waffles!

Here are the ingredients.  I cut this in half.  This mix makes about 6 cups, so I ended up with 3 cups of mix.  You need 2 cups total for the pancakes.

• 5 cups flour
• 1/4 cup baking powder
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.
2. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks or in the freezer for longer storage.

Mix 2 cups of mix with 1 cup of milk and 2 eggs.  Mix well and then add 1 peeled, sliced, Granny Smith apple.  Then add 1/2 - 1 cup of blueberries, depending on your preference.  Cook on a hot griddle until bubbles on top of pancakes begin to pop and flip to cook the other side.  The 2nd side only needs a few minutes.  Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and a dollop of strawberry jam.

Magazine Copy Cat Challenge

light from West behind the props

Debbie, over at Debbie Doo's is hosting a Magazine Copy Cat Challenge.  The mission...find a picture in a magazine and try to recreate it yourself.  This was for all talent levels and I'm always up for a challenge.  So I turned to the July issue of Family Circle in search of my photo.  Of course it was food!  I'm not a huge fan of coconut, so I concocted my own recipe.  Scroll to bottom of page for recipe.

light from East on the front of props

Before I took my several photos, I needed a couple props.  I had a bamboo cutting board, but had to improvise for the glass.  My goal was not to buy any additional materials for the shoot.  I recently saw a blog about how she used a glue based paint to color her mason jars.  Seemed like too much work...a Sharpie could give me the same effect without all the extra work.  So I added some tape to help create the stripes.  I experimented with natural light coming from the west behind the photo as seen below.  This helped create more of what the original photo was, but I preferred the natural light from the east side of the house on the front of the image.  I also used some tin foil wrapped on a book to bounce light back on the image.

I don't have a fancy camera, but it does have a manual mode which allows me to play around a bit more.

So what do you think?

This is my favorite photo!

So here is the recipe for these beauties...not sure what to call them.  How about....

COCOA CHOCOLATE BROWNIES

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 sticks butter, room temp
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 package chocolate pudding mix (4oz)
2 eggs
3 Tbl whipping cream
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Mix first 2 ingredients and set aside.
Beat butter and sugar in separate bowl.  Then add pudding mix a beat well.  Add eggs and cream and beat.
Slowly add flour mixture and mix until well combined.  Add chips and mix slightly.
Press into an 8 x 8 greased pan.
Bake in preheated oven at 350º for approx. 45 minutes.

Be sure to check out what other recreated here.

Anytime Treat!

I was so excited to make these sweet treats I saw on Pinterest, only to find out the kiddos ate all the peanut butter.  (Yes, they needed it for all the PB&J sandwiches they have been eating with our homemade jam.)  So I improvised and used peanut butter chips.  Wow-eez!  So easy, quick and tasty...the perfect combo.

Grab a 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips...

...and a 1/2 cup of peanut butter chips.

Sprinkle over crescent roll and press down slightly.

Roll and then bake in pre-heated oven at 375º for 11-12 minutes.

Enjoy while warm and watch out for smiles and hugs from the kiddos!

Linking up at This Chick Cooks!