Subliminal Messaging

Did everyone else get to enjoy beautiful weather today? Vermont was certainly graced with some beautiful sun and warm temperatures! Given the time of the year it is I should be crying that it was nearly 40*. Lately all I've been wanting is snow, snow, snow. We have none! But since beautiful sunshine came along with the warmth, there was no way I could complain.

I should have known it would end up being a beautiful day after seeing the subliminal message in this ridiculous bowl of banana cream pie breakfast:

Anyone else see the heart?!Not intentional.

This craziness involved the usual whipped banana bowl of grains, topped with more banana, coconut, walnuts, raisins, and whet germ. The chia-seed yogurt icing had some mashed banana, too! And almond butter and a maraschino cherry, just for good measure, of course.

I thought I'd died and gone to heaven after eating this.

I grabbed the buffalo turkey wrap out of the fridge that I'd made for lunch last night, an orange, a carrot, and a Z Bar and made my way to school for classes.

After my first one I learned of two amazing facts: 1. Int. to C.J. was cancelled, and 2. Photo would just be a "work day" if we so chose! Luckily I learned both these things in e-mails, so decided to do my own photo class by driving round Rutland and finding sketchy places to take photos. Strangely, I've never just walked around downtown with my camera with the intent to take photos. I learned that sometimes you overlook some of the neatest places!

I've got quite a few photos to go through to keep me busy tonight, tomorrow, and the next day! Hopefully I got one or two good ones. 

While I was in town, I took advantage of the time to explore our co-op! I've never actually been in there - another shocker, right? I told myself I wouldn't buy much. And I did great until I got to the bulk section, where everything...uh...sort of added up. There's so many fun things, and still feel like I hardly got as much as I wanted! haha. Finds included goji berries, other dried fruits and nuts, almond "mozzarella," oikos, applegate farms turkey hot dogs, some bars, and some cookies! What I really wanted to find was coconut butter, but no such luck. My other stop was my favorite little organic deli/cafe, the Back Home Again. I about lived there all summer long, until I started school. (Then "Jess's Budgeting Act" cut-off so much buying of meals, and encouraged the making & packing of meals. It's ridiculous how much I spent a week buying lunches rather than packing my own!)They make amazing breads, and I needed some Spelt bread. They also sell yerba mate and mate energy bars, which are amazing. So I picked some of those up as well. Bliss. 

By the time I was done spending money and taking pictures, it was around 1:45 and I had only eaten all my snacks. They held me over so luckily I wasn't so tempted by any of the delicious wraps and sandwiches at the BHA and decided I'd just enjoy my wrap grilled once I got home!

Look familiar? It hasn't gotten old...but I'm almost out of those meatballs! I do miss hummus and veggie wraps though, so it's all good :)

Dinner was to incorporate one of my interesting co-op finds!

I had planned on just getting some really good marinated mozzarella when I went grocery shopping this weekend (I am picky about my mozzarella. Go big or go home. No skim over here.) but was quite fascinated when I saw this! Never even heard of it before, so of course I had to give it a try. I'm not lactose intolerant, vegan, or anything requiring me to avoid real cheese, but I was quite intrigued. And it's quite good! But we'll get to that.

On the agenda tonight was a Sausage Polenta Bake. I'd been tossing ideas around in my head all morning, and initially wanted to do sausage-apple, but wasn't sure what veggies I had that would go well with that.

So, for 1-2 servings (my mom and I shared it but each had another sausage & sauce on the side) I prepared the bottom polenta layer with:

1 Pesto-Chicken Bilinski Farms Chicken sausage, diced

1/3 c. polenta/corn grits

1 c. water

minced garlic

diced scallions, red pepper, and yellow pepper.

garlic salt, pepper, and basil

I just prepared the polenta as usual and when it was beginning to pull from the sides I added everything in. Poured and spread into a mini casserole dish, and baked at 400* for 20m.

Pre-baking:

Then I decided on a middle veggie layer:

baby spinach - 1 c.?

broccoli crown, chopped

1/4 c. cream of broccoli soup

minced garlic

dijon mustard

salt, pepper to taste

Sauteed in a pan until cooked down & soup about evaporated. By this time your polenta should be about done, so go ahead and put this layer on top.

Top with some sort of marinara/tomato-based sauce on top, and then some mozzarella shreds. (or, in my case, almond mozzarella)

I initially thought I was going to have to make my own "sauce" with diced tomatoes and seasonings like I usually do, but my mom actually had a pot of spaghetti sauce on for some pasta and sausages she was making, so I just stoled some of that. Convenient!

Pop back in the oven until your cheese is melted, and dig in! (Caution: Contents Hot)

Basic, but good :) I still like my sausage-apple polenta casserole idea, though. Soon!

Now, however, it is time for dessert round 2 (round 1 was a mate bar!): chia seed pumpkin pudding!

If you have a local co-op, what's your favorite find there? 

Or, if you're grocery shopping, do you end up trying way more new things than you went there with the intention of purchasing? 

I know I'm guilty of having a grocery shopping new-foods problem!

'Night everyone!

Recipe: Meatballs Two Ways

Turkey Meatballs, Two Ways

Take One: Sundried Tomato and Feta in Phyllo Cups

To get to "Spicy Buffalo Turkey Meatballs," scroll past all my blabbing.

Giada DeLaurentis is probably my favorite food network gal. I mean, look at her. She's adorable! And, she has good recipes to boot. One day I was watching her make a turkey meatloaf with sundried tomatoes and feta. This was when I was completely obsessed with any sort of italian cuisine, and vampires were sure to stay far from my home due to the copious amounts of garlic that I added to everything.

Of course, I still love italian cooking, but it seems that during the winter months I've become more apt to make something spicy, or mexican-esque. 

Regardless - I knew I had to make this meatloaf. 

I called up my mom, and told her I was coming over and making them dinner. I was making them meatloaf!

Imagine her disbelief. I was going to make meatloaf? The daughter who, for the past 19 years, couldn't be force fed meatloaf? Oh, yes. I forgot to mention: I "hated" meatloaf. Meatloaf, to me, equaled weird onion soup mix, ketchup, and ground beef. Uh, thanks, but no thanks.

But Giada was onto something good.

Okay, enough, enough. How does this relate to meatballs? 

Well, the meatloaf went over with rave reviews, but that was eons ago. I haven't made it since, and tonight I was planning on making dinner for the fam, and wanted to change up the recipe a bit, and make them into turkey burgers! Well, I ended up being ditched (being the grandma that I am) and was on my own for dinner. Since I'd already defrosted the ground turkey, and tomorrow being the superbowl so the turkey won't get used then, I figured I'd just stick to my gameplan - but instead, I decided on making them meatballs (easier to add to lunches). So, here we go. I did try to measure most everything so I could relay it again, rather than just adding a bit of everything.

Ingredients:

-10 oz. 99% lean ground turkey

-4 sundried tomatoes, chopped

-1 oz. Crumbled Feta Cheese - I like to use the F.F. Mediterranean Herb kind by President - (Alternatively, I think a really good marinated mozzarella would be amazing - I wanted to use the feta I had, though.)

-scant 1/4c. chopped scallions

-2 T. almond milk

-1 egg

-2 T. rolled oats

-1 T. grated Parmesan Cheese

-1/4 t. minced garlic

-1/4 t. dried basil (I would have preferred fresh, but couldn't justify buying a huge pack at the grocery store today)

-salt and pepper

-dash nutmeg

-1/4 t. garlic salt with parsley

-pre-cooked mini Phyllo cups

Destructions:

Preheat oven to 400*.

Combine all ingredients except for the feta and phyllo cups:

Form by the small handful (uh...maybe...1/8 cup size?) into small patties, and press some crumbled feta into the mixture. Fold over and press into a ball.

Place on a greased cookie sheet or glass baking dish.

Sorry if raw meat grosses you out. It still grosses me out...I wouldn't touch it until a year or so ago! hah. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes, checking first at 15. They didn't take very long.

The colors of Italy!

If desired, place meatballs in fun little pre-made Phyllo cups! I devoured these with a side of bulgur with spinach and carrots, and a spinach salad with that divine Raspberry Dijon Mustard. The Raspberry Dijon actually went quite nicely with everything else!

They would also be really good in a pita - Greek it up with some Tzatziki, perhaps?! That's my next plan.

I yielded 11 meatballs with these quantities.

Take Two: Spicy Buffalo Turkey Meatballs

Rather than make a whole bunch of meatballs in the same fashion for just myself (the rest of my family aren't as fond of leftovers as I am - go figure) I decided I'd just do half each...and I wanted some Frank's! Frank and I go way back. I was actually thinking about how long it'd been since my last Buffalo Chicken Wrap, and decided - why not make Buffalo Turkey Meatballs and have that in a wrap?! I winged it on this one, but they came out pretty well! Hopefully the measurements are accurate :P

Shown in the background, spotlight stolen by the Sundried Tomato & Feta Meatballs.

Ingredients:

-10 oz. 99% lean ground turkey

-1 egg

-1 T. Almond Milk

-3 T. Frank's Red Hot (If you don't like them too spicy - I, personally, will be adding more next time.)

-2 Suzie's Spelt Multiseed Flatbreads, crushed

-scant 1/4c. chopped scallion

-1/8 c. chopped red pepper (I used orange due to the fact that he was on his last leg.)

-1/2 t. minced garlic

-salt and pepper

-1/4 t. lemon pepper

-1/4 t. chili powder

-1/2 t. Dijon mustard

-1 cheese wedge, chopped up

-little bit o' crumbled feta cheese.

Destructions:

Combine all ingredients.

Form into balls, and place on sprayed cookie sheet.

Name that country! Orange, green, and white? Ireland, anybody?

Bake at 400* for approx 15 minutes.

Don't overdo them, like yours truly. 

Hey, I was busy loving those Sundried Tomato ones. It could have been worse.

Devour!