In the spirit of the new year and making good on my resolutions intentions,
I have two new recipes to share with you that I really loved, were very simple recipes to follow, and fast to make!
I did a combination of Gwyneth’s recipe and this recipe so that I was keeping it easier than Gwyneth’s with less ingredients. I do want to try Gwyneth’s when I have more time to cook! I loved them and will be making them over and over again.
I made brown rice gluten free spaghetti for Kip, and spaghetti squash for me.
They were delicious as leftovers for work the next day too!
To make them cleaner, I debated not putting in the Parmesan, but I’m so glad I kept the cheese because it gave them such great flavor (and get the good stuff, not the green non-refrigerated kind, because the taste really is so much fresher and cheesier!)
:: QUICK TURKEY MEATBALLS ::
Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey (I used 93% lean)
1/4 cup diced onion
1 large egg
1/3 cup breadcrumbs (or I used Panko)
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan
2 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups good marinara sauce (I love Rao’s, or you can get an Organic, or No Salt Added to really control the salt)
Directions
Combine the turkey, onion, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley in a large bowl. Mix ingredients with hands until incorporated.
Roll the meat mixture into 1.25 inch balls, which should yield about 26-30 meatballs.
(I used a tablespoon as a guide, and used slightly larger than a tablespoon. I had 30 meatballs.)
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Place the meatballs into the hot skillet and brown on each side, about 3-4 minutes per side. Use tongs to rotate the meatballs so that they brown evenly on all sides
I did mine in two batches to not crowd the pan.
Reduce the heat to medium, add the tomato sauce, and simmer meatballs for another 10 minutes or until they are cooked all the way through.
Serve over your favorite pasta, brown rice pasta, spaghetti squash, or greens!
Store the cooked meatballs in the fridge in the sauce for up to 3 days.
I’m hoping to make Gwyneth’s “Go-To Tomato Sauce” when I have more time, and add in extra herbs to the meatballs next time like she does for hers (she uses basil, thyme, rosemary, and sage).
:: Quiche Lorraine ::
For New Years Day, I made my first quiche! I used a recipe from the Today show that has a spinach crust, turkey bacon, and a few other things to drastically cut the calories. I made it and baked it the night before, and then just reheated it in the oven after we woke up. {I know myself well enough that first thing after a night of celebrating I will not be cooking in the kitchen upon rising.}
We both loved this. We ate it the next day too for leftovers and it was just as delicious.
*Make sure you wrap it with foil like it says so the eggs don’t run out! I used a quiche pan because I didn’t have a spring form. And I left the nutmeg out because we were out!*
:: HEALTHY QUICHE LORRAINE ::
original image and recipe via the Today show
Serves 6. Calories are reduced from 600 per serving to only 220!
Ingredients
For the Spinach Crust:
2 packages frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and thoroughly drained of water
(they didn’t give a size so I used two little bricks from the freezer)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup reduced fat, shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Oil spray, for pan
For the Quiche:
3 eggs
3 egg whites
6 ounces/10 strips cooked turkey bacon, chopped
1 cup shredded or grated reduced fat swiss ( I used mozarella)
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I left this out)
Preparation:
For the Spinach Crust:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, mix everything together until well combined. Liberally coat a spring form pan (or quiche pan/tart pan) with oil spray and cover the bottom with the spinach “dough”. Bake for about 17 minutes until spinach crust is set, firm, and slightly browned on top and edges. Remove from oven and set aside.
Lower the Oven Temperature to 375 degrees and prepare the quiche filling.
For the filling:
In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together and pour on top of spinach crust.
*NOTE: Be sure to cover the bottom of the spring form pan with tinfoil and place on baking sheet to prevent eggs from dripping through the small openings*
Bake for 30 minutes or until the quiche is set and fluffy.
Mine required closer to 40 minutes.
About 5 minutes before the quiche is done cooking, sprinkle a few tablespoons grated parmesan cheese over the top so it becomes melted and browned.
Enjoy!
Another recipe that I made last week (for National Spaghetti Day! pats self on back) was Turkey Meatballs.
What are some of your favorite healthy meals to make?
Any new cookbooks or cooking blogs you would recommend?!
Expect many more healthy recipes + fitness posts to come!
I love a good quiche. I have not tried Gwennie's turkey meatballs but need too. I have this recipe for chicken meatballs stuffed with fresh mozzarella that is sooo good!
oh my gosh those meatballs sound incredible!! I can't believe I had never made a quiche before (shame) but I really am hooked! I need to dive more into Gwen's cookbooks but I feel like I need to order some ingredients from amazon because I can never find them !
made the quiche over the weekend my husband declared "this tastes better than actual quiche. how is that possible?"
either this was a good recipe or i am just a quiche whiz….
Yay! You're a quiche whiz Amy 🙂 so glad you liked it My husband loved it too (and I was honestly shocked!) Somehow the spinach crust works and you don't miss the bad stuff.