Meat Balls

I made meatballs, pasta and tomato sauce for dinner last night. The meatballs were yummy and versatile. Everyone in the family loved them. They were made with extra lean beef so they were fairly healthy, but to up the health ante you could use ground turkey instead. Add to a sub, pasta, pizza, etc.

If you are in a rush skip sauteing the onions and spices first. If you have an extra 4 minutes sauteing them brings out the flavour. Depending on how health conscious you are you can either cook them in a bit of oil until they are fully cooked or do as I did and just cook them in a little oil to brown them and set the shape, then bake them.

Meatballs

• 1 medium onions, diced
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves minced)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 egg (optional)

* mix all ingredients except beef and eggs
* saute in olive oil till onions soften slightly , stir frequently to avoid spices burning
* let cool for 5 minutes in a bowl, reserving oil in pan
* mix beef, (egg) and spices
If browning the outsides then baking
* heat oil used for spices on med- high, add more oil if necessary
* brown the meatballs on the outside
* place on a baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes on 400
* break one in half to ensure it is fully cooked
If cooking in the oil completely
* heat oil on medium
* cook 10-15 minutes, keep turning to avoid burning
* check middle to see when done

Homemade Baby Food

We have chosen to make baby food from scratch for my son, just like we did for my first one. We try to buy pretty much everything organic for the baby food, at least to the age of one. After one they eat such a variety that it is hard to find enough organic produce. I have made carrots, squash, green beans, peas, edamame, beets, to name a few.

It is so much easier then people think it is. Make lots and you can freeze it in ice cube size portions, every time you want to feed baby you can take out the number of cubes he/she eats. Certain foods do come out a better consistency then others. They key is adding a little water at a time, you can always add more water to make it smoother but you can't take it out. Make sure to keep the water that you used to steam the veggies with. Veggies loose some nutrients while cooking, but some end up in the water. That is why after steaming say broccoli you end up with slightly greenish-yellow water.

Here is a general way to make vegetables for your little one;

• Wash & cut up vegetables into smaller pieces to quicken the steaming process.
• Steam until tender but not mushy. Too mushy and they loose their nutritional value.
• Once done put veggies in blender/food processor with a little bit of the water you used to steam them with. Keep adding water until desired consistancy.
• Scoop into ice cube trays and freeze.
• After a day place cubes into a bag or glass container and store back in freezer.

That is all there is to it. Now you know the quality of food going into your baby's body!

Blogging Not Forgotten. . .

No I haven't forsaken my blogging! We recently had a flood in our basement that has caused a total gutting of the carpet and some bulkheads to take place. Since the water came from the fridge (the line that carries water to the ice maker was punctured) they also removed a large section of tiles under our fridge.

Needless to say I have my large fridge sitting in the middle of my cooking area, making my cooking more of a chore compared to the usual joy I get from it. This is the week I am getting back into the blogging, so stay tuned!

Healthy Mexican Chili

I was checking out Bethenny Frankel's website via a link on Facebook. She is such a pistol you have to love her. I came across this recipe for Ultra Healthy Mexican Chili that looked yummy and gave it a try.

I swapped some of the ingredients and was delighted with the results. You can find the original recipe here. If you are not a fan of cumin, don't worry it lends a nice flavour which isn't necessarily detectable that it is cumin. I was able to prepare this in less then 10 minutes. After cooking it for 20 minutes I served it with brown rice and lemon garlic Rapini  for a wholesome and tasty dinner.

Healthy Mexican Chili

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• s & p
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red pepper (or colour of your choice)
• 1 can of tomatoes
• 1/2 package of ground beef, turkey ground or veggie 'beef' (you could even omit the meat)
• 1/2 can of black beans (use full can if omitting meat)

* Saute onions, add spices, minced garlic and pepper
* When veggies are soft add tomatoes
* When veggies and tomatoes are soft add beans and beef
* Cook for about 20 mins on medium-high until beef is cooked

Ta-da! You are done!