Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs

This is a terrible picture.  I know, and I apologize.  These were going out the door to someone's house and we were running late, so no good picture at all today.  However, these were pretty yummy little meatballs.  They are originally called Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs, but I didn't have any turkey so they were made with chicken.  I put some chicken tenders, and all the meatball ingredients into my food processor.  I ground them all together, then formed the meatballs around the cheese.  I should've flipped them halfway through the cooking time, but I didn't think one side would get dark while the other didn't really brown.  These aren't burnt, they just don't look nice.  Anyway, although I didn't love the texture of these meatballs, the flavor was great.  I thought the texture was not quite meaty enough, and a little too wet, if that makes sense.  I think that maybe some bread crumbs or something might have given it a better consistency.  With the pasta the calories were approximately 450 per serving, using a homemade sauce.  Hopefully if you try this you'll get the right consistency.  Aaron and I both gave them an 8, and the boys didn't try any. 

Tomorrow we're having another chicken dish.

Rouladen and Rotkohl

So I was sooo excited for dinner tonight, and I thought everyone was going to love this.  Turns out, I'm the only one that loved this.  This just brings back memories of Germany, and I really began to love food and cooking while I was there.  My host mother was an awesome cook, and rouladen, or beef rolls, were some of my favorite things, and rotkohl, or red cabbage, was definitely one of my favorite things.I followed the basic rotkohl recipe I found on the internet, and tweaked it a little bit.  I thought it needed more sugar and vinegar, and it could've definitely used more bacon, bacon grease, and flavorings.  I added more vinegar and sugar, and more salt and seasonings, but I didn't add any more bacon or grease.  The calories are about 150 per serving with the changes I made, if you eat a really big serving, but I think the calories for 1/16 of the total rather than 1/8 are only about 75, so fairly healthy.  This wasn't perfect, but it was Rotkohl and I'm happy to have it.  I'll be freezing it to stuff my holiday birds with, yummy!!!  Noah gave this a 2, he really didn't like it, Aaron gave it a 3, he also didn't like it, Owen gave it a 6, he thought it was okay, and I gave it an 8, because it wasn't perfect like it is in Germany, but it was still really good.
Next comes the rouladen, which fared better for us.  Noah and I gave them a 9, Aaron gave them a 7, and Owen gave them an 8.  I was worried the pickles would make the boys not like them, but they didn't mind them at all.  The calories for 1 rouladen are 426, and man they taste great ;).  Here's the recipe I used, it's just a variation of other recipes you can find all over the internet.

Rouladen
4 steaks, pounded thin
4 t dijon mustard
salt and pepper
2 onions, sliced
4 pickle spears, chopped
4 slices bacon, cut in half
2 c beef broth
1 bay leaf
2 dashes magi
2 T sour cream
1 t corn starch

Take steaks and season with salt and pepper.  Put 1 teaspoon of mustard on each steak, then lay 2 halves of bacon side by side on the steak.  Put in onions and pickles, then roll up the meat and secure with a toothpick (Aaron accidentally threw out my toothpicks so I couldn't secure my rolls, stinker!).  Brown the steaks in a little bacon grease with the rest of the onions, and then add in the 2 c of beef broth, bay leaf, magi, and any other seasonings.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for at least 1 hour.  When ready to serve, remove the rouladen from the sauce and bring the sauce to a boil.  Add in cornstarch mixed in cold water, thicken the gravy, then strain out the onions.  Add in the sour cream to the gravy, and season to taste.  Serve with the rouladen.

At least I was happy with dinner, even if no one else was.  We probably won't have this again, even though I was happy to have this.

Tomorrow we're having a chicken dish.

Greek Style Chicken and Potatoes and Salad

Tonight we had Greek Style Chicken and Potatoes from tastykitchen.com, and we all enjoyed this.  We gave it an 8, and the calories for 1/4 of it, since we only used 4 thighs, and 3 T of olive oil was 423 calories per serving.This is a great recipe, but I like to add about 4-5 cloves of garlic along with the olive oil and lemon juice, and I brine the chicken for at least 1/2 hour in salty water to add more flavor. 
For our salad, we had a recipe from Giada de Laurentiis's Everyday Pasta cookbook called Anytime Vegetable Salad.  We made 6 servings out of this, and each serving was 156 calories.

Anytime Vegetable Salad

2 c frozen edamame, shelled (I used steam in the bag, so I'm not sure how much I used)

8 oz thin green beans, trimmed

9 oz yellow wax beans, trimmed (i just used more green beans)

1/3 c red wine vinegar
1 t salt, plus more to taste
¾ t freshly ground black pepper
3 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ c halved cherry tomatoes
2 t chopped fresh basil or tarragon
1 t chopped fresh thyme leaves

Cook the edamame in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.  Drain.  Rinse under cold water, then drain well and pat dry.  Repeat with the green beans and yellow beans.  Leave the green and yellow beans whole or cut them crosswise into 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces.

Whisk the vinegar, salt and pepper together in a large bowl.  Gradually whisk in the oil.  Add the beans, tomatoes, basil, and thyme, and toss to coat.  Season the salad to taste with more salt and pepper, and serve.

 

We thought this was only okay.  Aaron and I gave it a 5, and Owen and Noah gave it a 6, but neither one enjoyed it very much. 

Tomorrow we're having rouladen and rotkohl.  Yummy!!!

Shrimp and Noodles

We had shrimp and noodles tonight.  That's what our boys call this, and they love it.  We all really enjoy it.  Aaron and I gave it a 9, and Owen and Noah gave it a perfect 10.  If you have your shrimp shelled, like I did thanks Mom :), this comes together in about 10-15 minutes.  It's a great week night meal, and my kids just gobble it up.  The calories for 1/6 of the total are 355, and that's using skim milk.

Shrimp and Noodles

1/2  cup milk

2 T butter

½ pint cream

¼ tsp poultry seasoning

¼ tsp cayenne (adjusted to taste)

1/4 tsp onion powder  1 T garlic salt, scant tablespooon

8 oz bowtie pasta

1 lb shrimp

Mortar spices well. Put cream and milk in pan with butter and ½ spice mixture. Thicken and reduce, and set aside. Cook pasta to the al dente stage.  Sauté shrimp in pan sprayed with cooking spray, with remaining spice mixture. Mix shrimp, sauce, and pasta together and serve.

 

We only wish the sauce were thicker, the same way it gets the second day.  That's why Aaron and I give it a 9.  We also had delicious corn with this, thanks also to Mom and Dad, you guys are so great :)

Tomorrow we're having a chicken and potatoes dish and a vegetable salad.

 

Chicken Shawarma

Yummy Chicken Shawarma!  We had this easy recipe today, and all of us except my dad really enjoyed it.  My mom, Aaron, Noah and I gave it a 9, Owen gave it an 8, and my dad gave it a 5.  It was too spicy for him, and he didn't love the sauce.  However, he did love my homemade pitas, which were also my favorite part of the meal.  I found the recipe on foodnetwork.com, they are fresh pita bread from Julia Child, and they were amazing.   These had great flavor, were soft and waarm and so great tasting.  We all really liked these, they all got 9.  Even if you don't want to brave the shawarma, which is definitely worth a try, the pitas are easy and so great.  The calories for the pitas are 153/pita, and the shawarma meal with all the toppings but without the pita calories are 215 for 1/8 of the meal.  We got 8 servings out of the meal instead of 4.
Tomorrow we're having a shrimp recipe.

Cornbread Panzanella

We tried this cornbread panzanella recently, and we really enjoy bread salad.  The cornbread added a different element, and although we enjoyed this, I like traditional panzanella better.  I thought this dressing was a little lemon heavy.  This is an easy salad to make, and very summery with fresh tomatoes and basil. This comes from Giada's cookbook Everyday Pasta.

Cornbread Panzanella from Giada de Laurentiis

1 lb cornbread, cut into cubes

1 c halved cherry tomatoes

1 c cubed fontina cheese

½ hothouse cucumber, quartered and sliced

½ c chopped fresh basil

Dressing:

2/3 c extra-virgin olive oil

Zest of 1 lemon

Juice of 2 lemons

1 t kosher salt

1 t pepper

Combine the cornbread, tomatoes, cheese, cucumber, and basil in a large bowl. 

Ina small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon zest, and juice, salt and pepper.  Stir together and pour over the salad.  Toss very gently to combine.  Serve immediately.

 

This is 452 calories per serving when you split it into 8 servings, which is about a 1 to 1 1/2 c serving.  We all gave this an 8.

The shrimp recipe I mentioned yesterday will be up soon, but tomorrow we're trying chicken shawarma.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls

We had Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls, and they were sooo good.  Go Pioneer Woman!  I love her original cinnamon rolls, so it's no surprise that these are so amazing as well.  Even Aaron, a sweet roll nay sayer, gave these a 9.  Hooray!  We all gave them a 9, they are so delicious, and we'll have them again for sure.  For 1 roll, the calories are 365, I got 24 rolls just like the recipe said.  These are moist, and too good for our diet.  Her pictures are much better than mine, I can't seem to get good light in our kitchen, so check out her pictures, not mine.  Sigh...anyway, try these, you'll thank the Pioneer Woman :)

Tomorrow we're having a shrimp dish.