Turkey Fennel Meat Sauce

February Week 3 - Try Cooking With Fennel
At first I thought this week was going to be easy, then as I searched recipes Google came up with some really weird looking recipes. I LOVE to try new foods, but these just looked CraZy! I choose a meatball recipe at first but oh man: Ain't Nobody Got Time Fo That Recipe! I was blessed to come across an amazing pasta sauce found on the blog: Cookin' Skinny and as the name implies she has a ton of amazing looking recipes that are healthy to boot! I will definitely be checking out her blog for more recipe ideas!

Now onto what you have been waiting for...drum roll please!

Turkey Fennel Meat Sauce

 

I rate this recipe 4 out of 5 stars!! 

Yes, you read that right. This recipe was awesome!

Reasons: My husband and son loved it so much they had seconds! My husband hates...okay strongly dislikes normal boring ol' red pasta sauce and my son hates pasta recipes in general...so them liking this recipe is a HUGE deal!

The spices were a perfect blend of amazingness! 

And it was super duper easy! I love simple recipes, they are perfect for my schedule!

Notes: She lets her simmer in a dutch oven, I don't have one of those so I just let it simmer in a pan on my stove top and it turned out great! 

Although SUPER simple to prepare, I would start preparing a head of time to let it simmer, the ground turkey tastes so much better if you let it simmer!

This made great leftovers! 

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 1.5 Hours

Ingredients: 

•  1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
• 1/2 cup chopped white or yellow onion
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1/4 red wine
• 1 1/2 cups roasted garlic marinara
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch cinnamon
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chiffonade

For instructions visit the blog: http://cookinskinny.com/2012/11/turkey-fennel-meat-sauce/

Hoisin Pork with Rice Noodles

February Week 1 - Chinese Food!
Hello, My name is Ferren...I love to cook new recipes and thankfully my husband and 18 month old son love trying out new things. Thankfully this first challenge wasn't too difficult and I was able to find a simple recipe that easily fit into my busy schedule. 

I found this meal on Pinterest of course, from a blog called Pinch of Yum Lindsay and her husband Bjork work together to create a wonderful blog that is full of awesome looking recipes!

Hoisin Pork with Rice Noodles

 

I would rate this recipe 3.8 stars! 

Reasons: I would like to add more ingredients, I get super bored fast if my meal is just mostly meat. 

I should have soaked the rice noodles longer, they were on the crunchy side. 

I also rarely rate things above 4.5 stars because I believe that 5 is close to perfection. 

Notes: This recipe can get spicy depending on what hot pepper you use. I just diced the pepper and so every once in a while your mouth would get this burst of spiciness that was hard for my 18 month old to handle. 

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes 

(she does recommend marinating the meat so I would plan on preparing this the night before or that morning!)

Ingredients: 

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 3.5 T sesame oil or canola oil
• 2 T honey + 1 T sugar
• 1 dash fish sauce
• 3 T vinegar + a squeeze of lime
• 5 cloves finely minced garlic
• 1 piece fresh grated ginger (1-2 T)
• 1 minced hot pepper (i.e. jalapeno, chili pepper, etc)
• 3 T hoisin sauce
• 3 T peanut butter (optional)
• 1 1/2 lbs pork cut into thin strips
• 9 oz. rice noodles
• grated carrots, chopped scallions, chopped peanuts, cilantro etc. 

For the instructions visit the blog: http://pinchofyum.com/hoisin-pork-with-rice-noodles

This recipe was delicious!! And we will be repeating it for sure!

February Week 1 Chinese Food - Black Pepper Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry

Hello there! My name is Melissa and I’m a wannabe Foodie.

For the first week’s challenge, I struggled trying to find something I wanted to make that I already had most of the ingredients on hand. I stumbled across this Black Pepper Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry recipe and thought “why not, it doesn't look so bad.” 

I read the reviews and confirmed my decision mentally.

This dish was delicious! It’s colorful and full of flavor even with the ingredients being quite simple. 

It was missing something though, I just can’t put my thumb on it. 

My husband said it was perfect and he wouldn't change anything about it, all while he was coming back for seconds.

On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d easily give this a 3.5 to 4. 

You can find the original recipe here: Black Pepper Beef and Cabbage Stir-Fry

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ready: In less than 30 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• ½ pound ground beef
• ½ small head cabbage, shredded
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into strips
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat, and add oil. Sauté garlic for about 5 seconds, then add ground beef. Stir-fry until beef is evenly brown. Stir in cabbage and red pepper, and cool until vegetables are tender, and beef is fully cooked. Stir in soy sauce. Mix together cornstarch and water, and stir in. Season with pepper. Cook, stirring, until sauce has thickened. Serve with steamed rice.