#1,855: Broccoli Cheddar Patties

I made these delicious little broccoli patties for Christmas with the intent that my kids would love them and I'd have a new way of making them get their veggies in.  Unfortunately, they proved me very wrong, and NONE of my kids liked these at all.  As sad and disappointed as that made me, it also thrilled me, because I LOVED these.  Growing up my grandma used to make spinich patties and would fry big batches of it in a skillet.  These kind of remind me of her recipe, but I love broccoli way more that I like spinach, so these are even better! Sorry Grandma!  

16 oz package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and completely drained
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 large eggs, whisked
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 375.  Place all ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. With your hands, form small patties and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, flip the patties over, and bake an additional 10 minutes.

#1,854: Quinoa-Corn Salad

I came across this recipe in my recent issue of Food Network Magazine, and was super eager to try it because I LOVE quinoa and I LOVE corn.  Some of my favorite food groups combined together!!  Although I certainly enjoyed this recipe, the second day I had some leftover sesame ginger salad dressing and added it to this as well, and I enjoyed this even more!  So the next time I make this I'll probably add some sesame ginger dressing to it as well.  And red onion.  As you can see from my photo I used red onion instead of the scallions...it was just as good...but I like red onions! 

1/2 cup red quinoa
3 shucked ears of corn (I used frozen shoepeg corn, about 5 oz)
1 chopped large heirloom tomato (I used about 10 grape tomatoes)
2 sliced scallions (I used red onion)
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of cayenne

Cook 1/2 cup red quinoa as the label directs. Put 3 shucked ears of corn in a bowl with a few tablespoons of water; loosely cover and microwave until tender, about 3 minutes. Cool, then cut off the kernels.

Toss the quinoa and corn with tomato, scallions, olive oil, lime juice, salt and a pinch of cayenne.

#1,853: Campfire Chili Cheese Dip

For Christmas Eve, I wanted to make an appetizer that was not only minimal in ingredients, but also could be made mostly ahead of time.  I found this recipe in a recent issue of Taste of Home and knew this would be the one I would try.  Sadly, these are not the greatest pictures, but this is what you get when you are hosting and want to snap a photo before someone digs into the dish!  Personally I thought this lacked a little bit of flavor, but that could have mainly been because of the can of chili I used.  So I would suggest using your favorite brand of canned chili...or make your own!!  I didn't have time, energry, or wanted to take the effor to make my own chili, so I was perfectly content with using canned chili with my family.

The original recipe gives you instructions on how to make this while outdoor camping, but I just threw this in a foil pan (so I didn't have to deal with clean up) and put it in the oven until the cheese was melted.  I would definitely make this again!!

1 package (8 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese
1 can (15 ounces) chili with beans
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 thinly sliced green onions, optional
Tortilla chips or Scoops

Prepare campfire or grill for medium-low heat. Spread cream cheese in the bottom of a 9-in. disposable foil pie pan (I doubled this and used a 9x13 foil pan). Top with chili; sprinkle with cheese.

Place pan on a grill grate over a campfire or on grill until cheese is melted, 5-8 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with green onion. Serve with corn chips. Yield: 3-1/2 cups.

Microwave directions: Spread the cream cheese in the bottom of a 9-in. glass pie plate. Top with chili; sprinkle with cheese. Microwave on high for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is mostly melted. Let stand in microwave 2 minutes before serving. Serve with corn chips.

Oven directions: 

Spread cream cheese in the bottom of a 9-in. disposable foil pie pan. Top with chili; sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips. 

#1,852: Easy Cinnamon Bread French Toast

My family loves french toast.  I personally think that homemade french toast is usually lacking flavor and often is a little too mushy for my liking.  When I make french toast, the first piece or two is generally covered in cinnamon, but I have to keep adding more as I add more bread to the egg mixture.  So I decided I should outsmart myself by using cinnamon bread as my bread base.  My kids loved this, and I've already made it twice for them.  There's a good chance that this will show up on our menu again this week as well.  

Here is what the recipe I use for our egg mixture/base, but feel free to adapt this to your favorite family french toast recipe. 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (plus more for sprinkling on each piece)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoons sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 loaf of cinnamon bread (I think it’s about 10 slices in the bag I bought)

In a shallow bowl whisk the eggs and milk.  Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar and whisk again to combine. 

Lightly spray a griddle (heated to 350 degrees) with non-stick spray.  Dip bread in egg mixture coating both sides.   Place on a griddle and cook until golden brown on the bottom, then flip to cook the other side. Serve with syrup if desired.

New Years Pizza (2017) (Recipe Revisited)

Last year (1/1/16) I made this recipe/pizza for New Years Day for my kids.  We've decided that it's too cute not to continue on, so it will now be a yearly tradition in our house to have New Years Pizza.  It it such a simple recipe and requires as little as 3 ingredients (of course you can add more toppings besides cheese if you'd like...but my family prefers cheese).  

PS...Happy New Year!  Hoping everyone as a wonderful, healthy, safe, and prosperous 2017!!

13.8 oz can of tube pizza dough
Pizza sauce
Mozzarella/Italian blend/or your favorite pizza cheese
Any desired pizza toppings (we just ate cheese pizza)

Unroll the pizza dough and cut into four strips (the long way).  Shape each piece into the number of the year.  I had extra dough for the "1" so I used it to finish off the "0 and 7."  

Bake according to the directions on the tube dough.  (I cooked ours at 425 degrees for 15 minutes). 

#1,851: Easy homemade croutons

After Christmas, I had a big bag of leftover brat buns (Bolillo Rolls) from Sam's club and I really didn't want to just throw them out, so I decided to make homemade croutons with them.  Although I enjoyed this recipe/these croutons, they just don't have enough flavor.  I think next time I would make them and add some rosemary and minced garlic.  And WAY more parmesan for sure!  This is a good start, but certainly not the best or my future go-to recipe for homemade croutons.  

3 cups Day Old Sourdough Bread (I used leftover Bolillo rolls instead)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

3 Tablespoons Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 teaspoon Salt

Black Pepper To Taste

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

In a large bowl, combine the bread, olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss well to distribute the ingredients.

Spread the bread cubes out on a sheet pan, giving them plenty of space in between. Bake the bread cubes for about 10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown and crisp. Keep in mind that the staler and older the bread, the quicker it will brown, so color is a good indication of when it’s done.

#1,850: Crackle Cookies

Here's what I love about this recipe....you can make it ahead of time and freeze (yes with the powedered sugar already on it) and it doesn't make a gigantic amount of cookies.

Here's what I hate about this recipe...it only makes 15 cookies!  Pay attention to that when you are making this recipe!  I did not pay attention to this in the original recipe and was shocked that I got so few cookies out of this.  Had I known, I would have doubled the batch (at least).  However, this probably played into my favor because I did not have any leftover batter to eat from the bowl, or to sneak a cookie off the tray here or there.

As soon as these cooled, I put them on a serving tray, wrapped them in plastic wrap AND foil, and stuck them in the freezer until Christmas Eve.  

These have the perfect chocolate flavor and a nice chewy consistency.  I am a huge fan!!  And it doesn't get powdered sugar all over the place when you eat it like some cookies do.  I will definitely be making these again!

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Confectioners' sugar

In a bowl, beat sugar, oil, chocolate and vanilla until blended. Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually beat into sugar mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 2 hours or until firm enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 350°. With sugared hands (mine were not sugared and they turned out just fine), shape dough into 1-in. balls; roll in confectioners' sugar. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. 

Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. 

Yield: about 1-1/2 dozen.

#1,849: Oven Baked Tacos

As you can see from my photo above, I ran out of cheddar cheese so I had to substitute mozzarella.  Thankfully my husband isn't the biggest cheddar cheese fan, so he didn't care in the least!  This is a very simple recipe and my family doesn't like refried beans that much, so I only added a little bit.  I also added some picante sauce instead of the tomato sauce to give it more flavor.  My family loved these tacos!  The only downside is that the shells get soft/mushy if you try to save the leftovers, so I would suggest only making as much as you truly think you will eat.  

1 lb ground beef, lean (I used ground turkey)
1 packet taco seasoning
6 ounces tomato sauce (I used picante sauce)
20 1⁄2 ounces refried beans (I used about 1/4 of the can)
shredded cheddar cheese
12 small flour tortillas (make sure to get taco size shells!)

Optional toppings: 

diced tomato, diced onion, sour cream, salsa, shredded lettuce, red onion, cilantro, black olives, etc. 

Brown ground beef and drain.  Add taco seasoning, refried beans and tomato sauce. I also added about 1/3 cup of water.  It needed it!  Heat until blended.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a glass 9x13 pan with non-stick spray.   Spoon taco filling into taco shells and stack them side by side in pan.  When shells are filled, top each with shredded cheese.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes, watching so they do not brown too much.

Top with remaining ingredients, if desired.

#1,848: M&M Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

This batch made a lot of cookies (or I made them smaller than I should have!).  I needed 3 dozen cookies, so I made a batch and a half just to make sure I got enough...I probably got more like 8-9 dozen!  I had so many I was able to give extra to Allison's religious education class, plus make up 2 trays for Brian and I to take to school, put some in the freezer, AND threw away the first batch that burned.  We were making cookies forever!  

With that said though, these were really good.  I think I could have used more M and M's so that they were more dispersed throughout the cookies, but they were still good as is.  I would definitely make this again!

Yield: 3 dozen cookies

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup (such as Karo)

3 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

2 teaspoons baking soda

6 ounces chocolate chips

2/3 cup MandM's candies

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, cream sugars, butter, peanut butter and corn syrup on high speed until well combined. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, mix together oats and baking soda. Stir into peanut butter mixture until combined. Mix in chocolate chips and M and M's.

Using a standard-size ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets (about 9 per sheet). Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

#1,847: White Balsamic Chicken with Rosemary

This recipe was a perfect Sunday night dinner.  During the week I look for very quick meals, or things that are mostly already cooked.  I thought this was going to be a "harder" recipe to get done on a weeknight, but that was not the case.  This would be a perfect weeknight dinner because it got on the table so quickly.  I served it with baked potatoes and a salad, so it was even simpler.  I thought I got chicken breasts, but I ended up buying chicken tenders so the was even FASTER to cook.  My family really enjoyed this recipe, so I will definitely be making it again.  The original recipe also adds pears and dried cherries or cranberries (both of which I had), but I knew they would all pick that out of the dish so I just omitted it.  Yes I know it lost some sweetness and flavor by doing that, but it was certainly sweet enough with the white balsamic and sugar in the recipe. 

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (6 ounces each)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary (I used dried)

2 teaspoons cornstarch

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook until a thermometer reads 165°, 8-10 minutes. Remove.

Meanwhile, stir together next five ingredients until blended. Pour into skillet; add pears and dried cherries. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until pears are tender, about 5 minutes. Return chicken to skillet; simmer, uncovered, until heated through, 3-5 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with additional minced rosemary. Yield: 4 servings.

#1,846: Sausage, Kale, and Lentil Soup

Whenever I find a recipe with lentils I think of my grandma who used to make them regularly for us and for our family gatherings.  So it's always a nice reminder of her when I make lentils myself (even if it's not her recipe I'm making them with).  I found this recipe in a recent issue of Real Simple Magazine.  It's supposed to be served with crusty bread (which would be delicious!) but I don't have any on hand so no bread for me.  This is quite good...a little underseasoned, but still good.  I decided to add some dried basil, Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper.  I think it needed it.  It also does not need the salt (or just a tiny bit of it).  I think it's salty enough with the sausage.  

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (I used bulk pork sausage)

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, chopped

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups dried red lentils, rinsed (I used brown lentils)

1 (28-oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, drained (I used petite diced)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

5 cups loosely packed baby kale leaves

Baguette, for serving (optional)

Cook the sausage in a Dutch oven over medium-high, stirring often, until the meat crumbles and begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion softens and the sausage is browned all over, about 4 more minutes.

Add the stock, stirring and scraping 
 to loosen any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the lentils, tomatoes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the lentils have softened, 20 to 25 minutes.

Stir in the kale and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 1 minute. Serve with the baguette.

#1,845: Papa Burger

I came across this recipe in a recent issue of Taste of Home.  It's a pretty regular occurance in my house, that if I have ground turkey in the fridge and I don't know what else to make, to throw together some turkey burgers for our dinner.  It's simple, it's quick, and everyone in my family enjoys it.  When I saw this recipe, it looked good and different enough to want to try, but not so different that my family wouldn't want to try it.  I did not add the additional topping since my family doesn't like anything on their burgers besides catsup and cheese (most of them).  The burgers were moist, and really good, and although my family enjoyed it, they all said they would prefer a regular burger next time/instead.  I think it was the flavoring of the liquid smoke that turned them off.  BUT it was still a really good burger and I might make it for them every once in a while.

1 pound ground beef or ground buffalo

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1 slice whole wheat or white bread, broken into small pieces

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon liquid smoke

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hamburger or steak seasoning

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

4 onion hamburger buns, split

Optional toppings: 

4 Bibb or Boston lettuce leaves

1/3 cup prepared Thousand Island salad dressing

4 slices red onion

1 large heirloom tomato, sliced

Combine first nine ingredients; mix lightly. Shape into four 3/4-in.-thick patties. Press patties into flour to lightly coat both sides.

In a large nonstick skillet (I grilled ours instead), cook burgers over medium heat until a thermometer reads 160°, about 4-5 minutes per side. 

Layer bun bottoms with lettuce, burgers, salad dressing and onion and tomato slices. Replace bun tops. Yield: 4 servings.

#1,844: Slow Cook Honey Sesame Chicken

I am enjoying this recipe so much, I've made it twice, and there is a really good chance it will end up on our menu again next week too.  It got mixed reviews from my family: two of us loved it, one enjoyed the chicken as a sandwich, and 2 weren't big fans.  The recipe says the cut up the chicken into chunks but 1. I don't like chicken that way, and 2. It was way easier to throw it in my stand mixer and shred it.

The second time I made this I added some chopped water chestnuts, sliced green onion, and crispy chinese noodles...it was even better!  Loved this!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 cup honey

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup diced onion

1/4 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)

4 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 6 Tablespoons water

Sesame seeds

Spray crock pot with non-stick cooking spray.

Season both sides of chicken with lightly with salt and pepper, put into crock pot.

In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.

Cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 hours, or just until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from crock pot, leave sauce. Dissolve 4 teaspoons of cornstarch in 6 tablespoons of water and pour into crock pot. Stir to combine with sauce. Replace lid and cook sauce on high for ten more minutes or until slightly thickened.

Cut chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce before serving. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve over rice or noodles.

*You can also sprinkle more red pepper flakes on top if you want more heat.

#1,843: Parmesan Roasted Acorn Squash

Nothing says fall until I get some sort of squash in my house and in my weekly menu rotation!  I generally enjoy butternut squash the most, but I hate peeling it!  I love that acorn squash is smaller, easier to cut in half, AND you can eat the skin (I eat the skin of butternut squash too sometimes but I don't enjoy it as much).  Plus the litte half curvy half moon shapes are cute!  :)

This recipe was so simple and I had it in the oven in mintues!  This is definitely best eaten right out of the oven, although I did eat the leftovers the next day but the squash was much softer and just not as good.  

1 (2 pound) acorn squash - halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch slices
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 sprigs fresh thyme (I used dried because that’s what I had on hand)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Toss squash slices, Parmesan cheese, thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper together in a bowl until the squash is evenly coated; spread into a jelly roll pan.

Roast in preheated oven until golden brown and tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

#1,842: 4 Ingredient Chicken Marinade

I found this recipe floating around pinterest some where and saved it until I was finally in the mood for chicken one day.  This was a super simple marinade to throw together before I left for work, and I let this chicken sit in the marinade in my fridge all day.  It was a very, very juicy chicken and thankfully my entire family enjoyed it.  We would definitely make this again! 

1 c brown sugar
1 c vegetable oil
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c vinegar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or ziplock bag and marinate the chicken for at least an hour or up to overnight.  

#1,841: Peanut Butter Muffins

Over the weekend I try to make something for the kids to grab for breakfast during the week that is easy, mostly healthy, and hopefully has some sort of protein in it.  Although there is more sugar in this recipe than I would have liked, I decided to give these peanut butter muffins a try.  I used whole wheat flour so these are a little dense, but overall still good.  My kids really enjoyed these though so that's all that matters! 

⅓ Cup Peanut Butter

¾ Teaspoon Baking Powder

½ Cup Sugar

½ Cup Milk

½ tsp Vanilla

¾ Cup Flour

¼ Teaspoon Salt

1 egg

I also added a little bit (about 2 tbsp-ish) of wheat bran and some ground flax seeds to mine

Mix all ingredients together until smooth.  Fill each muffin tin ½ full. (I used mini muffins, and got 24 muffins out of this batch) 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes; until golden and when you insert a toothpick, if it comes out clean, it is done.

Sprinkle lightly with Powdered Sugar if desired. 

#1,840: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pie

Yeah, I'm super lazy, so this pie that takes 10 minutes to prep, got even easier because I used a store-bought graham cracker crust pie.  :)   This was really good...and it was so simple to make.  The hardest part is waiting for the cream cheese to soften.  

For the pie crust: (I omitted and used a 9 inch store bought pie crust)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

3/4 cup miniature chocolate chips

(I omitted this step since I used a store bought graham cracker crust) TO MAKE THE CRUST:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Combine all the crust ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring until moistened. Press the mixture evenly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie pan.

Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

TO MAKE THE FILLING

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until combined.

In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer with a whisk attachment to whip cream until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the filling into the baked crust. Refrigerate for about 4 hours, or until set, before serving. Keep pie refrigerated.

#1,839: Weight Watchers Slow Cook Taco Soup

Photo coming soon....(I have to wait until lunch again to get a photo of this!)

Although I don't do weight watchers or count points, this soup sounded a little too good not to try.  Not that I'm opposed to weight watcher recipes in any way!  I made a few adjustments to what I had on hand (ground turkey instead of beef, petite diced tomatoes and a can of mild chopped green chiles) but it was pretty much the same recipe.  I have really been enjoying eating these for lunch the last few days.  It's relatively healthy AND it's filling!  

2lb lean ground beef (I used ground turkey and only used about 3/4 lb)

1 medium Onion, diced

1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix 

1 packet Taco Seasoning 

1 32 oz. box (low sodium) Chicken Broth

14.5 oz. can Tomato Sauce 

2 - 14.5 oz cans Diced Tomatoes with Chiles

14.5 oz can Black Beans (I used 2 cans since I didn't use as much ground beef/turkey)

1 can Corn 

Saute onions for 2 minutes.  Add ground beef and brown the meat.  Drain browned ground beef to remove excess fat.

Add ground beef mixture and all other ingredients (do not drain corn or black beans) to slow cooker.  Cook on High for 4 hours or Low for 6 hours.

Garnish with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and/or crushed tortilla chips if desired.

According to the original website: 

SmartPoints: 5 (about 1 cup per serving)

Makes about 8 servings

#1,838: Ricotta Meatballs

As it is no surprise, we are a meatball loving, frequent-eating family.  Not because we love meatballs that much, but mainly because I can make them ahead of time and they are quite versitile.  Generally I make my meatballs using ground turkey, so they can get a little dried out sometimes.  Then I saw this recipe that uses ricotta cheese in the mixture and I though, let's give this one a try.  Typically I like to bake my meatballs to keep them a little healthier, but I was afraid the ricotta in this wouldn't do well in the oven, so I pan fried them like suggested.  I also tossed them in some spaghetti sauce to finish cooking just in case they weren't cooked all the way through (paranoid!).

My family loved these meatballs!  I definitely loved them too.  Next time I'm going to add a little crushed red pepper, garlic, and some italian seasoning to the mix, but other than that I'll make it the same way.  It's no surprise that meatball subs, spaghetti and meatballs, and meatball calzones are all on our menu this week now. :) 

¾ pound ground beef (I used ground turkey)

¾ pound ground pork 

½ cup ricotta

⅓ cup panko bread crumbs

½ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup chopped parsley

¼ cup grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons milk

1 large egg, beaten (I used 2 egg yolks)

Kosher salt and black pepper

Mix together the beef, pork, ricotta, panko, onion, parsley, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in a large bowl until just combined.

Gently form into 30 meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each). 

I totally skipped this step and made my meatballs right away! Transfer to an airtight container (separating the layers with parchment paper) and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 3 days (or freeze for up to 1 month). Store cooked and cooled meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

To cook: Cook the meatballs (in batches) in 2 tablespoons oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 6 minutes.

#1,837: Cuccia (Wheatberry and Ricotta Porridge)

So we got some wheatberries at the farmer's market this summer and I finally got around to making something with them (see apple cinnamon wheatberry recipe here).  I still have quite a bit of wheatberries leftover and was hoping I could find something to make with it that incuded chocolate.  So I went to Google and came across this recipe!  I am so glad I did, and just so happened to have ricotta cheese on hand because of the ricotta meatballs I made!).  This was so simple and was totally done by the time my dinner was done with.  My kids thought it was ok, but didn't enjoy it enough to want to eat too much of it.  Although my 4 year old seemed to really love it...until I realized he was just picking out the chocolate chips!).  I however loved this.  I'm hoping it will last a few days in the fridge...although I'm enjoying this so much, I'm afraid it won't last until tomorrow!)  LOL! 

1 cup dried wheatberries

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cups fresh whole-milk ricotta (I used low fat ricotta)

2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar (I used 1 tbsp)

1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ground cinnamon, for garnish

Dark chocolate, either miniature chips or shaved with a vegetable peeler or Microplane, for garnish

Place wheatberries in a medium saucepan, cover with water by 2 to 3 inches, and season with kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to a simmer, cooking uncovered until wheatberries are tender, about 50 to 60 minutes. Using a fine-mesh strainer, drain berries and run under cool water until chilled. Place strainer of berries over a large bowl and let drain for at least 15 minutes.

While wheatberries cook, combine ricotta, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk or immersion blender, whip until creamy and smooth.

Fold cooled wheatberries into ricotta mixture. Cuccia may be served immediately or stored in the fridge in a tightly sealed container for up to 1 week. To serve, spoon into individual bowls, dust with a pinch of cinnamon, and top with shaved chocolate or chocolate chips to taste.

#1,836: Apple Cinnamon Wheat Berries

On our summer bucketlist this year was to get a new item from the Farmer's Market.  We've tried most fruits, vegetables, and herbs, so when we found these wheat berries, we knew this would be the thing to get and try.  I had no idea what wheat berries were when we bought them and figured that I would try making this healthy breakfast for the kids to try...and had very low expecations for them to like this because they are not oatmeal fans. And I generally don't like overnight crockpot oatmeal because it's too mushy for my liking.  

As expected, my kids didn't like this recipe.  I however, really enjoyed it.  Between the mild crunch of the wheat berries and the texture of the added almonds, this was right up my alley.  I halved this recipe and it made enough for 3 nice size breakfast servings.  I would definitely make this recipe again. 

4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1 1/2 cups wheat berries

1 cup apple juice or water

3 Braeburn or Gala apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup sliced almonds

6 tablespoons sweetened dried cranberries

Coat a 4- to 5-1/2-quart slow-cooker insert with nonstick cooking spray. Combine almond milk, wheat berries, juice, apples, oats, cinnamon and salt in prepared slow cooker.

Cover and slow cook on LOW for 9 hours. Uncover and stir in brown sugar. Spoon into bowls and top with sliced almonds and cranberries. Serve warm.