3-Meat Meatballs

I have tried using ground turkey to make meatballs but they tend to lack flavor.  The texture is more dense and you need to kick it up a notch by adding a lot of seasonings.  I even tried to mix turkey meat with beef – flavor was a lot better but still couldn’t satisfy my taste buds, that is until today when I made these meatballs with 3 types of meat (turkey, pork and beef).  The combination of meats create an amazing flavor and the meatballs are very juicy.  My kids finished their whole plate tonight.

Ingredients:

1 pound	Ground turkey (93% lean)
1 pound	Ground pork
1 pound	Ground beef (93% / 97% lean)
1	Egg (beaten)
1 cup	Ketchup
1/2 cup	Oatmeal
4 Tbsp	Dried chopped onion
2 1/2 Tbsp	Garlic powder
4 Tbsp	Light soy sauce
1 Tbsp	Brown sugar
2 tsp	Dried oregano
2 tsp	Black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix the pork, beef and turkey together thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. Stir in all seasoning, then add in beaten egg and mix well.  (pictures 1 and 2)
3. Stirr in oatmeal, you may want to crumble oatmeal with your hands and mix well.  (picture 3)
4. Shape meat into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle lightly with olive oil.  Bake for 20 minutes or until they are just barely cooked through and no longer pink inside.  Do not overbake.  (pictures 4 and 5)
5. Return meatballs directly in your pasta sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  My home made tomato basil sauce can be found here.

You can serve meatballs with spaghetti/pasta, make a meatball sandwich or just eat them with the tomato base sauce.

Lemon Ice Box Cake

There were two reasons I made this cake yesterday.  First, I wanted to make a cake for my mother-in-law and sister-in-law to celebrate Mother’s Day, however I did not want to spend too much time.  I’m a mother of three, so Mother’s day is also my day :-).  Second, I remembered that my co-worker gave me a bottle of limoncello liqueur which she bought in Italy.  So, I decided to make a lemon ice box cake (no bake cake).  One of my co-workers made this and brought it to the office, and it was a big hit, so I had to ask her for the recipe (I made a few changes from the original recipe).

This cake needs to sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight, until the cookies have softened.  So, you will need to plan ahead of time.  This cake is so delicious!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup	Heavy whipping cream
8 oz	Mascarpone cheese
90 g	Pure cane sugar / white sugar
1/4 cup	Limoncello liqueur
3 Tbsp	Fresh lemon juice
1 tsp	Vanilla extract
12 oz	Lemon wafer cookies
3	Zest of 3 lemons

Directions:

1. Prepare all ingredients. (Pictures 1-4)
2. Combine heavy whipping cream, mascarpone, sugar, limoncello liqueur, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl.  Mix on low speed to combine and then slowly raise the speed, whisk until it forms firm peaks.
3. Cut an 8-inch circle of parchment paper and lay it on the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan (this will help you remove the cake from the pan easier).  Begin with a layer of lemon wafer cookies, break cookies to fill spaces between cookies (I prefer just one layer) or overlap cookies to have a solid base. (Picture 5)
4. Add half of the filling and smooth with a spatula. (Picture 6)
5. Next, fill another layer of lemon wafer cookies. (Picture 7)
6. Fill the top of the cake with the rest of the filling and smooth with a spatula. (Picture 8)
7. Garnish with lemon zest curls. (Picture 9)
8. Cover and refrigerate overnight.  To serve, run a small sharp knife around the outside of the cake and remove sides of the pan.