Friday, November 20, 2009

A breakfast of champions: turkey meatballs!

Kidding. But I have to fess-up to eating a meatball at 7am this morning!!! Actually 6:56am...


Ew, right? Nooo! I swear, meatballs are typically THE easiest thing for me to zoom by at a cocktail party or array of hors d'oeuvres (I am 99% sure that's the first time I spelled that French word correctly on my first try...even after 9 years of French classes!). These meatballs, however, are phenom! And...healthy! Spicy, too! Mmmm!


Juuuuicay!!

Sweet 'n Sassy Meatballs

2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp + 1 cup chipotle sauce, divided
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
2 Tbsp dried, minced onion
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb lean ground turkey breast
1 lb Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1/2 cup reduced-sugar, all-natural apricot preserves

Directions
In a large bowl, combine eggs, Worcestershire sauce, and 2 tablespoons chili sauce. Stir in bread crumbs, onion, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Crumble turkey sausage and ground turkey breast over mixture and mix well (hands may be required!). Shape into 1-inch balls.
Place on a rack coated with cooking spray in a shallow baking pan. Bake at 375 F for 15-20 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
In a large bowl, combine apricot preserves and remaining chili sauce. Add meatballs and toss gently to coat. Place in a 15-inch x 10-inch x 1 inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until glazed, stirring every 3 minutes*.

*I omitted this last step as I transferred my meatballs to a crock pot for buffet serving.

Yield: 4 dozen
Serving size: 1 meatball

Nutrition Information (per serving): 42 calories, 2 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 179 mg sodium, 3 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber, 3 grams protein

Had to whip out the big bertha of crock pots from the attic to fit all the balls...


I even had to cut my crock pot liner (upper left) to make it fit!

And another great appetizer recipe which is also very colorful and fun...


Cold Chicken-Cheese Kabobs

1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp olive oil
5 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, cubed
16 cherry tomatoes

Combine salt, pepper, and chili powder; rub into chicken cubes. Transfer to a large bowl and add vinegar. Cover and refridgerate 3-4 hours or overnight.
In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil until no longer pink. Cool slightly. Alternately tread chicken, cheese, and tomatoes onto wooden toothpicks. Serve cold.

Yield: 16 servings
Serving size: 1 skewer

Nutrition information (per serving): 48 calories, 2 grams of fat, 1 gram saturated fat, 13 mg cholesterol, 132 mg sodium, 2 grams carbohydrate, 0 grams fiber, 6 grams protein

With the holidays coming up, these are 2 hors d'oeuvres worth some serious consideration in adding to or changing in your line-up!

Well, I've played hookie all morning from work cooking away for this afternoon's holiday party for our patients. Considering the circumstances, I am opting out of wearing scrubs to work for the second time this week...gasp! I know, right. So, off I go to put effort into myself. Have a wonderful weekend...

...anyone have any exciting weekend plans? Do tell! I've got nuttin'!

And if you had to choose TWO favorite TV shows currently in-season, what would they be? (I can't choose just one, so that's why I'm asking for 2!)

Modern Family (highly rec!) and 90210 for me!
Yes, I realize this makes me completely lame!

And for all you Biggest Loser fans...this is a must-see!


9 comments:

  1. I'm downloading 4 US shows from iTunes - one of which is 90210 (CW is my guilty pleasure). The Good Wife is another one that I really like and is the second of 4.

    The meatballs look great :D.

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  2. The meatballs look awesome! I am a huge meatball fan, it's just not something I ever make myself.

    Thanks for posting this video. I hadn't seen it. She does look great, but I wish for once they wouldn't spray tan the contestants and just let them be their natural selves! The end got cut off, who is she dating? IS it Daniel?

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  3. The chicken-cheese kabobs look amazing. And I love the meatballs. Thanks for great appetizer ideas!

    Enjoy your weekend! :)

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  4. I might be making the meatballs for dinner on Sunday :)! I have a big hair cut & color tomorrow (have to hide the grey hairs). If you don't watch, you have to start watching The Good Wife, Tuesday 9pm on CBS. If you have Comcast check it out on OnDemand or look it up on CBS.com!

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  5. I love me some turkey meatballs. But my husband cooks them secretly without me knowing what the heck he's doing, so thanks for the recipe!

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  6. Just found your blog on Rebecca's blog (Chow and Chatter). Glad I have found a fellow RD in the blogging world. I can't watch TV in season (as I live overseas--hubby is military) but if I could it would be 30 rock and the office. Both we watch on DVD as soon as the season ends and it is out on DVD.

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  7. those meatballs look AWEEEESOME!! i love meatballs!

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  8. Thanks for visiting my blog. University of Oklahoma has a outreach learning program with the military so many bases overseas have a program site coordinator and they run a full Master's degree in human relations here. The school sends the profs out here, one week for each class, so we finish 3 classes at least per semester. We have already finished 2 and one more in early December. Very unique set up..time before class to do work and read the text, prof comes for one week of nights and all day on the weekend, then 3 more weeks to finish the work and then on to the next course. I am very thankful that they offer this program. It is so much fun and a great opportunity. Some other overseas bases offer slightly different programs some with a specialty and not as broad as the degree we have here, but we are a super tiny base. I love living overseas so much and I am glad I get to do it while still showing support and love of my own country (since it is military and all!). So very cool you are from Oklahoma. I've never been there but I know the school is in Norman.

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