Tag Archives: Cooking

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Zucchini

 
This dinner is fast, easy and healthy. You can use a spiralizer to make zucchini noodles or you can cut them into rounds, which is what I did.
Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup panko crumbs
  • 1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sesame oil

For the Dipping Sauce:

  • 3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  • 1 1/2 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh scallion

Directions:

In a large bowl combine the ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, garlic, ginger, cilantro, 1 tbsp of the soy sauce and 2 tsp sesame oil. Gently mix with your hands until combined well. Form into uniform meatballs. Place in little oil in the bottom of skillet. Heat the skillet to medium-high heat and add meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, gently rotate the meatballs throughout cooking.

For the dipping sauce: mix the lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl. Add the scallions and set aside.

Transfer the meatballs to a serving dish and mix with the zucchini. Stir the sauce, then drizzle the meatballs with a little of the sauce. Serve the meatballs with the remaining sauce on the side.

Make it the best day!

-K

Tuna Salad

Here is a healthier take on a pretty tasty dish. It omits mayo and replaces it with avocado. Served on bread or toast it is quite the tasty treat. Feel free to get creative, add hot peppers for some spice or bell peppers for color. Don’t forget it will be green because of the avocado!

Ingredients:

  • 2, 6-ounce cans tuna. Prefer solid white albacore packed in water
  • 1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped
  • 3/4 cup minced celery
  • 1/4 cup minced red onion
  • A splash of a spicy mustard will give it a nice kick (this is optional)
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Mash the avocado with a fork and then add the rest of the ingredients on top of that. Mix well to combine and season to your taste!

Make it the best day!

-K

 

15 Minute Dinner

This recipe is quick, easy and tasty. A little Korean flavor anytime!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 teaspoon sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS:

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and ginger.
  2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ground beef and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
  3. Stir in soy sauce mixture and green onions until well combined, allowing to simmer until heated through, about 2 minutes.
  4. Serve immediately, garnished with green onion and sesame seeds, if desired.

Enjoy!

Make it the best day!

-K

Think outside the cube

Let’s think outside the summer cube for this one.

Watermelon ice cubes! They are a delicious addition to any summer drink. Adding flavor and yummy treat after your drink is gone!

I hope you don’t get lost in the directions 🙂

Instructions:

  1. Cut watermelon into small cubes. Lay in a single layer on a baking sheet and place in the freezer. Once frozen, store in a freezer safe ziptop bag.
  2. Fill a glass with the watermelon ice and pour your favorite beverage over.
  3. ENJOY!

Make it the best day!

-K

Healthy Brunch Saturday

Saturday. A day to get up early, exercise and eat a healthy breakfast without having to rush off to work!

Or….sleep in. Grab some coffee and try to fix that hangover. Whatever boat you are in or even if you’re somewhere in the middle here is a great recipe!

It is super easy and only has a few ingredients. What’s not to love?!

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

  • 1 c. flour
  • 1 tbsp. baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 2/3 c. Greek yogurt

Directions:

  1. Combine the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, stir the eggs and Greek yogurt, then fold it into the flour and baking powder mixture, forming a thick batter.
  2. Pour batter on a sauté pan and cook over medium-low heat, using a silicone spatula or spoon to smooth out the batter into a 1/4-inch thick pancake shape (since the batter won’t spread easily on its own). Look for a the edge of the pancake to start to round out, forming a lip that you can easily slide a spatula under, after about 1-2 minutes of cooking. Lift the corner of the pancake, and if the bottom is lightly golden, slide the spatula all the way under and flip the pancake.
  3. Cook until both sides are lightly golden. Repeat until you’ve used all of the batter.
  4. Serve pancakes warm with syrup drizzled on top.

Enjoy some healthy pancakes and a great Saturday!

Make it the best day!

-K

It’s fall, let’s get cooking!

After a brief hiatus we are back! Given the fact that the weather and the leaves are changing, now is great time for a fall recipe.  This is one of my favorites for those colder days and it won’t hurt your waistline.

The list of ingredients looks long but don’t let that scare you off, it is pretty simple. This dish is essentially a two pan wonder. Squash is just about to be in season so you should be able to find some for pretty cheap at your local store. For the sausage you can use any kind you would like, pork, chicken, etc.

Ghost curry powder is a new specialty curry powder and it is pretty hot. You can sub this out for your favorite curry and still have a great meal. I would tend to stay away from a green curry as it won’t pair too well with the apples. Now let’s get cooking!!

Finished Product

Squash & Sausage Ghost Curry

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium Butternut or Acorn squash (around 2 lbs.)
  • 6 to 8 Tbsp. vegetable oil, divided
  • salt and pepper
  • 1/2 lb. mild Italian sausage, ground
  • 1 large white onion, diced
  • 1 tsp. fresh minced ginger
  • 1/2 tsp. dehydrated minced garlic
  • 3 Tbsp. or up to 5 Tbsp. Ghost Curry Powder
  • 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and small diced
  • 1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup apple cider
  • ½ lime, freshly squeezed
  • 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half, remove seeds, brush flesh side lightly with 1 Tbsp. oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place flesh-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 45 min. until just tender and easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet (cast iron works great) or Dutch oven. Add onions, ginger and garlic, and cook for 5 min. until soft.

In a small bowl, mix an equal amount (3 to 5 Tbsp. depending on desired heat level) of Ghost Curry Powder, vegetable oil and water together to make a paste. Stir curry paste into onions, then add apples, broth, cider and coconut milk and bring to a medium simmer.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a separate skillet, add sausage and cook until browned.

Meanwhile, peel skin from cooled squash and cube into ½- to 1-inch pieces. Stir sausage and squash into curry, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 to 10 more min. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Top with fresh mint before serving.

Time saving note: make the squash ahead of time and cube it, so that you can add it quickly to your dish when the time comes. 

You can serve this on top of wild rice or quinoa if you would like. If you use ghost curry using one of these two options would help cut the heat as well!

This meal cooks up quick (after you bake the squash) and tastes great right away. However, for an extra little treat the leftovers provide great flavor. As the curry sits over night it just gets tastier. So make sure you make some extra!

There will be plenty more fall dishes and fitness tips and tricks as we move forward into winter. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!