Monthly Archives: May 2012

Spaghetti (squash) and (turkey) meatballs

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One of the reasons I started this blog was to show people that you can have your cake and eat it too, in other words, you can eat healthy without depriving yourself. I have made it my goal to take everyone’s favorite “naughty” meals and make them healthy and filled with veggies. So this time I attempted to “fix up” spaghetti and meatballs. Corey gave this one a two-thumbs up so I’m pretty pumped about it! It’s the first time I successfully made spaghetti squash that actually turned out like it is supposed to. My previous attempts have ended up mushy but I think I finally found the trick…

Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Meatballs (Recipe from The Diva Dish adapted from How Sweet It Is)

Ingredients:

  • About 1lb. or so of ground turkey (I went with Jennie-O)
  • 1 beaten egg
  • 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (plus 2-3 TB. more for topping)
  • 1 piece of whole wheat bread pureed into bread crumbs (done in a food processor or blender or 1/3 cup breadcrumbs)
  • 1/3 cup finely shredded carrot
  • 1/3 cup finely shredded zucchini
  • 1/3 cup finely chopped basil (I didn’t have fresh so I used about 2 tablespoons of dried; not the best but it works in a pinch)
  • 2-3 diced garlic cloves
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • 2 cups Marinara Sauce (just used store bought)
  • 1 large spaghetti squash
  • Optional: Parsley for garnish (I never do this because I don’t think it adds anything to the taste but it’s up to you…)

Directions: (for squash)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry outside of squash and cut in half lengthwise then scoop out seeds with a spoon. Bake cut-side up straight on the rack for 45-60 minutes. Let cool for about 15-20 minutes then once cool, use a fork to scrape out the inside of the squash so it looks stringy like spaghetti. Place spaghetti strings in a large bowl and toss with a little salt and pepper.

Directions: (for meatballs)

1.Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl combine turkey, egg, cheese, carrot, zucchini, basil, garlic, bread crumbs and spices. Fold ingredients together with hands but be careful not to overmix. Too much mixing can dry out your meatballs. Then set aside.

2. Grease a casserole dish and pour marinara sauce into dish.

3. Roll your meatballs into about one inch thick balls and place evenly throughout casserole dish. Once all balls are in place, sprinkle with left over cheese and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked all the way through.

4. Pour meatballs and sauce over spaghetti squash and top with remaining basil and parsley. If you want, you can feel free to add more sauce or cheese.

If you have any requests for recipes that you would like me to “makeover” let me know, I love suggestions!

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Roasted vegetable strudel with Corey’s secret dipping sauce

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I am about to rock, your, world…..just giving you fair warning….

The thing about being an amateur cook is that you will fail, a lot. Corey can attest to many nights being ruined by my over-reaction to an epic failure when it comes to the dinner table. Accepting that your hard-earned money and sweat-educing labor has been wasted on a mediocre (or in a few tragic cases, down-right inedible) meal is a hard thing to learn. But sometimes, just sometimes, you get lucky. You find the right recipe (as if it sought you out…), you have all of the ingredients (as if it were meant to be…), and the clouds part, the rays of sunshine break through they sky, as if angels are lightly caressing your face with some unspeakable force, whispering in your ear making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, “Today is your day Jessi. Today, you will make an awesome dinner”.

….sorry, I just finished reading 50 Shades of Grey; I’m relating everything to being overly cheesy and borderline erotic. In all seriousness though, this is a great recipe, you can keep it vegetarian or add your choice of meat to it, maybe chicken, steak or sausage. I’m not sure if fish would be good with this but shrimp might work. It really doesn’t need it though, it was fabulous as a vegetarian meal and would make a great appetizer as well. You can use whatever veggies you have on hand just keep in mind that they might cook at different rates so adjust accordingly. As a side note, Corey whipped up a sauce to dip this in and it was AM-AZ-ING! Of course, in true Corey-fashion, he just threw a bunch of stuff together and it turned out restaurant-worthy (naturally, damn him), but he was able to guesstimate it for you below. If you need a marinara/red dipping sauce for anything, this would be awesome for other appetizers too.

Roasted Vegetable Strudel (Original recipe from Proud Italian Cook)

Ingredients

  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • Handful of cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • 1/2 can of artichoke hearts
  • Fillo dough (12 sheets)
  • Melt Organic Buttery Spread (or your choice of butter)
  • Optional: Parmesan cheese (no pictured)

Directions

1. Chop zucchini, squash, bell pepper and onion and spread evenly on a  greased roasting pan. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. (I use tinfoil for easy clean up) Set fillo dough out on the counter to thaw.

2. While those veggies are cooking, chop up the artichokes hearts and tomatoes. When the veggies are ready, add the artichoke hearts and tomatoes to the pan, stir them a bit and cook for another 20 minutes. (option to add Parmesan cheese the last few minutes until melted)

3. While veggies continue cooking set out 6 sheets of fillo dough. Melt some Melt Organic Buttery Spread in a small bowl. Start with one layer of fillo dough and spread some butter over it. Do the same with the next layer, and the next and so on until you reach the 6th layer.

4. Once veggies have had a chance to cool a bit, spoon 1/2 of the veggies onto the middle of the fillo dough and fold the short sides over. Use the buttery spread to secure the sides and transfer back to the baking pan. (It should look like a huge-ass Hot Pocket)

5. Cook strudels at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, until golden brown on top. Option to add cheese at the end. Let cool then serve.

Corey’s special dipping sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 can of fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon of oregano
  • 1 teaspoon of basil
  • 1/4 cup of chopped onion
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Dash of red pepper flake or cayenne pepper
  • S&P to taste

Directions

1. Blend in a food processor until combined.

2. Simmer on the stove with two bay leaves and a tablespoon of olive oil for at least 20 minutes.

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Spaghetti squash gratin

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I love a good gratin – especially when it’s loaded with veggies! I have been experimenting with spaghetti squash a lot lately. I get these odd obsessions with new veggies sometimes and work with them until I have them all figured out, this one is a stumper though. I have cooked it in the oven three different ways and in the microwave a few different ways as well but mine just don’t seem to come out dry like spaghetti noodles like they are supposed to. Mine always end up sloshy and goopey! If you have any suggestions on how to fix this, please enlighten me because it is driving me CRAZY!!!!! Luckily for this recipe, it doesn’t matter if it is soupy. I will have you all know that this is a Corey-approved recipe (very difficult rating to achieve) so I highly suggest you try it!

Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin (Recipe adapted from Dandy Dishes)

Ingredients

1 medium spaghetti squash
1 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion, diced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more if you like it spicy
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
½ cup Greek yogurt (you can also use sour cream)
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese (extra for topping)

Optional add ins: Salt and pepper, parmessan cheese, bread crumbs on top

Directions

1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half and remove the seeds.  Place in a covered dish with a ¼ inch of water and microwave for 10 -12 minutes. (Or cook spaghetti squash the way you like, there are many different ways to do it…)

2. In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, add the butter, onions, red pepper and thyme and cook until the onions are slightly brown in color.  Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Using a fork, scrape the insides of the squash and transfer to a small bowl.  Combine the squash, onions, sour cream and half the cheese together and mix well.  Transfer the mixture to a greased baking dish and top with remaining cheese.

4. Bake at 375º for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown on top.

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