A Step into the German Kitchen- Koenigsberger Klopse

After the previous blog post German Apple Cake  it's time to post one of my favorite german dishes. While it reminds me of comfort food it fits the quick, easy and healthy categories!
The german name sounds a bit intimidating- Koenigsberger Klopse- which in English means plain and simple meatballs with gravy. Now, I am not going to explain all the history that's tied in with the name - there are plenty of blogs out in the blogosphere that do. Most recipes you will find use ground beef or ground pork or a mix.When you look for similar recipes you will find variations of the meatballs with the lemon tasty gravy using anchovies,white wine or heavy cream. I have been using for years the lean ground turkey meat which makes it a lighter version. And as long as you have the basic ingredients at home you can create this dinner within 20 minutes. It's also great to be prepared ahead for an even faster dinner. So enjoy a bit of German cooking.



For the meatballs:
1 lbs turkey ground meat (93% lean)
1 slice of bread soaked in water
1 small onion chopped
2 tablespoons of mustard
1 egg white( save the yolk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the gravy:
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
2 1/2 cups of broth from the meatballs
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons of milk
1 tablespoon of capers
juice from 1 lemon

1. Bring a pot of water to boil. While waiting for that add ground meat, onions, mustard, egg white and the bread (drain the water first), salt and pepper and mix all together with your hands.Then form small meatballs and add to the boiling water. Reduce to medium heat. It takes about 10 minutes until done.
Meanwhile mix egg yolk, milk, capers and lemon in a small bowl.

2. After the meatballs have been boiled take about 2 1/2 cups of the broth the meatballs are in and run it through a strainer. In a larger pan or pot add butter and flour and stir until nicely melted. Then add the broth and bring to boil. Stir. Add the egg-milk-lemon-caper mix and stir again. Let simmer. Finally add the meatballs to the gravy and let them "soak" in it for at least 5 minutes.

Serve with boiled potatoes.

A Keeper - Pasta with Chicken and Roasted Tomato Almond Pesto Sauce

The other day my husband sent me on a "hunt" for a red pasta sauce. We both love pasta but I have been cutting it out of our meal plans as it's so easy for me to eat more than one portion  of it - and when watching the calories it's sooo easy to add on to many of those with pasta dishes. Also,when buying marina sauces they usually come in  large containers which is more than we usually eat anyway. And I have not been really thinking about making a sauce from scratch.
My "hunt" started and I was determined to find a recipe with the ingredients we like, not to many special items to buy and still easy to make. And I found one on Eatingwell.com - again. I tested it first the other day with a small portion and knew immediately that my husband will love it as well. I made the sauce from scratch while preparing the spagetti and grilling some chicken. Including the frequent stops for taking the pictures for this blog I got the whole meal done in less than 30 minutes. And we both decided - this one is a keeper!

Roasted Tomato Almond Pesto Sauce
adapted from eatingwell.com

1 can 14.5 oz Fire Roasted Tomato sauce with Garlic
1/4 cup of sliced Almonds (bought in the bulkfood section- just a small amount)
1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon of red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese

1. Heat up a small pan and toast the almond slices for a couple minutes until they get slightly brown and you can smell them. Meanwhile open the can of tomatoes and drain them a bit.

2. Add the almonds in the food chopper or food processor and grind for a few seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, red wine vinegar, olive oil  and crushed pepper and run the processor again. Last but not least add the parmesan cheese.

Either transfer the sauce into a small sauce pot to heat up or refrigerate.You can also freeze it- although I highly doubt that you will have leftover.

When preparing the whole meal  here the time saver tips and the order of steps:
additional ingredients you will need:
whole wheat pasta - 2 oz per serving
1 chicken breast per serving
salt and lemon pepper

1. Prepare the chicken- remove any fat and flatten the chicken breast (I use a meat mallet).
    Cut in smaller pieces. Salt and pepper.
2. Start to boil a pot of water for the pasta.You can omit the salt.
3. Prepare the sauce while water starts boiling. Add pasta to the water and set timer for 6-7 minutes.
4. Heat up some olive oil in a pan and add chicken. It takes about 5-6 minutes to get it done as the meat is small.
5. Drain Pasta. Heat up sauce.
6. Serve and enjoy.

By doing the sauce yourself you are not really adding much more time than using a store bought sauce.

For friends and family - Spinach Stuffed Turkey Rouladen

Every now and then I cook for friends or family and so I spent a little bit more than my usual 30 minutes in the kitchen. I like to cook meals that can be prepared ahead of time and only require minimal action when cooking. This way I can enjoy the company. And - of course I try to make it still easy and healthy.
The stuffed turkey rouladen evolved actually from a stuffed chicken recipe my mother-in-law came up with. Sometimes I cook both as some people are just not into turkey.With a white wine infused gravy and some parmesan ovenroasted potatoes you will have a winner for a familiy or friends dinner night.
If timewise possible I prepare the turkey rouladen a day ahead so that it's ready to go in the oven. Just take about fifteen minutes after or while you prepare another dinner. Then the next evening it takes twenty minutes in the oven and dinner is ready to be served. Now, if you plan the oven roasted potatoes you gotta start those about twenty minutes earlier. But side by side in the oven they get done at the same time.
Gravy is just another 5 minutes and usually I serve the meal with some green green veggies just as asparagus or beans.That takes no time at all either.
All you have to do is watch the timer and enjoy a nice evening with friend or family.


Spinach Stuffed Turkey Rouladen:

2 pieces of turkey breast
10 oz of spinach - washed and chopped
1 slice of turkey bacon, cut in small pieces
1/4 onion chopped
1-2 tablespoons feta cheese
1-2 tablespoons Cheddar cheese (I use fat free cheddar)
2 slices of pepperjack cheese
salt
pepper
toothpicks


1. Cover the turkey breast with some clingwrap or other foil. Pound slightly. Separate the two pieces and remove the string in the middle and any fat. Lay out the pieces of meat and lightly salt and pepper on both sides. Put half a slice of pepperjack cheese on the meat.

2. Heat up a skillet pan with some olive oil spray and add the spinach, onion and bacon and sautee for a couple minutes. Then add the spinach mix in a bowl and add feta cheese and cheddar cheese. You can substitute the cheese with any you like or skip the cheese as you use already pepperjack.

3.Place a spoonfull of spinach mix on each of the meat pieces. Roll up and keep together with toothpicks. Wrap up in foil if prepared ahead a time and refrigerate. Cover a baking sheet with a double layer of alufoil- it gets messy during baking-lets of running cheese. Spray with Cooking spray and place rouladen on the sheet.

4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the rouladen in the oven for about 20 minutes. Broil for the last 2-3 minutes to get some crispyness, Dont worry that it looks like a lot of cheese running out. Still plenty in the rouladen and fabulous delicious.

For the ovenroasted potatoes:
Quarter some red potatoes- about 3 per serving.Place in a bowl, sprinkle with italian seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix with some olive oil . Cover a baking sheet with alufoil and layout potatoes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake for about 40 minutes. After 20 minutes in- sprinkle the potatoes with parmesan cheese.

White wine gravy:
2 tablespoons fine chopped onions
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon of Lime juice
salt

Sautee the onion  over medium heat, add white wine and simmer until reduced to half. Add the chickenbroth, worcestershire, mustard and lime juice.Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add a little bit salt to taste.