Spinach Meatball Subs

We love Skinnytaste's Spinach Italian meatballs, so I decided to change up spaghetti and meatball night to meatball subs. I haven't had a meatball sub in, oh, I can't even tell you the last time I had one. My husband and I really enjoyed our meatball subs immensely.  This is a pretty quick dinner, especially if you mix and roll the meatballs out ahead of time.

I follow the recipe for the Skinnytaste meatballs.

Skinny Italian Spinach Meatballs

• 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of all liquid
• 2 slices whole wheat Weight Watchers bread (or any half point bread) - I have omitted the past few times and the meatballs stay together without.
• 1 large egg
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley - I subbed dried oregano & basil for the parsley.  We are not fans of parsley in our family.

• 1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese (or your favorite Parmesan Cheese)
• salt and pepper

Wet bread with water then mash up with your hands. Add to large bowl and combine with chopped beef, chopped spinach, egg, garlic, parsley, grated cheese, salt and pepper. Mix all ingredients well until thoroughly combined. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure meat, then divide in two so that each meatball is 1/8th of a cup. Roll into little meatballs.
Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, add 1 tbsp olive oil on low heat. When oil is hot add as many meatballs that will fit, cook on low, turning often so that all side get browned. Cook until the centers are cooked through. When finished, place on a dish lined with paper towels to blot any excess oil. Drop meatballs into sauce and continue cooking the remaining meatballs, repeating the process. When all meatballs are in the sauce, simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes. 


For the subs:
Slice the rolls lengthwise and place 3-4 meatballs on the buns and top with shredded mozzarella, if desired. Place under the broiler until cheese is melted and golden.

Recipe Swap:: Thanksgiving Burgers

The latest swap category was panini or sandwich.  I really like these swaps because since I have started documenting my weight loss journey it makes me go through my recipe box and remind me of what delicious dinners we have been missing.  I submitted another Rachael Ray recipe for Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes.  The link to the recipe is from my friend Lauren who received the recipe in the swap.

The recipe I received was for Thanksgiving Burgers from Lisa's Cooking Adventures.  My husband is always excited to see what recipes we receive and we were both looking forward to these burgers since last week.

I omitted the parsley since we aren't huge parsley fans.  I used shredded cheddar since we had that on hand.  The flavors were delicious and definitely tasted like Thanksgiving dinner sans stuffing!  The apple gave it such a great crunch and added flavor.  I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant about the cranberry sauce/mustard combo, but it was so tasty!!  Such an easy recipe to follow and definitely took me less than 30 minutes from prep to plating.  I totally forgot these were supposed to be on English muffins when I was at the store and bought panini rolls instead, which was way too big for the burger so next time I would use an english muffin or a smaller roll.

On the side, I made sweet potatoes fries to accompany the thanksgiving theme and tossed them in a cinnamon-agave mixture.

APPLE & CHEESE TURKEY BURGERS 
(Slightly adapted from a Rachael Ray recipe)

1.3  lbs ground turkey breast (1 pkg)
4 scallions, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley - I omitted
1 tablespoon grill seasoning
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
8 slices  cheese
1 green apple, cut into 12 slices
1/4 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
2 tablespoons grainy mustard
4 sandwich-size english muffins, split and toasted


In a bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, parsley, grill seasoning and poultry seasoning. Form into 4 patties, pressing your thumb into the center of each to prevent it from bulging.
Heat a grill pan over medium high heat.   Add the patties and cook for 8 minutes on each side. Top each with 3 apple slices and 2 cheese slices, tent the pan with foil and cook until the cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce and mustard; slather on the muffin tops; top with the patties and set the muffin tops into place.


Cinnamon-y Sweet Potato Fries
2 large yams, cut into sticks for fries
2 tbsp. agave syrup
1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt, if desired


Combine agave & cinnamon and toss with the sweet potato fries.  Layer the fries on a baking sheet and bake at 425º for about 25 minutes.  

Layered Fiesta Casserole

This casserole has been in our recipe repertoire for quite a few years and never disappoints.  I honestly don't even know where this recipe came from.  But that doesn't matter now, does it?  Not since I decided to share it with you!  

We love mexican cuisine... we usually have at least one dinner a week that is in the cuisine and this is one of our favorites.  Normally we use ground turkey for our casseroles just to save on some fat/calories, but it certainly doesn't take away from flavor.

Layered Fiesta Casserole

1lb ground meat
1 onion, chopped
1 green and red pepper, chopped
1 jar salsa
1 can (14.5oz) diced tomatoes
1 pkg frozen corn
12 corn tortillas
1 1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Brown meat with onions & peppers in a large skillet. Drain. Return to stove. Stir in salsa, tomatoes, & corn. Bring to a boil.

Spoon 1 cup of meat mixture into a 13x9 dish. Top with 6 tortillas, overlapping if necessary. Cover with 1/2 of the remaining mixture. Top with cheese. Add remaining 6 tortillas, cover with meat and top with cheese.

Bake 25-30 min. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

To accompany this dish, I made Skinnytaste's Cilantro Lime Rice which was the first time that we made it and it was really delicious.

Meatloaf & Baked Seasoned Fries

©Self Magazine

1/2 cup white wine
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup carrot, grated
1 lb ground turkey
1 can (8oz) tomato sauce
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
2 large egg whites
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup chicken broth
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Pour wine in medium skillet and cook onion, pepper, & carrot over low to medium heat for 15 minutes.  In a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients & mix thoroughly, using hands.  Spoon in veggies & liquid from skillet.  Coat a loaf pan with spray and fill with mixture.  Bake 1 hour; let stand for five minutes before slicing.  Enjoy with baked or mashed sweet potatoes and a glass of wine!

I have been using this recipe for 4 years and both Dave and I still love it as much as the first day we tried it.  For the oatmeal, I usually use whatever packet we have in the house since it's about a 1/2 cup.  We've used maple brown sugar which gives it just a teensy hint of sweetness.  Especially in the fall and winter, this recipe gets cooked quite a bit.

We usually couple meatloaf with mashed potatoes - two perfect winter night comfort foods.  However I found this recipe for Baked Seasoned Fries.  Honestly, I wasn't holding out hope for these because we've made homemade fries before and have always been disappointed.  BUT these were absolutely perfect!  Crispy and tasty.. these were delicious.

Baked Seasoned Fries from Skinnytaste

• 2 medium potatoes, russet or yukon gold, washed and dried
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp herbs de provence (or use a combo of dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram)
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper
• fresh lime zest 

Shepherd's Pie, the Weight Watchers Way

I came across this recipe on a message board that I frequent and being my husband is a huge fan of Shepherd's Pie I figured we would give this a try.  I, myself, have never had Shepherd's Pie so I didn't have anything to compare this to.  This was absolutely delicious and definitely going into our recipe box.

I will update with a picture the next time we make it.  I forgot to take a picture!

2 large uncooked potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/4 c. fat free sour cream
1tbsp reduced calorie margarine
1/8 tsp salt, or to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1 c. onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 lb. uncooked ground turkey breast
3tbsp. all purpose flour
1 tbsp. rosemary (fresh) or 1 tsp. dried
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 c. chicken or beef broth

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

• Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.
  
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
  
• Transfer turkey mixture to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon, make decorative swirls over the top. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.