Summer Time Turkey Basil & Tomato Meatballs

When my husband is not going to be home for dinner I tend to just make whatever I know the kids will absolutely eat and eat quickly. Mac 'n cheese or pizza.  But yesterday afternoon I just wasn't in the mood to do that. We had spent the morning at the pool and the afternoon riding bikes up and down the sidewalk.  The kids smelled like suntan lotion and chlorine. mmmm. Summer!  I wanted a Summer dinner too. Plus, in my effort to be more frugal, I am trying to use up every ounce of protein I have in my freezer before buying anymore. I had a pound of ground turkey.  Typically turkey meatballs are bland and dry. So I decided to infuse Summer time into them, and I have to admit, these are now my all time favorite meatballs.  I was eating them like they were cookies. So good. I didn't serve them on anything because my kids don't like sauces, and I don't need the extra carbs of pasta.  But if you wanted to make a grown up meal with them I would serve them on penne and topped with a light cream sauce or Greek yogurt with mint.

you need to really dice the tomato up finely

the lemon zest is very important and you can use the rest of the lemon to make fresh vodka lemonade :)

the meat ball mixture will be very wet 

the Greek yogurt keeps the meatballs so moist

Ingredients:

1lb ground turkey

3 Tbsp of Greek yogurt

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 cup finely diced tomatoes

1 egg

3 Tbsp of diced fresh basil

1 Tbsp of fresh diced parsley

1 Tbsp of fresh lemon zest

a pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine ingredients in a bowl making sure to not over work the turkey meat.  On a parchment lined cooking sheet, form medium/small size meatballs.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

Giada's Herbed Quinoa

I found this tasty summer dish while aimlessly clicking through Food Network video clips. I made it tonight and so far it might be my favorite way to do quinoa.  I really would love to grow a lemon tree in my back yard. *sigh*

I pared it with a balsamic chicken and strawberry salad with crushed almonds. So so good.

Giada's Herbed Quinoa

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups quinoa

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the quinoa: In a medium saucepan, add the chicken stock, lemon juice and quinoa. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pan and cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 12 to 15 minutes.

For the dressing: In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, lemon juice, basil, parsley, thyme, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pour the dressing over the quinoa and toss until all the ingredients are coated. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

SERVES 4

Roasted Tomatoes on Balsamic Chicken

A few weeks ago I found The Pioneer Woman's recipe for "Bruschetta Chicken" and I wanted to try it but take it a bit farther.  My new favorite thing is to roast...everything!  It brings out so much flavor.  So after searching the web I came across Rachael Ray's "Roasted Tomato Bruschetta" recipe which is good but not exactly what I wanted.  I  wanted this to taste like the bruschetta I had recently enjoyed over at my friend Ann's house,  now as I type that it dawns on me that I could have just called her and asked for the recipe. But I digress. So taking inspiration from a few places I came up with dinner tonight and it was AWESOME! You must try this soon as possible.

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts
1 pint of grape tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic (Tim says it's not garlicky enough until there's too much garlic..??)
8 fresh basil leaves chopped
olive oil
salt and pepper
balsamic vinegar
1 avocado (optional)

Instructions:

Place thawed chicken breasts in a ziplock bag and pour in about 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 3 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper.  It's a marinade so it doesn't have to be precise.  Let the chicken sit in the fridge for an hour or two.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mince the garlic. Halve the grape tomatoes, toss them with the garlic in some olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay it out on a cookie sheet.  Roast in the oven for 15 minutes if you like your tomatoes mushy (easier to bite into) or 10 minutes if you want the tomatoes more intact. When done let the tomatoes cool.  After cooling chop up fresh basil and mix into the tomatoes as well as a few splashes of balsamic vinegar.

Grill the chicken. Plate it and spread the tomatoes on top.  Enjoy it this way or go a little crazy and add diced avocado on top.  That tastes especially delicious!

I love getting the different colored tomatoes..adds a bit of drama to the plate

Don't you just love those colors..screams SUMMER!

Next time I will roast the tomatoes less but more for presentation sake because the taste was perfect

sadly the balsamic takes away some of the color but it adds so much to the taste!

my last minute decision to throw on the avocado was the right choice, it tasted amazing with the meal

Mustard Shrimp with Tomato and Basil

I am sure there is a recipe just like this out there but this is my own little creation.  It is so good. I absolutely love it and it's so fast and easy.

You will need:

Tomato
Basil
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
White wine
Dijon mustard
garlic
Shrimp


Saute a teaspoon of fresh minced garlic in a table spoon of olive oil on medium low heat.  After a minute, pour in 1/4 cup of white wine.  Let it reduce just a little.  Add in one teaspoon if Dijon mustard. whisk. Reduce heat to low. Now add your raw shrimp (after sprinkling them with some salt and pepper).  Right before your shrimp begin to turn completely pink (don't forget to flip them!) Stir in chopped tomatoes and basil.  As soon as the shrimp on done,  pour the whole skillet onto a plate.  Devour or savour.  Either way...sooo good!

so pretty