Barbecue Cola Meatballs

Barbecue Cola Meatballs adapted from Debbie Does Dinner
Adapted from Between the Lines
Meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs (I used panko)
1 egg
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 (1 oz) package dry ranch style dressing mix
Sauce:
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 barbecue sauce
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup cola
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green or red pepper, chopped
1 tsp. seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions:  In a large bowl, mix together the meatball ingredients until well blended. Shape into meatball and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 turning them over half way. Mix up the sauce ingredients in crockpot. Remove meatballs from baking sheet and place in sauce in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, then remove lid and cook for an additional 15 minutes before serving. Mine made 40 meatballs.

Total calories = 1922 calories 40 meatballs = 48 calories per meatball with sauce

Modifications:
-I used pre-made, packaged meatballs found in the frozen section.
-I used the entire can of cola and added extra dashes of bbq and apple cider vinegar.

Here's what you'll need:

Chop up the onion.  Place it with the wet ingredients in a bowl and mix.

Place the meatballs in a crockpot and pour the mixture over.

 

Our Thoughts:

I did not get an "after" photo because we were already at the New Year's Eve party and I didn't think about it.

 

These meatballs were super easy and really delicious.  The sweet soda mixed with the tanginess of the bbq and ketchup worked great.

 

Hope you enjoy!

April

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar-Pecan Topping

Whipped Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar-Pecan Topping
 adapted from Epicurious
22 ounces red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams; about 2 large), peeled,
  cut into 1-inch pieces 6 tablespoons
(3/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt

For topping
1 1/2 cups cornflakes, crushed
1/2 cup (packed) brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Directions:  Preheat oven to 400°F. Cook sweet potatoes in large pot of boiling water until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain; transfer potatoes to large bowl and add butter.

Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Add egg, sugar, spice and salt; beat to blend. Transfer mixture to 8 x 8-inch baking dish.

(Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Bake potatoes until beginning to brown around edges and slightly puffed, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare topping: Mix together all ingredients in medium bowl. Spoon topping evenly over potatoes. Bake until golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes longer.

Modifications:
-I multiplied this recipe x3 to serve 20.

Here's what you'll need for the potatoes.

Cut the potatoes and put them on to boil.

Drain them.

Add the butter.

Using a hand mixer, whip the potatoes.

Add the sugar and spices.

Add the eggs and mix.

Spread out into a baking dish. 

(If making ahead of time, cover and put in the refrigerator at this point)

Now to prepare the topping.

Here's what you'll need:

Place the corn flakes in a bag and crush them.

Place the nuts in a bowl.

Add the brown sugar.

Add the butter and mix together.

Put the potatoes in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.

Add the topping and cook for another 10 minutes.

Our Thoughts:

I asked my friends on Facebook to send me their favorite Thanksgiving dishes and my friend, Andrea, sent this one to me.

Of course, sweet potatoes a staple at Thanksgiving but this dish was extra special.  Normally, our sweet potatoes are still in big chunks so whipping them with all of that butter really gave them a creamy texture.

The start of the dish, though, was that brown sugar-pecan topping.  SO GOOD!  The crunchiness of the pecans against the smoothness of the potatoes made for a perfect bite and the melted brown sugar was delicious.

I will definitely be adding this to my holiday favorites!

Hope you enjoy!
April

Southwest Chicken Chili Soup

Southwestern Chicken Chili Soup adapted from Nibble Me This
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/4 inch wide strips
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp butter, unsalted
1 cup onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 can diced tomatoes and green chile
1 can corn kernals, drained
1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp roasted cumin
1/4 tsp dried lemon peel

Directions:  Preheat a large stock pot over medium high heat.  Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Add butter and oil to pot and brown chicken for 4-5 minutes. Remove to a plate.  Add the diced onion and saute for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.  Deglaze the pot with balsamic vinegar. Return chicken and any juices to the pot.  Add remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.

Garnish with crispy fried tortilla strips or masa dumplings.

Modfications:
-I did not use lemon peel
-I was out of balsamic vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar.
-I added an extra can of black beans.

Here's what you'll need:

Cut the chicken into strips or chunks.

Dice up the onion and the garlic cloves.

Chop up the cilantro.

Warm the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven.  Brown the chicken for 4-5 minutes.  Remove the chicken.

In the same pot, add the onions and cook until softened, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the garlic. 

Deglaze with the vinegar.

Add the chicken back into the pot along with any juices.

Add the beans and corn.

Add the diced tomatoes.

Add the cilantro, herbs, and chicken stock.

Let simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Our Thoughts:

We loved this dish!  As soon as I read the ingredients, I knew that it would be something that my family would enjoy.

You could always add an extra can of diced chilies or a jalapeno but I really don't think that it needs it.  The beans and corn mixed with the chunks of chicken make this soup hearty and the addition of the cilantro into the soup instead of just used as a garnish gives it a nice peppery touch.

I added just a small scoop of sour cream and served with a hard tortilla round and dipped the chip much like a cracker. 

Everyone enjoyed this so much that the entire pot was gone with no leftovers :(

Hope you enjoy!

April

Slow Cooked Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Slow Cooked Buffalo Chicken Wraps adapted from Debbi Does Dinner

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
3/4 cup ranch dressing, light
10 - 100 calorie whole wheat tortillas
Lettuce

Directions: Place chicken and salt in the crock pot.  Cover and cook for 6 - 7 hours on low.  Remove chicken and empty crock pot of water. Shred the chicken and add back to the slow cooker.  Mix ranch and buffalo wing sauce in a small bowl.  Add the sauce to the chicken and stir.  Serve on tortillas with lettuce.

Modifications:
-I added a block of cream cheese

Here's what you'll need:

Put the salted chicken breasts in the crockpot and cook for a few hours (picture above).  Once finished, drain the water out of the crockpot and shred the chicken.

 Put the shredded chicken back into the crockpot.

Warm the cream cheese for about 45 seconds and add the Ranch dressing to it.  Then add the Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce.

Add to the chicken.

 Our Thoughts:
 I was horrible at getting pics for this dish.  It was the first game of the NLCS and my brain was so scattered waiting for the Cardinals to come on!

Anyway, I ended up adding about 1 cup of Ranch dressing and a cup of Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce.  I also added the whole block of cream cheese.  All of these ingredients, though, can be added or deleted to your taste.

I served them on whole wheat tortillas with shredded lettuce and cheese that each person could add and the rest of the Ranch dressing they could drizzle.

We love anything buffalo or hot wing style so we loved these wraps.  They were spicy but the cool, shredded iceberg lettuce took some of that bite away.

I will definitely be making these again for another gathering!

Hope you enjoy!
April  

Turkey Suizas Casserole

Turkey Suizas Casserole adapted from Everyday Magazine
2 poblano chile peppers
3 Tbsp EVOO
8 tomatillos, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp honey or agave
1 lime, juiced
1-1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2lbs chopped or pulled cooked turkey
1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
1 1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
12 corn or 8 flour tortillas, warmed

Directions:  Char the poblanos over burners or under a hot broiler until blackened all over.  Place in a bowl, cover and let sit until cool enough to handle.  Peel, seed and chop.

Preheat the broiler.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 3 turns of the pan.  Add the tomatillos, onion, garlic and bay leaf; season with salt, pepper, the cilantro and cumin.  Cook until tender, about 10 minutes.  Discard the bay leaf.  Add the tomatillo mixture, poblanos, honey and lime juice to a food processor and puree.

In the same skillet, heat the chicken stock over high heat.  Stir in the turkey to reheat, then stir in the tomatillo sauce.

In a medium casserole, layer in half of the turkey mixture and dot with the crema.  Top with half of each of the cheeses and half of the tortillas.  Spread the rest of the turkey on top and layer with the remaining tortillas and then cheese.  Broil until cheese is melted.

Modifications:
-I used chicken breast.  Cut it into strips and browned it.
-I used sour cream instead of crema.

Here's what you'll need:

I cut up the turkey breast.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the poblano peppers on the burner to blacken.  (The pepper will start to pop and sizzle). 

Once the peppers blacken, put them in a bowl and cover them until they cool off.  About 10 minutes or so.

Chop up the tomatillos, cilantro, and garlic.

Chop up an onion.

Cook the tomatillos, onion, and garlic until softened.

Add the cilantro.

While the tomatillos are cooking, de-seed and chop up the peppers.

Put the peppers, tomatillos, onion, garlic, and cilantro into a food processor to puree.

Brown the turkey in a pan.  Once the turkey is cooked add the tomatillo puree.

Add some chicken broth.

Put half of the mixture into a baking dish.  Add the sour cream and the cheese.

Lay tortillas on top.  Keep layering.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Here's what you'll end up with:

Here is our revised version.

Our Thoughts:
This dish had so much flavor and we loved it. 

This was my first experience cooking with tomatillos and if you haven't had them before they taste a little like a green apple and they are delicious.

After having made this dish the way the recipe called for it, we quickly realized that it was too runny so we ended up taking tortillas and rolling the mixture in the tortilla.  This made it much easier to eat.

I want to revisit this recipe with the following changes:
 1. I would probably use ground turkey or may even a rotissierie chicken.  The cut up turkey breast cubes were too large.
 2. I would make this dish up until it was time to put into a baking dish.  I think at this point I would then put it into a crockpot and just let it simmer.
 3. I would let everyone serve themselves.  Great for a football party.

You could also make this hotter by adding a jalapeno in with the peppers.

Hope you enjoy!
April