Turkey Meatballs

Turkey Meatballs

Just because you are trying to eat better for the New Year, doesn't mean you have to give up on flavor and essential winter comfort foods.  I made these turkey meatballs (my first time ever) back in October when my parents came for a weekend visit and I wanted to make a meal that everyone could enjoy.  I also made tuna "meat" balls, which were incredible, but only managed to take one photo before they got devoured, so I'll have to make them again before I can share the recipe.  My dad loves to have some meat with his meals, and my mom is a pescatarian (mostly vegetarian, but eats fish), so the two recipes, along with pasta which is my daughter's favorite were a perfect meal for the six of us.  I actually made these meatballs ahead of time and froze them, so that when they came to visit I just had to heat them up in the oven. They technically are your basic meatball recipe, with the exception of using almond flour instead of breadcrumbs, and a combination of plain ground turkey and spicy (or sweet) turkey sausage.  Just make sure to get a brand of sausage with minimal ingredients and preservatives.  The result is a perfectly seasoned, moist, and satisfying addition to any pasta meal, or as shown below, as a sandwich filling, or mixed into a soup.

Harvest Turkey Salad

Harvest Turkey Salad

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!!  I made this recipe back in the summer when I was craving a taste of fall.  I love that my local grocery store sells rotisserie turkey breasts, so the hard part of the meal prep is done for me.  Of course a real home cooked turkey would be even better which is why I have been waiting to post this recipe until Thanksgiving time.  By combining some of my favorite flavors from a Holiday meal, I turned a traditional chicken salad recipe into something completely unexpected.  The crunch of the apples and pecans, the tart sweetness of the cranberries, the spice from the horseradish and the aromatic herbs and spices make an ordinary piece of turkey turn into an awesome taste experience.  I made a sandwich out of it on local whole wheat bread for my husband, but my portion never made it out of the bowl because it tasted so good I gobbled it up with the spoon I used to mix it.  So if by any chance you have any turkey left after your feast up there in Canada today, I highly recommend trying this recipe out in the days to come for a unique twist on leftovers.  I know I will be making it again in November after my family's big turkey meal!!

Split Pea and Lentil Soup

Split Pea and Lentil Soup

Nothing is better on a cold snowy day than a warm, delicious pot of soup bubbling away on the stove.  That is why a couple of days ago when I heard we were due to get over a foot of snow today, and my mom had just told me over the phone about a pea soup she had made over the weekend, I knew what I was going to plan for tonight's dinner. My mom never did get around to emailing me the recipe she used but she told me it had parsnips and rosemary in it which sounded good to me.  So yesterday when everyone was at the grocery store buying milk, bread and eggs, I was stocking up on my ingredients for tonight's healthy feast... (along with some milk, bread and eggs as well!)

Knowing that my husband is not a huge fan of pea soup and that a lot of people do add ham to it, I figured a little meat in it would probably make him and my son a bit happier.  But I am not a big fan of ham, or pork products in general, at least not when the flavor permeates an entire dish, so I figured why not just top the soup with some crumbled up, crispy turkey bacon.  My local store carries the healthier nitrate free variety and I figured it would be easy to fry up while the soup boils so I can garnish their bowls, and maybe mine, with as little or as much meat as we would like.  I also added in the parsnips and the rosemary as my mom's recipe suggested, and they definitely make the dish that much more flavorful.  Super easy and full of healthy nutrient rich vegetables, this soup will warm both your home and your body.

Canadian Thanksgiving Casserole

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!

Canadian and American Flag painted play house in our back yard
(built by my husband, painted by me)

This recipe is in honor of all my amazing family and friends who live in my country's wonderful neighbor to the north, Oh Canada!!! My Canadian husband may not have remembered until I said something a few days ago about today's Thanksgiving, but he was quick to request that I make him a turkey dinner, and knowing that the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, I had to oblige.  I would much rather celebrate the Canadian fall harvest than the man who accidentally sailed his boat into the Bahamas 500 years ago and then tortured and enslaved the people who had lived there for centuries.  So Happy Thanksgiving it would be today.

However, after a long week of baking, exercising and blogging, I really didn't feel like cooking a turkey from scratch.  I have yet to find any organic turkey at my local supermarket, and since I don't cook or eat meat that often, I decided to cave in and buy a precooked, yet delicious, rotisserie turkey breast at the store.  I had initially planned to just serve it with some gravy from a jar (definitely not a normal staple in my home), a side of fresh veggies, homemade stuffing and mashed potatoes.  But then I got to thinking... what if I tried to do something a bit more creative? The thought of mashed potatoes led me to think about changing up a traditional shepherd's pie recipe using turkey instead of ground beef.  And what if I add in stuffing too?  I am sure I am not the first to think of a creative way to basically heat up leftovers, but I thought it sounded like fun. And then of course it would give me something to blog about as well. 

In order to make my meal as healthy as possible, I am sticking to my usual organic, whole food, whole wheat, full of vegetables style of cooking.  I have tried to make my process as simple as possible to understand, although in the end you can always make whatever stuffing and version of potatoes you prefer and just layer it this way.  But here is exactly what I used and how I put it together.  And it was totally worth celebrating!!  Happy Thanksgiving to the land of maple syrup and polar bears!!! I love you Canada!

Canadian Thanksgiving Casserole