Broccoli & Cheese Tots

Original Recipe HERE

Making vegetables dippable and combining them with cheese are my go-to ways of getting the kids to eat them (though I know I'm lucky that the boys are usually willing to at least taste something new, and I can usually count on *N* to eat at least a whole serving).  These tots do both.  The flavor wasn't anything amazing, but they served their purpose.

I used fresh broccoli and didn't measure; I chopped up just under a head-and-a-half.  I also eyeballed the amount of onion and cheese.  They turned out fine, though when I portioned them onto the baking sheet (using a small cookie scoop), I was worried they weren't going to hold together and thought I should've used more egg whites.  The kids dipped them in ketchup or barbecue sauce, and the entire batch of 24 was eaten.  Success.

 

Ingredients
2 to 2 & 1/2 cups (12 oz) broccoli florets
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion [I used regular onion]
2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
salt & pepper

 

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil, or grease it.
(2) Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add broccoli; cook for 2 minutes.
(3) Add chopped onions to water (if not using green onion); cook another minute.
(4) Drain and rinse under cold water.  Dry with a dish towel.
(5) Finely chop broccoli and onions.  Transfer to a large bowl.
(6) Add all other ingredients to broccoli.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
(7) Spoon heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto the baking sheet.  Flatten slightly.
(8) Bake tots for 16-18 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, or until golden.

Kid Participation:
* Stir together all ingredients
* Spoon broccoli "dough" onto baking sheet

Autumn Meatballs

Original Recipe HERE

 

I changed the name of this recipe (am I allowed to do that?) because I didn't make them in the crockpot, and I associate the dominant flavors of apple and cranberry with fall.  I got 17 meatballs out of this, if I'm remembering correctly.  I thought I'd be able to calculate that after dinner, but all the kids surprised me by eating a second helping, and I lost track.  So these were a success.

 

I added the breadcrumbs because I was worried there wasn't enough to bind them together.  I knew the egg would help with that, but I wasn't sure about the cheese.  Good thing I didn't put my confidence in the cheddar, since it melted completely, and a lot of it was left on the parchment paper.

 

I wasn't sure how to serve these...some sort of cranberry sauce would've been nice, but I didn't have fresh cranberries to make a simple stovetop concoction with.  So we defaulted to ketchup.  Don't judge.

 

Ingredients

1-1/3 lbs ground turkey

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs or panko

1 Granny Smith apple, peeled & shredded

1/2 to 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 to 1 cup dried cranberries

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment.

(2) In a medium bowl, mix together egg, salt, pepper, onion powder, and breadcrumbs.

(3) Stir in apple, cheddar, and cranberries.

(4) Add turkey.  Mix until well combined.

(5) Using 2 tablespoon portions, roll meat mixture into balls.  Place on parchment paper (spacing can be tight since they shrink slightly).

(6) Bake about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

 

Kid Participation: None.

BBQ Turkey Meatballs

Original Recipe HERE

 

These meatballs were awesome, especially served with the corn salad that is suggested.  Like, I could've eaten it every night for a week.  *N* ate both, *J* ate the meatballs, and *P* ate the corn.  Hope they get used to it, because I want to make it again ASAP.  It is even worth me using my bare hands to form the meatballs, which is a task I abhor.  Like, it's enough to make me seriously consider going full vegetarian.  Except then I couldn't eat the resulting meatballs, which would be a shame.

 

I doubted how tasty these could be because they seemed sort of plain and didn't have a sauce pairing, but they exceeded expectations.  I realized too late that I didn't have any panko, so regular Italian breadcrumbs were used this time.  It was somewhat tricky to make sure that the ingredients were combined well, without any clumps of the breadcrumb mixture scattered throughout.  I probably need to find a better order in which to incorporate the ingredients.

 

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey [my package was 1.3 lbs]

1/4 cup panko

1 or 2 scallions, minced

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dry mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

pinch of cayenne

2 teaspoons brown sugar

5 Tablespoons barbecue sauce, divided

 

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, and spray lightly with cooking spray (I used parchment and didn't spray it).

2) In a large bowl, whisk together panko, paprika, garlic powder, dry mustard, salt, cayenne, and brown sugar.

3) Add scallions and 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce.  Mix thoroughly.

4) Add turkey; mix with hands until evenly combined.

5) Form 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture into a lightly packed meatball.  Put on baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining mixture (I got about 16 meatballs).

6) Bake meatballs 11-12 minutes.  Brush with reserved barbecue sauce.  Return to oven; bake an additional 3-4 minutes or until cooked through.

 

Kid Participation: The only thing *N* wanted to do was help form the meatballs - a job I was happy to turn over to her. 

Turkey Meatloaf Florentine

Original Recipe HERE

 

No one in my family screams for joy when I say we're having meatloaf, so I very rarely serve it.  I thought this turkey version might be a little lighter and different enough to win them over.  I even made it in the muffin tin so that we each had cute little individual ones...sometimes, with kids, presentation is everything.  They all said they liked it that night, but the next day they changed their tune.  I guess it's not a do-again, but I liked it enough to hang onto hope that someday they'll come around.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup finely diced onion

2 cups baby spinach, packed and then chopped

1 pound lean ground turkey [my package was 1.3 pounds]

1 egg

1 cup bread crumbs [I used Italian seasoned]

3/4 cup ketchup, divided

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

salt, pepper, and other seasonings, to taste

1 to 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon brown sugar

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease a 9x5" loaf pan.

(2) In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until tender.

(3) Add spinach; cover skillet and stir occasionally until wilted.

(4) In a large mixing bowl, combine turkey, egg, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, Worcestershire, and seasonings.

(5) Add spinach mixture to turkey mixture.  Stir until well combined.

(6) Press turkey mixture into loaf pan.

(7) In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar.  Spread evenly over turkey mixture.

(8) Bake 45-55 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads at least 165 degrees.

(9) Allow meatloaf to sit and cool for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve.

 

Kid Participation: None.

Baked Garlic Green Beans

Original Recipe in Taste of Home magazine (I think)

 

This was an easy side dish that could be mostly prepared ahead of time, just needing to add the topping to the pre-sauced beans.  Everyone except *J* ate at least two portions, and though I'd doubled the original recipe, the entire batch was gone by the end of dinner.

 

I could taste the vinegar in the final product, so I decreased the amount slightly below.  Also, the bread crumbs didn't toast much and were slightly mushy - maybe panko would hold up better.

 

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoon cider vinegar

2 teaspoon dried minced onion

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 cups frozen cut green beans, thawed

2 Tablespoons dry bread crumbs or panko

2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan

2 teaspoons butter, melted

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a medium casserole dish.

(2) In medium bowl, combine oil, vinegar, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Allow to sit so the garlic can infuse the oil.

(3) Add beans; toss to coat.

(4) Transfer beans to casserole dish.

(5) Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan, and butter.  Sprinkle over beans.

(6) Bake, uncovered, 10-15 minutes (it took 15 for me) or until heated through.

 

Kid Participation: None.

Cheesy Broccoli Bites

Original Recipes HERE

 

Anything to get vegetables into the kids.  Some nights they love broccoli, and other nights they turn their noses up.  So I tried a new approach.  They ate these with no complaints and said they liked them.  They just signed themselves up for another batch to confirm or refute that.

 

I was worried these would fall apart, but I used a 1/4-cup measuring cup to scoop the mixture (for uniform size) and then packed it together into a firm ball.  Then I flattened it out into a patty.  Each of them stayed together with no problem, and they reheated well the next day.

 

Ingredients

1 package (16-oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
1-1/2 cup shredded cheese
3 eggs
salt

pepper
1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.

(2) Chop broccoli until relatively fine.

(3) Whisk eggs in medium mixing bowl.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

(4) Add broccoli, cheese, and breadcrumbs to mixture.  Stir until well combined.

(5) Form mixture into patties of the same size (approximately 1/4-cup each).  Place on baking sheet.

(6) Bake approximately 25 minutes or until light golden brown and firm.  Flip patties after 15 minutes if desired (I did not).

 

Kid Participation:

* Mix ingredients

* Form patties (if you're in the mood for a mess and some haphazardly-shaped dinner elements)

Baked Eggplant Sticks

Original Recipe HERE

Not surprisingly, I couldn't fool the kids into thinking that these were "real" fries and they detected the eggplant element and only ate a few.  However, Husband and I liked them.  Which is good, since it made two full pans of sticks.  I made the recommended marinara dipping sauce, and the kids enjoyed that part, at least.

Ingredients

1 10-oz eggplant

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

fresh cracked pepper

1/2 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese

1 large egg white

olive oil spray

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 450°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray with oil.

(2) Cut ends off the eggplant. Slice eggplant in half, then into 1/4" thick slices. Cut each slice into 1/4" strips.

(3) Place eggplant strips in a bowl and season with olive oil, salt and pepper.

(4) Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl.  Put egg whites in another.

(5) Dip a few strips of eggplant at a time into the egg whites, then into the breadcrumbs. Using a fork, remove eggplant from crumbs and place on the baking sheets.

(6) Spray with more oil and bake 10 minutes in the middle rack.

(7) Turn over and bake an additional 5 minutes or until golden. Serve hot.

Kid Participation: None, including consuming them.

Stuffed Eggplant

Original recipe HERE

I've been making this for years.  It's an easy, one-dish (one-plant?) meal that can stand on its own.  But the filling can be baked separately (sans eggplant shells) and served over pasta or as a small entree.  Since I only make it for two people, one eggplant is used.  Obviously the ingredients can be easily doubled, tripled, etc.  It's a go-to dinner that I usually make when I have a lackluster meal plan for the week.  As I walk the produce section, I spy the eggplant...and since I always have the other ingredients on hand, I feel a little relief that at least one night's offering will get a thumbs up.

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 medium eggplant
1/2 cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

black pepper, to taste

4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley [optional]

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1) Cut eggplant in half, length-wise.  Make several incisions (leaving a 1/4-inch eggplant shell) that allow you to lift out the insides (scoop if necessary).  Dice eggplant centers into 1/2-inch cubes.

2) Put in a collander and sprinkle generously with salt.  Place in sink to sweat for 30 minutes.  Rinse and thoroughly dry.

3) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

4) Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat.  Add eggplant cubes, onion, garlic, oregano, and pepper.  Cook and stir until lightly browned.

5) Add eggplant mixture to a bowl and stir with parmesan, bread crumbs, and parsley.  Scoop into eggplant shells.  Place in a shallow baking dish.

6) Top with tomato sauce and mozzarella.

7) Bake 30 minutes or until eggplant is fork-tender and cheese is bubbly.

Notes: None, since I've made this so many times.  One variation is to mix the tomato sauce and mozzarella directly into the eggplant mixture.

Kid Participation:

* Sprinkle eggplant cubes with salt (because a heavy hand won't do any harm)

* Stir eggplant mixture and other ingredients

* Sprinkle cheese on top