Week of April 15th...

Where did Spring go? Or should I say the warm weather of Spring we have been getting used too! Many nights this past week, I have had Gabriel go out and cover the garden because I am afraid frost will kill my vegetable plants that apparently I planted too early this year!

It figures we get all excited about planting the garden, the weather has been warmer than it was supposed to be, for weeks at a time, everything is blooming around the house and so it only seemed like the next logical step should be to plant the vegetable garden...now each morning I check it to see if my plants are dead or alive...ahh!

 We try really hard to get both kids involved in dinner planning and helping...this past week Gabe would go out and pluck some fresh herbs from the garden to use in the dishes we made...we currently have on hand thyme and chives...we  use these a lot when making poultry dishes like the turkey meatballs we made for dinner...

Homemade Turkey Meatballs

1 lb ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, grated

3 TBS fresh chives

1 tea. fresh thyme

1 tea salt

1 tea pepper

1 tea red pepper flakes

Place onions in garlic in a skillet, with olive oil and a bit of salt over medium high heat and cook until soft, 3-5 minutes. Let sit a few minutes to cool off a bit.

In a large bowl, put in turkey meat, spices, and cheese and mix all together. Add onion and garlic, mix together.  Form into balls and place into greased cookie sheet, bake at 350 in oven for 40 minutes or until internal temperature is 165.

Serve with whole grain pasta and pesto.

I made something using a new grain that we just LOVE around here called Farro... Basically I cook the farro in beef stock according to package directions and saute whatever veggies we have on hand (snap peas, a tomato, some peppers...ANYTHING will do) in olive oil, salt and pepper and then put it all together to serve...It looked and tasted so much of fried rice, we ever used some soy sauce on it at the table...a quick and healthy meal that uses up whatever odds and ins you have left...

Broccoli is a staple at our house, both kids will grab it and eat it raw with Ranch dressing as an after school snack, it goes into salads, can be used in the quick recipe idea above...or we like it just oven roasted...however there is a trick to get it perfectly browned and nutty!

Roasted Broccoli (so easy)

2 lbs broccoli, cut into florets 

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted 

1 lemon 

Pre heat oven to 425, place broccoli on baking sheet (make sure the broccoli is dry), drizzle with Olive oil, salt and pepper, bake for 20-25 minutes. (I may even reach in and give the pan a shake halfway through,

what you are looking for is browned edges on the florets). 

In a dry pan over medium heat, roast pine nut until fragrant. 

Once the broccoli is browned to your liking, zest one lemon over the top and then squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli as well. 

Serve immediately!

White Bean and Collard Greens Soup(adapted from Cooking Light) 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup pinot grigio or other light white wine
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups finely shredded collard greens (about 6 ounces)
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
2 (14-ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (15.5-ounce) can Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté for 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add wine, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Add greens, thyme, and broth. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until greens are tender. Add beans; simmer 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated.