Wednesday Menu - Sweet and Spicy Greek Meatballs

Tonight's dinner was a little more "exotic" in flavor than our usual meals. I'm trying to expand the family's taste buds and decided to go with mediterranean flavors. This recipe uses mint, cinnamon, oregano, parsley and cumin. Now the original recipe suggests using lamb but I decided the herbal flavors were enough of a new thing to introduce, so I went with beef instead. I have to say the flavors do have a true mediterranean flavor. Dave and I really enjoyed it so we gave it a thumbs up rating. Emily liked it but thought it was too spicy, so did Matt - I guess that would be a side thumb rating for the two of them.   I will try the recipe again but I think I will omit the cayenne pepper to see it it takes some of the spiciness away. 

Here is the full recipe if you want to give it a try. It was a "Weeknight Meal" in Redbook Magazine:

Sweet & Spicy Greek Meatballs

Prep/Total Time: 40 mins.

1 lb. ground lamb or 80% lean ground beef

1 cup cooked and cooled couscous, plus extra for serving

3 scallions (white and pale green parts), chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1 large egg (at room temperature), beaten

1/4 cup chopped fresh, flat-leaf parsley

5 tbsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. dried mint

2 tbsp. ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tbsp. dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. each ground black pepper and cayenne pepper

2 cups marinara

2 cinnamon sticks

In a large bowl, mix ground meat, couscous, scallions, garlic, egg, parsley, 2 tbsp. of the olive oil, mint, 1 tbsp. of the cinnamon, oregano, cumin, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Form mixture into 14 to 16 meatballs, 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. 

Heat the remaining 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook until they are browned on all sides, about 6 minutes. Add marinara sauce, the remaining 1 tbsp. of the cinnamon, and two cinnamon sticks to pan. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, turning meatballs until they’re cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks.

Serve meatballs on top of extra cooked couscous.

Oh my YUMMY Goodness!!!

Yesterday, Emily and I prepared our dessert for the week - No Bake Chocolate Eclair dessert. 

Definitely the most difficult part of this recipe is the "refrigerate overnight" step. The vanilla pudding, graham crackers and chocolate sauce created scrumptious aromas. Well, those aromas were nothing compared to the taste. Its amazing!!!! It tasted so close to an eclair and let me tell you preparation of this is minimal compared to the making of an eclair. And that annoying overnight step, well it softens the graham crackers (not making them mushy) to perfection.

This dessert is so good I could eat the whole thing myself. Usually when a recipe makes something this large I try and share with others so it doesn't go to waste. Well, there will be absolutely no wasting and I know I will be part of that effort.

Oh, so you want to know where to get the recipe? Hmmm.....should I share? Of course, it can be found at the blog The Kitchen is my Playground. I will be forever thankful and making this recipe quite often.  Enjoy!!

Tuesday Menu - Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake

Tonight was pasta night and this recipe got 4 thumbs up from the whole family. 

I made very few changes to the original recipe which can be found at Saving Money Living Life. Instead of rigatoni, I used mezza rigatoni which is just a shorter rigatoni noodle. Also, I used an 8oz container of the 1/3 less fat Philly chive and onion cream cheese instead of the full fat version. The only "complaint" I got was regarding the tomatoes from Matt and even those were few enough that he could pick them out and have me eat them. Thankfully he didn't even notice the onions or "crunchies" as he calls them.

This is definitely a recipe that will be added to the family recipe binder. 

Enjoy!!!

Monday Menu - Greek Steak Pitas with Dill Sauce

Last night started our weekly dinner menu.  

First up were these steak pitas. I've made these before and they get mixed reviews. Dave and I love them so we would be a thumbs up rating. Emily doesn't care for steak (or chicken, or beef, or pork - you get the idea) although she would be happy to eat the pita just filled with the dill sauce, lettuce and feta. I guess she would give it a side thumb rating along with Matt. He likes steak but I do have to eliminate the lettuce. One of his favorite things about this meal is the cheta (translation = feta). Of course, if you are not a steak eater, I'm sure you can substitute with chicken. 

As for where the recipe came from, I honestly don't remember as I already had this recipe printed out for my family planner.  Here are the details if you are interested in giving it a taste. 

Greek Steak Pitas 

(Serves 4 - 2 stuffed pita halves)

Sauce:

1/2 cup plain f/f Greek yogurt

2 tsp. chopped fresh dill

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

Steak: 

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound flank steak, trimmed

cooking spray

4 - 6 inch pitas, cut in half

4 romaine lettuce leaves, halved

1/4 cup crumbled feta

To prepare sauce, combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. To prepare steak, combine lemon juice through steak in a large zip top plastic bag, seal. Marinate in refrigerator 10 minutes, turning once. Remove steak from bag and discard marinade. Place steak on grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray; cook 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices. Line each pita half with one lettuce leaf half. Divide steak evenly among the pita halves. Spoon 1 tablespoon sauce and 1 1/2 teaspoons feta into each pita half. 

Enjoy!!

It all Starts with a Thought

Lately, I've been being asked how I come up with the bulletin boards I've created. As with anything "creative", it all comes from a momentary thought or idea. Some boards are based on a preset idea or theme but the majority that have been made are without direction. Of course, seasons may dictate the direction in which my mind wanders. The most recent bulletin board I did was spring themed. Above is the sketch that was produced while talking out the concept with my creative sidekick, Deborah Cabrera, who is also very creative and talented. To make some of the elements, I will sometimes look at photos or clip art images to accurately reproduce them. Here is the end result from the above sketch.

One thing I've learned is that when an idea comes to mind I must get it down on paper in some form. Recently, while in church, I had two ideas come to mind.  One has to do with being on a journey and the other came from a statement made by my Pastor regarding broken vessels. I quickly sketched these ideas on my sermon notes paper. 

Most of the time these small sketches are enough to start the creative wheels turning and ultimately the idea morphs into something more than the original sketch. There are times though when I do have to do a more detailed sketch of the idea to make sure that it will be able to work the way it is planned. Also, I do this to keep from wasting product while making the finished board. Right now, I'm working on a board that is suppose to look like stained glass and I found it necessary to detail sketch it so to avoid any paper waste and additional frustration on my part. I still need to color in the tiles according the color tones of the paper I have decided to use. This will keep me from having the same color being next to each other. 

When it comes down to it though, my ability to create these boards are a result from the gift God has bestowed on me. When I was a teenager, I remember drawing up floor plans and making room scapes with the intention of being an interior decorator. Then, in college, I chose to pursue communications and enjoyed writing.  While married, I got into stamping and creating cards and with the birth of my children came scrapbooking. Then, I settled in to doing crafts for my home and friends. All along God was showing me my abilities. 

In August of 2010, I got asked to help with the creating of a few bulletin boards at my church and since then God has been blessing me with ideas and honing my talents to take the bulletin boards to a new level. Here is one of the first boards that I helped create.  

I consider these boards my offering to God. He has blessed me with this gift and He gives me great joy in creating these. My prayer is that these boards minister to those who see them - a tool that will help them draw nearer to God. In the past year, I've been praying (along with my dear friend) that God would take this creative effort to where ever He wants it to go. My desire is to be in His will bringing glory to Him. God has blessed me with another church that I'm creating boards for along with the opportunity to make a few for my children's school.  

Another way that God has blessed me is with the viewing of these boards via this blog and also on Pinterest. It gives me personal joy to be able to share these boards and have others desire to create them and spread the message they have. 

God is truly showing me that this is the path He has for me at this time and I want to be wholly in His will so that He can use me as He desires.