Hoisin Glazed Turkey Meatballs

I LOVED THIS RECIPE.
That's it. 
It was so easy & quick.

I threw them in the oven as I was doing some work from home & before I knew it...they were done.  They were really moist (I even used 96% lean ground turkey) & had really good flavor.  Bonus: I ate them for lunch all week too.

Hoisin Glazed Turkey Meatballs

recipe compliments of healthyseasonalrecipes.com

Makes: 26 Meatballs. Active Time: 20 minutes. Total Time: 30 minutes.
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger root, preferably grated with a rasp-style grater
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 scallions, minced plus sliced scallion greens for garnish, divided
1/2 cup finely drained, chopped water chestnuts
1 pound lean ground turkey
1/4 cup purchased Hoisin Sauce 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice black and/or white sesame seeds, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Whisk soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, crushed red pepper and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in cornstarch until smooth. Stir in 2 minced scallions and water chestnuts. Stir in turkey until completely combined.

Drop turkey mixture by rounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet, gently re-shaping into ball shapes if necessary. Lightly coat the balls with cooking spray and transfer to the oven. Bake until the meat is cooked through, 15 to 17 minutes.

Stir Hoisin sauce, cilantro and lime juice in a large bowl. Add the cooked meatballs and gently stir to coat. Sprinkle with the remaining sliced scallions and sesame seeds and serve hot with toothpicks.

 

Summer Salad

It's about this time of the summer that our garden is in full swing & I start thinking...what am I going to do with all of these veggies & herbs. 

This is our garden:

In order: lettuce, sugar snap peas, thyme, rosemary, basil, green peppers, red peppers, orange peppers, jalepenos, sweet 100 tomatoes (the best- in my opinion,) yellow teardrop tomatoes & good 'old beefsteak to-maters.

The most abundant produce that I have right now is lettuce...so I thought I'd share our most favorite salad recipe.  I cannot take credit for this one...this one is my hubby all the way.  One night, I came home from work & he had created this little number.  And it's been in our meal rotation since.  We don't measure this one out...just throw it all together

{Summer Salad}

recipe compliments of Todd Griffin

Grilled chicken; served warm & sliced

Lettuce {we use a combination of romaine & spring mix}

Pine nuts; toasted

Strawberries; sliced

Goat Cheese; crumbled

Croutons

Champagne vinagrette

Freshly cracked black pepper; optional

Mix all salad ingredients together, top with warm grilled chicken.  Optional: sprinkle with pepper.

Nothing is happening in our kitchen...because it's summer!

Alright...why have I not been cooking??  I can probably come up with a thousand reasons...most of which I thought I'd show you in pictures.  Basically, it's the thick of golf season so we are on the go-go-go.  Summer in our house revolves around late night lessons, 18-hole (or 52-hole) days...and eating out, ALOT.  I find it very hard to cook for one, so usually I wait for my hubby to get home & collapse on the couch with a cocktail in hand before I say..."I didn't get anything for dinner."  To which he usually rolls his eyes, shakes his head and we head out to dinner.  Besides golf, I/we have been busy.  Just because golf is sucking the soul out of my hubby doesn't mean we can't fit in a little fun. 

So here it goes:

First up...let's talk Second Home in Cherry Creek.  Love this place for a few reasons.  #1 Some creepy old man is ALWAYS game for buying me a drink.  #2 They make an amazing Dill Pickle Martini (enough said.) #3 This place is a Cougar's playground.  I find it facinating to watch these women at work.  And lastly...our friends Tony & Drea invited us to this cooking class they hold monthly.  It was so fun.  Each month they have a theme: Mexican was the theme the night we went.  We had so much fun and it's only 10 bucks a person...can't beat that deal.

                                      Todd & T-bills

Next up...I tackled our pantry in the kitchen.  I became very lazy after our wedding...I just shoved everything onto the shelves.  It got so crazy in there...opening the doors was like taking your life in your hands. 

Before

 

After

I don't have great pictures, and it's a work in progress but I'm working on turning our plain, empty basement guest bedroom into something more suitable for guests.  I'm really loving the gold/gray color combination right now, so that's been my inspiration.  Like I said it's a work in progress.  We painted the walls a light gray color.  I bought some bedding from West Elm.  I scored an AMAZING deal on that white trunk at The Paris Street Market...only $20.00.  I'm still working on adding some accessories.  And of course...that's our little Oliver making his blog debut (see below.)



Speaking of Oliver, he is our baby & basically holds down our fort.  He's had a busy summer as well.  Oliver's loves: Hubby being home.  Sleeping between us on his own pillow.  Chasing tennis balls.  His Maddie girl (the next door neighbor's dog- see below) Being in the mountains.  Getting dirty disgustingly dirty. Going to the park & riding in the basket of my bicycle. 

our little Oli bear

Oliver & his bestie...Maddie.  Maddie spent 2 weeks with us while her parents

were in Mongolia adopting their new little boy; Sawyer.

Oliver had a little injury this summer. 

Our happy, silly little dog...

No summer would be comlete without multiple trips to Vail/Edwards, Colorado & Cordillera.  We had a great time visiting great friends & golfing.

Next up...the Tiger's came to town.  Now this was a big deal in our house.  My hubby went to all 3 games (I went to 2.)  Apparently the Tiger's only play the Rockies once every 3 years.  This particular weekend revolved around drinking, sleeping & baseball.

gosh, we look crazy...but you get the idea

I've had a few kitchen disasters...that cake, I can't even talk about it.  Personally, Martha Stewart makes the best curd of any kind.  Will NOT use any other recipe.  Period. 



Lastly, just this past week our friends Kirsten & Darren came to visit from Vail.  We all went to the Kenny Chesney concert.  We had really good seats...and monsonal-type weather.  It down-poured during the entire concert.  We were soaked to the bone.  Luckily, the music was really good, as was the company.  I think the situation was so crazy, years from now we'll still remember & laugh about all that rain.  (Note: I made it through the entire concert without complaining...it was really hard, but I did it.)

our friends Kirsten & Darren

double layers of rain gear...

thank goodness for golf pro's & their rain attire

That's it my friends, our summer so far.  Hope you enjoyed!

Creamy Avocado Chicken Salad

My hubby looked at this dinner and said "why are you trying to feed me this bird food as our dinner."  As I've said before, he's a meat & potatoes kind of guy...this was a little to "light" for him.  We both really like this recipe, but I've always made it as an appetizer never as our dinner (ok- I was really lazy & didn't feel like going to the store on the Friday before the 4th of July)  I can say from experience that this recipe pairs really well with a good crisp glass of white wine- not that I'd know or anything. 

{Creamy Avocado Chicken Salad}

Adapted by me, I have no idea where I got this recipe...

but it's changed & changed & changed into this final product

1 cup of rotisserie chicken; shredded
1/2 cup corn (I use canned corn- again, lazy)
1/2 cup black beans; drained & rinsed
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup cilantro

1/2 cup quartered cherry tomatoes

1/2 cup crushed crispy jalapeno slices (I use fresh gourmet brand)

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

4 Tablespoons Mayo

2 teaspoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt & pepper

4 avocados; sliced in half & pit removed

Panko bread crumbs

Olive oil cooking spray

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, corn, black beans, green onion, cilantro, cherry tomatoes & crispy jalapeno slices.  Whisk together mayo, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper.  Slice the avocados & make the pit area a little bigger.  Spoon the chicken mixture into the avocado halves.  Preheat oven broiler to high.  Sprinkle the chicken mixture with a small amount of panko.  Place under broiler for approximately 30 seconds.  *Tip: the idea is to crisp the panko, not warm the chicken mixture.  It should be served at room temperature.