turkey or chicken meatballs are so easy and you can pretty much put whatever you want in them... usually i try to put in as much veggies as possible... i actually make these a lot but this was the first time i made it "thai" style... it's a pretty healthy dish, the only thing that would be kind of bad is the little bit of sugar in the sauces... 

the asian whole wheat dried noodles was a perfect pair for this dish.. kinda felt like good old spaghetti and meatballs but with an asian twist :) 

enjoy!

makes 12 pieces

ingredients
-1 lb ground turkey or chicken
-1 cup spinach
-1/2 red bell pepper
-1/2 onion
-6 mushrooms
-jalapeno
-2 egg whites
-1 cup pankow breadcrumbs
-1 tsp minced garlic
-2 tbsp fat free cream cheese
-1/2 cup shredded cheese
-2 tbsp thai seasoning paste (lemon grass, ginger, cilantro, chili pepper)
-green onions
-sesame seeds
-1 tsp garlic salt
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 tbsp olive oil
-pam spray
-4 pieces asian whole wheat dried noodles

asian sauce
-2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tsp sesame oil
-2 tbsp miso dressing
-1 tsp sriracha

preparation
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees...

2. in food processor mince separately the spinach, red bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, and jalapeno... 

3. in a big bowl mix ground turkey, minced veggies, egg whites, pankow breadcrumbs, minced garlic, thai seasoning paste, fat free cream cheese, shredded cheese, garlic salt, and black pepper...

4. spray pam on the baking dish.. make 2 tbsp size balls with the mixture... bake for 45 mins...

5. while the meatballs are baking you can make the asian sauce... in a small bowl mix all together the sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, and miso dressing... place in fridge for later..

6. boil water and cook asian dried noodles as directed on package... you can use whatever kind of pasta you would like.. drain... heat pan to medium and add olive oil... saute noodles for 5 minutes...

7. put it all together... top it off with the asian sauce you made earlier, sriracha, green onions, and sesame seeds...

chicken again??? yep that's how it is when you're trying to eat healthy... i don't like boring chicken so i always have to come up with different tasty ways to cook it so that i will actually eat it.. :) 

went to the store today and got lemon grass paste among other things.. and i couldn't wait to make something new! i've had lemon grass chicken at vietnamese restaurants before and i've always loved it... so tonight i made my version of it... i looked at a few different recipes online and used different parts of it but i also added a few ingredients... didn't have any red pepper flakes but if i did i would've made this dish super spicy... 

i topped it off with tempura crumbs, green onions, and sesame seeds... i would typically serve this with a cup of brown rice and broccoli...

enjoy!

serves 6

ingredients
-2 packs of chicken breast tenders
-1/2 onion
-tomato
-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
-1 tbsp sweet chili sauce
-1 tbsp sriracha
-olive oil
-lemon
-1 tbsp chili pepper paste
-2 tbsp lemon grass paste
-1 tsp crushed garlic
-2 tbsp curry powder
-6 mushrooms
-green onions
-sesame seeds
-tempura crunch (pankow breadcrumbs)
-garlic salt
-lemon pepper

preparation
1. slice mushrooms..

2. cut chicken tenders into 1/2" pieces... squeeze lemon, sprinkle with garlic salt, lemon pepper, and poultry seasoning..

3. puree onions and tomatoes... add 1 tsp crushed garlic, 1 tbsp chili pepper paste, and 2 tbsp lemon grass paste.. 

4. heat pan (to medium) with olive oil... add chicken and cook for 5 minutes.. add the pureed mix... add 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce, 1 tbsp sriracha, and 2 tbsp curry powder... cook for like 5-7 minutes (until chicken is fully cooked)...

5. heat another pan (to medium) with olive oil... cook mushrooms for like 3 minutes... add 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar... cook for another 5 minutes... 

6. put it all together... 

this was my first time ever making baby back ribs... i rarely eat pork... but the other day when we were watching disney junior, helen cavallo from "that's fresh" showed how to make her "tuscan baby back ribs"... it looked so good that i was inspired to make it for dinner! :) as you know i love to add an asian twist  when i cook so i renamed it "tuscasian baby back ribs"...

it was so good.. super tender and definitely fall off the bone... i topped it off with my usual green onions and sesame seeds.. served it with steamed broccoli and veggie baked beans... 

enjoy! 

serves 3 

ingredients
-1 rack baby back ribs
-1 tsp garlic salt
-1 tsp paprika
-1 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp sugar
-1 tsp fennel seeds
-1 tsp chili pepper paste
-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
-2 tbsp olive oil
-1 jalapeno (thinly sliced)
-foil
-green onions
-sesame seeds

bbq sauce
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-3 tbsp ketchup
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tbsp sweet chili sauce

preparation
1. preheat oven to 350 degrees..

2. mix all the seasonings (except for garlic salt and black pepper) to make a paste.. 

3. place ribs on foil… sprinkle garlic salt and black pepper all over the ribs then rub paste over entire rack of ribs on both sides..

4. wrap ribs in foil and seal tightly… bake for 2 hours…

5. while that's cooking you can make the bbq sauce… heat pan… add balsamic vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce, and sweet chili sauce… let mixture reduce until it becomes thick and begins to get a dark rich color..

6. take ribs out of the oven.. remove from foil… add bbq sauce and sliced jalapenos.. place ribs on baking sheet and broil for 1-2 minutes until you see the ribs starting to caramelize from the bbq sauce..

again if you are trying to go the healthy way using ground turkey or chicken is better than ground beef or pork... it was my first time cooking with orzo... it was pretty good! but if you are trying to cut down on carbs you can just remove the orzo from the recipe.. i always try to put in as much veggies as i can in a lot of my cooking...

i topped it off with japanese miso dressing, sriracha, green onions, sesame seeds (a few of my fave ingredients)... 

enjoy! 

serves 3 (plus leftovers of the ground turkey mixture)

ingredients
-1 lb ground turkey (or ground chicken)
-1/4 of white onion
-3 bell peppers (your choice of color)
-2 cups of cooked orzo
-white squash (or spinach)
-tomato
-1 cup mushrooms
-1 tsp minced garlic
-jalapeno
-green onions
-2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
-olive oil
-2 tbsp soy sauce
-sriracha
-japanese miso dressing
-black pepper
-garlic salt
-sesame seeds

preparation
1. preheat oven to 375 degrees…

2. cook the orzo as directed on the package.. drain then set aside..

3. dice the onions, white squash, tomato, mushrooms, jalapeño, and green onions..

4. heat pan with olive oil.. cook the onions and tomatoes for 3 minutes.. add mushrooms and white squash.. add 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce and 2 tbsp soy sauce.. cook for like 5 minutes.. remove from heat and set aside..

5. heat pan and brown the ground turkey… remove from heat and set aside..

6. in a big bowl add the veggie mixture, cooked ground turkey, green onions, and jalapenos… season with garlic salt and pepper.. mix well…

7. cut the tops of the bell peppers and clean out… 

8. fill the bell peppers full of the mixture.. place on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.. 

if you wanna eat healthy, chicken is typically the way to go... boneless skinless chicken breasts to be specific.. what i hate most about chicken is that it gets so dry when cooked! last night i made baby back ribs wrapped in foil and it was totally moist and tender... so i figured that if i wrap chicken in foil and baked it then it would come out just as good as the ribs.. i was totally right! :)

this is my first time making this chicken in foil dish.. i've had it before at chinese restaurants in the past but they usually only put chicken in it and that's it... borrriinnnggg! :) of course i had to add all my fave ingredients and toss in some veggies... 

i topped it off with guacamole, chili pepper aioli (super easy to make.. see below), green onions, sesame seeds, and cashews.. i just ate it by itself, but you can also serve it with veggies and/or brown rice..

chili pepper aioli
 -1/4 cup light sour cream
-2 tbsp tbsp light mayo
-1/2 tsp garlic salt
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1 tsp chili pepper paste
-1/2 tsp crush red pepper

mix all ingredients together..

enjoy!

serves 3

ingredients
-1 lb chicken breasts
-olive oil
-spinach
-mushrooms
-green onions
-1 cup unsalted cashews
-1 jalapeno
-sesame seeds
-soy sauce
-garlic salt
-black pepper
-1 tsp sugar
-chili pepper paste (or crush red peppers)
-5" foil squares

preparation
1. preheat oven to 400 degrees..

2. chop spinach, mushrooms, jalapeños, and green onions…

3. heat pan with olive oil and cook spinach and mushrooms for a couple minutes… add 1 tbsp of chili pepper paste and 2 tbsp of soy sauce.. remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes..

4. dice chicken into 1" pieces.. place in a bowl.. add 1 tsp of sugar.. sprinkle garlic salt and black pepper all over chicken… add cooked veggies, jalapeno, cashews, and green onions.. mix well..

5. put 3 tbsp of the chicken/ veggie mixture in a piece of foil.. fold into a triangle.. and fold sides in and make sure it's really sealed tight.. repeat this step until all the mixture is gone.. (i made 12 pieces with 1 lb of chicken breast)..

6. place all the pieces on a baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes (or until the chicken is no longer pink)…