Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

Honestly, I wasn’t a big fan of these. I think the meatballs have potential…however to me, they were fairly bland. They tasted OK drenched in the dipping sauce, but then all I felt sodium overload from the soy sauce. Sigh. I can’t put my finger on what they were missing, but it’s definitely SOMETHING. Maybe more ginger or perhaps additional seasonings to spice it up some? I’ll let you decide.

Adapted from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Ingredients
Meatballs:
1/4 cup whole wheat panko crumbs
1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
1 egg
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 scallions, chopped
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce:
4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp water
1 chopped fresh scallion

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 500°F.

2. Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well.

3. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture.

4. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

5. For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.

6. Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.

7. Serve meatballs with remaining sauce.

The Facts
6 Servings of 2 Meatballs with Sauce

Menu Plans 05-03-10

Monday - Spaghetti with Sun-Dried Tomato and Provolone Chicken Sausage, Salad
Tuesday - Moo Shu Chicken, Brown Rice
Wednesday - Cinco De Mayo Dinner at Amber's! I'm bringing Salsa and Guacomole
Thursday - TBD, Bryan's playing golf until late
Friday - Out of town for the weekend.

**Check out orgjunkie.com for some other great menus!

Chili-Garlic Shrimp

This meal was light, quick and easy. I anticipated this recipe to produce more of a sauce to cover the cous cous I served the shrimp over, however there really wasn’t enough. The shrimp were good, but next time I might double the wine to have more of the flavored broth and then serve it over rice.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 (1/4-inch-thick) lemon slices
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp butter
Lemon wedges (optional)

Directions
1. Sprinkle salt and black pepper evenly over shrimp. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp, red pepper, garlic, and bay leaf to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

2. Add wine and lemon to pan. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer; cook until liquid is reduced by half (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat. Discard bay leaf and lemon.

3. Add parsley and butter, stirring until butter melts. Serve shrimp and sauce over rice or pasta, if desired. Garnish with lemon wedges, if desired.

The Facts
4 Servings

Sweet Potato Gnocci

These were slightly tedious to make, however I made the dough and boiled the gnocci the night before I planned on serving these for dinner. This cut down on actual prep time the day of cooking. The plus side to forming the gnocci ahead of time is that they only take a few minutes to sauté before serving making this a quick and easy week night meal. The sweet potato was delicious and I really enjoyed the hint of cinnamon. I’m looking forward to cooking the other half batch in my freezer.

Adapted from Kath Eats

Ingredients
1.5 lbs sweet potatoes
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 egg substitute
1.5-2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tbsp canola oil
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp chopped rosemary

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400. Bake sweet potatoes for about an hour, until a knife easily pushes through. It’s better to over bake than under.

2. Cut fully-baked potatoes lengthwise and open up to cool for 10-15 minutes.

3. Scrape skins and discard and place meat in a bowl (it will still be a little warm).

4. Add salt, cinnamon, and egg. Stir together until well-incorporated.

5. Begin adding flour. Start with probably 1 and 1/4 cups, and fold it in until well mixed. Continue adding flour until dough ball has lost 80% of its stickiness. Taste the dough to make sure it has enough salt/cinnamon.

6. Turn the dough ball out onto a floured surface. Knead it up into a tighter ball. Add additional flour as necessary to avoid sticking.

7. Divide dough into four smaller pieces and set each to the side.

8. Begin rolling each quarter into a long tube. Ideally, roll it until it’s about as thick as your finger. If the dough is breaking, just pinch it all back together. Don’t forget to use whatever flour you need.

9. Cut the tube into little nubs and set to the side.

10. Bring about 3-4qts of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water and boil for about 5 minutes, until they float and dance around in the boil. Don’t overcrowd the pot (you can fit an entire dough tube in one gallon).

11. [At this point, you could freeze these cooked dumplings for later use. Just spread them on a baking sheet and put in your freezer. Once frozen, consolidate into a plastic bag.]

12. When ready to consume (thaw if previously frozen), heat a pan over med-high heat. Add your canola, butter, rosemary, and gnocchi and sauté for a few minutes, until they get a golden crust.

13. Serve and enjoy!

**I made a whole batch and froze one half right away. One half batch was plenty for two people!

Menu Plans 04-26-10

Sunday - Chicken and Steak Fajitas, Chips and Salsa, Salad

Monday - Smoked Turkey Sausage, Sweet Potato Gnocci, Salad
Tuesday - Chili Garlic Shrimp over Pasta, Salad
Wednesday - Asian Turkey Meatballs, Cous Cous, Roasted Okra

Thursday - Trivia @ Smokey Bones

Friday - TBD

**Check out orgjunkie.com for some other great menus!

Restaurant Review: The Ravenous Pig

Bryan and I had heard and read fabulous reviews about The Ravenous Pig so we knew we wanted to try it eventually. It’s a bit pricier than your average dinner out so we waited for a special occasion to make a reservation. My birthday was this month, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Bryan called on Wednesday to make Saturday night reservations and all that was available was 9 pm. (Note to self: Call at least a week in advance for weekend reservations!)

I love the concept of The Ravenous Pig. It’s owned and operated by James and Julie Petrakis, James is the chef and Julie does the desserts. They offer a menu that changes daily based on what’s in season and availability. Our server explained that whenever possible they try to source organic ingredients and support local suppliers.

We arrived about 30 minutes prior to our reservation to enjoy a drink at the bar. We let the hostess know we were there and she said she would find us when our table was ready. The entire restaurant and bar was PACKED, but we managed to find one empty seat at the bar. Once we sat down, we browsed the wine and beer menu. They only carry micro brews so we decided to try out some of the beers. We both started with the Southhampton Double White Ale. A yummy wheat beer that was perfect for my taste. We also enjoyed a bowl (and a half) of some quite delicious caramel corn.

After Bryan finished his first beer, he tried the Erie Railbender. This one tasted like cranberries. Bryan wasn’t the biggest fan but he managed to finish it (no sense in wasting a beer!). Shortly after Bryan ordered his second beer, our table was ready so we closed our bar tab and followed the hostess.

We had begun to browse the menu at the bar as well as check out some of the goods people around us ordered but there are just so many options, we wanted to try EVERYTHING! We decided to start with the Lobster Tacos.

They looked and tasted absolutely delicious. The lobster chunks were pretty big, but we were slightly disappointed they were lightly fried. The avocado cream and cabbage complemented the lobster. We really enjoyed these, however will probably not order again since they were fried.

We also ordered the House Made Gruyere Biscuits. The cheese was quite strong. They were good, but I don’t feel the need to try them again.

I decided to start with the Gatherer Salad.


Yum! Everything about this salad was delicious. I loved the crunchy pistachios and the plentiful chunks of avocados. All the greens tasted incredibly fresh. I can’t wait to try some of their other wonderful salads.

For our main course, I went with a half order of the Spring Carbonara Pasta. I normally would have not selected a dish that typically has a heavy cream sauce like alfredo, however our server informed us that they don’t use cream in their restaurant. To create the sauce, they use egg and lemon juice. This sold me!

I could definitely taste the lemon and the porchetta chunks were huge! There was no shortage of meat in this dish. The half portion was the perfect size paired with the salad. I even ate (some) of the peas, which, if you know me, is a REALLY BIG DEAL!

Bryan easily enjoyed the star dish of the evening. He ordered the Niman Ranch Lamb Leg.

TO DIE FOR. Everything about this dish was AMAZING. The lamb was incredibly tender and flavorful. I would order this again in a heartbeat. Bryan raved multiple times during this course about how this was one of the best meals he’s ever had.

Finally, since it was my birthday celebration, we ended the evening with some Bread Pudding.

This did not disappoint either. The bread pudding was warm and toasty and the malt ice cream was a delicious accompaniment.

From start to finish, this meal was fabulous. We could definitely tell how fresh all the ingredients were and that everything was made with thought and care. I see another evening out to The Ravenous Pig in our near future. Can’t wait!

Peppery Pasta with Arugula and Shrimp

This was fairly easy to make and didn’t involve too much prep work. I was able to have this entire dish ready in the time it took to boil the water and cook the pasta; less than 20 minutes. In case you couldn’t tell, I’m a fan of quick, easy and delicious weeknight dinners!

I enjoyed the bite of the arugula as well as the refreshing lemon flavor in the sauce. All around this was a good dish that I can definitely see being made again.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic, divided
1 1/4 tsp black pepper, divided
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1 (5-ounce) package fresh baby arugula
4 quarts water
8 oz. uncooked whole wheat In capasta
1 tsp olive oil
8 oz. peeled and deveined medium shrimp, cut in half horizontally
2 tbsp minced shallots
3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
Optional - 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shaved fresh Romano cheese

Directions
1. Combine 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and arugula in a large bowl; toss well.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Add hot pasta to arugula mixture, and toss well until arugula wilts.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper; sauté 1 minute.

4. Add remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and shallots; sauté 1 minute or until shrimp are done. Remove shrimp from pan.

5. Add broth and juice to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half.

6. Return shrimp to pan. Remove from heat; stir in butter.

7. Serve shrimp mixture over pasta. Top with cheese if desired.

The Facts
4 Servings