Cranberry and Walnut Stuffed Lamb Patties

Tonight was family game night at our house, and my darling little sister adores lamb, so I decided to treat her and my brother to some delectable lamb patties.  I mixed celery, dried cranberries, diced scallion and walnuts into the ground meat to make the patties have a little extra pizzazz.  

The Meat

- 1 1/2 pounds of ground lamb

- 1 scallion, diced

- 2 stalks of celery, diced

- 1/4 cup of dried cranberries

- 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

- 2 stalks of green onions, diced

- 4 slices of Port Salut cheese

- salt, pepper, dill, marjoram, savory, cinnamon, paprika to taste

The Veggies

- 1 head of cauliflower, chopped

- 1 large sweet potato, chopped

- 2 turnips, chopped

- 1 zucchini, cut into large pieces

- 1 summer squash, cut into large pieces

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- salt, pepper, dill, marjoram to taste

- 1 cup water

Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.

Put the chopped veggies into a glass baking dish.  Brush the tops with olive oil and season everything.  Pop the pan in the oven and cook the veggies for 45 minutes.

In a metal mixing bowl, prepare the ground lamb with the goodies listed above.  Form the patties with your hands (remember to take off your rings!) and place them on your griddle pan to cook.  Cook them on high heat, turning occasionally, until the inside is just pink in the center if you cut one open.  The lamb will continue to cook a few minutes after taken off of the heat, so you don't want them to dry out.  

Layer the Port Salut cheese on top of the patties and let it melt for a minute before serving.  Sprinkle green onion on top of everything and enjoy the meal!

Grilled Swordfish In Creamy Mustard Sauce

This swordfish dish is really good, especially after last night's heavy meal!  The sauce goes really well with the fish, squash, and cauliflower.  

The Meat

 - 2 fillets of swordfish

- salt, pepper to taste

- 2 teaspoons lemon juice

The Veggies

 - 1 zucchini squash, sliced

- 1 summer squash, sliced

- 1 yellow heirloom tomato, chopped

- 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped

- 1 cup water

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- salt, pepper, dill to taste

The Sauce

- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard

- salt, pepper, dill, red chili flakes to taste

Chop and season the veggies.  Steam the veggies in a pot with high heat for 20 minutes.  It doesn't get any easier to make delicious veggies!  





Grill the swordfish fillets on a griddle pan with a little bit of lemon juice squirted over the skins.  Season the fish with the salt and pepper and cook it on high heat, skin down, for 5-6 minutes and then flip the fish and grill up the other side of the fish. 





Mix together the sauce by stirring the mustard into the Greek yogurt and adding the spices.  Smother your cooked fish and veggies with the creamy smooth sauce and serve yourself something awesome! 

Apple Cider Spare Ribs

Mmmmmm these ribs were extra tasty!  Marinated in apple cider vinegar and some organic habanero chipotle sauce, they are juicy and meaty and pair very well with the softness of the summer squash.  

The Meat

 - 2 racks of pork spare ribs

- 1 cup apple cider vinegar

- 6-8 liberal shakes of chipotle habanero sauce 

- marjoram, salt, thyme, rosemary, pepper to taste

The Veggies

- 2 summer squashes, sliced

- 1/2 onion, sliced

- 1 cup spinach, raw

- 1 heirloom tomato, chopped

- salt, pepper, thyme, dill to taste

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Marinate the ribs in the apple cider vinegar and chipotle habanero sauce at least 30 minutes before putting the ribs in the oven.  Cook the ribs bone-side down in the marinade for 30 minutes, and then up your oven's temperature to 350 degrees and cook the ribs for 30 more minutes, turning them bone-side up for the remainder of the cooking time.  

Throw the veggies into a large saucepan with the water, oil, and spices.  Put the heat on medium-high and cover the pan with a lid.  After around 20 minutes they will be all soft and then your meal will be good to go.  

Enjoy!

Wahoo in Garlicky Lemon Butter

We hung out with some great friends and watched the Michigan game this afternoon at a nearby bar, but when it was all over my husband was HUNGRY and I needed to make him something fast.  Fish is always a good idea because it cooks so quickly.  I got this meal plated and served in around 35 minutes.  When I need to, I can turn on the steam, but the meal still tasted awesome!

The Meat

- 3 fillets of Wahoo fish

- bacon grease for the pan

- salt, pepper, lemon juice to taste

The Sauce

- 3 tablespoons butter

- 1/2 shallot, thinly sliced

- 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin

- 3 teaspoons lemon juice

- dill, salt to taste

The Veggies

- 1/2 eggplant, sliced then cut into quarters

- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small pieces

- 2 small turnips, cut into small pieces

- dill, basil, seasoning salt to taste

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- 1/2 cup water

- 2 summer squashes, sliced

- 1 tomato, mostly crushed

- 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

- 1 teaspoon lemon juice

- 1/4 cup water

- salt, pepper, dill to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Chop up the veggies into small pieces, so they'll cook faster.  Throw together the eggplant, sweet potato, and turnip and generously season it.  Pour in the water and brush the olive oil over the tops of the veggies.  Cook for 30 minutes.

Sautee up the squash with the tomato, oil, lemon, and water.  Season it and cover it with a lid.  Let it cook on medium high heat for 25-30 minutes. 

Melt the butter with the lemon, garlic, and shallot and let it cook on low heat, stirring every few minutes.

On a griddle pan, turn your heat to high and cook your seasoned wahoo fish.  Flip it every 3-4 minutes. It should be done after 10-12 minutes.  You want the fish to be opaque, white, and flaky.  

When all the components are ready, plate the veggies and toss the fish in the butter.  Put the softened garlic and shallots on top of the fish and feed your hungry selves.

Tomato Roasted Eggplant with Turkey Meatballs

Here is another fun meal to serve to friends!  The presentation is great and it tastes just as good as anything you can find over in North Beach.  The turkey meatballs taste so good, because they have bubbly hot Parmesan cheese rolled into their mixture.  Yummmm.

The Meat

- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground turkey meat

- Parmesan, salt, pepper, marjoram, basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder to taste

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1/3 heirloom tomato, mostly crushed

The Veggies

- 1 large eggplant, sliced

- 1 summer squash, sliced

 - 6-10 Padron peppers, stems and seeds removed

- 1 heirloom tomato + the leftover tomato from the meat, mostly crushed

- 1 heirloom tomato, sliced

- salt, pepper, basil, oregano to taste

- 2 tablespoons of olive oil

- 2 cups spinach, wilted

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

- salt to taste

Preheat your oven to 385 degrees. 

In a large baking dish, layer your eggplant, squash, and tomato, brushing each piece with the olive oil and then covering all of it evenly with the peppers, spices and crushed tomato.  Bake the veggies uncovered for 40 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, add the meat ingredients.  Take off your rings and get your hands in there.  Squish everything together until the spices and cheese look to be evenly mixed in with the ground meat.  Then go at it and roll some modest sized meatballs.  I ended up with around a dozen.  Bake them for 40 minutes on the rack above the eggplant and other veggies. They should be brown on the tops and the Parmesan should be hot and gooey when they are all done.

10 minutes before the baking dishes are set to finish, get a large saute pan and wilt the spinach over medium low heat.  Drain the spinach with a slotted spoon when moving it over to your serving dish.  When you pull the eggplant out of the oven, do the same, leaving the juices and crushed tomato mostly in the baking dish.

I served all of the food together on one huge serving platter. The baked eggplant and squash went on the bottom, then the spinach went on top of that, with extra Parmesan and some of the tomato sauce.  The meatballs were layered on the very top, with even more cheese and leftover tomato sauce.  Satisfying. 

Lomo De Cerdo Al Horno...with Roasted Salsa Sauce!

Our wonderful friend is in town and staying with us this week, so I made a few awesome meals to make her feel welcome and loved.  This meal is based off the Puerto Rican Pernil Al Horno, but I didn't have a bone-in pork shoulder to roast, nor did I have 6 hours plus a day in advance to prepare something that tasty.  I had a pork tenderloin and a whole lot of heirloom tomatoes, Padron peppers, and summer squashes from our weekend trip to the farm.  This worked out better than fine, the meal was fantastic and we all really enjoyed it.

The Meat

- 1 1/2 pound pork tenderloin

- salt, pepper to taste

- A few slices of Port Salut semi soft cheese

- 2 green onions, diced

The Veggies

- 2 summer squashes, cut into large chunks

- 1 large zucchini squash, cut into large chunks

- 1 large sweet potato, cubed

- dill, salt, pepper to taste

- 1 tablespoon of olive oil

- 1/2 cup water

The Sauce

- 3 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into really large chunks

- 1 slicing tomato, cut into really large chunks

- 1/2 red onion, cut into pieces

- 10-12 Padron peppers, stems and seeds removed

- 1 jalapeno pepper, stems and seeds removed

- 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled

- 1 tablespoon lemon juice

- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

- chipotle habanero sauce to taste

- chili pepper flakes, chipotle pepper powder, black pepper, paprika, dill, cilantro, salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Using a strong blender or food processor, blend together the sauce ingredients until everything is mostly smooth with a few chunks of tomato still intact.  Play with the taste of the sauce - if you like it spicier, add more spice, or keep the jalapeno seeds in your mix.  If you want it milder, omit the jalapeno pepper, chipotle powder, chili flakes and chipotle habanero sauce.  

Salt and pepper your meat, put it in a deep enough baking dish to contain both the meat and your sauce, and slowly pour the spicy tomato mixture over the whole tenderloin.  Stick it in the oven and cook it for an hour to one hour and fifteen minutes.  Make sure the internal temperature is at 145 degrees to ensure your food is properly cooked through.

Put the large chunks of squash and cubed sweet potatoes in a glass baking dish and sprinkle with dill, salt and pepper.  Brush the olive oil on and pour the water into the bottom of the dish.  Cook for 35-45 minutes on the same rack as the pork. 

When the tenderloin is all done, the sauce should have thickened and darkened a bit.  Slice up the tenderloin and spoon the sauce back over the top of the meat.  Layer some of the delicious semi-soft cheese on top and let it melt for a few minutes before you serve it.  Sprinkle on the green onions and present your food!  I put some fresh green grapes and some full fat Greek yogurt on the table as garnish - the sweet grapes paired great with the smoky, spicy flavors, and the Greek yogurt soothed our slightly burning tongues from all the delicious spiciness.  You could also use sour cream if you wanted, it's all about your preferences and palates.  

Thai Basil Curry Crockpot Goodness

I. Love. My. Crockpot.  We received it as a gift for our wedding in the spring, and ever since then I use it regularly to make delicious curries and slow-cooked meats.  I love it because I will make the meal right before I go to bed, and when we wake up in the morning, we open the bedroom door and our entire home is drenched with delicious aromas.  Then I send my husband off with his Thermos.  This is a great Thai curry with lots of savory spice and hints of coconut.  

The Meat

- 1 pound of beef stew meat

The Veggies

- 1/2 head cauliflower

- 8-10 carrots

- 3 yellow potatoes, skinned and chopped into large pieces

- 1/3 eggplant, chopped into large pieces

- 2 summer squashes, chopped into large pieces

The Sauce

- 1 cup coconut milk

- 1/2 cup water

- 1 teaspoon onion powder

- 2 tablespoons Thai chili paste

- 1 tablespoon coconut oil

- 1-2 teaspoons tamarind puree

- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch

- 2 teaspoons lime juice

- salt, garlic powder, lemongrass powder, basil, coriander to taste

Chop all your veggies the night before, and toss the raw meat and veggies in the crock pot.  I make my veggie pieces extra large, because they get so soft in the Crockpot that if they are small they will literally cook away to nothing.  Mix together the sauce (or, you could be lazy and buy World Foods' Thai Basil Curry Stir-Fry Sauce.  It has sugar in it, but is gluten free, and has no artificial preservatives or genetically modified ingredients.  Use the whole jar).  Pour the sauce over the veggies and meat, turn the Crockpot on "low" heat, and let it cook overnight (around 6-8 hours).  Go to sleep.





When I wake up, the first thing I do is open my eyes and wish I could sleep later...then I get up and go turn the Crockpot setting to "warm." I send my husband to work with a Thermos of curry and some crunchy apple slices and nuts.  The veggies and meat are SO soft, they melt in your mouth.  I use a slotted spoon to get the curry from the Crockpot to the bowl/thermos, because there is usually greasy liquid at the bottom of the Crockpot.  It is tasty too though if you feel like splashing some into your meal.

Turkey Patties with Dill Yogurt Sauce

This is a light dinner, it tastes amazing and the ground turkey tastes soooo good with the Greek yogurt sauce.  We have been enjoying fresh cucumber in all sorts of ways this summer, and putting the diced cucumber into the Greek yogurt is a great way to lighten up your dinner and add some zesty crunch!

The Meat

- 1 pound ground turkey, divided into 4 patties
- curry spice, salt, pepper, dill, crushed red pepper to taste

The Veggies

- 1 head of broccoli, chopped

- 1 small head purple cauliflower, chopped
-lemon juice to taste

2 summer squashes, sliced

- 1/2 cup red grapes, sliced in halves

- 1 large slicing tomato, chopped

- 1 tablespoon dried cranberries
- salt, pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon olive oil

The Sauce

- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

- 6 slices cucumber, diced

- 1 teaspoon lemon juice

- salt, dill, pepper to taste

- 1/2 green onion, sliced


Preheat the oven to 380 degrees.


Slice the squash and tomatoes and put them into your small baking dish.  Then add the water, seasoning, cranberries, and oil.  Pop it all in the oven and bake it for around 35 minutes.





Put the broccoli and cauliflower into your steamer and steam for 15 minutes.  Splash them with the lemon juice when they are all done.  I like to keep them a little firm, I feel like the vegetables taste better when they aren't too mushy.  The lemon is a nice way to give them a tangy kick without relying on too much seasoning.





The patties I cooked on my griddle pan at high heat, flipping them after 4 minutes.  While they cooked I whipped up my sauce, folding in all the ingredients and spooning it together until it is creamy and consistent.

TomMmmato Appetizer

As I mentioned in the last post, I have tomatoes coming out of my ears.  Our Farm Fresh box was full of slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and heirloom tomatoes this weekend.  Tonight we were going to dinner at our momma's house, so I only needed to prepare an appetizer.  This is a great summer dish that can also be eaten as a lunch (or add some chicken and you have a whole meal, honestly).  I, of course, add bacon to everything, but it can be omitted for a vegetarian version. 

The Meat

- 4 pieces bacon, crispy and crumbled

The Veggies

- 2 summer squashes, sliced

- 1/4 eggplant, diced

- 1/4 cup water

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- pan drippings 

- salt, pepper, basil, oregano, dill to taste

- 1 large slicing tomato, chopped

- 12-15 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

- 2 tablespoons olive oil

- 1/3 cup fresh mozzarella balls

- 1/2 pack soft cheese (read below)

- salt, pepper, basil, oregano, marjoram, onion powder to taste

- green onion, sliced

- 1/4 cup raw spinach, sliced

This dish has two stages of prep - hot prep and cold prep.  While the squash/bacon/eggplant part should be served warm, I intentionally keep the rest of the appetizer chilled, so that way the tomatoes stay fresh and don't get mushy, and the cheese also stays solid instead of getting gooey.  

First I fried up the bacon in my griddle pan and then crumbled it and set it aside.  I simmered the spiced eggplant and squash with the water, olive oil, and leftover bacon grease for around 20 minutes until everything is soft and cooked through.  Then I mixed in the warm bacon.

In my large bowl I mixed together the tomatoes, spices, and oil, making a nice tomato salad. I added the mozzarella and this AMAZING Foggy Morning Cheese that we picked up at our farmers' market.  It is soft and mild, creamy like goat's cheese but made from cow's milk.  It's fantastic and pairs with the fresh mozzarella awesomely.  

When it is time to serve, toss the warm ingredients (including pan drippings) with the chilled tomato mixture.  Sprinkle the sliced raw spinach and green onion on top to make it look pretty and add a bit of freshness and crispness to your dish.  Whomever you serve this to will love the soft cheeses, the bursts of fresh tomato, the crunch of the bacon, and the savory soft squash.  It's a winner.

Baked Eggplant And Meatballs

Oh my lordy this was a good meal.  When I brought the dish out to my husband, his face lit up like Christmas day.  This meal involves a bit of prep, but it is everything we love about Italian food - meat balls, fresh sauce, tomatoes galore, roasted eggplant, cheeeeeeeese, and lots of oregano and basil.   I made this meal partially because, as Italians, WE MUST EAT THIS FOOD TO LIVE, and partially because I have tomatoes coming out of my ears over here. 

The Meat

- 1 pound ground beef

- 1 raw egg yolk

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 tablespoon tomato, crushed

- 1 teaspoon onion, minced

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- salt, pepper, marjoram, basil, oregano, paprika to taste

The Veggies

- 1/2 large eggplant, sliced and brushed in olive oil

- 2 tablespoons tomato, crushed

- salt, pepper, oregano to taste

- 1 large slicing tomato, chopped

- 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella dressed with oil and spices

- 1/2 head of broccoli

- 2 summer squashes, sliced

- 1 green onion, sliced

- shaved parmesan

- 1/3 cup water

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- salt, pepper, basil, dill, marjoram to taste

The Sauce

- 2 large slicing tomatoes, crushed

- 1 tablespoon tomato puree

- 1/2 cup heavy cream

- pan drippings

- 1 teaspoon olive oil

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 teaspoon lemon juice

- parmesan to taste

- salt, pepper, onion powder, basil, oregano to taste (be liberal!)

Preheat oven to 380 degrees.

Let's roll some meatballs!  Mix together all of the meat ingredients with your hands in a large metal mixing bowl.  Squish it for a few minutes to make sure everything is evenly mixed.  I turned my pound of ground beef into 9 meatballs, but you can make them a little smaller and have an even number if you prefer.  

Throw the sauce ingredients into a small simmer pot and let them cook together for the next hour. I brought the sauce up to a boil and then simmered for the rest of the time, stirring occasionally. 

In order to save space/dishwashing time, I put my meatballs and my eggplant in the same baking dish.  This only helps the flavors, because the eggplant gets infused with the pan drippings of the meat.  I put my meatballs on one side, and layered the other side with my spiced, sliced eggplant and crushed tomato.  I had 3 layers of eggplant and tomato on top of each other.  Into the oven the dish goes, and out it will come after 45 minutes. (If you are really into cheese, you can layer slices or shredded mozzarella in between the eggplant). 

After getting the meatballs and eggplant into the oven I put the rest of the veggies (but not the cheese) into my sauté pan with the water and oil.  I let them cook on medium heat for around 20 minutes and then added the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses a few minutes before serving, so they would be soft and gooey delicious when it was time to chow down.

The veggies went on the bottom of the plate with sauce and then the eggplant and meatballs went on top.  It's a large, satisfying, intensely tomatoey meal.  And we love it.