Smoked Mozzarella-Stuffed Turkey Meatballs

Usually when I go grocery shopping I end up coming home with the usual suspects & fear that we'll just eat the same old stuff over & over again.  When I saw the ground turkey in my fridge that I clearly bought out of habit I decided I'd make some meatballs & stuff them with smoked mozzarella. Yeah cheese. Mmm cheese makes everything better.

Click through for this quick & easy recipe to change up your usual routine.

Oh & happy weekend!

Turkey & White Bean Chili

The mercury is dropping this week, so bundle up & cozy up to a hot bowl of chili like this one.  I adapted this recipe from Giada's White Bean & Chicken Chili.  The technique is similar but I changed up the ingredients a little bit but not much. I like this spicy chili because it's a bit different than traditional tomato based chilis in that there isn't any in this one.  It's a hearty chili with dark greens & creamy beans.  It's just what mother nature ordered this week.

Read more for the full recipe & photos.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds ground turkey
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup beet greens or red swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 4 cups baby kale
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup basil, julienned
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Make it!

1. In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion & cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garlic & cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the ground turkey, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, & cayenne pepper.
5. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
6. Stir the flour into the turkey mixture.
7. Add the beans, Swiss chard, baby kale, corn, & chicken stock.
8. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
9. Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half & the chili has thickened.
10. Add the red pepper flakes & simmer for another 10 minutes.
11. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
12. Ladle the chili into serving bowls.
13. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese, julienned basil & chopped parsley.

Thanksgiving Sandwich

There's a deli in NYC that serves a "thanksgiving on a roll" sandwich. I love it. So I recreated my own that I think was a bit healthier yet totally indulgent at the same time. 

What did you do with your Thanksgiving left overs?

Click through for the road map to make your own rendition of a thanksgiving sandwich.

Chipotle & Apple Turkey Burgers

If you follow me on instagram, twitter or just visit me here, you know that I've been digging into some scrumptious cookbooks, like the Sprouted Kitchen.

I wish I was organized enough to make a list every time I go to the super market so that I can make recipes exactly as I see them in cookbooks.  This past weekend I really thought I had everything on the list to make Sprouted Kitchen's chipotle & apple turkey burgers, I even brought the book in the car with me.  Per usual I was missing some items, so I had to get creative. 

Click through for my rendition of Sara Forte's recipe with what I had on hand in my fridge.