Weeknight Wonder: Mongolian Meatballs

Moist and tender turkey meatballs doused in a sweet and spicy sticky glaze.  Served over some fluffy rice and you have a quick dinner in under 45 minutes!

Mongolian Meatballs

Pinterest is the best place to find something new to make for dinner.  This is one of my "must try" pins that appealed to me as an easy weeknight meal.  Who doesn't love meatballs??  And these are even more appealing since they are not your ordinary Italian meatball but an Asian version.

I made these with turkey instead of beef to cut down on the fat and baked them instead of frying them, again to make them healthier.  These little meatballs came out wonderful!  The sauce is sweet and spicy and oh so sticky.  The perfect glaze over the well seasoned meatballs and on top of a bed of fluffy rice.  Heaven!  They will be on the table in under 45 minutes and are very easy to make.   So make sure to stock up on some Asian condiments and get cooking!

What do I serve the meatballs with?

• Fluffy sticky rice
• Asian noodles
• Green steamed vegetables such as broccoli or green beans
• On top of a salad

What Ingredients do I need?

• ground turkey
• bread crumbs
• egg
• ginger
• garlic
• soy sauce
• red pepper flakes
• hoisin sauce
• sesame oil or canola oil
• brown sugar
• sriracha
• cornstarch
• cilantro
  
  

Substitutions and Variations

• Use ground beef, pork or chicken, instead of the ground turkey
• This would be great on top of a salad
• Make the meatballs a little larger and stick a toothpick inside for great appetizers
• Serve them on slider buns for Asian Meatball sliders, great for Game Day!
• Fry the meatballs instead of baking them.
• Leave out the red pepper flakes and any sriracha

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Meatballs are freezer friendly.  You can either freeze them unbaked by flash freezing or after they have been baked but do not put the glaze on them.  They will keep in the freezer 3 months.
• A cookie scoop makes quick work in forming the meatballs. I use this one.
• If forming by hand wet your hands a little first to avoid the meat mixture from sticking to your fingers.
• The sauce may be made in a wok, large skillet, or a medium sauce pan.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to emails at the top of this page and follow along on Facebook,  and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.

Mongolian Meatballs



yield:  18 meatballs

For the Meatballs:
1 lb. ground turkey, 7% fat
⅓ cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper


For the Mongolian Sauce:
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce 
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger

OTHER
1 tablespoon cornstarch 

1/4 cup water 

cilantro, chopped as garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl add the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.  Gently mix all the ingredients until everything is well combined.  Do not handle the meat very much.  Over mixing will result in dense tough meatballs.  Roll out the meatballs using a small cookie scoop into 1 or 1 1/2" meatballs.  Place them on a baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.  Place them in the refrigerator to firm up for about 10 minutes.  

Bake the meatballs in the oven for 15-20 minutes until cooked through and browned.  Remove from oven.

Meanwhile start on the sauce.  Heat a wok or skillet over medium heat.  Add the sesame oil and heat.  Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine.  Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 minutes.  Combine the cornstarch and the water to a small bowl and whisk together to create a slurry.  Add the slurry to the sauce and cook until thickens, stirring often, about 2-3 minutes.  Sauce will become translucent.  

Add the meatballs, tossing to coat.  Allow meatballs to heat thoroughly in the sauce.  Sprinkle with cilantro.    Serve.

adapted from Food52

Cranberry Citrus Salad

A show-stopper salad that takes advantage of winter produce.  Filled with cranberries and oranges this salad will brighten up any meal!

Cranberry Citrus Salad

I love a really good salad.  This one uses produce found during the winter months and is a great side salad to all types of meat.  The presentation is outstanding on this salad and is completely company worthy but also perfect for the crowd at home.  I served this on Christmas Day and found that is was actually my favorite dish of the whole meal.  It's that good!

A light and fresh salad that is bursting with tart fresh cranberries and sweet juicy Cara Cara oranges.  You also get a little bite from some red onion, and crunch from the celery.  All of this sits a top of a bed of spicy arugula and is sprinkled with some mint for another pop of freshness.  This is one heck of a salad!

What goes with this salad?

• This salad can go with any type of protein, beef, fish, pork, or chicken.
• I served this at Christmas along with Filet Mignon's.
• Serve with a nice crusty bread on the side
• Serve with Grilled Balsamic Chicken, Red Wine and Rosemary Flat Iron Steak, Fig and Ginger Glazed Pork Tenderloins

What Ingredients do I need?

• fresh cranberries
• Cara Cara oranges
• celery
• red onion
• sugar
• lemon juice
• ginger - i used pureed ginger
• arugula
• fresh mint - this really makes the dish
• olive oil

Substitutions and Variations

• Use Navel oranges instead of Cara Cara
• Use escarole or red leaf lettuce instead of arugula
• I would use fresh cranberries if available.  Frozen cranberries will work too, just be sure to thaw them
• don't like mint?  leave it off
• use shallot instead of red onion
• add sunflower seeds for added crunch
• Blood oranges would work nicely as a substitution

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• Start this salad earlier in the day. The cranberry topping need to meld together for 1 hour before serving.
• A food processor makes quick work of chopping the cranberries.  Use the pulse feature.
• If you don't like a really strong onion flavor cut them and place them in cold water for 15 minutes.  This will cut down on the bite of the onion.
• Cutting segments from an orange is called supreme.  This process gets rid of the membranes between the segments and any bitter white pith. You will end up with prettier and tastier fruit slices.  YouTube has videos on how to do this technique.

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to emails at the top of this page and follow along on Facebook,  and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.

Cranberry Citrus Salad

serves 4

1 cup fresh cranberries
2 Cara Cara oranges
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
3 cups arugula
2 Tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil

In a food processor add cranberries and pulse 5 times to coarsely chop, or chop by hand.  Transfer to a bowl.  Cut peel from the oranges making sure that there is no with pith left on the orange.  Cut sections from the orange over the bowl with the cranberries to catch any juice.  Add sections to the cranberries.  Add the celery, onion, sugar, lemon juice, and ginger.  Stir to combine.  Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

In a medium bowl toss arugula with the mint and the oil.  Place on a platter and top with the cranberry orange mixture.  Serve.  

adapted from BHG.com

Cranberry Orange Muffins - Small Batch

Wonderful bakery style muffins bursting with the sweet tart flavors of fresh cranberries and bright orange citrus.  The perfect winter breakfast treat!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

If you follow me then you know that MGG and I love our weekend breakfasts.  Since the pandemic has started baking has become a weekly pleasure.  The other day MGG was talking about how he misses Trader Joe's since he hasn't been in 10 months.  He mentioned a particular item, Cranberry Orange Bread, that was discontinued quite a while back.  He asked me to make him some because he loved it so much.  I was more than happy to oblige!  At first I was set on making a quick bread but then due to the cooking time (50-60 minutes) I decided to make muffin instead since he was hovering around the kitchen waiting to start cooking breakfast.  

Muffins only take 18-20 minutes to bake so they are a quicker item to throw together when the crowd is starving!  Not only are muffins great for breakfast or brunch, they are perfect for grab and go snacks, as well as a sweet with coffee or hot tea.  These muffins in particular use fresh cranberries that give you a bite or tartness and are filled with orange flavors from juice, zest, and a bit of orange extract.  Orange and cranberry are one of those perfect combinations like peanut butter and jelly, that just go together.  These muffins will leave you warm and satisfied, and possibly reaching for the next one!

What Ingredients do I need?

• eggs
• milk
• orange juice
• canola oil
• flour
• sugar
• baking powder
• salt
• orange zest
• orange extract - optional
• fresh cranberries - you can use dried if you like but they won't give you as much flavor as fresh.  In the winter I buy bags of fresh cranberries and freeze them!

Substitutions and Variations

• Walnuts, almonds, or pecans would be a good addition
• You can leave out the extract, or use vanilla if you like
• Store bought orange juice works well in this recipe
• Dried cranberries will work but will not provide as much freshness or tartness.
• Dried cherries can be substituted for the cranberries
• Gluten free flour may be substituted
• Sugar substitutes may be used instead of sugar
• Use sour cream, yogurt, or buttermilk instead of milk

Kitchen Tips and Notes

• 1st rule of them when making muffins is not to "overmix" the batter.  You want it batter to just come together.  Little spots of flour is okay.
• To get high muffin tops turn your oven up to 400 degrees.
• Make sure you are using fresh baking powder.  To test put 1/2 teaspoon into 1/4 cup of boiling water.  If it bubbles, you are good.
• Purchase a 6 well muffin tin for small batches
• Double the recipe for 12 muffins
• Muffins can be frozen individually and kept for 3 months

HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to emails at the top of this page and follow along on Facebook,  and Pinterest for all of the latest updates.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

yield:  6 muffins

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons orange zest

1/2 cup fresh cranberries, rough chopped

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Spray a 6 well muffin pan with cooking spray and set aside.

To a large bowl add the egg, milk, orange juice, canola oil, and orange extract.  Whisk to combine.  Add the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and orange zest to the bowl.  Stir until just combined.  Do not overmix.  Fold in the chopped cranberries.

Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter evenly among the 6 muffin wells.  Place in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown and set.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Remove from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack.  Serve.

Other Muffin recipes you may like:

• Mexican Hot Chocolate Muffins
• Cherry Almond Muffins
• Celebration Muffins
• Lemon Blueberry Muffins
• Bakery Style Banana Nut Muffins
• Strawberry Sour Cream Muffins
• Three Citrus Muffins