Saucy Balls

I made spaghetti with whole wheat penne for dinner. These balls were a little on the creative side (trying to clean out the fridge before our vacation on Wednesday), but they came out pretty good.

Start with ground beef, bread crumbs and ricotta with fennel, honey and orange. (Thanks Lauren for the yummy ricotta - I re-purposed it!) They ended up sweet, savory and tangy!

My balls. They chilled in the fridge for 2 hours.

Then I deep fried them in duck fat. Yup.

Golden brown delicious. Added some high quality tomato sauce and baked off in the oven to finish for 30 minutes. (Covered in foil at 350).

Vamos!

Huevos Rancheros.

Eggs Benedict with potato hash

The food here was ok at best. The best part was the fresh made guacamole and the warm chips they serve with it. AND the unlimited frozen margaritas for only $6.

Greek Yogurt Chicken

Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1- 8oz Container plain fat free Greek yogurt
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp. Garlic powder
1 tsp. Cumin
1 C. Whole wheat bread crumbs
Extra virgin olive oil for cooking (about 2 tbsp. total) and one lemon (used right before serving)











Directions





Pepper both sides of the chicken and set aside. In a bowl whisk together the yogurt, salt and pepper, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp cumin. Place the chicken in a re-sealable bag and pour the Greek yogurt mixture on it. Then massage the yogurt into the chicken and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for a half an hour to an hour. Meanwhile in a pie dish add the whole wheat bread crumbs and remaining garlic powder, cumin, more salt and pepper. Stir the mixture with a fork to combine. Pre-heat the oven to 350 F. When chicken is done marinating coat one piece at a time into the bread crumb mixture and coat both sides; repeat until all pieces of chicken are coated in bread crumbs. Pre-heat a skillet with extra virgin olive oil to medium high and sauté chicken breast on one side, flip after two minutes or until golden brown crust has formed. Place pan with chicken in the oven to finish the cooking process, 5-10 minutes depending on how thick your piece of chicken is. When thoroughly cooked remove from oven and squeeze lemon on top of the warm chicken to serve.

Penne with Red Cabbage

I found this recipe online but decided to modify a few of the ingredients. It's healthy and it's vegetarian!

1. 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2. 1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced
3. 4 garlic cloves, minced
4. 1 small red cabbage, thinly sliced
5. 1/2 pound whole wheat penne
6. Salt and freshly ground pepper
7. 1 cup low fat cottage cheese (this sounds gross, but the original recipe calls for feta - cottage cheese can be savory! It's salty and mixes well - it works - I promise!)
   
8. 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
9. 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
   

1. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the sliced onions, cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the sliced red cabbage and vinegar, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the penne until it is al dente. Drain the pasta well. Return the pasta to the pot.
3. Scrape the cabbage over the pasta. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cottage cheese and mix well. Serve.