It's Healthy Midwest Comfort Food!

Growing up, my mom used to make Salisbury Steak on occasion and it was always so good and hearty and made my belly happy. As I got older, the dinner became less frequent as it wasn't "healthy" any more to eat red meat and then it was just the two of us at home - so why go to all that trouble.

In college, I loved when the dorms had Salisbury Steak night, it reminded me of my time at home.

But after college, again, I never made it - back to the it just wasn't healthy fact of eating it.

Enter Skinny Taste and Gina's recipe for Skinny Salisbury Steaks with Mushroom Gravy. HOLY FANTASTIC!!! Who knew you could try to eat healthy and still eat Salisbury steak?!

We had this for dinner a while back and it was just such a comfortable meal to be eating and was so filling and hearty. I did stay from her recipe to lighten it up even more and I have to say, we both thought it was fantastic! I can not wait until our first cool night to make this again in the fall! Served it with some mashed potatoes and some red cabbage, such a yummy dinner!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp oil
one large onion, minced
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
2 lbs. lean ground turkey * Note I strayed from Gina's recipe here using all ground turkey and not two types of meat. It was still fantastic! I did this so it was easier to portion out how many oz. we could have on our plate - 5 oz. of turkey - since a mixture of meats would have been too difficult to deal with.
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1 large egg white
2 cups beef broth
salt and pepper to taste - I didn't measure
16 oz sliced mushrooms * I doubled up here from the recipe because we adore mushrooms and the more the merrier.
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, to taste
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 cup water

Directions:

Sauté onions in oil over medium heat until golden brown, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine half of the sautéed onions, garlic, ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, egg white, 1/4 cup beef broth, salt and black pepper.

Shape into 8 oval patties * I pre-weighed our patties to 5.5 oz or there about raw so I knew we could eat a whole 5 oz. patty once it was cooked. Just easier for us and it did yield more than 8 - I believe 10 or so?

In a large deep skillet over medium-high heat, brown both sides of patties. Set aside on a dish.

Add mushrooms to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and sauté 2-3 minutes.
Return patties to the skillet with the mushrooms.

In a small bowl, blend flour and remaining broth until smooth. Mix in remaining onions, tomato paste, vinegar, water, worcestershire sauce and mustard powder.

Pour over meat and mushrooms in skillet.

Cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

AND do you know what this makes as a wonderful leftover??
A short cut version of an open faced meat loaf sandwich! 1 5 oz. patty, some gravy, 1.5 oz. of potatoes and bread respectively and a nice side veggie and voila! Leftovers made anew!

Spaghetti & Meatball Soup

I found this incredible recipe on Gina's Skinny Recipes and wow it did not disappoint! And if you haven't visited this blog yet, you must - it's a great source for low fat/cal and healthy recipes. Truly, one of my favorite blogs!

This soup was so easy to throw together and for this spaghetti and meatball loving girl, it certainly hit the spot on a lighter note for me! I did alter a bit, just using pre-made turkey meatballs that I had made and put in the chest freezer - so I just had to have them heat in the soup. And the hubs is a huge fan of wagon wheel pasta, so I replaced the spaghetti noodles for the mini wagon wheels and it was so fun! Instead of using the boxed broth too, I used some of my frozen turkey stock from the freezer and water.

Great, quick, easy meal - great for a cold night this winter. Do make it!

See the recipe from Gina's site - I made it as is with those tweaks so I'll refer you there!

Chappli Kabab

We recently came back from visiting friends in upstate New York. While there, we spent time visiting a bunch of local ethnic markets - which the hubs and I just adore doing. And since we don't have a large selection of ethnic markets where we live, it's fun to explore new markets and discover new tastes and foods while we're away.

Our friends recommended we try a boxed mix for Chappli Kabab and we are so glad they did.

We made these the other night for dinner, as directed, but using ground turkey. We did use the whole packet of spice with it, which was probably a bit spicier than we would have liked, but they were still yummy! And it wasn't really spicy as much as it was cumin-y. The kabab patties came out so crunchy and delicious and it was a fabulous meal with some mixed greens, tomato and naan.

I did hang on to the box though, so that next time I can go based off of the ingredient list and make the seasoning for the patties myself. This way it will cut back on the sodium in the meal - because it was a salty dish!

If you can find the boxed mix, I recommend trying it - just make sure you like cumin! Once I make them again from scratch, I'll post that here so you can try it as well.

Opa! Nachos

Wow, I'm so behind in blogging, I just realized I made this recipe back in July! Holy Cow!

But I still have to blog them because they were out of this world delicious!

I found this idea - note, it's NOT a recipe- for Greek Nachos on Not Without Salt.

After I made these though based on just the picture, I started seeing these pop up on lots of blogs and saw that the recipe is from Mark Bittman in this NYT piece back in 2009 - WOW how did it take me this long to find this?

I've linked to the recipe from the NYT above, but am posting what I did down below here.

1 lb. ground turkey - you could easily use beef, lamb, you name it - I just used the turkey because it's lighter and what I had on hand.

6 oz. pita, cut in to triangles and toasted in the oven on a cookie sheet until crispy

Greek seasoning - this is something we brought back from our last trip to Greece and it includes oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, marjoram, mint, garlic powder, onion powder.

I cooked my meat with the seasoning and topped 30z of pita with 5 oz. of ground turkey each. Then I topped with diced tomato, shredded lettuce, diced cucumber and feta cheese. Then I topped each with cucumber sauce - plain yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, mint, oregano, salt and pepper.

This was such a fun and delicious meal!

Oh Indian Food - I LOVE YOU!!!

Seriously, I think I love Indian food as much as I love Thai and Japanese and Chinese food. It's a vicious 4 way love affair when it comes to meal planning at my house.

My friend recently asked me if I had a recipe for Keema, which I did not. But I found one online and my good friend Rupa assured me it seemed pretty authentic. So I figured I'd give it a shot and see how it was.

Along with the Keema Matar, I decided I'd try yet another Aarti Party recipe (surprise, surprise, right??) for her Chapatis. The whole meal was absolutely fantastic and I will make it again.

The Keema Matar was flavorful, aromatic and filling. The chapatis were fun to make, quite easy, tasty and were a great pair with the keema.

Keema Matar

adapted from Simply Spicy

1 lb. ground meat - beef, turkey or chicken

2 cup - frozen green peas, lightly defrosted

1 Onion, chopped

1'' piece of ginger peeled and minced

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cardamom pods crushed

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp each Coriander, Turmeric, Cunim, Red chili powder

pinch of salt

Cilantro to sprinkle on top

Mix coriander, turmeric, red chili and cumin powder with little water, salt and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and fry onions until golden brown. Add garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cardamom, cinnamom, cloves, bay leaf and fry for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the powder paste and continue frying for a minute.

Add ground meat, peas and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until meat turns brown. Add 1 and 1/4th cup boiling water to the meat. Cover and cook on low heat until meat is cooked and the gravy is thick. Now you can further cook without the lid, till all the water is used up. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Chapatis from Aarti Party on Foodnetwork. I made these as she did, but used white flour (I didn't have wheat). So refer to her recipe here for the technique and ingredients - but I promise you it couldn't be easier. Just be sure to leave 30 minutes of rise time for the dough.

Well oh my gosh, look, another Thai dish!

Go figure, right?
Cause who loves Thai???? WE LOVE THAI!!!

Again, another fantastic recipe from my favorite little Chicago Cook - Joelen. And I'm glad she made this because it's been something I've been nervous to try on the menu at a few of our favorite Thai restaurants. I was never quite sure what it would be like. And while I think the restaurant uses whole chicken pieces and not ground, and I know they put peppers in, I know flavor wise this is something of what I should expect.

But after making this, really, why bother going out?!

Quick, Easy, delicious! Serve with some rice or rice noodles and voila! Dinner in minutes!

Thai Basil Chicken - this is how Joelen made it, my changes are below - adapted from Cooks Illustrated.

2 cups basil leaves, packed and chopped or run through the food processor - I had leftover minced basil ice cubes in my freezer from last summer's garden, so I used those cubes up.
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon chili sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar - usually I try to omit sugar in recipes, but this one needed it and it helped bolster the flavors - so add it!
1 tsp white vinegar - I used rice wine vinegar
1 lbs ground chicken/turkey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped

In a small bowl mix the 1 tablespoon fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and vinegar. Stir and set aside.

In a skillet add the oil , the ground turkey and onion to start browning. Once it's close to done, add in the garlic and most of the basil. Then add in the sauce bowl. Cook about 1 min. Meanwhile, chiffonade the remaining basil leaves and add to the pan to cook 1 additional minute or so. Serve with rice or noodles!
YUMMY!

So that's what that was a picture of...

I had a picture saved on the computer of a meal we obviously ate, but the hubs and I kept looking at it and we could not remember what on earth it was - since it had been about two months since we ate it to when I downloaded photos. *UPDATE - I guess I didn't delete this photo - I just found it! See, now doesn't that look so good you want to add it to your menu this week!?*

Then today, going through my reader I came across a recipe and went, WAIT, that was it! Too bad I already deleted those photos though.

Now, my lack of remembering what the photo was a dish of is hardly a case for how this meal tasted because we both remembered it was a REALLY killer dinner and so easy and good - hearty, filling, warm, comforting.

So I'm sorry I don't have a picture, but make this - it's got great warmth of flavor and is good on these cool fall nights now.

Thank you to Simply Recipes for yet another great meal on my table.

Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes (recipe as is at the link- how I made it below)
A few sprays of Pam
1 pound ground turkey
1 chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
1-2 teaspoons chili sauce/paste
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 can petite diced tomatoes (you can use fresh, but they didn't look great at the market so canned it was)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Spray pan with Pam and then add the ground turkey and cook to brown. .
Add the chopped onion. Stir and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to color a bit. Sprinkle salt over everything.
Add the grated ginger and garlic, mix well and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
Mix in the spices, chili paste, water, and the potatoes. Stir to combine and cover. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
When the potatoes are tender, add the diced tomatoes and peas. Mix well and cover the pot. Cook 2-3 minutes.
Right before you serve, mix in the chopped cilantro.

Now you could serve this with rice or naan, but with the potato in it, it really did not need any other starch or grain with it we thought. We loved this dish - it's going to be a make again. It even froze and reheated well for leftover lunches!

Well this is Ironic!

I made these recipes back in June. And lo-and-behold, this is what we're having for dinner tonight. Well at least the meatloaf portion of the dinner.

I got these recipes, again, from one of my favorite Chi-Town bloggers, Joelen. Thanks Joelen for another great dinner at our house! I'm not going to post the recipes here because I made everything just as she made it - so I'll link you to her.

We loved the Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf. It really is an easy take on chicken parm - even if you use ground turkey.

The scalloped tomatoes, well, I liked them but I'm not sure I made them right. Ours was a lot runnier than hers looked and I was so worried about it, I popped in a side of pesto pasta while everything cooked as a backup. The flavors were great and there, but I could not get the consistency right. Now I didn't use roma tomatoes, but sweet ones/grape tomatoes. My bread was hard and crunchy - so I don't know. But I would try this again and recommend you give it a whirl too!

A new take on comfort food

I came across a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf a while back - and I liked the idea of it, but didn't use the recipe - No real reason, just know I like the texture of my meatloaf already and didn't want to mess with that.

So I played around and came up with this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf. I loved it, the hubs, not so much - probably because he hates blue cheese! That may have something to do with it. I would most certainly make this again for me, but I know he won't eat it - maybe I'll make it again when he's on travel for work.

Anyways, the concept was really easy and the end results were really delicious.

Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

1 lb. ground turkey or chicken

1 egg, beaten

1/4-1/2 cup breadcrumbs - based on the texture

1/4 cup wing sauce

garlic powder and pepper to taste

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Mix all ingredients together and shape to your pan. For the top, combine 1/4 cup ketchup with 2-3 T of wing sauce, depending how hot you like it. Then top the meatloaf with the sauce mixture. Bake at 375 until done and juices run clear - about 45 minutes.

So... An Italian and a Chinese Guy Open A Restaurant...

And this is the brainchild they create!

I can not believe how wonderful this recipe is... quick, easy, flavorful and tasty!

Thank you to one of my new favorite blogs Food o del Mundo for this wonderful recipe for Asian Bolognese.

The meal came together so quick and easy, and coupled with our favorite Chinese Green Beans.

We both agreed this has to go to the regular rotation for dinners. It was great with rice, but it would be awesome with some yellow noodles or something else fun!

I did make a few adjustments, so I'm going to place the recipe here as I made it so I don't forget! But the recipe can be found as is, here.

Asian Bolognese

1 pound ground turkey

1 T minced ginger

1 T minced garlic

2 tsp. sesame oil

3 T soy sauce - low sodium

2 T sherry

3 scallions diced

1 1/4 cups tomato puree

a few dashes of crushed red pepper flakes

In a skillet brown the grown turkey until almost done. Then add in the ginger, garlic, oil, soy sauce, sherry and some of the onions. Let cook for a few minutes until the meat is almost done. Then add in the red pepper flakes and the tomato puree and let simmer on low for 20 minutes.

ENJOY!

Galumpkis - Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

I've been wanting to make these for an age in a half. If they are on a menu, I order them. My mother made them growing up. I just love stuffed cabbage.

But a few things have always precluded me from making this yummy dish: 1. time 2. a descent recipe.

So finally I decided to combine many aspects of a few different recipes to come up with my own version that was light, healthy and tasty and cooked the way I wanted it - in the oven with sauce - not in a crock pot, not simmered on the stove or steamed.

I got 19 cabbage rolls out of my head of cabbage - yours may vary. I intended on making only 12, but I had a lot of meat mixture left, so I just went until I was out of the meat mixture. My last ones are really tiny and I baked them in a smaller pyrex dish because my large one was filled.

So here's my recipe for Galumpkis

1 good sized head of cabbage
2 jars of pasta sauce - 6 cups
2 cups cooked brown rice

1 pound ground turkey

2 medium carrots diced finely

2 onions diced finely

3 cloves of garlic minced

1 Egg beaten

PAM

dried oregano and parsley

pepper to taste

Buy a good sized head of cabbage. Cut the core out and pop in a big stock pot of boiling water. Let soak until the outer leaves start to get tender enough that they peel off. Remove with tongs and place in a colander to drain. Remove the remaining vein/core from each leaf.

Make your rice ahead of time and set 2 cups in a bowl. Add in 1/2 cup of the marina sauce.

In a skillet, lightly saute the onion, carrots and garlic with some Pam. Add this to the rice mixture. Toss in some pepper, dried parsley (1 T) and oregano (1 T). Also add a splash of red wine here if you'd like or wine vinegar.

When your cabbage leaves are dried off and ready to go. Add in the turkey to the rice mixture and mix well. Then add in the egg and blend well.

Place some of the sauce in the bottom of your pan. Lay a leaf out and place 1/4 cup of the meat/rice mixture - give or take - on one end of the leaf. Roll the sides in and then the top and roll it up to a tight little package and place in the baking dish. Repeat, and repeat and repeat!

Cover with sauce and bake in the oven at 350 for an hour to an hour and 10 minutes. They should be firm to the touch when done.

I did put this recipe, as it is, for 19 leaves in to the recipe builder on Spark People and these have 138 calories each. So a few for dinner is more than acceptable.

ENJOY! It's worth every bite - but make it on a weekend, it's a time consuming process - an hour to bake and about an hour to prep.

Larb Gai honey, not Lard Guy!

We love thai food, the flavors, the way they use savory, spicy and sweet together.

However, we rarely eat anything other than noodle dishes when we go out for thai.

I found a recipe at the Skinny Gourmet Blog. It did not disappoint, even though I was nervous to try it - since I'm not a big fish sauce fan. But I bucked up, bought the sauce and made the recipe

as is.

I served with some steamed rice. I put the meat mixure (which we used ground turkey) on top of some shredded cabbage (short cut, buy cole slaw mix in the bag), some cucumber, basil, cilantro and some pan fried green beans that were still a bit hard and crunchy.

We raved about this meal all night, the next morning, the next night, we still are talking about it.

I didn't use any added fat to make the meal except for Pam and so the meal really came out to be quite light for you as well.

This, we decided, is a make again and addition to the regular rotation.

Larb Gai

Chicken Mixture
Combine ingredients and cook until chicken is thoroughly done:
1.5 cups (10 oz) minced chicken breast
4 shallots, thinly sliced
2 slices of fresh ginger, finely grated or minced (or Thai ginza)
3 Tablespoons of fish sauce
2 Tablespoons of lime juice
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

Serve with:
Sticky rice (or white rice), and an assortment of raw vegetables. We always use finely shredded green or red cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers. Sometimes we add julienned red pepper, sprouts, or green beans.

Mix together with the chicken mixture in a bowl, or serve separately and allow individual eaters top to their taste:
1-2 Tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 green onion, chopped
1-2 Tablespoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
extra wedges of lime juice

THANK YOU SKINNY GOURMET!!!

I love when flavors mesh so well!

I love Thai food - the flavors - ah delish.

And I love a good burger.

The result is a recipe I found on Cara's Cravings Blog. She has a wonderful blog with so many wonderful recipes! I've made many of her recipes and she's never misguided me before.

This was no different.

Wonderful, favorful, easy. With so many flavors in the turkey, it surely doesn't taste like a healthy burger but it is!

You must make these. I served these with an Asian inspired cole-slaw and some fried poofy noodles instead of buns.

Thai Peanut Turkey Burgers

I doubled everything to use the full pound of turkey.

8 oz ground turkey

1 medium carrot shredded

1 large scallion minced

1/4 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. chili garlic sauce

2 tbs natural peanut butter

salt and pepper

1/2 tsp ground ginger

*NOTES: I also added a touch of fresh cilantro to the hamburger mixture since it comes out in the may as well and it was a nice addition.

Combine the above ingredients in a mixing bowl. Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Form burgers in to patties. Cook for 7-10 minutes per side until cooked through.

Mayo for the burgers

2 T light may

handful minced cilantro

1-2 tsp. chili sauce

Mix all ingreidents together and top on the burgers.

For the coleslaw

I went with a very similar mix to the may for the burgers.

1 bag cole slaw mix

Fresh cilantro
1/4 cup light mayo

2-3 T chili sauce

combine all ingredients and let sit in the fridge for an hour before serving.

This dinner was just a wnderful mix of flavors and was a huge hit. I will make this whole meal again!

Thank You to Elly Says Opa!

Elly Says Opa! is one of my favorite cooking blogs. She's always got some great Greek dishes on there but also just wonderful everyday meals for the family.

I found these Chicken Parmesan Burgers on her blog a week or so back and made them the other night and they were so delicious! So delicious I didn't take a picture either!

Easy recipe! Tasty recipe. And per the hubs, the best flavored ground turkey we've ever had.

Thank you Elly!

Chicken Parmesan Burgers
1 lb. ground chicken (I used turkey)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup chopped flatleaf parsley (I used dried basil instead)
1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 shallot, finely diced (omitted, didn't have on hand)
salt and pepper (just pepper, didn't need more salt with the cheese)

1/2 cup pasta sauce (1 80z. can is more than enough!!)
4 slices mozzarella or provolone (or 1/2 cup shredded) (I used the nice fresh mozzarella cheese)
sauteed mushrooms (optional)(omitted but will try next time)
4 buns (brushed with a little garlic butter, they are even better) (Yes Elly they are!!!)

Lightly mix together all the ingredients for the burgers. Form into 4 patties. I like to make them about 30-40 minutes ahead of time, to let the flavors meld a little bit.

Preheat & spray the broiler with a little oil (or use the grill, or a pan). Broil the burgers for about 4 minutes on the first side, then flip and broil for 3 minutes. Top each chicken burger with 2 Tbsp. pasta sauce and a slice (or about 2T) of cheese. Place back under the broiler for 30-60 seconds, until cheese in melted and burger is cooked through. Top with mushrooms, if desired. Place the buns in the broiler for about 10 seconds, just until toasted.

Your mouth will say Ole!

Sorry no picture on this one, that's because they were so good I plum forgot!

Another recipe from my Better Homes and Garden Breast Cancer cook book - this is a great one if you don't already own it.

These burgers were so fun and good. Certainly a make again!

Southwest Style Chicken Burgers
1 egg slightly beaten
1/4 cup finely chopped tortilla chips - this is used as part of the binder for the meat, but I also had to add a little breadcrumb - to feel and see what you need.
3 T green sweet pepper finely chopped - I omitted this for 3 T diced chiles from the can.
3/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 pound ground turkey or chicken
2 oz. pepper jack cheese
hamburger buns or rolls
1 avocado halved
lettuce and salsa

In a medium bowl mix the egg, tortilla chips, pepper, chili powder, salt and pepper. Add chicken, mix well - mixture will be wet. Form in to 4 patties.

Place patties on the unheated rack of a broiler pan and broil about 4 inches from the flame for 18 minutes or until no longerpink and it registers 165. Turn half way. We just cooked ours on our griddle pan on the stove top.

Top each patty with a slice of cheese and let it melt.

Serve on buns with avocado slices, lettuce and salsa.

MMMM My mouth is watering thinking of this!!

I took a leftover patty with some salad and some of the Wish Bone Ranch Dressing Salad Spritzer and it was so fun and tasty!

Greek Goodness

I have this wonderful WW cookbook called Take out Tonight. There is this recipe in there for Greek Meatballs that I've wanted to make since I got the book - about 5 years ago.

Finally we made them and they did not disappoint. What a blend of flavors that mesh beautifully. It is a little time consuming so best for a weekend night dish. Certainly not the quick weeknight meal. Do try this one - it was so wonderful!

Greek Meatballs

6 servings - we ended up with 7 servings - we upped the pounds of ground turkey

Ingredients

3/4 pound skinless ground turkey - we just used the full pound in the package

1 cup chopped onion

1/3 cup plain bread crumbs

1 large egg

4 cloves garlic minced

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 T fresh parsley chopped

1 T fresh mint chopped - we used about 1 tsp. dried that we put through the mortar and pestal

2 tsp. dried oregano, split

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 T olive oil

1 28 oz can diced tomato

3 T tomato paste

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 pound orzo cooked.

Preheat oven to 400. spray a large jelly roll pan with cooking spray and set aside.

make the meatballs by combining Turkey thru 1 tsp. oregano - ONLY USE 1/2 cup of the onion here. Also add 1/4 tsp. cinnamon. Mix together well. With damp hands form into 18 1 inch balls. Place on baking sheet and bake turning once for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. swirl in oil and add the remaining half cup onion, garlic, and 1 tsp. of oregano. Cook until onion softens. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, salt and the remaining cinnamon. bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook stirring on occassion. Add the meatbals to the sauce and simmer for 15 minutes or until meatballs are done.

Divide the orzon among serving bowls and top with sauce and meatballs.

3 meatballs and 1/2 cup orzo per serving is 6 points.

Greek Style Turkey Burgers

This recipe is from the Better Homes and Garden Breast Cancer Cook book.

We've made this a few times, and it always ends up being one of our favorites. I made it for a light dinner when my mom was in over the holidays - so easy too - comes together in like 3o minutes.

Anytime I serve this dish I serve it with either roasted, grilled, or sauteed eggplant and zucchini with greek seasonings.

Ingredients
1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 packet dried Italian Dressing Mix
1 pound lean uncooked ground turkey or chicken
4 pita bread rounds, or 4 whole-wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted
1 recipe Greek Salsa
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions
1. In a medium bowl stir together bread crumbs, egg, milk, seasoning. Add turkey; mix well. Shape turkey mixture into four 6-inch-long by 1/2-inch-thick oval patties or four 1/2-inch-thick round patties.
2. Place patties on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4 to 5 inches from heat for 11 to 13 minutes or until no longer pink (165 degrees F), turning once halfway through broiling time. (I cook mine on a non-stick griddle pan instead)
3. Serve the burgers in pita bread rounds. Top with Greek Salsa and sprinkle with feta cheese. Makes 4 servings.

Greek Salsa: In a small bowl stir together 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1/2 packet of the seasoning. Stir in 1 cup finely chopped tomato, 1/4 cup finely chopped cucumber, and 1/4 cup finely chopped, pitted kalamata or ripe olives. Makes about 1-1/3 cups.