Turkey Meatball Pitas

Menu:
Turkey Meatball Pitas || Women's Health
Herbed Sugar Snap Peas
Prep time: 8 minutes || Cook time: 5 minutes

1 Tbsp olive-oil
8 Tbsp low-fat tzatziki or yogurt dip*
4 c baby spinach leaves
12 fresh or frozen precooked turkey meatballs (plain or home-style)
1 Tbsp allspice
1 Tbsp oregano
4 whole-wheat pita pockets, cut in half
1 Tbsp mint flakes
1. If needed, arrange meatballs on a plate and microwave about 2 minutes on defrost setting.

2. Place olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add mint, allspice, and oregano; mix. Break meatballs into small chunks and add to skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

3. Stuff pita pockets with baby spinach leaves. Spoon turkey mixture into pita and top with a dollop of tzatziki or yogurt dip. (*If you can't find prepared low-fat tzatziki or yogurt dip, make your own by mixing 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/4 cup minced cilantro.)

Herbed Sugar Snap Peas

12 oz. fresh sugar snap peas (NOTE: make sure they are stringless or you remove the strings)
1 t. olive oil
1 t. chopped garlic
1 t. thyme

1. Steam peas in microwave or steamer until tender-crisp.

2. Drain water. Add oil, garlic an thyme and toss.

Corned Beef Birthday Dinner

Menu:
Corned Beef & Cabbage
Colcannon|| Martha Stewart
Chocolate Hazelnut Meringue Cake || Tartlette

Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad with Pistachios

Menu:
Roasted Vegetable and Quinoa Salad with Pistachios || Real Simple

Serves 4
Hands-on Time: 10m
Total Time: 30m

Ingredients
1 pound carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch lengths
1 pound shiitake or cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
kosher salt and black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1 cup quinoa
5 cups baby spinach (4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped salted, roasted pistachios

Directions
1. Heat oven to 425° F. On 2 rimmed baking sheets, toss the carrots and mushrooms with the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Roast, tossing once, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Combine the vegetables in a large bowl and toss with the lemon juice and thyme.

2. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Divide the spinach among plates and top with the warm quinoa and vegetables. Sprinkle with the pistachios and drizzle with the oil.

NOTE: Instead of regular olive oil, we used a Truffle olive oil. It really made it, I think. One of the boys loved the carrots, the other the mushrooms, so it worked out perfect.

Pre-Triathlon Dinner

Menu:
Chicken Breasts
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Kale Salad

Brian's in a triathlon tomorrow. It's one I've done the last couple years too, but I'm not doing this time around. As always, we had to make our pre-triathlon dinner. Yum.

Goat Cheese Omlet

Menu:
Goat Cheese Omlet
Salad with Avocado and Sunflower Seeds
Seeded Rolls

Tuna

Menu:
Tuna Steaks
Stir-Fried Snow Peas with Sesame Soy Sauce
Stir-Fried Cabbage with Salt and Pepper
Avocado

This meal took 15 minutes to make. And it happened to be one of my families favorite meals! Seriously. I was kind of surprised since it doesn't look very pretty, but we really liked it.

Baked Potatoes

Menu:
Baked Potato with Steamed Broccoli and Cheese Sauce
Mache Salad with Pistachios and Avocado

Pork Chops

Menu:
Pork Chops
Grilled Sweet Potatoes
Zucchini Blossoms

(We also had olives, bread and some cheese for a snack). And sangria.

Salmon & Roasted Tomatoes

Menu:
Roasted Salmon in Butter & Olive Oil
Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
Salad

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes:

4 plum tomatoes
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan
1 tbsp. coarsely chopped basil
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out pulp. Coarsely chop tomato pulp and mix in mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Place tomato halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Fill with mixture. Bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Valentine's Day Dinner

Menu:
Beef Tenderloin
Scallops
Green Beans
Creamed Spinach
Salt-Roasted Potatoes

Dessert: Chocolate Fondue

Carne Asade

Menu:
Carne Asada
Roasted Cauliflower
Avocados
Stuffed Tomatoes

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

4 plum tomatoes
1/2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp. grated Parmesan
1 tbsp. coarsely chopped basil
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut tomatoes in half and scoop out pulp. Coarsely chop tomato pulp and mix in mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Place tomato halves cut side up on a baking sheet. Fill with mixture. Bake until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Shrimp Scampi

Menu:
Shrimp Scampi
Spinach with Pinenuts

Seared Salmon with Zucchini

Menu:
Seared Salmon with Zucchini
Brussel Sprouts
Red Corn

Recipe for Seared Salmon with Zucchini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
½ small red onion, minced
2 large zucchini, thinly sliced into rounds
4 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until softened and lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Cover and cook 2 minutes more. Season vegetables well with salt and pepper; transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Season salmon with salt and pepper. Heat remaining oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon, skin side down, and cook until lightly browned, 3 minutes per side. Serve with vegetables.

Makes 4 servings.

Sautéed Chicken with Corn and Edamame

Menu:
Sautéed Chicken with Corn and Edamame || Real Simple, June 2007
Simple Salad

Tilapia with Peppers and Olives

Menu:
Tilapia with Peppers and Olives || Real Simple, October 2009
Steamed Artichokes

Rating:
Brian - 4 stars
Angela - 4 stars
Cole - 3 stars (he loves fish and artichokes)
Hudson - 2 stars

Sausage with Cabbage and Corn

Menu:
Sausage with Cabbage and Corn Sauté || Real Simple

Note: I used chicken sausage.

Dinner In Italy

We just got back from an amazing Italian vacation. I didn't take photos of every meal, but I'll be posting some favorites this week. This is our first night in Positano. We had rented a house, and were very exhausted after traveling. We simply picked up some tomatoes (amazing), mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, bread, grapes and wine. It was perfect.

Impromptu

We were invited over for an impromptu dinner at our friend's tonight. They just had a baby. And had us over for dinner. It should be the other way around, I know. They swore they just doubled everything they were planning on making anyway. It was great.

Menu:
Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms (from their garden)
Pasta with Goat Cheese, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Broccoli and Zucchini (broccoli and zucchini also from their garden) with Prosciutto

I will be taking a little break, but will be back soon. Maybe with some archived meals. You never know. Check back soon. Ciao!

Salads & Pizza

Menu:
Insalata Caprese
Melon & Prosciutto
Grilled Vegetable Pizza

Ginger Chicken with Snow Pea Salad

Menu:
Ginger Chicken with Snow Pea Salad
Mache
Green Tea with Mint (Trader Joe's - yum)