Never a dull moment

Hope everyone had a good weekend.  Mine was eventful, but not necessarily in the way one would wish for.

Friday night was pretty relaxed.  I was still feeling under the weather, just not much energy, so we spent the evening at home watching movies with the kids. 

Saturday morning started with the usual…mid morning skating lessons for the 2 kids and a relaxed afternoon at home.  As I mentioned in my Friday post, we were invited to our friend’s for their Annual Christmas Tree burn.  So in the afternoon I prepared some Spinach Dip in a bread bowl to take with as an appetizer.  I would have made the dip from scratch, but decided to buy it this time as I was still not feeling so swell. 

The party was good.  Lots of yummy food, but it was a chilly one.  The fire pit was roaring and fun was had by all.  Unfortunately, we had to leave the party early and missed the tree burning competition.  Caelin (4 yr old) had a run-in with a rock and lost the battle.  We had to take him to the ER to get his forehead glued back together.  He’s got a nice 1 inch gash above his right eyebrow, nevertheless, he is still running around and is a happy little camper and an awesome little patient.  Thanks to my friends though, we still got some good pictures.

Tree #1

Tree #2

Tree #3 (Charlie Brown Xmas Tree)

Say Hello to our Tree (Thanks Ashlee for being our representative )

Burn Baby Burn….

Our tree made the best sounds…but did we win?  You be the judge of that….

On to eats… and it’s a good one tonight

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Lamb Kibbeh (meatballs) Stuffed with Pistachios and Goat Cheese

For the Lamb

• 1 cup fine bulgur (cooked) (1/2 cup uncooked)
• 5 oz  lean ground lamb
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp  bouillon
• 1 tsp  cumin
• 1 tsp  chilli flakes
• 2 Tbsp Gluten-free flour mix
• salt and pepper to taste

For the filling

• 2.5 oz soft goat cheese
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp toasted pistachios, chopped
• pinch chopped cilantro
• pinch chopped flat-leaf parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

If you’ve never cooked with bulgur before (or what my boyfriend calls “Burglar” - hehe), here is your chance.  Here is some information from Sunnylandmills.org: 

Bulgur is a quick-cooking form of whole wheat that has been cleaned, parboiled, dried, ground into particles and sifted into distinct sizes. Sunnyland Mills' four distinct grind sizes as well as whole kernel provide different textures and cooking properties for a variety of food applications. The result is a nutritious, versatile wheat product with a pleasant, nut-like flavor and an extended shelf-life that allows it to be stored for long periods.

Often confused with cracked wheat, bulgur differs in that it has been pre-cooked. For a humorous cartoon description of the steps involved in making bulgur wheat, click here. In contrast to cracked wheat, bulgur is ready to eat with minimal cooking or, after soaking in water or broth, can be mixed with other ingredients without further cooking. Bulgur can be used in recipes calling for converted rice (and it's more nutritious than rice).

Cover the bulgur with boiling water for 5 minutes.  Bulgur is cooked much in the same way as Couscous.  It’s a 2 to 1 water to bulgur ratio, therefore, to yield 1 cup cooked, you will need 1/2 cup uncooked and cover with boiling water for about 5 minutes.  Drain in fine colander.  Spread on paper towels to absorb any moisture (there is alot). 

Process lamb, bulgur, onion, spices, and flour in food processor until it forms a paste.  Season with salt and pepper, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

For filling, whip goat cheese with lemon juice.  Transfer to bowl and mix in herbs and pistachios.  Season with salt and pepper.

Put cheese mixture in plastic piping bag.  I used a ziplock bag because I don’t own any piping bags, it works just as well for this recipe. 

Form lamb mixture into medium to large sized meatballs.  Using a wet index finger, make a hole through the center of each meatball and gently work your finger to create a cavity for filling. 

Place goat cheese filling into each meatball until about 1/3 full and seal.  Smooth over any cracks with fingers.  Place on foil tray and refrigerate uncovered for about 1 hour.  By doing this, they will firm up slightly.

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Place meatballs on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for about 10 minutes or until cooked.  Serve with rice and a dollop of garlic yogurt dipping sauce (non-fat yogurt, 2 gloves garlic, 1 tsp Herbamare vegetable salt, fresh shopped chives).

While I was preparing dinner, I came across this cute sighting I just had to share.  Meet Misty and my man:

Ready for some dessert?  We were…

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MINI LAVA CAKES

Use dark chocolate that has been processed correctly for the best flavanol hit. 

• 1/4 cup  10 % cream
• 6 oz  dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance Butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup Sucanat Sugar
• 1/2 tsp  pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup  GF Flour Blend

Pour cream into small saucepan.  Add 2 oz chocolate.  Heat on low; slowly melt chocolate, stirring occasionally.  When chocolate is almost melted, remove from heat and stir till melted.  Pour into glass measuring cup and place in fridge.

Place 4 oz chocolate in clean, small saucepan.  Add butter; heat on low.  Melt slowly, stirring occasionally.  When chocolate is almost melted, remove from heat, and stir till melted.  Set aside.

In medium bowl, beat eggs with sugar for 5 minutes or until mixture is very thick.  Beat in vanilla.  Fold in melted chocolate.  Sift flour over the batter and fold in till well incorporated.

Grease 6 – 4oz ramekins with Pam spray.  Scoop chocolate batter into ramekins till half full. 

Drop in 1 heaping tsp of the cooled chocolate mixture.  Scoop remaining chocolate batter into ramekins.  Store in fridge for 2 hours or up to 1 day. 

To serve, preheat oven to 400F.  Remove ramekins from fridge.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes.  Run knife along edges and flip onto plate.  Serve with berries.  Serves 6.

Hope you enjoyed tonight’s blog post.  Got some great recipes to share this week, including dairy and gluten-free dinners. Keep checking back…I will not disappoint. 

And keep your comments coming.  I enjoy reading each and every one of them.   

Have a great Monday everyone. 

Bea

xoxo