Ina's Italian Wedding Soup

I did it!  I made it through the week without eating a cheeseburger!  Or a bagel every morning!  There was some cookie dough last night... but remember how we talked about balance?  Also, you guys, I have had this blog for a very long time.  That was a weird transition, but just hear me out.  Carson and I were watching the Food Network the other night - "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" if you must know (cause it's either that or HGTV in this house) - and he saw some soup and said, you should make that.  And I was all, I have made that, don't you remember?  And he's like, nope.  And I was like, ugh, what is WRONG with you (we're in the honeymoon phase).  Then I searched my blog and realized I made it SIX YEARS AGO.  Check it out here, along with my teeny, tiny photos.

So I made it again!  The dish is Italian Wedding Soup, and it's delicious.  A healthy blend of veggies, greens (I used escarole) and turkey meatballs (I skipped the sausage as well as the pasta in Ina's recipe).  We ate it along with grilled cheeses (balance) and it was a wonderful dinner!        

Read More

Butternut Squash Meatloaf

I've made many a meatloaf in my day, but I had never thought of putting squash in it before.  However I swear, you can google any two ingredients and a recipe will pop up, which is exactly what I did last night.  By adding butternut squash (cooked in bacon, onion and sage) to this meatloaf, the flavors are off the chart.  And now I talk like Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.  

I used this recipe and made some minor changes.  Instead of pork, I used ground turkey, I skipped the red pepper flakes (in case my kids wanted to try it, hahahaha, they did not), I didn't use an egg because I didn't have one (it turned out just fine), and before cooking it I topped it with a balsamic/ketchup combo (which I highly recommend doing).  By the way, I like to use my hands to form the loaf and cook it on a baking sheet vs. a bread pan.  I think it makes the exterior nice and crispy, which I love.  I plan on turning it into a sandwich for lunch.  Is it lunchtime yet??  

Read More

Taco Pie with Winter Squash

After making this insanely delicious Spaghetti Pie the other day (as seen on my Instagram page), I started imagining what other dinners I could make in a pie pan, and because it was Tuesday my mind instantly went to tacos!  Taco Pie!  But not just any taco pie, no, no... this particular dish is only disguising as comfort food (which is what it tasted like, oh man).  This hearty but healthy casserole has lean meat, the protein and fiber from beans and the nutrients from a whole lot of squash you won't even know you're eating.  By the way do beans have fiber?  I don't know, it just sounded right to say.

At the last minute I decided to add a frozen package of cooked squash into the meat (the pureed kind).  It melted beautifully, and balanced out the spice of the meat in a sweet and subtle way.  My kids loved it (well, two of them did, not the middle one who would live off of Skittles if she could), and had NO idea I had tricked them into eating something healthy.  And by the way, I ate two slices topped with avocado.  IT WAS SO GOOD.  

Taco Pie with Winter Squash

(Serves 8)

Printable Recipe

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

1 lb. ground turkey

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1/2 cup water

1 12 oz. pkg cooked squash, thawed

1 8oz. bottle taco sauce

3 flour tortillas

1 can refried beans (you probably won't use it all)

2-3 cups Mexican blend grated cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté for a few minutes, until onions begin to soften.  Add ground turkey and sauté until no longer pink.  Add taco seasoning and water and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil, and then lower heat and simmer until sauce begins to thicken.  Add thawed squash, and stir to make sure everything is well incorporated.  Remove from heat.  Spray a 10-inch cake or pie pan with cooking spray.  Add a small amount of the taco sauce and spread with a spatula.  Place a tortilla in the pan, and then spread a layer of refried beans on top with a spatula.  Top with a third of the meat, then a third of the cheese and finally a third of the taco sauce.  Place another tortilla down, and repeat with the beans, meat, cheese and sauce.  Place your last tortilla down, top with beans, the rest of the meat, the rest of the sauce and ending with the rest of your cheese.  Bake for 30-35 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and golden.    

The squash disappears!

Read More

Turkey, Cheese & Cauliflower Meatballs

I make a lot with cauliflower, because it's a vegetable that my children will actually eat, but chopping it up is one of my least favorite things to do.  It's messy, tedious and time consuming.  But yesterday I was at Target, and I came across these Cauliflower Crumbles (did you know if you're a mom and you find yourself with a few free hours you car will actually DRIVE YOU TO TARGET all by itself??? so weird).  Yes, these crumbles are a major short cut BUT WHO CARES!?  Short cuts at dinnertime make for a happy household.  So last night, I made a version of these meatballs with cauliflower crumbles instead of the other vegetables it called for.  They were so yummy!!  They even went to the party, the party in our tummies, because sometimes we have to sing that song while we eat...

Thank you for the recipe, Audra!

Also, a Cauliflower Quesadilla and a Cauliflower Rice Bowl.

Read More

Cheesy Turkey Cauliflower Quesadilla

You guys, I've decided to go on a massive diet.  I'm going to omit food for 16 days, and only drink beet juice with kale and cayenne and maybe the occasional jar of baby food and... OKAY I CAN'T, April Fools!  It's still April 1st, right?  Food, you're my favorite and I'll never quit you.

Ok, moving on from my lame prank... while I don't really believe in "diets" I DO believe in tricking your kids to eat vegetables.  I wish it didn't have to come to that in my household, but alas, it does.  So I introduce to you... the Cauliflower Quesadilla!  To be honest, my kids eat cauliflower on their own, but I'll gladly shove it in other foods if it means they're getting an extra oomf of vegetables.  Oomf?  Who am I what am I saying??  Anyway, it's white, it can be pulverized into a rice-like constancy, it's basically the perfect April Fool's Day vegetable.  Last night, I made cauliflower rice and added it to our quesadillas with ground turkey and Mexican cheese.  Delicious, for kids and grown ups alike!  It just added a little something extra, and I promise I won't say "oomf" again, ever.      

Etta loved it, in between nose pickings.

Read More

Greek Turkey Burgers

Trying to concentrate as I write this, which is difficult because I'm waiting to hear any second now that my baby nephew has been born!!  I feel giddy!  I feel like Mini Me from Austin Powers and I just want to yell, eeeeeeeeeeeee!!!  Babies are born every second of every day, all across the world, but when it goes down in your own family, doesn't it feel like it's never happened to anyone, ever?  It's so ridiculously special, each experience so unique, that it's hard to imagine other people going through the same thing!  At least that's how I feel, and I've had 3 babies + 12 cups of coffee already.  I'm good at math, and those numbers add up to me being an emotional crazy person right now.    

Anyway, let's talk about something else, like these healthy turkey burgers I found on Joy Bauer's website.  I forget how simple it is to make burgers on the stove, and how easily they can be transformed by adding whatever ingredients you have at home.  These Greek flavors - feta, roasted peppers and oregano - made these burgers delicious, and I added some chopped spinach to make them even brighter and healthier.  We topped them with store-bought tzatziki sauce (have fun getting that word in a spelling bee), served them alongside a salad and baked sweet potato and then ran a marathon after dinner.  Or we ate frozen cookie dough, I can't remember. 

Recipe here.

Read More

Meatloaf Muffins with Barbecue Sauce

Remember to tune into the Rachael Ray Show today!  The above photo is a sneak peak of me, pretending to be calm and cool, pretending to sip coffee, actually baking up something that involves those mason jars... by the way, did you know I'm a Lifestyle Pro?  Yup, according to Rach and her website, that's what I am.  I call her "Rach" now.

And in honor of RR (another nickname) and her amazing show, I made one of her recipes last night.  Not even on purpose.  I had zero clue what to make for dinner, and with only one ingredient on my mind (ground turkey) I found these Meatloaf Muffins with Barbecue Sauce by Rachael Ray!  They were SO delicious... extremely moist with a crusty exterior, sweet and spicy... small enough for you to eat three or four or six or seven JUST KIDDING.  

I hope you like the show today!   

Read More

Turkey Spinach Quinoa Meatballs

Hello!  The following post was written by a loyal reader and blogger herself, Christen.  This recipe sounds ridiculous and I will be making it ASAP.  Especially because I've been searching for ways to sneak ANYTHING GREEN into my children's diets.  This might be the answer...  

Hey there, Siriously Delicious readers!  I'm Christen.  I'm a mom, wife and general crazy person living in upstate New York.  I work full time in higher education, but in my free time (ha) I love to cook and bake.  That's why I started my blog, Christen in the Kitchen.  I'm obsessed with checking out what other people are cooking on their blogs, and that's how I found Siri's.  I've been a big fan of hers for awhile, and I also love to bake any kind of cookies and bring myself to the brink of insanity trying to make my children's birthday cakes (so we have that in common). 

I, like a lot of moms, am always trying to answer the eternal question, "What's for dinner?"  The pre-parenting days of eating cheese and drinking wine for dinner are long gone, and it can be hard putting a balanced meal together in about 20 minutes a night.  

That's where these Turkey Spinach Quinoa Meatballs come in.  I literally made a quadruple batch of these and froze them into family-sized portions for later use.  The best part is, my ridiculously picky eater of a 3-year-old will actually eat them since they're in ball form and she can dip them in ketchup!  I typically serve these with a side of French fries, but you can also do a big pile of veggies or serve them on top of a salad.

Click here for the recipe!  Also, if you like this recipe, check out my blog Christen in the Kitchen, or like my Facebook page where I post updates.   

*Thank you, Christen!  

Read More

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Butternut Squash

Thank you for your recipe suggestions the other day.  You all gave excellent ones (except for whoever suggested Pumpkin Pie, no no no no NO).  But the winner, or I should say the one that sent me running to the market for ingredients, was this recipe for a Skillet Chicken Pot Pie.  It sounded simple, and relatively healthy (no cream, no butter).  It also sounded unique, as kale and butternut squash are not classic pot pie ingredients.  This is comfort food at it's finest, people... a hearty meal that doesn't leave you feeling ridiculously full and fat.  I swapped chicken for turkey, because I found a roasted breast where I usually find rotisserie chickens and, 'tis the season after all.  If you're looking for a crowd pleaser this weekend - make this!  Later gators.     

*Photos by Katy at Chasing You Photo

Read More

Turkey Meatloaf with Chipotle Glaze

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Our internet was down, and I also had a million things on my to-do list to tend to.  I accomplished one of them, in case you were wondering, which was showering this morning.  Anyway,  I digress...

Another reason to purchase this book is for this recipe: Mini Turkey Meatloaf with Chipotle Glaze.  I've made many a meatloaf before, but none with such unique ingredients as this one.  Grated sweet potato and zucchini, sauteed with onions, add flavor, richness and nutrition!  Listen to me, I'm like a pocket of health.  Also, instead of the traditional addition of bread crumbs: oats.  Oats!  It made for one delicious meatloaf.  And I will eat any chipotle anything.  Anything.  I didn't take many pictures because I was eating too much.  Also not on my to-do list.  Oops.    

Read More