Lamb Köfte
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Lamb Köfte

Whole foods had ground lamb on sale last week so we bought 2 pounds and froze in 1 pound packages. Our original intent was to make Gyros or as Lyn calls it Lambie Pie  but then she saw this Gojee.com, so we cut this recipe in half and had a delightful meal. The original recipe is from Mehan’s Kitchen. We enjoyed this and I can’t wait to make again making a few adjustmetns to the spice amounts to our likings.

Yogurt tahini

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  • 1 cup yogurt (I used Greek)
  • 2 T tahini
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • pinch of salt

Mix this all together and set aside to come to room temperature

Ingredients

Steve note to me remember I cut this recipe in half made 9 meatballs

Kofte

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  • 2 lbs ground lamb
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 c fresh, chopped mint
  • 1/4 c coarsely grated onion (this was messy)
  • 6 garlic cloves, pressed (original recipe called for 4)
  • 3 T paprika
  • 1 T ground cumin
  • 1 1/2 t kosher salt
  • 1 t freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cayenne pepper
  • 1 chopped green chili (optional)

 Caramelized Onions

  • 1 1/2 – 2 large onions, cut in half and sliced

 Muhammara

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  • 1/2 c finely chopped, drained roasted red peppers from jar
  • 1/2 c water
  • 2 T pomegranate molasses
  • 1 T freshly chopped flat leaf parsley

 

How

In large pan (I used a cast iron skillet) heat up some olive oil and sautee onions on medium-low (salt, pepper) and allow to caramelize, this should take about 40 minutes.

While this is cooking down combine all ingredients for the kofte in a large stainless steel bowl and form meatballs (however large you want, I made 20).  Place formed meatballs on pan (line it with something disposable).

Remove onions from skillet, place in a small serving bowl and set aside, next to the tahini yogurt.

Heat up oil in the same skillet on medium and in two batches cook the meatballs, turning them over halfway through the cooking process (about 15 minutes total).  Steve Note I found on my second batch  that more turning came out with a more evenly browned/ cook meatball. Let meatballs rest on clean pan and cover with foil.  Steve note I might try flatten the meatballs slightly making cooking a little easier.

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In the same skillet (don’t worry about cleaning it) sautee the chopped red peppers on medium high for a few minutes.  Pour in water, and then molasses and allow to reduce for about 5 minutes or so (It will start to glisten and get thick).  Toss in parsley.

Spoon out mixture into a small bowl and place next to the onions and tahini.  Toast up some bread, throw on some meatballs, spoon over some tahini, onions and muhammara and enjoy.

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Mehan's Kitchen

Mehan’s Kitchen

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Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb with Carrots and Parsnips Stevesacooking.com

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Acorn squash ground lamb and kale  Stevesacooking.com

Roast leg of lamb lemon garlic and rosemary Stevesacooking.com

More lamb reciepes from Stevesacooking

 

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Game Day Burrito Bowl

Game Day Burrito Bowl.

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Glaze Guidance

Found this on Cookscounty.com

Reducing the glaze to the right consistency takes a little practice. Too long in the pan hardens the glaze into a tacky mess, but not enough time means a runny glaze and diluted flavors. Here’s how you’ll know when it’s just right. (Avoid dark skillets, as you’ll need to gauge the changing color of the sauce.)

1. NOT YET The bubbles just break the surface of the glaze, and a spatula makes little to no trail.

2. NOW! The bubbles are smaller and more plentiful. The color deepens, and a spatula makes a trail.

3. OOPS! TOO FAR! Big bubbles cover the dark, thick glaze. A spatula leaves a wide trail.

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Quick Chicken Thigh Dinner

I’ve had a hell of week at work it is the full moon syndrome as I call it. I do the IT at work supporting 3 branches 4 remote people and the travelers who are in Asia. Anyway I had planes for a couple of chicken thighs but was pretty burnt when I arrived home so I quickly pan seared skin side down for about 4 minutes and turned over and placed pan and all in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes. Lyn had made some couscous so that was my side.

Quick and easy and good. I love that crispy chicken skin, ya I know no veggies tonight.

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Lyn’s Gluten Free Zucchini Bread
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Lyn’s Gluten Free Zucchini Bread

Comfort foods are a good thing they make you feel warm inside especially on a snowy. I have to nick name this one as “hide it from me” or maybe “step away from the bread” it was so good that “Gone in 60 seconds” would work for a name also. I think you get the idea I kind of like this one. As we munched we started naming things that might go good with this, almond flour, pistachios, maybe orange rind….

Ingredients

  • full cup of grated zucchini (from about 1 medium zucchini)
  • 1 1/4 cup – cup for cup gluten-free flour blend
    • If does not included xanthan gum in flour then add ¾ teaspoon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  •  2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup canola oil (or other light oil)
  • 2 extra-large eggs
  • 1/4 cup lactose free yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup chopped or pecans

Ingredients

How

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray standard 9-inch loaf pan and set aside.

Place the shredded zucchini into some paper towels and gently squeeze out any moisture. Fluff the zucchini with a fork and set aside.

Put the all-purpose gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl and whisk to blend

In another large bowl add the brown sugar, canola oil, eggs, yogurt, lemon juice and pecans. Whisk thoroughly until smooth.

mix wet

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and beat until combined. Fold in the grated zucchini and the nuts.

add the dry

  • Reserve just a little zucchini to sprinkle over the tops of the loaves

Pour into the pan, sprinkle over the reserved zucchini

pour into pan and sprinkle zuchinni

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean.

bake 35-40 minutes

Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then carefully turn out to
cool completely on a rack.

let cool and serve - we could not wait

We could not wait for the completely cool part. Tip if you want skinny slices wait until completely cool.

Thanksgiving tradition memory that my cousin Rand reminded me of with this picture from his table.

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Triple Play Meatloaf (gluten free)
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Triple Play Meatloaf (gluten free)

Meat loaf is one of those comfort foods and everyone thinks they have the best recipe. For a long time I thought I did – it was right off the oatmeal box and it was a staple for me during my bachelor days. Lyn was nice about it but she finally won and I was forbidden to make it any longer. It was not until I tried a few more recipes that I understood why, and agree. I think everyone I make is slightly different because I am a cook from the gut or pantry kind of guy. There are tons of things that will never make it to this site I open the frig look around and throw something together and then say Blank I should have taken pictures or paid more attention to what I put in there. Anyway…..

For a long time I wanted to try making a meatloaf that utilized 3 types of ground meat, Hamburger, Veal and Pork. Lyn found this recipe on Pinterest and I made it today. The name is mine and I tweaked some of the ingredients to meet my taste. The sauce was good but not a keeper to me, smelt much better cooking. You could use the standard ketchup topping, BBQ sauce, maybe even Salsa etc. etc…..

Ingredients

Meatloaf

  • 1 pound ground veal
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh chives, plus 1 teaspoon for the sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh thyme leaves, plus 1 teaspoon for the sauce
  • 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh Italian parsley, plus 1 teaspoon for the sauce
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/3 cups finely ground gluten free panko (place panko in food processor to finely grind)
  • 2/3 cup whole organic milk
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 2 stalks of celery, finely diced
  • 1 large Spanish onion, finely diced

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 2 cups chicken stock, homemade or good quality purchased
  • 8 to 10 cloves roasted-garlic
  • 3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon chopped, fresh chives
  • 1 teaspoon chopped, fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 teaspoon chopped, fresh Italian parsley

Sauce1

How

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the veal, pork, beef, chives, thyme, parsley, eggs, panko, milk, salt and pepper in a large mixing bowl.

Heat a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat and add a drizzle or 2 of extra-virgin olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the celery and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, until softened. Remove the celery and onion from the pan and let cool.

Suate Onions and celery

When the mixture is cool, add it to the mixing bowl with the other ingredients.

Mix the ingredients until well combined and everything is evenly distributed.Mix throughly

Place a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan (it should have sides at least 1-1 1/2 inches high to prevent grease runoff from the pan). I used 90% lean and did not have a lot of fat.

Place the meat on the sheet pan and pat it and punch it down to remove any air pockets. Shape the meat into a loaf (about 14 1/2 inches long by 5 inches wide by 2 inches high). Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake 40 to 50 minutes or until a meat thermometer indicates an internal temperature of 155 degrees. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Mold to loaf 2 inches high

bake 350 40-45 minutes

Sauce – Meanwhile, for the sauce, combine the broth, roasted garlic and butter over medium-high heat and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly thickened. Add 1 teaspoon of each of the chopped thyme, chives and parsley.

Heat and simmer sauce Add herbs

Slice the meatloaf into serving portions and spoon the hot sauce over the meatloaf and serve.

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Related

Reign On Game Day Recipe Week 5: Spicy Southwest Meatloaf Minis – Stevesacooking.com

Meatloaf 101 with Mrs. Kostyra – Stevesacooking.com

Meatloaf with a hint of Mexican – well Texmex – Stevesacooking.com

Orange Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Pecans
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Orange Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash with Pecans

My wife found this and we made when Mark and Missy came up from DC, we had no cranberries so we tried it with tart dried cherries. This was great, I mean really good. I asked Marie if I could use her pictures and post she said no problem. You can find more of her recipes here citronlimette, it is a nice site with some great recipes and ideas. Thank you Marie for this great treat!

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Seasonal acorn squash stuffed with quinoa. pecans and cranberries is my idea of a healthy vegetarian meal. This recipe for orange quinoa stuffed acorn squash is easy to prepare and a real feast. I love the sweetness of the squash and the nuttiness of the quinoa.

Quinoa is addictively delicious.  Quinoa is usually treated like a grain or starch, cooking up like rice or pasta in a fraction of the time.

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Choose squash that are heavy for their size and have a hard, deep-colored rind free of blemishes or moldy spots.

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Once the seeds are removed, winter squash can be baked, steamed or simmered.

Orange-Quinoa-Acorn-Squash2

 

Ingredients

  • 2 small acorn squashes, halved length-wise, seeds removed
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • ½ cup dried cranberries – we were out of these so we substituted tart cherries
  • ¼ cup chopped pecans
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (optional)

How:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Rub squash flesh with 3 tablespoons oil and place face up on baking sheet. Roast 30-35 minutes or until flesh is easily pierced with a knife. Remove from oven and cool.
  • Meanwhile, in saucepan bring broth and orange juice to a boil; stir in quinoa, lower heat and simmer, covered until ready. When quinoa is done cooking, turn off heat.
  • In medium pan, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onion and celery and sauté until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and sauté an additional 1 minute.
  • Add onion mixture, cranberries and pecans to cooked quinoa and toss until combined; add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Fill each squash half with quinoa mixture. Drizzle with a bit of maple syrup before serving, if desired.
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Reign On Steve’s Vegetable Lasagna -Week 17
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Reign On Steve’s Vegetable Lasagna -Week 17

I remember trips to Maine and those great Sunday dinners of Rose’s.  Her smile would grow if you ask for seconds and with one hand holding the edge of your plate making retreat impossible she would pile on the pasta, lasagna, meatballs…..and when you could hardly hold the plate up then she was satisfied you had ample seconds. Well this Christmas I made lasagna in her honor but added some vegetables since Lyn batted her eyes and asked do you think…… I never came up with those picture perfect lasagna but it always taste good.

Ingredients

  • 1 box of lasagna noodles ( this time I cheated and used the oven ready ones)
  • 1 container (32 oz.) Dragone Part-Skim Ricotta cheese
  • 1 large zucchini slice very thin lengthwise – I used a mandolin
  • I carrot julienned and roughly chopped
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • About 1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • 1 package (16 oz.) Mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • ¾ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Pasta sauce -3-5 cups

Ingredients

How

Heat oven to 375

Combine the ricotta, egg, oregano, salt and pepper.

Add 3 cups of Mozzarella and ½ cup of Parmesan cheese mix thoroughly

Cheese mixture

Spread one cup of sauce on bottom of glass 13*9 pan

Layer 1

Place one layer of noodles – I laid them across since the fit nicely

Cover with a layer of cheese mixture

More sauce

Layer of zucchini and all the carrot

Layer 3

Cheese mixture

Sauce

Pasta

Cheese and sauce

I guess in whatever order you really want to.

top layer

Cover tightly with foil

cover with foil

Bake for about an hour minutes until sauce is bubbly

Cover with the remaining cheeses and bake until melted about 10 minutes uncovered

I also finished off with 2 minutes under the broiler I like that very slight crunchiness

Cover loosely and let sit for at least 15 minutes

Done

I served with sauce, meatballs, chicken sausage and salad with 18 year old balsamic vinegar mmmmmmm anything is better with 18 year old balsamic vinegar

Lyn's sauce my meatblaas and chicken sausage

eat1 eat

Serve best part leftovers

Rose’s meatballs

 

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Cooking With Honey – Portobello Mushroom Lasagna

Cooking With Honey – Portobello Mushroom Lasagna.