Garbonzo Bean Meatballs

While watching Biggest Loser the other day, they were talking about making meatballs with ground turkey and mashed garbanzo beans (or chickpeas, same thing) and I was intrigued so I made some. The one thing I wasn't expecting was for the kids to like them, but my very picky eater gobbled down two of them, and Ella liked it too. That's always a nice surprise. ☺

Garbanzo Bean Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)

1 can (15oz) garbanzo beans, drained and mashed

Garlic cloves (I used about 3, but I like garlic!)

Onion powder

Salt

Pepper

pinch of red pepper, ground or flakes

Soy sauce, splash

2 eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs, or instant oats (you may need more if it's looking too runny)

Mix and bake @ 400 for 30 minutes, or until cooked all the way through. (It will depend on the size of your meatballs too) ☺

So, not only is it more healthful, it could be a good way to make your meat go farther as well!

Pasta E Fagoli

***Edit***
I decided that since this was the first recipe I ever posted here that it deserved a reposting with pictures. In these pictures I cooked this in the crockpot and used partially frozen ground beef, so just know that you have that option too (of not browning the meat). I also used my own spaghetti sauce made out of tomato paste, v8 juice, and spices, and it still tasted good!  ;o)
Here is the recipe for Pasta e Fagoli. It's supposed to be a copycat of the soup at Olive Garden, but I've never had it so I can't tell you how it compares. I just think this stuff is pretty good! It makes quite a bit so either have it for guests or freeze. :-)

Pasta e Fagoli (makes about 6 quarts)

1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1/2 of a small 1 lb. bag of baby carrots, chopped
5 stalks of celery, diced
2 (14.5 oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 (32 oz.) carton + 1 (14.5 oz.) can of beef broth (If you like a more brothy soup add more, I made up about 50 oz of broth.)
1 1/2 tsp oregano
11/4 tsp pepper
2 1/2 tsp fresh parsley, chopped (I used dry)
3/4 tsp tabasco sauce
1 jar (1 lb. 10 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 cup dry small pasta (such as ditalini or elbow macaroni)
salt to taste


Brown ground beef. Drain if necessary. Add onion, carrot, celery and diced tomatoes. Simmer 10 minutes. Add beans, beef broth, oregano, pepper, parsley, tabasco sauce and spaghetti sauce.Simmer soup on low for about 30-45 minutes until carrots are almost tender.Add pasta to pot and simmer on low for about 15-30 minutes until pasta is just shy of al dente. As the soup cools, the pasta will absorb the broth. You can cook the pasta separate and add it to the soup after the soup has cooled.
(I browned the meat, pureed the onion and celery and added everything but the noodles and put it in a crockpot. Added the noodles to the crockpot about an hour before eating.)

All ingredients in the crockpot except noodles, cook for atleast 4-5 hours

Add the noodles about 1/2 hr to an hour before eating.

Calzones

I needed to use up some of my extra meatballs and pizza dough so I made these calzones.

Calzones

Pizza dough (one crust)

Meatballs

Mozzarella

Parmesan

Italian Seasoning

Bake @ 400 for 20-30 minutes

Marinara Sauce

Diced Tomatoes

Tomato Sauce

Italian Seasoning

Garlic (minced or powder)

Basil

Oregano

Mix all together and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Split the dough into 4 parts, and roll out

Put meatballs down, Mozarella, sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning over the top.

Fold the dough over, brush with olive oil or egg wash. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese and Italian Seasoning. Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Ok, I'll admit it, I was a little hesitant to try this, but I'm glad I did because it was REALLY good. :-)

Spaghetti Squash Spagetti

Spaghetti Squash

Tomato Sauce

Couple of Tomatoes

Ground Beef or Meatballs

Basil

Oregano

Italian Seasoning

Pepper

Cayenne

Onion and Garlic Powder

Sour Cream

Parmesan

Start by cutting your squash in half, you can either cook it in an oven for about an 45-60 min at 350 ish, or put it on a plate and stick in the microwave for around 15 min.

I tried one half this way, in a baking dish, with a little water, covered in plastic and it didn't get done any faster than the squash I just set on a plate and stuck in the microwave for 15 minutes.

Mix the seasonings (lots of Basil, Italian Seasoning, some Oregano, Onion and Garlic powders, a little Cayenne to give it a kick)

Add a couple of Tomatoes, I just pulled these out of my freezer so I didn't cut them up very well.

Cook down, and then sprinkle some Parmesan in

After the Spaghetti Squash is done cooking (soft and easy to scoop out with a spoon) put in a bowl

Add some meatballs to your sauce, or cooked ground beef, add a dollop of Sour Cream and mix in.

Serve over the top of your squash.

Meatballs

This recipe was in the latest Food and Family magazine from Kraft foods. I thought it looked good even though I'm not usually a big meatball fan, and the two gravy/ sauces intrigued me. I did the tomato sauce recipe with about half and froze the rest of the meatballs

The Best Meatballs

2 lbs Ground Beef

1 box Stuffing mix for Chicken

1-1/4 c Water

2 Eggs

Bake at 400 15-18 minutes

Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

Mix 1 jar (14 oz.) spaghetti sauce

2 oz. cubed Cream Cheese 

 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil in large skillet; cook on medium-low heat 3 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add 16 hot meatballs; stir to evenly coat. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese before serving. Makes 4 servings, 4 meatballs and 1/3 cup sauce each.

Creamy Brown Gravy

Mix 1 jar (12 oz.) beef gravy,

1/2 cup  Sour Cream and 2 Tbsp.

chopped fresh parsley

in large skillet; cook on medium-low heat 3 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Add 16 hot meatballs; stir to evenly coat. Makes 4 servings, 4 meatballs and 1/3 cup sauce each.

Mixing up the ground beef with eggs and water

add stuffing mix

Bake for 15-18 minutes at 400 (or longer if yours are huge like mine) :-)

For the sauce

Add meatballs

It's kind of a glorified spaghetti, but it's good . :-)

Slow-Cooker Lasagna

This is from Kraft Foods.

Slow-Cooker Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 cup water

1 container (15 oz.) Ricotta Cheese (I used Cottage Cheese)

2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1 egg

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley (I used dried)

6 lasagna noodles, uncooked

BROWN meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and water. Mix ricotta, 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, 2 Tbsp. Parmesan, egg and parsley

SPOON 1 cup meat sauce into slow cooker; top with layers of half each of the noodles, broken to fit; and cheese mixture. Cover with 2 cups meat sauce. Top with remaining noodles, broken to fit; cheese mixture and meat sauce. Cover with lid.

COOK on LOW 4 to 6 hours or until liquid is absorbed. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses; let stand, covered, 10 min. or until melted.

Browning the meat...and I seasoned it too.

I just added everything into the meat so I save myself time and dishes. :-)



Spoon the first layer down

Put the noodles on top. Rinse and repeat. End with meat layer

After it's done cooking, sprinkle on remaining cheeses and let melt

Pizza Turnovers

This is a Betty Crocker recipe. I thought it looked good, fun, and kid friendly. You'll probably notice that I did things differently from the recipe.

Pizza Turnovers


1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
1/4 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot
24 turkey pepperoni slices
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 slices mozzarella cheese, (1 1/2 ounces), cut in half

1.
Heat oven to 400ºF. Roll pizza crust dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch square. Cut dough into four 6-inch squares.
2.
Spread 1 tablespoon pizza sauce on each square to within 1/2 inch of edges. Top with carrot, pepperoni and cheeses. Fold each square in half over filling; press edges to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
3.
Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm

Cut the dough with a pizza cutter

Spread the Pizza sauce on, and sprinkle the meat. (Turkey Pepperoni would be really good, but I needed to use up some other meat)

Grated Carrots and I used grated Mozarella instead of sliced. (and I don't have any Parmesan right now so that didn't go on either)

Fold dough over and bake at 400 for 12-15 min

They were really good, but it is pizza afterall!

Cheeseburger Rollups

I got this recipe from another mom who said her kid loves this, so I thought I'd give it a try and Aidan and Cary really liked it. The thing that's nice about these is that you can add or subtract whatever ingredients you want. (i.e. add some spinach or leave out the onion) I left out the onion this time since I'm eating bland for Ella. :)

Cheeseburger Rollups

1 lb Ground Beef
1 pkg Pizza dough
1 chopped Onion
1 c Shredded Cheese

Brown the meat and season it how you want, add the chopped onion

Put the pizza dough on a half cookie sheet ( I probably rolled this one too thin)

Top the dough with the meat and cheese

roll up and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes

We dipped in pasta sauce