Gnocchi Al Forno (and the Broiler virgin)

Kellie from Pansies Posies Sweet Tea shared with me her Gnocchi Al Forno with Spinach & Italian Turkey - Kellie Style recipe and since my hubby is a gnocchi fan, I decided to try it out myself, especially since it contains ground turkey and Neufchatel cheese! Yum-o! I changed some of the ingredients around but not much. I didn't have Italian seasoning per say, so I used some oregano, basil, and onion and garlic seasonings. And I also topped it off with a sprinkle of shredded mozzarella cheese as well. Hey, I love cheese, what can I say!


I have to say I was a bit nervous about using the broiler. I've never used it before and have heard horrifying rumors that it can blow up, don't walk away from it, can burn your face, leave it open an inch- hence my anxiety with even pressing the broiler button! I asked Kellie for some help and if you could have seen our text messages going back and forth yesterday about her calming me down about the silly broiler. Alas, I used it, and succeeded without a burn mark, house blowing up, or burnt food! 


The starting line up is:

• 1 Pkg Gnocchi ( I used Bellino, only $1.99)
  
• 1 Pkg ground turkey (approx. 1 - 1.5 lbs.)
• 1 Jar of choice Marinara (I actually made my first marinara using Giada De Laurentis recipe)
• 4 oz. Fresh Spinach, roughly torn
• 8 oz. Neufchatel Cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese), Room Temp.
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese (I used BelGioioso )
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Garlic Salt to taste
• Oregano to taste
• Basil to taste
• onion and garlic seasoning to taste
• Drizzle of  Olive Oil
• Salt/Pepper to taste

Add a drizzle of olive oil to frying pan on Med. High Heat. Add Turkey Meat and seasonings/spices to taste (ie. Garlic Salt/Oregano, Basil, OnionGarlic seasoning/Salt & Pepper), cook all the way through, drain the fat, then turn down to low heat and add jar of marinara, cover and let simmer. 

In a seperate pot, boil well salted water and add Gnocchi. Boil Gnocchi for approx. 2 minutes until Gnocchi floats to the top, drain and set aside. 

Add torn spinach to your turkey & marinara then cover for approx 2-3 min until spinach is slightly wilted.

Preheat your oven on the High Broil setting. (Make sure oven rack is 6-8 in from heating element)

Combine Gnocchi with your Turkey, Spinach and Marinara mixture, mix well. Empty contents of this mixture into a 10 - 12 in. pie plate or baking dish. (I used a a baking dish)

Take a spoon and add "blobs" of Neufchatel cheese all over the top of your baking dish mixture. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top of everything and then sprinkle the mozzarella on top for another layer of deliciousness. Place into the broiler for approx 3-5 min or until top is golden brown and bubbly! Serve with some garlic bread and a glass of wine, and you have dish that is absolute Italian divine!

*I did leave my oven open an inch with my eyes on it for those 4 minutes it was in there, it browns quickly!

Cloudy with a bowl of Turkey Meatballs

As I train for the April Fool's 11k run in Atlantic City, I've been spending time at the gym running after work since I keep hitting snooze on my alarm clock in the morning. So I've had to prepare my grocery list and coordinate schedules with Ant to figure out what time I'd be home to make a healthy dinner that wasn't making us sit down at 9pm at night. So I actually took the time last week and spent time perusing my favorite cooking blogs and websites to figure out our dinner menu for the upcoming week by using simple quick recipes but with a dash of culture. I've got to say that if you have time to pre plan your dinner menu the week prior, not only does it make your grocery shopping more efficient and dinner planning easier, but you also avoid stopping at the grocery store every other day if you forgot something from the weekend. Not to mention saves on gas, especially with the prices rising right now, eeek! Sorry, I digress...

Sooooo yesterday was my take on Kraft's Mexican Enchiladas and tonight was Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping sauce from www.skinnytaste.com and was so super simple and very easy to follow...
I added more panko bread crumbs then it called for since my mixture was still too wet from the egg, added two extra cloves of garlic (I can't help it!), and as I'm typing my blog post this very minute and looking over the recipe again, I realised that I actually forgot the ginger (ha)!  It took me about 10 minutes of prep and 15 minutes to cook. I also paired this with some white rice and the dipping sauce was phenominal. I love the fresh clean crisp taste of the cilantro and when mixed with the turkey meat, it's not overpowering as one would think when you think cilantro. At any rate, we have enough leftovers for tomorrow night if need be. Check out the recipe below and again another thumbs up recipe from Ginas Skinny Recipes

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 4 • Size: 3 meatballs • Old Points: 6 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 229.1 • Fat: 11.1 g • Carbs: 8.5 g • Protein: 24.3 g

• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce

• 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 chopped fresh scallion

Preheat oven to 500°F.

Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.

Serve meatballs with remaining sauce, about 1 tbsp per person. You'll have leftover sauce, trust me!

Makes 12 meatballs

Thanks Gina!