meatballs

Soba Noodles With Sriracha Meatballs

Slow cooker Sriracha meatballs top healthy buckwheat soba noodles and fresh vegetables and herbs to make a simple Asian inspired salad that’s perfect for lunch or dinner.

Long noodle, long life. I’d say that’s a pretty great way to start the year’s resolutions off right.

I shared the recipe for these Slow Cooker Sriracha Meatballs a few weeks ago as a favorite meatball idea for sharing at the party. Which party? It doesn’t really matter WHICH party, because whenever these Asian-flavored babies show up it’s bound to be a party.

While I love these meatballs as an appetizer to share with friends, it is 100% acceptable, and in this case essential, that you be selfish and save the batch for yourself to top this fresh soba noodle salad. Or even better, make the meatballs JUST for this recipe to be sure nobody snacks up your leftovers before they make it to the main dish.

Get ready friends, it’s time to get your slurp on.continue to the recipe… about Soba Noodles With Sriracha Meatballs

Slow Cooker Sriracha Meatballs

Flavorful, tender pork meatballs are baked in the oven then cooked in an irresistible Sriracha-flavored sauce for an easy slow cooker appetizer everyone will love.

This post is in partnership with Kroger

What is it about meatballs at a party that makes everyone lose all self control?

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been at a buffet table where I’ve never not heard exclamations of delight at the mere sighting of a crockpot loaded with the little orbs of meaty bites. “Oh, those look good. I think I’ll have just one more.”

And one more.

And another.

So when Kroger asked me to create a recipe worthy of celebrating the New Year, I envisioned myself nibbling on noshes, and then I asked myself, “What is one more splurge I’m going to enjoy before the new year resolutions kick in?”

Little flavor bombs of meatballs it is.continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Sriracha Meatballs

Meatballs and Tomato Sauce With Andie Mitchell

These well-seasoned meatballs are incredibly tender, cooked directly in a thick tomato sauce. Serve with any tubular pasta for an easy dinner your whole family will love.

The first thing you notice when you meet author and food blogger Andie Mitchell is her 1,000-watt smile. The next thing you notice is her intense interest in you. YOU have all of her focus, all of her attention. It’s like the two of you are the only ones in the room.

That’s why Andie is a favorite among food bloggers, and, well, pretty much anyone who comes across her path.

Andie’s path isn’t your normal path. It’s been littered with strife, struggles and depression. But it’s also emerged as a path of victory, including her 130-pound weight loss story and her newly announced engagement to her life-long love. She’s the first to admit her path hasn’t been an easy one. But she’s determined. She’s authentic. And she’s she’s taking all of us along on her rocket ride of success.

We first featured Andie on FoodieCrush almost two years ago, sharing her incredible weight-loss journey as part of our “5 Food Bloggers’ Weight Loss Success Stories” piece.

Andie has a way with words. Whether it’s a personal anecdote, weight loss advice, a recipe written on her blog, (AndieMitchell.com formerly known as Can You Stay For Dinner) or while inspiring others online in her TED Talk, Andie is honest and relatable and a documenter of real life when she shares her own vulnerabilities and experiences.

Last year we devoured her moving memoir and New York Times Best Seller It Was Me All Along, so it’s only fitting that we would love her new cookbook, Eating in the Middle: A Mostly Wholesome Cookbook, beautifully photographed by the talented Aran Goyoaga, of Cannelle et Vanille.

Andie’s cookbook is chockfull of stunning photography and 80 healthy (but not too virtuous) recipes, all of which we want to stuff our faces with, including her family favorite PJ’s Meatballs and Sauce that you’ll find at the end of this interview. So, let’s dig in.

continue to the recipe… about Meatballs and Tomato Sauce With Andie Mitchell

Baked Turkey Meatballs with Creamy Polenta and Marinara

These heathy, easy to make meatballs are made lighter with lean ground turkey, spinach, and fresh herbs, then baked up and served with creamy polenta and zesty marinara for a restaurant-worthy meal at home!

Bikini season is right around the corner. Make that tankini season for this girl. I’m smart enough to realize I’m no Demi Moore and my bikini days are over.

Making small changes for a little healthier eating and working toward a bit of scale tipping in the opposite direction of up is what’s on my agenda. And easy. I want easy meals whenever I can get them but not at the expense of freshness and taste.

This year I’m pleased to be working again with DeLallo Foods whose products I purchased even before our partnership began, making it all the easier to profess my fondness for them and show how I use some of their favorite products.

This recipe for Baked Turkey Meatballs is a mash up of store bought and homemade, with herb filled, from-scratch meatballs that are finished off with DeLallo Foods’ jarred Pomodoro Fresco Marinara and their Instant Polenta. The combo makes for an incredibly easy, fresh and fast weeknight dinner.

And simply because you won’t be able to tell the difference, it’s on the healthy side too.

continue to the recipe… about Baked Turkey Meatballs with Creamy Polenta and Marinara

Skinny Slow Cooker Kale and Turkey Meatball Soup

This healthy spin on classic Italian Wedding Soup is made lighter with turkey meatballs, white beans, and plenty of kale, all in a light and comforting broth.

We’re all feeling it, aren’t we? It wouldn’t be the New Year without focusing on cleaning up, clearing out and and cleansing from tip to toe.

Keeping with my new year tradition every single year, I’m taking advantage of my healthy resolve and I’m eating clean. This week. And maybe next. With just a side of butter and maybe a bite or six of cheese. And please, don’t hold it against me if there’s a nibble of chocolate here and there.

Balance, it’s the new black.

In thinking about eating strategies and menu planning, I still have cravings that need to be filled. Savory but simple. Filling and fortifying.

And can we make it in the slow cooker please?

continue to the recipe… about Skinny Slow Cooker Kale and Turkey Meatball Soup

Tabasco Chicken Meatballs in a Spicy Tomato and Apricot Sauce

This post is sponsored by Tabasco. Thanks for supporting companies I believe in, which allows me to create more unique content and recipes for you.

Spicy? Yes. Tasty? For sure. Trendy? Absolutely, since 2013 is the year of the meatball. So let’s talk about Tabasco Chicken Meatballs in a Spicy Tomato and Apricot Sauce.

We’re on recipe number two of the Tabasco 10 Ingredient Challenge, where I’ve been tasked with making 5 recipes using just 10 ingredients. Obviously Tabasco is at the top of the list, with the rest of the challenge ingredients listed here.

My first recipe was Tabasco Brined Chicken Drumsticks. An appetizer, a main meal, kind of whatever you want to make of it.

My second and third recipes are for eating in little bites, with a taste here and a taste there. And that makes kicked up meatballs with a spicy sauce the perfect meal for a nosher like me.

Creating a recipe for meatballs using simple and basic ingredients as the girth of this recipe was my starting point. Quality ingredients are always my secret to a great dish so the best Parmesan cheese you can buy acts as the binder, with green onion and Tabasco lending the flavor building blocks.continue to the recipe… about Tabasco Chicken Meatballs in a Spicy Tomato and Apricot Sauce

Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken Meatballs and Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe

I’m not Jewish. But I am definitely a matzo ball lover.

It all started with late night jaunts to the classic Canters Deli where I became an obsessive fan of matzo ball soup with all the fixins’: noodle, matzo ball, kreplach, chicken and carrots. What the crap is a kerplach you ask? It’s sort of a jewish tortellini and pretty darned good.

But oh, THE BROTH. That delicious broth that brought me back to my senses in those wee late night hours. If only I could replicate it—the broth, not the late hours. But I’m no Jewish mother—although my husband will say I do have the stereotypical tendencies. Sadly, those secret, Old World ways of chicken broth making may never make it to my stove.

But I do have a delicious recipe that hits home and curbs my matzo ball craving every time. And what better time to share with you than in celebration of Passover and Easter weekend. Yum. You’ll soon be a believer.

continue to the recipe… about Matzo Ball Soup with Chicken Meatballs and Homemade Chicken Broth Recipe