Eyeballs and Brains

This is a great recipe any day of the year but adding an olive to the top of the meatballs makes it a fun and festive way to have a Halloween dinner! Eyeballs and Brains is healthy and delicious!

The Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground turkey (could use ground chicken)
  
• 1/4 cup pesto
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
  
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups spaghetti sauce (jarred or homemade)
• Spaghetti Noodles

Cooking It Up:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a baking dish with non stick spray and dump the spaghetti sauce into it.
• Place all of the other ingredients into a bowl and using your hands, combine until everything is well mixed.
• Roll mixture into balls and drop them into the sauce.
• To make them look like eyeballs: Press one black or green olive slice into the top of an uncooked meatball. Make sure the olive is secure (I didn't push them into the meatball enough and a lot of them fell off while cooking). Place olive side up in sauce.
• Cover the baking pan with foil and bake until meatballs are no longer pink and are firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
• Cook spaghetti noodles while the meatballs are baking.
• Serve meatballs (eyeballs) over cooked spaghetti (otherwise known as brains!).

Happy Halloween!!

Donair Wraps

We grew up in the Maritimes where donairs seem to be a common thing. They are delicious and sold at many restaurants and pizza joints. They are not as popular where we live now but we still love them. Here is a healthier (and easier) version of a donair. So so yummy, and pretty close to authentic! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Donair:

• 1 pound of ground turkey
  
• 1 pound of ground beef (lean or extra lean)
• 4 tsp flour
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• dash of ground black pepper and salt
  
• 1-2 Roma Tomatoes (they have less juice and pulp which makes them perfect for a wrap!)
• 1/2 yellow onion, raw and finely chopped
• 1 head of leaf lettuce
  
• 6 flour tortillas (or greek pitas)

Donair Sauce:

• 3-4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp milk (I used skim)
• 1 tbsp white sugar
  
• 1 tsp white vinegar

Cooking It Up:

• Preheat oven to 375 F.
  
• Mix the meat and spices in a medium sized bowl. Mix with your hands for a full 4-5 minutes (or a food processor for 2-3 minutes). This is very important and will lend to the final consistency of the donair meat.
• Form the meat into a narrow (1 1/2 inch height) and long loaf. Place on a baking sheet and cook for 55-60 minutes.
• While the meat is cooking, make the sauce by mixing the ingredients together until no longer lumpy. Set aside in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
• Slice meat into thin slices, if you aren't serving it immediately out of the oven you can reheat the meat in a frying pan (a few minutes over medium heat).
• Place the meat onto tortillas, top with diced tomatoes, diced onion, leaf lettuce, and a good amount of the donair sauce.

Serves 4-6.

Apple & Sweet Potato Beef Stew

The Ingredient List:

1 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp water
2 cloves garlic (I use jarred minced garlic)
1 onion, chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnmon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tbsp liquid honey
2 apples, peeled, cored, chopped
1 can (790 ml) diced tomatoes (do not drain liquid)

Cooking It Up:

• Heat oil and cook garlic, onion, sweet potato and water, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
• Add beef and cook 5 minutes.
• Add spices and cook, stirring often, 2 minutes.
• Add tomatoes and honey, continue to cook and stir often for 15 minutes.
• Add apples, cook an additional 10 minutes.

Serves 4-6. Enjoy!

Mulligawtany Soup

There are a couple of great soup recipes that I have been making lately and freezing for my lunches. This one is definitely a favourite!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder - I use more, good to do it to taste.
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 apple, cored and chopped
1/2cup white rice
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half - cut into cubes
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch dried thyme
1/2 cup heavy cream, heated

Directions:

1. Saute onions, celery, carrot, and butter in a large soup pot. Add flour and curry, and cook 5 more minutes. Add chicken stock, mix well, and bring to a boil. Simmer about 1/2 hour.

2. Add apple, rice, chicken, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer 15-20 minutes.

3. Just before serving, add hot cream.

4. Also, before serving; place 1/2 cup of cooked rice in the bowls, then top it with the soup!

Enjoy!

Italian Herb Bread - Breadmaker Recipe

This recipe yields one 1.5 lb loaf.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup water (between 115-125 F)
• 1/4 cup skim milk powder
  
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 cups all purpose or bread flour (leveled even cups!)
• 2 tsp dried minced onion
• 2 tsp italian seasoning
  
• 3/4 tsp bread machine or instant yeast

Directions:
1) Measure ingredients into your baking pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Insert pan into it's chamber.
2) Select French Cycle.
3) Enjoy!!

Tip: If you like a softer crust, seal the bread into an airtight plastic bag while it's still hot!

Old-fashioned Popcorn Balls

These are a family tradition; I remember being at my grandfather's at Christmas time and enjoying these; as well my cousins and I made these as favors to hand out at my grampy's 90th birthday party. They are old fashioned; and if you don't like molasses you won't enjoy these - but for most, they are amazing!

Ingredients:

2 quarts popped popcorn
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

Place popcorn in a large bowl and set aside. Two microwave bags work well for a batch. Make sure you remove the unpopped kernels.

In a heavy saucepan, combine molasses, sugar, water, vinegar and butter. Cook, without stirring, over medium heat until the mixture hairs.

Add baking soda, stirring, remove from heat and immediately pour over popcorn. Stir gently with a wooden spoon until well coated.

When cool enough to handle, coat palms with butter and quickly shape into balls. Enjoy!

Freezes well.

LLW