Dinner recipe #2

Meatballs with tomato rice and spinach

Main course, 4 persons, 30 minutes, recipe from allerhande,
per 1p. portion 570 kilocalories, 21 gr. protein, 26 grams fat and 64 grams carbohydrates

2 cloves of garlic
300 grams of minced meat
1 can of tomatopieces
300 gr. rice
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 bag of fresh spinach of about 300 grams (we got ours from the turkish supermarket and it was goooood)
50 grams black olives sliced up (fresh or from a pot either is fine we got fresh ones from our turkish supermarket)

1. mash up 1 clove of garlic and cut the other ones in slices.
Combine the minced meat with de mashed garlic, season with salt & pepper as per your taste and make 12 balls.
Put the tomatopieces in a sieve above a bowl and pour 100 ml water in the can, shake and pour this over the tomatopieces. Save the liquid.

2. Cook the rice as per the instructions on the box. Heat the olive oil in a deep & big saucepan and make sure to roast the meatballs till they are nice and brown allover. Add the tomato liquid and spice it up with salt & pepper and let it simmer for 10 minutes on a middlehigh fire.
Add the tomatopieces to the rice and warm for 2 minutes.

3. Turn up the fire, add the spinach in parts to the meatballs and season as per your taste with salt & pepper. Let is simmer until the spinach has softened and its all done.

We served the rice on a huge platter, poured the meatballs and sauce on the rice and sprinkled the olives over the dish.

Review : it was yummy according to the grownups that made it and the guests, great combo although we will be adding more spices to the meatballs next time as we thought they were a bit bland.

For dessert we had Eton Mess (Nigella Lawson), a favorite recipe I will share soon.

Dinner Recipe # 1

Want to share some recipe's I've found here or there that I've been trying with my blog readers. DH and I tried this recipe, our guests loved it, we had some things we'd like to try differently next time (a little less mustard in the saus & the chicken needed more seasoning). Would love to hear what you think of it !

Easy French Bistro Menu (courtesy of Stephanie)

Menu: Chicken with creamy Dijon sauce, Roasted Potatoes, Sauteed Garden Vegetables + Butter Lettuce Salad

To make the dinner first prepare the roasted potatoes…toss cubed red potatoes with olive oil until well-coated; add sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste. Roast the potatoes in an oven preheated to 425 degrees and cook for 30-45 minutes. The cooking time depends on the size of your potatoes (the smaller the cube, the shorter the cooking time). If you have any herbs on hand, toss those in the mix as well. Herbs like thyme, rosemary or chives work best.

Once you have the potatoes in the oven, rinse and crisp the lettuce in a salad spinner . Place in refrigerator.

Now chop spring onions (you may substitute shallots), zucchini, crimini mushrooms and perhaps yellow squash. Set aside.

Heat a cast iron pan (or frying pan) over medium heat. Throw in a 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Season 4 trimmed chicken breasts with s + p and cook about 8 minutes each side. Once cooked throughout, set aside on a platter. Using the same pan (and the chicken drippings), make a cream sauce to pour over the chicken. Add about 8 ounces of creme fraiche* and about 3 tablespoons of Dijon mustard (I prefer the Maille label) to the pan. Simmer on medium heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.

Quickly saute your pre-cut vegetables in a wok with a little olive oil and dried Italian herb seasoning and you’re good to go! You’ll want to saute the veggies on medium high heat.

Retrieve the salad spinner from the fridge and drain the water before giving it a good spin. Serve with a simple, homemade shallot vinaigrette–found here.

Bon Appetit !