Meatballs with some Spaghetti

There are few meals my daughter will eat without any complaints these days, but spaghetti with meatballs is definitely one of them.  She's always been a fan of the spaghetti, we have wonderful pictures of her from maybe around 18 months old with spaghetti sauce all over her face and down her belly.  That love has never wavered.

I recently began adding the meatballs.  In fact, until recently we had vegetarian spaghetti more often than not.  The occasional ground hot link italian sausage, maybe, but I'd never tried meatballs.  They had never been in my family book of food.  They were just something to be seen in movies, like Lady and the Tramp.

With that understanding, I went on a mission to make some meatballs.  I purchased some ground turkey a month or so ago and had portioned it out to about 1/2 lb a bag.  That's a good amount of meat for dishes like spaghetti, casserole, stir fry, etc.  Let meat and more veggies are always the key.  It also allows you to purchase better quality meat because you are using less in your meals.

These meatballs are moist and super delicious with or without spaghetti sauce.  I could definitely see them holding up as an appetizer too.

Turkey Meatballs

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 Tbsp non-dairy plain milk 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/8 tsp pepper

Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Shape mixture into about twenty 1 inch meatballs.  Place in an ungreased pan (13 x 9 x 2 inches).  Bake uncovered about 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center and juice is clear.

To add to spaghetti; make your favorite sauce, add meatballs, cover and let simmer for half an hour.  Serve over pasta.

A Day Late, but Not a Dollar Short

This should have been posted yesterday, but it didn't, so here it is today instead.

Trader Joe's
Baking Coca                                         1.99
Breaded Chicken Drumettes                 3.49
Bacon                                                   4.69
Canned Sliced Olives (2)                      2.38
Chocolate chips                                    2.29
All Purpose Flour                                 2.99
Canned Organic Diced Tomatoes (3)   4.47
Organic Tomato Paste (2)                     1.78
Organic Breadcrumbs                           2.99
Grapeseed Oil                                       3.49
Canned Wild Salmon (2)                      5.38
Organic Tomato Sauce                         1.39
Cage-free Brown Eggs (3 dozen)         8.97
Bananas (7)                                          1.33
Shredded Soy Cheese                          3.79
Pkg Organic Zucchini                          2.99
Pkg Red Bell Peppers                          2.29
Pkg Organic Spinach                           1.99
Bag Sliced Crimini Mushrooms           2.29
Corn Tortillas                                       1.29
Vanilla Soy Milk                                  1.69


Target
Bag Dry Beans (3)                               3.87
Fruit Cups (2)                                      4.98
Vegetable Shortening                          2.94

Total with tax = $75.75

This weeks meal plan is:
Spaghetti w/ Turkey Meatballs (using frozen ground turkey in freezer)
Frank and Beans (still have a leftover package of hot dogs from the baby shower)
French Toast
Turkey Hamburgers (carry over from last week)

The beans and spaghetti make lots of left overs, which will cover us for the week.  We will probably order Chinese food for Father's Day as that is my husbands favorite.

In a Pinch

Good heavens!  Its another "cake" post.  I guess it's just that time of the year for us.  Though, this isn't a traditional cake in any sense of the word.

Normally, I don't mind us being dairy free.  It is what it is, and at home I am just set up for it.  We even navigate really well around our favorite dinning spots.  Basically, it's second nature now and I don't really have to think about it.

Except when a party comes up.  My daughter is 4, she gets invited to lots of parties and I always assume I need to bring something.  So why I forgot this weekend about needing to at least make a cupcake for her to enjoy during the cake and ice cream of Saturdays party, I don't know.  But I did.  AND, I was completely out of flour until my shopping trip.  I could make a special trip to the store for flour, or try Whole Foods on the way to the party in hopes that they have some vegan cupcakes available (totally hit or miss)...

My wonderful husband had another idea.  It looks like a layered peanut butter and jelly sandwich, huh.  Well its close.

My husband likes to experiment with food, in ways I would never consider trying.  Well earlier this week he tried combining: coconut milk vanilla yogurt, organic raw almond butter and some organic grape jelly.  It tasted very creamy, like something you might put in a puff.  So his suggestion when I was telling him my dilemma: make a cake using our homemade bread and this concoction and frost the outside.

So I did.  I cut a relatively thick slice from my loaf of bread, then cut that into four equal squares.  It was small, about the size of a regular cupcake.  In between each slice was my husband's creamy almond butter and jelly concoction.  Then I took a basic frosting recipe (strawberry flavored) and frosted it.  The final product, though not pretty, was VERY tasty.

There are a couple things I would do differently, though.  First, I would use less yogurt and/or more almond butter.  My final filling product was runny and the bread slices were sliding around.  Second, I would let the "cake" harden in the fridge (or freezer) for a little while before I frosted it.  The slice of bread was fresh and soft, which made it hard to frost.  And finally, I would like to try a thinner coating of frosting next time, which I think will be easier to accomplish if I let the "cake" harden some first.

When it has been perfected, I will share the recipe!

Baby Shower BBQ

I threw a co-ed baby shower bbq last weekend.  A good time was had by all, and I had many compliments on the food.  I tried to keep the food simple, but must admit that it was a time consuming mistake on my part to try to do everything homemade.  I think people would have been fine with purchased hamburger buns (though they may not have been dairy free then!).

Baby Shower BBQ Menu:

Guacamole and Chips

Veggie Chips from Trader Joe's (these are so addictive!)

Sliced watermelon, pineapple, strawberries and grapes

BBQ lil' Smokies

Sliders on homemade buns (this recipe, but I use 2 Tbsp of olive oil in place of the butter)

BBQ Ribs (secret recipe! lol)

and...

Silver White Cake w/ white "buttercream" frosting

This is a 4 layer cake.  The bottom tier is 2 - 9" layers and the top tier is 2 - 6" layers.  This recipe will make two 9" layers, so I had to make two batches for the cake shown above.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

2/3 cups shortening

1 1/4 cups vanilla flavored coconut milk

3 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 large egg whites

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease the bottom and sides of your cake pans with shortening and lightly flour.

Beat all the ingredients except the egg whites in a large bowl, being sure to scrape frequently.  Beat until mixture is smooth.  Beat in egg whites until well incorporated, scraping the bowl occasionally.  Pour into your cake pans.

Bake 9-inch rounds 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool rounds 10 minutes: remove from pans to wire rack.  Let cool completely before frosting.

White Buttercream Frosting

3 cups powdered sugar (sifted)

1/3 cup dairy-free butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 - 3 Tbsp vanilla coconut milk

Mix powdered sugar and butter in a bowl.  Stir in vanilla and 1 Tbsp of the milk.  Gradually add in enough remaining milk to make the frosting smooth and spreadable.  This is enough frosting for two 9" layer cake.

Monday is Shopping Day

I decided to post my shopping lists and what I plan to make for the week.


Trader Joes                                                                        
Basmati White Rice                           2.99                          
Decaf Coffee                                     6.99                          
Canned Wild Salmon                        1.79                          
Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers     2.49                          
Organic Tricolor Radiatore Pasta      1.99                          
2 pkgs Shredded Green Cabbage      2.38                          
Freeze Dried Mango                         2.69                            
3 dzn Cage Free Brown Eggs           8.97
Organic White Sugar                         2.79
Organic Brown Sugar                       2.99
Pizza Sauce                                       1.89
Canadian Bacon                                2.29
Organic Baby Spinach                      1.99
Sliced Black Olives                           1.19
Organic Zucchini                              2.99
Sliced Crimini Mushrooms               2.29
Organic Broccoli Slaw                     1.49
Organic Yellow Onions                   1.69
3 lb Bag Russet Potatoes                  1.69
2 lb Bag Granny Smith Apples        2.29
Green Bell Peppers                          1.99
5 Bananas                                          .95
4 Organic Nectarines                       2.76


Whole Foods
Nutritional Yeast               1.35
Coconut Milk                    4.49
Frozen Mixed Veggies      2.19
Earth Balance Margarine   3.29
Coconut Milk Yogurt        3.79
Zbar Boxes (2)                  5.00
Peach Bowls                     2.49



My Grand Total (after tax) came to $86.91.  So I went over my $75 dollar budget.  I can easily explain that, first I needed my coffee.  Its not a weekly purchases, but $7 takes a bite out of a tight budget when you forget to originally plan for it.  The other item was the two boxes of Zbars.  I usually buy a couple a week for my daughter to have after gymnastics and swimming.  Whole Foods had a great price though, and I couldn't resist.  So that was another $5.  Without those two "impulse" buys, I would have been under.  That is something I need to work on, everything MUST be accounted for ahead of getting to the store.


Menu Plan 
Baked Mac n' Cheeze
Turkey Burgers w/ homemade buns
Homemade Pizza
Cream of Mushroom Pork
Stir Fry

*It should be noted that I have some frozen pork and ground turkey in my freezer, so I didn't need to buy meat this week.

Sweet & Sour Pork

Well, almost sweet & sour pork.  I fully admit to using a ready made sauce, but it isn't actually called sweet and sour.  It's a sweet chili sauce from Trader Joe's and I think it has a very nice flavor for this type of dish.  You can sub any ready-made sweet and sour sauce for this recipe.

This is a tasty one dish meal that the whole family can enjoy!

Sweet & Sour Pork
ready-made sweet & sour sauce
1 thick cut pork chop (cut into 3/4 inch pieces)
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced zucchini
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup cold water
Oil for frying (I like safflower)

Heat about an inch of oil in a deep fryer or 4-qt dutch oven to 360 degrees.  

Beat flour, cornstarch, cold water, egg, salt and pepper in a large bowl until smooth.  Stir pork into batter until well coated.

Drop pork pieces into oil, one at a time.  Fry until golden brown, turning 2 or 3 times.  Drain on paper towels and keep warm.

In sauce pot saute onion, zucchini, carrots and bell peppers on medium-high heat.  Reduce heat and add the fried pork, mushrooms and sauce.  Mix until everything is nicely coated.  Serve over rice.

Back with a Vengeance

I am back from my unplanned hiatus.  I've got new dairy free recipes for you and more budget friendly blog posts to come.  To highlight my comeback, I will be taking part in the All You Grocery Challenge.  For 4 weeks, challenge yourself to spend only $25 on groceries per person per week.   Blog about it and maybe you could win a $1000 grocery card.   The challenge starts June 20th! 

In the meantime, I plan to catch up with a few missed posts.  I am also hosting a co-ed baby shower this coming weekend, so watch for some fun recipes from that.