Teriyaki Ginger Meatballs Recipe

I love when my recipe experiments turn into successes! Like when I made Mac n' Goat Cheese, Baileys Oreo Truffles, or Roasted Vegetable soup to name a few.  These meatballs definitely fit into the category of a successful creation.  Every Sunday morning as I prepare my weekly grocery shopping list, I run through the recipes that will be made for the upcoming week.  Sometimes this list gets pretty redundant and to be honest, a little boring.  So I decided that I want to try a new spin on meatballs!

These meatballs hit all of the flavors I wanted to achieve, plus my husband LOVES them!  He now requests them for dinner on a regular basis.  The trick to these meatballs is using slices of bread soaked in milk to keep the meatballs nice and moist.  Then, layering in different Asian inspired flavors to differentiate them from your ordinary meatball.  These are perfect for a meal if you roll them a bit larger.  I am excited to make these for my next gathering in an appetizer size and maybe serve with a dipping sauce!

This recipe made more meatballs than Bill and I could eat in one night {although if we didn't stop ourselves I am sure we could have eaten a lot more}, so we froze the extras in hopes for another tasty meal later.  When we craved them again, I took them out of the freezer and placed them in a skillet with a little water, and then put the lid on to allow them to steam through to retain their moist consistency. They were just as good as we remembered the second time!  Enjoy!

Teriyaki Ginger Meatballs Recipe

Makes 15-17 large meatballs or

Makes 30-35 cocktail meatballs

2 slices of whole wheat bread

2 tablespoons skim milk
2 pounds ground pork

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

1 egg

2 scallions, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, tear up bread and cover with milk.  Wait for all milk to be absorbed by the bread and break down the bread further.

Add remaining ingredients into the bowl with the bread.  Mix well with your hands to incorporate everything together.  Roll 3-4 tablespoon sized meatballs and place on a broil pan. 

Bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes until cooked through.  Serve over sautéed spinach.

Tips:

1)  If you want to make them cocktail size, make them 1-2 tablespoons in size and cook for 15-20 minutes

2)  The pork make these fabulous, but if you only  have ground turkey or chicken on hand, that would work. 

Blueberry Lemon Corncakes Recipe

This past weekend I went to my parent’s house to celebrate Father's Day! My dad always made us delicious breakfasts growing up {and still does}, so I wanted to return the favor and cook him breakfast for Father's Day! He loves pancakes, so I wanted to share with him the pancake recipe that I have been working on that puts a new spin on the traditional pancake.

The blueberries are in full season and have been amazing! I can't leave the grocery store without picking up two pints each week! I add them to oatmeal, cereal, salads, and of course, pancakes! These blueberry lemon corncakes are bursting with sweet blueberry, complemented by tangy lemon zest and all surrounded by a cornmeal pancake batter. I love the combination of sweet and tart, so these corncakes do just that! They are so good that maple syrup is optional. Who wouldn't want to start their day off with these?

Blueberry Lemon Corncakes

Makes 8 corncakes

3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup fine corn meal
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons sugar
Zest from 1 lemon
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
1 pint blueberries

In a small bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest.  With your hands massage the lemon zest into the sugar to infuse the lemon flavor into the sugar granules. 

Sift together the remaining dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Combine egg, vanilla, milk, and oil in another small bowl. Add wet ingredients and lemon sugar into the large bowl with all dry ingredients.  Fold in the blueberries. 

Measure out batter onto a hot griddle that has been greased. Cook on both sides until golden brown.

Fish en Papillote Recipe

Hello, is there anybody out there?!?! 

Wow, it has been a long time since my last blog post and I apologize for that. There have been lots of fun and exciting things happening that have distracted me from getting any blog posts up.  Since March, we celebrated both my husband and my birthdays, went to the Bahamas, Quebec City, and Pennsylvania, celebrated Mother's Day, completed a very successful local MS walk, and I started a new job!  We sure have been busy, but with all of this celebration comes lots of fun food and recipes for me to share.  So stay tuned to lots of great recipes to follow this one. 

Fish en Papillote has become a very popular recipe in my house.  Don't let the fancy name fool you, this is a simple and easy fish dish that packs a big punch.  The recipe bakes the fish and vegetables together in a parchment paper packet to allow the layers of flavors to meld together.  The fish stays nice and moist by steaming in the packet with some white wine and olive oil.  Plus, the presentation is beautiful!  Each person gets their own packet, and seeing the steam escape from each packet around the table makes everyone feel special. 

I have modified the original recipe, but feel free to test out different vegetables and white fish types.  This recipe has so much flexibility, so use what you have on hand and make it your own!

Fish en Papillote Recipe

Recipe modified from Melissa d’Arabian

Serves 4 

1/2 red onion, julienned

1 red pepper, julienned
1 large carrot, julienned
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt & Pepper
4 (4-ounce) cod fillets or other white fish
1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed
8 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a bowl, mix together the onion, red pepper, carrot and garlic. Add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then toss to combine.

Put each fish fillet in a large square of parchment paper and season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Arrange the vegetables on top, dividing evenly. Top the vegetables with 2 lemon slices, 2 sprigs thyme, and 1 tablespoon white wine, layering in order. 

Fold the parchment paper around the edges tightly in 1/4-inch folds to create a half moon shape. Make sure you press as you crimp and fold to seal the packets well, otherwise the steam will escape. Arrange the packets on a baking sheet. Bake until the fish is cooked through, about 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.

To serve, cut open the packets and serve directly in the parchment on a plate or remove the fish to the plate using a spatula, being sure you don't leave the juices behind.