Hungarian Meatball Kabobs

The school year is over and summer is finally here!  I've spent the last few days just getting organized around my cluttered house. Tossing out my kid's old schoolwork, worn school clothes and trying to wrap up PTA stuff so I can finally focus on cooking, blogging and relaxing and just all around doing whatever comes up with my kiddos. Ahhh...summertime!
I'm also super anxious to get started on all my Halloween recipes for my annual Summer of Halloween. As you know, I spend all summer blogging new Halloween food and projects so you'll see a lot of those scattered about this summer. You'll also see non-halloween recipes as well. Like these mouthwatering Hungarian Meatballs.  These savory meatballs are tender and loaded with flavor from cumin and coriander and then threaded on skewers and served with a sweet and creamy red pepper paprikosh sauce. They are simply heavenly.
Truth be told, I made these months ago and I'm just now getting to blogging them. I've had a bit of writers block that has been very frustrating at times, but bare with me as I get back into the groove of cooking, taking pics and writing again. I have some really awesome Halloween ideas coming your way and a ton of appetizing new summer and fall dishes to share with you. Enjoy!

Hungarian Meatball Kabobs

(slightly adapted recipe from Cuisine at Home)

1 1/2 lb. ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup parsley
2 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1 t. coriander
1 t. cumin
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 t. pepper
1/3 cup cream (or milk)
2 eggs

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and use a medium cookie scoop to make about 2 1/2 dozen meatballs. Pan fry in batches if desired, or place on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Thread three meatballs on skewers and serve with Paprikosh Sauce over couscous and peas.

Paprikosh Sauce
1 T olive oil
2 cups red bell peppers
1 cup onion, diced
2 T. Hungarian Sweet paprika
1 T. fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
2 cup chicken broth
1 cup tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper
1/2 cup sour cream

Saute onions and peppers in olive oil until onions are translucent, ~5-8 minutes. Add paprika and garlic, heat until garlic is fragrant  ~2 minute.  Add white wine and deglaze pan. Heat until wine is reduced by half. Add chicken broth and tomatoes and simmer until peppers are soft and sauce thickens. ~ 20 minutes. Turn off heat and add sour cream. Salt and pepper to taste and serve with meatballs. 

Serve with Couscous and Peas

More meatball recipes to try:

Lamb Kabobs with Yogurt Garlic Sauce

Albondigas with Chimichurri Pesto

Salisbury Meatballs

Greek Meatballs

Chorizo Meatballs with Chimichurri Pesto

It's been a crazy busy start to 2016! I've been so busy at school that I've scarcely had time to cook, let alone felt like cooking. This is a very bad thing in my house. Not wanting to cook means eating out. And eating out means eating meals that are quick, but not very good for you. Which means weigh gain for me. Okay, I've gained a wee bit of weight because of this busy/lazy period these last few months, but I'm getting back in gear. I see an end to my crazy schedule approaching so I can cook all these great ideas I have swimming in my head and scribbled on the backs of envelopes. 

To get started on the right track here's a recipe that has bounced around my head since Christmas time. I finally made some time to putter around my kitchen on Superbowl Sunday and these super delicious Chorizo Meatballs with Chimichurri Pesto came to life!

These meatballs are made with ground turkey and soy chorizo so they are lighter in calories and fat than ones made with ground beef and beef chorizo. They are incredibly satisfying and full of flavor all by themselves. But the chimichurri pesto just knocks these meatballs out of the park! I wanted to make a sauce with these but thought a traditional chimichurri would be too oily, so I decided to add some cotija cheese and pine nuts to give it a texture more reminiscent of pesto. And I was so right! We had them as an appetizer while watching the big game, but since this was all I ate that night, they also ended up making a wonderful Tapas dinner. Enjoy!

Albondigas with Chimichurri Pesto

Makes ~24 Meatballs

1.25 lb of ground turkey
12 oz. soy chorizo
1/2-3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Cotija cheese
3 T parsley, dried
1 egg  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix all ingredients together and roll into small 1 inch meatballs. Place meatballs on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees. After baking, toss these meatballs into a skillet to brown the outsides a little bit more. Place a tablespoon of chimichurri pesto (see recipe below) on a serving plate and place a skewered meatball on top and sprinkle with a little extra cotija cheese and serve. 

 

Chimichurri Pesto

1 bunch of cilantro
1/4 cup of onion
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded chopped
1/2 cup cotija cheese, grated
1/4 cup pine nuts
juice and zest of one lime
1 T apple cider vinegar
3 T olive oil 
salt (to taste)

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend on high until well blended. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use. This sauce is great the next day as the flavors have more time to meld. Top meatballs with 1 T of chimichurri pesto and devour. Enjoy! 
  

 

Other Meatball recipes to try:

Salisbury Meatballs with Kale     Greek Meatballs    Spicy Asian Meatball Soup

Salisbury Meatballs with Kale and Balsamic Butter Sauce

These days, you see recipes for kale everywhere. You can't look at Pinterest without seeing kale, quinoa or chia in some new and delicious recipe. They are the trifecta of food popularity. I love quinoa and kale, there's a reason food becomes popular, because they are so yummy. Believe it or not, I haven't yet tried chia seeds. Not sure why I haven't. Maybe it's because I only see chia being added to yogurt and smoothies and stuff like that and I don't really eat yogurt or drink smoothies or protein drinks. Yucky. I guess you can say I'm still looking for a chia recipe that interests me. Anyway... 

I do love Kale, but I must admit I am not all that fond of kale when it is in salads all by itself. An entire salad of just Kale is practically inedible. It definitely needs to have another green to tone down the roughage factor. It's tough, hearty and floral tasting but I find it can end up tasting bitter if not mixed with the right salad toppings. I personally think Kale tastes best when paired with something sweet like fruit like in my Kale Salad with Strawberry Mango Salsa. 

I also think Kale is BEST when cooked. Saute, braise, roast into chips, and throw it into soups, all super yummy!  
If you like greens or fried cabbage this is the veggie for you. The idea of braising it with onions and topping it with a sweet and earthy balsamic butter sauce had been bouncing in my head for a while. I'd made it a few times as just a delicious side dish but I felt the heartiness of it needed to be its own meal. I decided to pair it with these yummy Salisbury meatballs and the dish was a home run. Enjoy!

Cool Product Alert!
My mom gave me this lightly dried parsley from Gourmet Garden and I used it in my meatballs and also to top the finished dish. I loved having this on hand because I don't always have fresh parsley in the fridge. This little tub has quite a bit in it and goes a long way. Convenient and pure genius! 
 

Salisbury Meatballs with Braised Kale and Balsamic Butter Sauce

Serves 4

Salisbury Meatballs
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. onion powder
2 T Gourmet Garden Parsley, dried
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1-2 T canola oil for frying

In a large bowl mix all ingredients together and roll into medium sized meatballs. Add oil to a large skillet and over medium high heat, brown all sides until cooked through. Remove from skillet and cover with aluminum foil and set aside.


Braised Kale and Onions
2 large bunches kale, roughly chopped (~10 cups)
1/2 large yellow onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
pepper

In a large pot, add olive oil, onions and garlic and cook over high heat until translucent. About 5 minutes. Add chopped kale, chicken broth, wine and water and cover with a lid. Heat on high for about 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, stir kale. The kale should be wilted enough to be covered by the liquid at the bottom of the pot. Heat on medium heat, covered for about 15 minutes until Kale stems are nearly tender. Add about half of the balsamic butter to the greens and stir. Continue to heat uncovered for another 10-15 minutes to reduce liquid until the kale is cooked to desired tenderness.  
Salt and pepper to taste. Note: Taste the kale before adding salt because the chicken broth when reduced adds salt so take care not to add too much. 

Balsamic Butter Sauce
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced to 3T
1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup)
1/2 T brown sugar
black pepper

Add vinegar into a small saucepan. On medium heat, heat vinegar until reduced to about 3 T. Turn off heat and add sugar and pepper and stir. Add butter and set aside until butter is melted. 

Add about half of the balsamic butter to Braised Kale during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking time and drizzle the remaining half over the Salisbury Meatballs before serving. Garnish with Parsley and enjoy!

Other recipes to try:

Greek Meatballs                        Spicy Asian Meatball Soup           Quinoa with Balsamic Mushrooms            

Greek Meatballs

Meatballs are not very glamorous, that's for sure. You rarely see meatballs on the menu of a nice restaurant because it's pretty hard to class up a meatball. Personally, I love meatballs. They are fun and easy to prepare and they just taste good. Whether they are made from ground beef, chicken or turkey they are always satisfying. The bonus is that my kids will eat ground beef anything so they like meatballs too.
One of my favorite foods is Greek food. I love the flavors from the Mediterranean. The feta cheese, tomatoes, couscous and of course the olives. I love dishes with any and all of these ingredients. So when I was flipping through some old Cuisine at Home magazines, I was excited to have found this Greek Meatball recipe. It was the perfect marriage of food and flavor for me. Not to mention that it was just plain delicious! I made these meatballs with ground chuck but if you're looking for a more traditional Greek ingredient, you could also substitute with ground lamb. Enjoy!

For another meatball recipe, try my Spicy Asian Meatball Soup.

Greek Meatballs  (recipe from Cuisine at Home Magazine, Aug 2005)
Makes 12 Meatballs

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 T scallions, minced
1 t. kosher salt
2 t. dried oregano leaves
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 lb. ground chuck
2 T. olive oil
3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted, halved
1 T. garlic, minced
1 t. red pepper flakes
6 cups tomatoes, quartered or 2 cans whole tomatoes (28oz. each)
Salt and pepper to taste
chopped cucumber
Lemon zest

Combine crumbs, milk, feta, parsley, scallions, salt, oregano and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in the ground chuck and mix lightly but well. Shape the mixture into balls about 2" in diameter. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high. Add meatballs and brown all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm. Add olives, garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and saute for 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 10 minutes. (I cooked the tomatoes longer, about 30 minutes to help cut the acidity of the tomatoes) Season with salt and pepper, return meatballs to the pan and simmer 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve over couscous, topped with feta dressing, cucumber and lemon zest.

Lemon Couscous
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 T unsalted butter
1/2 t. kosher salt
3/4 cup dry plain couscous

Bring broth, lemon juice, butter and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, add couscous, stir and cover. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Feta Yogurt Dressing
1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Cover and chill until ready to use.

Spicy Asian Meatball Soup

I love to make soup. Especially when it’s cold outside and it’s been really cold here in So Cal.  Yeah, I know it’s not really that cold compared to other states but as far as our weather is concerned, a high of 53 is cold.  Nights are near freezing hovering around 35 degrees. Brrrr that’s cold! Definitely soup making weather.

I woke up this morning at 5am and the house was quiet, dark and chilly. I love the solitude of the early morning and being up before everyone else. Maybe it’s the quiet or that I am well rested but that time of the morning is when I come up with some of my most creative ideas. This morning was no different when I thought up this yummy Spicy Asian Meatball Soup. My version is very spicy, so spicy it blasted through my nasal congestion from my lingering head cold, but you can adjust the spicy level to your taste by adjusting the amount of red pepper flakes you use. Also, I used ground turkey and chicken broth for this soup but ground beef and beef broth would be great too.

Hope you enjoy it!

Spicy Asian Meatball Soup

Serves 6

Meatballs:

• ½ pound ground turkey                             
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 T soy sauce                                             
• 1T brown sugar                                          
• ½ t ginger, fresh, grated                                      
• ½ t sesame oil
• 1 t  red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 egg                                                         
• 1T  canola oil

 Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.  Add more Panko Bread Crumbs if turkey seems too moist. Form approximately 1” diameter meatballs. Place meatballs in a pan with the canola oil and cook meatballs until browned.  Set aside.

Soup:

• 2-3 cups green cabbage, roughly chopped  
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced                          
• 1 small onion, chopped                               
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced                              
• ½ T red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• 1 T canola oil
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 1 T soy sauce
• 2 oz of dry asian noodles                            
• Toasted sesame seeds and green onions for garnish

Heat onions, carrots, garlic, cabbage and red pepper flakes in 1T canola oil until onions are opaque. Add Chicken stock and soy sauce and heat until rolling boil. Add dried noodles and cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are soft. Add cooked meatballs and cook until thoroughly heated.  Ladle into bowls and garnish with green onions and toasted sesame seeds.