On the Menu

Posted by: Paulette
This week we are doing a tour of Europe dinner menu.  I thought I'd share these recipes with you. Wherever possible, I try to substitute healthier ingredients for the traditional ones, so these dishes may not be true to their country of origin.

Sunday Night: Italian

Turkey Meatballs with homemade marinara and quinoa noodles

Turkey Meatballs
1 Pound 85/15 lean Ground Turkey 
3 large eggs
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon ground fennel seed
1 Cup oats

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 2 cookie sheets with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Mix all ingredients together, and form into golf ball size balls. Place on cookie sheet with about 1 inch spacing in between. Bake for 20 minutes.

Marinara Sauce

5 lbs tomatoes
1 TBSP olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
4 packets Truvia sweetener
a good hand full of fresh basil chopped, or 1 TBSP dried

Start about 5 hours before you want to serve. The tomatoes take about 3 hours to cook down into a paste. You can do this part the day before, and put the paste in the fridge and pull it out just before making the sauce.
Cut tomatoes into quarters and cook on low in a large pot without a lid, for several hours, only stirring occasionally. You want a slight crust on the bottom of the pot. When the tomatoes have cooked down to about 1/3 of their original volume and are very dry, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Let sit until the bottom crust has softened up and you can stir it into the tomatoes.
Crush and chop the garlic and saute in olive oil until fragrant, not brown. Add tomatoes and basil and simmer for a few minutes, stirring to incorporate. Add Truvia and salt.

Strawberry Spinach Salad
1/2 lb strawberries washed, cored and sliced
1/2 cup shelled pumpkin seeds
1/4 medium onion, thinly sliced
About 4 cups raw baby spinach  

Strawberry Spinach salad with lemon dressing

Lemon Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
Lemon zest and juice of 1 medium size lemon
1/2 tsp ground mustard                                                   
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 packets Truvia sweetener

Add all ingredients in a jar and shake. Serve over salad.



Monday Night: German

Geschnetzelte Chicken
1 Lb Boneless skinless chicken breasts (About 4 breasts)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 Tablespoon chopped parsley (I had cilantro so that's what I used)

Geschnetzelte Chicken

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch slices. Heat a large pan on medium high heat. Pour olive oil and butter into pan. Salt and pepper chicken. Place into pan when butter has melted. Brown one side, and then turn over, and reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle chicken with parsley and then cover and cook a few minutes more until cooked through. Remove chicken from pan, and set aside, covered with a piece of foil.


Mustard Sauce
1/4 cup vegetable, or chicken broth, or water with 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup evaporated skim milk
1 Tablespoon honey mustard
1 Tablespoon deli mustard
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/2 tablespoon orange zest
Optional 1 Tablespoon corn starch for thickening
(Since I used skim milk instead of cream, I used the corn starch to thicken the sauce a bit.)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley for garnish ( I used cilantro)


Place all ingredients into a small sauce pan, over medium heat until butter is melted, stirring constantly. Add cornstarch and heat until thickened to desired consistency.
Pour over chicken and then sprinkle with chopped parsley.


German Potato Salad
3 large red potatoes cut into quarters
4 slices bacon
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion,diced
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
2 packets Truvia Sweetener
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I used cilantro)


Place potatoes into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover. Boil until a knife can be inserted into the potatoes. (They will not be fully cooked. Just softer than raw.)
On 4 paper towels, and covered with another paper towel, cook bacon in the microwave for about 6 minutes. Remove and use paper towels to take most of the grease off of the bacon. Set aside. 
Place olive oil and chopped onion into a large pan and cook on medium high until onion is browned and crisp. 
In a small bowl, mix vinegar, water, sweetener, salt,  and pepper together. Add to onions. Chop bacon and add to mixture in pan. Drain potatoes and set aside to cool a little. Cut potatoes into 2 inch pieces. Add to pan and toss with other ingredients. Cover and cook until potatoes and cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.


Warm Cabbage Salad

The original recipe calls for red cabbage. I had green cabbage and so used that. They taste the same.

1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 Cups cabbage, thinly sliced
3/4 tsp caraway seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 crisp, sweet apple, cut into matchsticks
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons diced onion
1/2 tablespoon red cooking wine (original recipe calls for 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar)
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (see above note)
 1/2 teaspoon deli mustard
1/2 tsp ground pepper
Optional 2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage, apple, caraway seeds, and salt. Cover and cook, tossing occasionally until cabbage is wilted, but not cooked through. About 8 minutes. Remove from the heat. 
In a small bowl, mix together garlic, onion, vinegar and wine, mustard, and pepper. Pour over cabbage and toss. If you are using the walnuts, sprinkle over salad.

Tonight I will be making quiche with a honey and wine dressed fruit salad. Check in later this week for the recipes.