Tuesday, March 23, 2010

HIT NIGHT!!!!

OMG. I have to gush. Finally, we hit a stellar night with not one, but TWO new recipes! I'm totally in a semi food coma, but I'm so stoked, I just had to write this down.


The first recipe was one I was sitting on for a while ever since I noticed I could get ground lamb at the Giant. I originally found the recipe just searching for pasta recipes, since they tend to be cheap and easy. This was, as the only things extra I needed to find was ground lamb and feta. The taste was not as exotic as you might fear if you were not used to the combination. Using a tomato sauce brand you are already familiar with makes it a lot less intimidating. I used Classico tomato and basil, since I really like that taste.


Greek Pasta with Meatballs

2 cups hot cooked orzo (or another little pasta that you have on hand)
1/3 cup plain dry breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound lean ground lamb
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups jarred marinara sauce
3/4 cup (3 oz) crumbled feta cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Cook orzo according to package directions; drain. Keep warm.

3. Combine breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients (through garlic) in a medium bowl; stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons parsley. Add egg whites, stirring mixture until just combined. Shape mixture into 12 (1-inch) meatballs; cover and chill meatballs 5 minutes.

4. Heat oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs to pan; cook 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Drain well; wipe pan clean with paper towels. Return meatballs to pan. Spoon marinara sauce over meatballs; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 for 11 minutes or until meatballs are done. Sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons parsley. Serve over pasta.

4 servings


So the next recipe I found after desperately needing a way to cook kale for a side without having any bacon. Basically the only way I know how to cook kale is with bacon grease or as an ingredient in a soup. And kale was the only vegetable available for tonight. Without bacon, I quickly searched Food Network.com for anything I could try as the oven preheated for the meatballs. The recipe I found had only ingredients I already had, plus was easy and rated high. Bonus was the comment that this particular talent helped the user to use up their CSA goodies!


Braised Kale with Toasted Almonds
from Aaron McCargo Jr.
  • 1 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 tablespoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 cup minced onions
  • 1 bunch kale, stemmed and sliced thin
  • 1/2 cup chicken broth
  • 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
  • 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
In a large saute pan over low heat, toast almonds for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly browned. Add butter and allow to brown. Add garlic and onions. Cook for 3 minutes until slightly caramelized. Add kale and toss lightly. Add broth, bouillon and pepper. Cook kale for 5 to 6 minutes until tender and liquid has evaporated.

2 comments:

  1. yeah, they're pretty awesome. this recipe was a snap to make, all you need to find really is ground lamb. I'm sure Whole Foods has it if Harris Teeter doesn't.

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