Bacon wrapped turkey meatloaf with kale, apple and cheddar

This is the perfect meatloaf recipe. It combines all of the fall goodness into a tasty lean turkey meatloaf, with just a touch of sweetness from the apple, the tang of sharp cheddar, healthy kale and crispy bacon.

Hope you'll enjoy this as much as I did!



INGREDIENTS:
- 2lbs ground turkey
- 1 bunch of blanched kale
- 1 apple
- 4 oz aged cheddar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup ground flax seeds
- 4 strips of bacon
- 1 tsp each salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika (you can adapt to your taste)


RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 350F
- grate the apple, chop the blanched kale and cube the cheddar in 1/4 inch cubes
- in a bowl, add the spices and the egg to the ground turkey and mix well

- fold in the panko breadcrumbs, apple, kale and cheddar and mix until well incorporated

- shape the meatloaf in a greased form and wrap with the bacon strips

- bake for about 45 min, or until the internal temperature reads 165F

- enjoy!

Cabbage and salt pork peasant soup

This is the best soup to eat when it is freezing cold and you feel sick. So easy to make, super cheap and very hearty and warming.

Here's how to make it.



INGREDIENTS (4-6 people):
- 3 large yukon gold potatoes
- 1 large carrot
- 1 small head of green cabbage
- 1 large bunch of kale
- 1 medium onion
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 2 tbsp of butter
- 12 cups of liquid (I used water and 1 small pack of ham flavoring from Goya, but you can absolutely use vegetable broth or chicken broth)
- 1 small pack of salt pork, diced
- salt and pepper to taste (be conservative with the salt, as the pork will bring a lot of salt too!)



RECIPE:
- dice the onion, carrot, potatoes, cabbage and kale to bite-sized pieces

- in a large stockpot, melt the butter and saute the salt pork until golden

- then add the diced vegetables and your liquid of choice (I used only water at first and then spiked it with a pack of ham flavoring from Goya)

- bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low, cover and let it simmer for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through and the cabbage and kale are cooked to your liking

- serve hot with a slice of rustic sourdough to soak up all the flavorful juices :)
- enjoy!

Perfect mini-meatballs

Those versatile, delicious little balls of meat perfection are my favorite!

They are so easy to make, freeze beautifully and never get dry. You can use them in hearty soups and stews or on top of pasta lathered in tomato sauce. The mix can also be used in a meatloaf format.

I tell you: versatile and perfect.

Here's how I make them.


INGREDIENTS (for ~100 mini-meatballs):
- 1 lb ground beef (I used 80-20 mix)
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp granulated onions
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- some flour to dredge
- 1/2 cup chopped blanched kale (you can use 1/4 cup chopped parsley instead, I just happened to have this leftover frozen blanched kale and wanted to use it).



RECIPE:
- in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the flour and mix until well combined

- form into small balls (this batch yielded about 100 mini-meatballs for me)

- dredge in the flour and either use immediately or freeze.

Note: freeze the meatballs in a single layer, and transfer in a ziploc bag once they are frozen. This way they will not stick together.
- enjoy!

Fresh kale garganelli and lamb-shiitake bolognese

This is the best. Pasta. Ever!

Not only is it healthy with a bunch of fresh kale in the pasta dough (click here for the recipe) and lots of fresh meaty shiitake mushrooms in the sauce, the bolognese has this round, velvety taste from the lamb that will make you want to lick your plate!

Here's how you can make it!



INGREDIENTS (4 people):
- 1/2 to 1 quantity of fresh kale garganelli (click here for recipe)
- 1lb ground lamb
- 1 8oz bucket shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 onion, diced finely
- 4 cloves of garlic, grated
- 1 28oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 sprig of rosemary
- 1/4 cup of white wine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- parmesan cheese and basil leaves for decoration


RECIPE:
- in a large pan, brown the lamb in the olive oil over high heat, add the onion and garlic when the meat is cooked almost all the way and cook another 2 minutes (or until the onions are translucent)

- add the wine, rosemary, tomatoes and shiitake and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes, adding water if the sauce gets too thick or sticks to the bottom

- ladle over freshly cooked kale garganelli (or really any other type of pasta you fancy!)

- sprinkle with a healthy dose of freshly grated parmesan cheese and decorate with a few basil leaves
- trust me when I say this is probably the best pasta I've had in a few years and abandon yourself into the wave of deliciousness coming your way ;)

Fresh kale pasta

So a couple of weeks ago I bought a huge bunch of gorgeous fresh kale. The problem is that since I only cook for myself (most of the time), I can't go through fresh produce fast enough! Last week, and before it had time to wilt any further, I embarked on the colored-pasta train. You know those healthy spinach pasta everybody raves about? Well, I made uber-healthy kale pasta. Ha!


INGREDIENTS (will yield about 1 to 1.5 lb fresh dough):
- 300g AP flour
- 3 eggs (thought I'd only need 2 at first, but I had to add another one mid-recipe)
- a bunch of fresh kale
- a pinch of salt


RECIPE:
- remove the ribs of the kale and blanch the leaves 1 minute in salted boiling water (the leaves should remain a vibrant green and keep their crunch)

- drain, pat the kale dry and pulse a large handful in a food processor (yields about 1 cup of shredded blanched kale)

Note: if you have more kale than you have use for in this recipe, you can absolutely freeze blanched kale and use in another recipe (for example: Kale pesto, kale omelet or scrambled eggs or even use in a healthy chunky vegetable soup or minestrone).

- in a bowl combine kale, flour, salt and eggs and mix until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes kneading in a standing mixer with a hook attachment, or 10-15 with elbow grease)

- shape into a disc on a lightly floured surface and let rest in the fridge, wrapped in plastic for an hour

- when the dough has rested, put on a floured surface and roll it in a thin sheet (using a rolling pin or a pasta machine)

- shape into your favorite pasta shape: spaghetti, tagliatelle, parpadelle or you can use the whole sheets for a healthy green lasagna variation
- since Santa Claus brought me a gnocchi board for Christmas, I decided to shape mine into garganelli, a gorgeous ribbed short pasta: cut 1.5 inches squares and roll on the heavily floured board

Note: with this amount of dough, I only rolled out half of the recipe and yielded 4 servings of pasta. I froze the remaining dough wrapped in plastic and will use it another time.
- those pasta cook very fast (about 2-3 minutes in boiling salted water), they will rise at the surface when ready
- enjoy with your sauce of choice!