Greek-style meatballs

We had a lot of leftover ground meat from our meatloaf made a few days before. I came across this recipe in my daily recipe emails, and thought it sounded delicious. Instead of goat, I substituted the ground pork and beef leftover from the meatloaf. I also used canned artichokes, and eliminated the dill (we didn't have any in the house, and frankly -- I don't like it very much anyways). 

I browned the meatballs for a little longer than what is suggested, but I am totally nervous when I cook meat. I also didn't know if goat cooked differently than pork/beef, so I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't be undercooked.

It started to smell REALLY delicious. It's smelled very Mediterranean, even without the dill. Maybe it was the fennel -- but I could not WAIT for it to be done cooking!

Half eaten...so you know it was good.

The recipe does take an hour plus, so definitely not on a night where you're itching to eat right away. We made them on a lazy Sunday, where eating in a timely fashion wasn't very important. I think this could be great on top of quinoa, brown rice or even some plain pasta, however it was delicious just by itself as well. Enjoy!

Grapefruit 1, Christine 0

I'm trying. I really am. I just don't think I like grapefruit. I've tried eating it with breakfast with a little sugar, broiling it with some cinnamon and topping it with Greek yogurt, among other things. I gave it one last try earlier this week with a rice noodle salad.

Looks tasty, right? It had all the makings of being something I would like -- noodles, peanuts, cilantro, tomato, green onions...and this guy clearly knows what he's doing when it comes to food. But it just didn't taste good to me. I think the grapefruit was sort of on it's last legs (read: it had been sitting in our fruit bowl for a few weeks since receiving it in our produce basket), so that may have contributed to the problem.

I felt extra bad because I sent Paul on a wild goose chase to find lemongrass the day before (it wasn't at the grocery store like it normally is). Oh well. Lesson learned: I should continue to avoid citrus-based dinners, huh?

Winter Vegetables and Bulgur

I love roasted vegetables. They are probably one of my favorite (and easiest) things to cook, especially during the cold winter months. I found this recipe, and was immediately excited about making it for two reasons: A) I had never used bulgur before and B) this would use up many of the tasty vegetables in my produce basket. 

We used a turnip, a squash, carrots and parsnips. I chose to roast the vegetables (in the oven), instead of sautéing them -- so our cook time was a little longer than the recipe suggests.

My angle was a little off on this one. Sorry for the peek of Valentine's Day towel.

I sautéd the onion and added some minced garlic, before combining the roasted vegetables. I also used 1/2 cup of white wine and 3 cups of vegetable stock (instead of 4 cups of stock). 

With the spinach leaves mixed in at the end.

Apparently, I am showcasing all my seasonal towels today.

It was quite tasty! I would definitely recommend making this, especially if you have vegetables to saute or roast that would work well together. It made a big amount as well, so we had leftovers for lunches later that week.

Enjoy!