Cheese-stuffed Meatballs

You're going to want to make these meatballs. Trust me on this one. I'm not a meatball lover (unless they are albondigas, which is my only exception) and so if I'm telling you make these, you should listen! Adding some gooey cheese into the middle makes these oh-so much better than a regular old plain, boring meatball. Let's say it together: "No more boring meatballs!"

I made my meatballs pretty big and cooked them up in a 12-cup muffin pan, so they actually came out looking like little meat muffins. Wow, saying "meat muffin" our loud does not make them sound tasty, but trust me they are and you know, they looked pretty adorable. You can put them on a baking sheet if you prefer to keep a more rounded shape and don't want to have to say "meat muffin". I've already said it way too many times.

I served these with some yummy homemade tomato sauce, and over zucchini "noodles" for me and regular fettucine for everyone else. These would also be great for a meatball sandwich if that's your fancy. Any way you like, these are fantastic.


Ingredients

2 lbs. ground turkey (can also use ground beef)
2 eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. deli (brown) mustard
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3-4 sticks string cheese, each stick cut into 5 pieces
* I made my meatballs quite large, and so got 12 big ones and 3 smaller ones out of the meat mixture, and used 3 string cheese. If you make them smaller, which I would actually recommend so you get a higher cheese-to-meat ratio, you can probably make at least 20 meatballs.

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine turkey and all other ingredients except string cheese. Mix well to combine (use your hands to get the best results!).

2. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray (or each cup of a muffin tin, if using). Take 1/4 cup of meat mixture and roll into a ball. Press your finger into the center to make an indent, and place a piece of string cheese into it. Roll meat mixture again to cover the cheese completely and make a meatball shape. Place meatballs onto baking sheet or into muffin pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through and cheese starts to ooze out. Remember, in this case, ooze is a good thing! Cook them too long and the cheese will start to harden and not be melty (this happened to a few of mine). Serve immediately.

Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Panini - No Recipe Needed

I've never been a sandwich person, so I blame my recent interest in them on this pregnancy. The flavors of this one all work really well together, and the ciabatta is the perfect bread to use because it gets nice and crispy once cooked. And, you can definitely change it up according to what you have on hand!

Here's the basics:

Ciabatta roll (I got individual sized ones from the bakery section)

Wholly Guacamole (or mix some fresh avocado with a little mayo)

Sliced turkey breast

Roasted red peppers

Baby spinach

Pepperjack cheese

Cut the ciabatta roll in half and spread both sides with guacamole. Top one side with turkey, red peppers strips, spinach and cheese, then top with the other side of the roll. I don't have a panini maker, so I put a little olive oil on the outside of the roll and then cooked in a pan, weighing it down with some heavy pans, a few minutes on each side until the cheese melts and the bread crisps. Enjoy!

Southwest Turkey Soup

Back around Thanksgiving time, we bought a few extra turkeys and put them in the freezer, because I don't think its fair that you can only get turkeys cheap once a year! I roasted one a couple weeks ago (Thanksgiving in January!) and packed up the leftover meat to use in future meals...a big turkey sure goes a long way! I think we'll end up getting at least 6 meals out of that one turkey - and considering it only cost about $6, that's much cheaper than using chicken and a great way to stretch a budget.

This was one of the leftover recipes I came up with for the turkey meat. A delicious, no-fuss way to get some different flavors once you are all Thanksgivinged-out.

Southwest Turkey Soup

Ingredients

2 cups shredded cooked turkey
3 cups chicken stock
1 can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 can corn
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
Salt and pepper
Dash hot sauce
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients except lime juice and cilantro in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Stir in lime juice and cilantro just before serving. Garnish with fresh sliced avocado, shredded cheese and sour cream, and serve with homemade tortilla chips.