The Scaled Sunday Meal - Cooking for the week with Eggplant and Turkey

The key to a good Sunday Scale Meal is something that's easy to make a lot of, something that's healthy, and something you don't mind eating a number of days in a row. For this recipe, I decided to use Middle Eastern flavors and eggplant at the core of the meal, and top it with a hearty ground turkey mix that is very customizable and a great source of protein. The result was a super flavorful meal that was a delight to eat for lunches throughout the week.

I started by coating the halved eggplants with olive oil and za'atar, which is a middle eastern spice mix of herbs and sesame seeds. You can likely find za'atar at your local market or a specialty food store. I roasted the eggplants for about 45 minutes at 380 until the flesh was easily shredded with a fork. For the stuffing, I cooked quinoa, and sauteed ground turkey meat with onions, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, and green onion and added feta, salt and pepper once it was done cooking.

Roasted Middle Eastern Eggplant with Turkey and Quinoa Stuffing
Serves 2 for the week

Ingredients
4 large eggplants, halved
2 lbs ground turkey (ideally dark meat as it's moister)
1 large red pepper, chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
4-5 green onions, chopped
1 cup quinoa
1 1/3 cups chicken broth
1 cup crumbled feta
2 tbsp za'atar
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
(Optional: Greek Yogurt and chopped parsley)

To Cook:

1. Preheat the oven to 380
2. Rub the eggplants with olive oil and za'atar
3. Roast the eggplant for 45 minutes, until the flesh is fork tender
4. Bring the quinoa and chicken broth to a boil and then cook, covered, on low for 20 minutes until all of the liquid is absorbed
5. Sautee the turkey in 1-2 tbsp olive oil in a large pot on medium high until cooked through and then remove in a large bowl
6. Sautee onion, pepper, and tomato in the pot for 6-8 minutes on medium high until onion begins to become translucent
7. Reduce heat to low and add turkey back in along with the quinoa, green onion, salt, pepper, and feta and toss so mixture is thoroughly mixed
8. If the mixture is a little dry, add a little chicken broth
9. Serve the mixture on the eggplant with a dollop of greek yogurt sprinkled with za'atar and chopped parsley

For Storage, make individual containers with an eggplant half and turkey topping for easy reheating throughout the week.

Cornish Hens with Duck Fat Potatoes and Herb Roasted Brussel Sprouts

The other night, we had some friends over for dinner and wanted to make a meal that was both visually appealing and full of rich flavors. When I went to the market and saw Cornish Game Hens, I thought they would be perfect for the meal: playful, good for a crowd, and super tasty.

Salmon Burger with Kale Chips

Sometimes you just want a burger when you know you shouldn't have one. The craving is something that happens to many people, and in most cases, you'll justify succumbing to the urge to indulge.
"I deserve it!"
"I've eaten healthy all day!"
"If I put lettuce on it, it's like a salad, right?"

...

WRONG!

But, my friends, I have a solution that's delicious and much healthier than a beef burger: salmon burgers! These are pretty simple to make, and while they don't have the same juiciness as beef, they pack a lot of flavor, and go really well with a wide variety of sauces and toppings. For this meal, I made salmon burgers in pita pockets with avocado, lettuce, and tomato with sundried tomato pesto and kale chips.

Grilled Green Shark: Pesto Mako

Grilling fish in the summer is the best way to bring out the rich natural flavors of any fish and celebrate warm weather. In Cape May for Memorial Day weekend, we saw Mako Shark at the Lobster House Fish Market and picked some up. We bought 3 steaks to share and brought them home for a quick and easy meal. Mako is actually an overfished seafood, so buy with care, but we figured it was a vacation and a rare purchase. Mako tastes a lot like swordfish, but is a little more moist and has a milder flavor. 

I'm Back! Soft Shell Crabs

Why hello there! It's been almost 5 months since my last post... I promised to come back in January, and then I let the blog fall out of my routine. To my readers, I am very sorry for disappearing for so long. Life has seemed to pick up pace in 2013, and what was meant to be days between recipes quickly turned into months. If you'll find it in your food blog reading hearts to forgive me, I'll try to get back into the groove and post more regularly.

Smooth Cauliflower Soup

I love cauliflower. It's a vegetable that looks like the bland cousin of broccoli and is often a second thought when thinking of what vegetable to make. What people miss when overlooking this species of brassica oleracea (same family as broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, and collard greens) is a rich and smooth vegetable that is great roasted, fried, steamed, or in this case, included as the main part of a soup. In this recipe, I found a way to turn this white, floral looking veggie into a smooth and creamy soup that is simple, basic, and delicious. The dish only has 3 main components and takes less than an hour to prepare. I recommend this for those looking for a healthy soup that is big on flavor and simple to prepare.

Healthy Gameday: Cabbage Wedge Salad

The wedge salad is generally more of a steakhouse standard than a football snack, but I made one for a football game and it was delicious, so perhaps bars should rethink their menu strategy from a salad perspective. In addition to being a steakhouse standard, the wedge salad is also notoriously low on any nutritional value. The classic wedge is made up of a thick wedge of iceberg lettuce (which isn't unhealthy, but as far as lettuces go, it's not the most nutrient rich), blue cheese dressing, and bacon. For a healthier take, I made a roasted wedge of cabbage, with Greek yogurt and blue cheese dressing, with a bit of bacon for flavor. 

Healthy Gameday: Baked Wings

Wings are the classic "you know they're terrible for you but you love eating them" food. I personally can't turn down wings, especially when watching a football game. Last winter, when my beloved Pats were in the AFC Championship against the Ravens, I made a recipe very similar to this one. This version is much simpler to make and was inspired when I saw this recipe on the "Just a Taste" blog. I didn't mess with the recipe too much, but added a dipping sauce and adjusted the timing of the wings as well.

Healthy Gameday: Sweet Potato Nachos

Football. Healthy? Not usually. The usual game day fare is made up of nachos, wings, fries, and all sorts of artery clogging deliciousness. To try and capture the flavors of gameday without incurring the post eating guilt, I decided come up with a series of healthy versions of football classics. The first in the series of healthy bar food alternatives replaces pulled pork nachos in the form of sweet potato nachos.

My Return to Ty's Kitchen! Shrimp, Scallop, and Leek Chowder

I'm back! After a far too long hiatus and a less than inspired year at Ty's Kitchen, I've returned to make the blog better than ever. New recipes, ideas and hopefully a lot more interaction with YOU, my readers! To kick off the year, I wanted to share a delicious and easy recipe for a seafood chowder that would be good any time of the year. I had frozen some scallops and shrimp from Cape May that I picked up a couple months back and was looking for a fun way to use them. I decided on making a scallop, shrimp and leek chowder that would remind me of summer in the cold months and also provide a rich and warming dish for a cold winter's night.

Quick Dish - Quick Post: Swordfish on Flavor Filled Corn

A very simple dish which I made this summer was grilled swordfish on a bed of corn peaches and sage.  The brevity of the post reflects the speed of the dish (I made it so fast, we didn't get in any pictures!)

All I did was rub the fish with some salt and pepper, and grill it for about 7 minutes a side until the flesh bounced back to the touch. For the corn salad, I halved and peeled a peach and grilled it alongside the corn, which I had shucked and rubbed with olive oil. Once they were cooked, I cut the kernels off of the cob, chopped up the peach, and finely chopped some sage. I mixed the three with a little salt and pepper and served the fish on top. In total the meal took about 20 minutes to make, and the flavors were bold and unexpected! Highly recommended for a quick dinner that will impress.

Grilled Peaches and Pork

No matter the season, a grill brings out the best flavors in ingredients. Whether meat or vegetable or even fruit, putting food on the grill creates a unique smoky and charred flavor that can't be truly replicated indoors. For this dish, I married sweet, caramelized peaches with rich smoky pork to create a sweet and savory blend of flavors the exemplified why grilling is such a good method of cooking. Along with some grilled corn and a fresh fennel, orange, and arugula salad this meal was a grilled summer classic.

Lasagna: Revamped for Summer

One normally thinks of lasagna as a warm, hearty winter meal. Usually made with a tomato sauce, loaded with meat, cheese, a good lasagna can warm you even on the coldest nights. I decided to throw this common expectation of lasagna on its head, and make a fresh summer lasagna, featuring veggies and herbs associated with the warm summertime.

Grilled Whole Trout with Orzo Salad and Spinach

As I always say, the best method of cooking in the summertime is grilling. In the summer, the produce is plentiful, the fish is fresh, and grilling is the best way to feature simple, delicious flavors in a beautiful way. I was on Martha's Vineyard for this meal, and we picked up some fresh whole trout, tomatoes, fennel, and spinach. All healthy, fresh ingredients that have bold flavors which don't need much else to shine.

Buffalo Steak Salad

Sometimes a simple salad can be a beautiful, elegant, and delicious meal that's both hearty and satisfying. In the summer months, people rarely want to sweat away in the kitchen, and this dish has minimal cooking time with great results. Mixing bright summer vegetables with lean steak and nutty parmesan makes for a tasty mix of flavors that combine for the right balance that's healthy and satisfying.

Brussel Sprout Carbonara

 

Brussel sprouts and bacon... Are you lovers from opposite families, a la Romeo and Juliet? Are you unlikely partners like Starsky and Hutch, one straight laced, one a little wild, but both focused on getting the job done? Are you soul mates, destined to be together no matter the obstacle? Whatever you are, you work beautifully together! A simple Italian dish that relies heavily on the inclusion of bacon is pasta carbonara. I decided to bring in bacon's old friend brussel sprouts into this classic dish to make for a fun twist on a classic dish. The result was a colorful and flavorful pasta dish that was as fun to make as it was to eat.

Nori Wrapped Tuna

Nori, the seaweed used to wrap sushi rolls, is generally thought to be a one trick pony, if it's even thought of at all. People generally come across it as an addition to a sushi and ramen, but beyond that, one rarely sees use for it. I had bought a package of nori sheets to make sushi awhile back, and after reading a post about a nori crusted steak on Rooftop Gourmet I decided to use it with some fresh tuna steaks. It's surprisingly tasty on it's own. It has a very subtle salty flavor and has a lot of vitamins and other dietary benefits, so it makes for an interesting and healthy addition to a meal.

Chicken and Spinach Burritos

I've recently been very into chicken and spinach burritos from this tiny hole in the wall Mexican place in the East Village called Downtown Bakery on 1st Ave. It's a very simple burrito, but for some reason it's the perfect balance of healthy and unhealthy that you want from a burrito. Because much of recipe inspiration comes from what I eat out, I decided to make my own take on the chicken and spinach burrito.

Roasted Vegetable and Pesto Pasta with Seared Scallops

One of the more versatile and flavorful sauces that you can make is pesto. Pesto is an italian sauce used on pasta, sandwiches, meats, fish, hors d'oeuvres, and anything else you can think of. Classic pesto recipes use basil and pine nuts as the main components, but you can use any herbs or greens you like such as cilantro, parsley, arugula, or even kale along with any type of nut. I've made pistachio cilantro and arugula and almond pestos, and any variation you make will have a different personality depending on which components you use. For a healthy pasta dish, I decided to make a basil pine nut AND walnut pesto (I know, I'm a wild man...) with roasted vegetables and seared scallops.

Veal Chops and Purple Potatoes

If you are ever looking for a rich, impressive meal that's a little off the normal menu, you should pick up some veal chops and purple potatoes. Veal is a very tender beef, that, while a controversial subject in the animal rights circles, is always delicious. The most common cuts of veal are thin cutlets used in scallopine or parmesan, but the cut I enjoy most is a thick veal chop. A veal chop lies somewhere between a pork chop and a steak on the flavor and tenderness scale. It's also a very lean meat, so it's healthier than having a heavy steak. When cooked well, the veal has a softer taste than a rich steak, and is much more tender and juicy than most pork chops. For this dish, I paired 2 thick cut veal chops with a red wine braised mushroom and celery sauce and some mashed purple potatoes. Purple potatoes are a beautiful heirloom variety of potato that is much healthier than normal white fleshed potatoes because of their high level of antioxidants. They are also visually striking and make for a very unexpected side to a dish.