Organic Teriyaki Meatballs

I’m back!  It’s nearly impossible to cook everyday with a 9 month old who wants to be attached to you 24/7, let alone take pictures and blog them, however I’m going to try my best, I swear. 🙂  Now that my daughter is eating whatever we eat, it’s somewhat easier to figure out what to make for dinner, but at the same time it’s not…if that makes any sense!  There’s more of a variety of organic foods (endless!) that I can feed her, however I try to stay away from anything processed, too much soy, any sugar, as well as salt (i.e. this recipe? lol).

This recipe is something I often made before my daughter was eating table food with us.  You can also make it with ground beef and ground pork, or just ground pork.  I’ve made it with only organic ground pork in the past and it came out very moist and tender.  Definitely worth a try!   This recipe is adapted from here.

Organic Teriyaki Meatballs

Organic Teriyaki Meatballs

Organic Teriyaki Meatballs
Author: http://www.budgetbytes.com/2012/01/teriyaki-meatball-bowls/
Ingredients
  • 1 pound organic ground beef
  • 1/2 cup Panko (I used plain bread crumb)
  • 1 large organic egg
  • 1 green onion, thinly sliced (I tend to use 1/2 medium organic yellow onion)
  • 1 organic garlic clove, pressed
  • 1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon organic soy sauce
  • 10-15 cranks freshly cracked black pepper
  • Sesame seeds, for garnish
  • For the Teriyaki Sauce
  • 1/4 cup organic soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup organic brown sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground (or grated fresh) ginger
  • 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove of fresh organic garlic
  • 1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
  • sesame seeds to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the ground meat in a large bowl. Add the grated ginger, minced garlic, green onion, egg, breadcrumbs, soy sauce, and black pepper. Mix these ingredients until evenly combined. (I use my hands.)
  2. Cover a baking sheet with foil or a Silpat. Roll the meatball mixture into small balls, or size of your choice and place the meatballs on the baking sheet as you roll them. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown (about 35-40 minutes depending on the size. I use a meat thermometer).
  3. While the meatballs are in the oven, prepare the teriyaki glaze. In a medium pot combine the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and rice vinegar. Add ginger. Heat over a low flame until the brown sugar is dissolved (just a few minutes).
  4. Dissolve the cornstarch in just enough water to make it pourable. Pour it into the pot with the glaze ingredients. Turn the heat up to medium high and stir until thickened.
  5. When the meatballs come out of the oven, transfer them from the baking sheet into the pot with the glaze. Stir to coat. Top with sesame seeds. I served this with rice, however you can serve it with some quinoa instead.

 

 

Organic Bacon Quiche

About once a year, you will see a bacon quiche or two in my kitchen. This recipe is basically a heart attack in a pie crust, but boy oh boy is it good! The recipe has been passed down, and my mom continues to make it every year for the holidays. As the ingredients are very basic, it was easy to substitute in organic ingredients.

Organic Bacon Quiche Organic Bacon Quiche Organic Bacon Quiche

Bacon Quiche
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 12 Pieces Organic Bacon
  • 4 Organic Eggs
  • 2 cups Organic Heavy Cream
  • 3/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4lb Organic shredded swiss cheese (I use closer to 1/2lb)
  • 1 Organic Pie Crust
Instructions
  1. After cooking bacon, drain and blot on paper towel. Crumble bacon pieces into the crust.
  2. With a wire whisk, beat the eggs, cream, salt and nutmeg, Stir in the cheese. Add mixture into the crust.
  3. Bake for 15 minutes on 425, and then lower the oven to 325 and bake for another 35 minutes. The quiche is cooked when an inserted knife will come out clean.

 

Amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

The below pictures are probably some of the worst looking in my blog, but damn is this mug cake AMAZING!!! Because I’ve made mug cakes before with different recipes, and they’ve all turn out “just ok,” you could see my enthusiasm with taking theses pictures…not.  I was pregnant and craving cake, and my husband figured he’d take advantage of the situation, so we made two mug cakes.  The cake is incredibly moist, with just the right amount of peanut butter.  Just writing about it makes me want some NOW!  I found the recipe through Pinterest, and you can access it by clicking here.  It so sooo worth trying!

 

Amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake

Amazing Chocolate Peanut Butter Mug Cake
Prep time:
Cook time:
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Ingredients
  • 3 tablespoons gmo free flour
  • 2 tablespoons organic sugar (I use a tad bit less)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 tablespoons organic milk
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use organic coconut oil or avocado oil)
  • 1 tablespoon organic peanut butter (If I am using a shelf stable peanut butter with a lot of oil, I will use a little bit less vegetable oil)
Instructions
  1. In a large mug, whisk (with a fork) together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt). Add the milk, vegetable oil and peanut butter and mix until smooth.
  2. Cook in the microwave on high for 1 minute and 10 seconds. The cake will rise and then deflate. Let cool for a minute and feel free to add toppings. I usually like to add some TruWhip! Enjoy!

 

Greek Black Bean Burgers

I love making black bean burgers, but most of the time I am spicing them up and adding a Mexican twist.  When I came across this recipe from Inspiring Healthy Living, I was eager to try Greek style black bean burgers, and boy were they good!  Instead of using Greek yogurt for the tzatziki (I only had flavored ones on hand), I used my favorite organic lactose free sour cream.

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Making “bread crumbs” out of the oats
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Combining all of the ingredients.
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With a sprinkle of feta on top!
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These burgers were delicious!

Greek Black Bean Burgers
Prep time:
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Ingredients
  • Black Bean Burgers:
  • 1/3 medium red onion, cut into wedges
  • 1 can (15-oz.) no-salt-added black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp organic olive oil
  • 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 large organic egg
  • 1/2 cup organic whole grain oats (whole wheat breadcrumbs are also fine)
  • Homemade Tzatziki:
  • 250 g plain organic Greek yogurt (I used organic lactose free sour cream)
  • 1 organic cucumber, grated and squeezed to remove excess liquid
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic, grated
  • Lemon juice, to taste
  • organic Olive oil, to taste
  • Pinch of salt
Instructions
  1. To make the burgers, add the onion wedges to a food processor and chop. Add the black beans and pulse until the beans are partially smashed. Pour the bean and onion mixture into a bowl and mix in the olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, garlic, salt and egg. Feel free to add more olive oil if the mixture seems too dry.
  2. Add the oats to the food processor and process until they look like breadcrumbs. Add the processed oats to the bean mixture and stir until well-combined. Using your hands, form the mixture into 4 equally-sized patties. The original recipe said to stack the patties with a piece of wax paper in between each, and place into a freezer bag or container and freeze for at least 2 hours before cooking. I didn’t plan that far ahead, and only chilled them in the fridge for about 20 minutes before cooking. Once they were ready, I pan fried the burgers in a little bit of olive oil until the outside is brown and slightly crisp.
  3. While your burgers are in the fridge/freezer or are cooking, prepare the tzatziki sauce. Simply combine the yogurt, grated cucumber, grated garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt in a small bowl.
  4. My husband and I decided to go bunless and ate these with with a fork and knife. I added some grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta cheese on the top, and served it with a tomato and cucumber salad on the side.

Simple Baked Crab Cakes with a Lemon Mustard Sauce

This was my first time making crab cakes and I think they turned our rather delicious!  I adapted this recipe from here, and used only the ingredients I had on hand.

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Simple Crab Cakes with a Lemon Mustard Sauce
Prep time:
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Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup organic mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
  • 1 large organic egg
  • 1 pound lump crabmeat
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup bread crumbs
  • Lemon Mustard Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup organic mayonnaise
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon zest, Old Bay, parsley, scallions, and egg. Add crab meat, season with salt and pepper, and stir well.
  3. Form crab cakes into a ball using about 1/4 cup of crab mixture for each cake. Dip the cakes into the breadcrumbs, flatten to about 1 inch high, and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
  4. While the crab cakes are baking, prepare the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl.
  5. Serve the crab cakes with the Lemon Mustard Sauce and enjoy!