What’s cooking…pictures and recipes

It’s been a while since I posted a “What’s for Dinner” post – but as the weather gets warmer, I’m finding myself with more energy and an increased desire to try out new recipes.

Wholewheat Spaghetti and Chicken Meatballs

I was inspired to make this surprisingly light meal after seeing a Turkey Meatball recipe posted on The Honeybee. I combined her instructions with a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa – here’s what I did:
INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs mince chicken
1 cup wholewheat bread crumbs (or less)
1 minced onion
1 egg (beaten)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp garlic powder
INSTRUCTIONS:
-Combine ingredients in a bowl. Form 2 inch meatballs (made 40 meatballs)
-Fry in 1/4 inch oil for 10 minutes on medium heat
-Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
-Cook 20 meatballs with 1 jar of White Linen Pasta sauce for 45 minutes.
-Freeze the remaining meatballs for an easy dinner another night (just combine frozen meatballs with another jar of pasta sauce and heat for 45 minutes).

I think this will be a weekly dinner in our house – hubby and the kids loved it – and it’s light and healthy enough for me – especially when combined with wholewheat spaghetti, zucchini pasta or spaghetti squash.

The lovely weather also put me in the mood to make Apple Pie – I’d never
made it before but I’d always wanted to try. I read up on different
recipes and just experimented with the ingredients I had on hand.

Easy Apple Pie

INGREDIENTS:
FILLING:
2-3 peeled and thinly sliced apples
lemon zest
1 TB lemon juice
4 TB sugar
2 TB flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch allspice
CRUST:
Eggwash (1 beaten egg thinned out with milk or water)
1/2 package Tenderflake puff pastry (already had this, otherwise I probably would have bought their ready made pie shells)
1 tsp brown sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
-Combine filling ingredients and refrigerate for half an hour
-Roll crust out – here’s a good tutorial on working with puff pastry
-Line pie dish with crust, add filling
-Roll out leftover pastry dough, cut into slices and criss-cross for a lattice pattern
-Brush with egg wash, sprinkle 1 tsp sugar on lattice and crimp edges of pie with a fork
-bake for 1/2 hour at 200 C (400 F)

This recipe turned out really well BUT the bottom was soft instead of crispy (when I cut the pie into slices, I broiled it upside down to harden the crust before serving). I’m going to work on my pie crust recipe (maybe pre-bake it before filling it) – but the filling and lattice topping was a success, so I’m pretty happy with my first attempt.

While we’re on the subject of food – here’s a pic of my Mother’s Day dessert: Cheesecake Factory mini-cheesecakes and cupcakes – aren’t they adorable? The whole family enjoyed digging in:

By the way – check out my guest post on Sequins & Stilettos – I wrote about statement necklaces, gingham shirts and coloured skinnies.

Have you tried any new recipes lately? Please share below – I’m definitely in the mood for trying new things. I’ve turned off CAPTCHA on my comments, as some readers were having a hard time commenting – so hopefully it should be easy now!