Red Sauce and Turkey Meatballs

Today I made some wonderful red sauce vegan style. It had all the good stuff in it. Fresh herbs, dried herbs, spices and lots of garlic and some pureed veggies. It was quite tasty. I have been making that sauce for a few years now. The interesting thing was the turkey meatballs. I have never used turkey for meatballs before. I love the beef /pork/lamb meatballs. This time I used ground turkey and did roughly the same thing as I usually would. They were great. The kids ate them, Janine liked them and all in all it was good.

Zesty Vegan Red Sauce

1 gallon of tomato sauce ( I get the Contadina brand from Sam's Club for like 3 bucks a gallon)
1 large onion
10 garlic cloves
1 red pepper
2 cups of fresh parsley
1 cup of fresh basil
2 tablespoons of oregano
1/3 cup of sugar (you may want more the sauce can be a little bit acidic)
3 tablespoons really good Balsamic Vinegar
2 cups of water
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
1 tbl of smoked paprika

Puree the veggies and fresh herbs with the garlic.
Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan and ad the puree.
I let this cook and bubble for about 10 minutes stirring frequently to keep it from burning ( the liquid evaporates quickly)
Add the tomato sauce and let it simmer for about 1 hour or so. You want to make sure that it cooks for a while otherwise the onion and the garlic will be really y sharp.
Add the spices and balsamic when you add the sauce. Sugar to taste. Oh and don't forget the salt. Salt to taste.

Turkey Meatballs

3lbs of ground turkey
1 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tsp dried oregano
6 cloves of garlic chopped fine
1 egg
1 tbsp basil paste

Mix in large bowl all of the ingredients. Add the egg last. Be sure to salt and pepper. roll out small meatballs about 2 inches in size. place on a cookie sheet that has aluminum foil that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. ( I like Pam) put in a 375 pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes take the cookie sheets out and turn each meatball over. Put back in for another 20 minutes.

This will feed a ton of people too. We had guests over so there were 6 kids and 3 adults. We were all satisfied. Prob could have used more pasta but oh well.

You can freeze the sauce and meatballs FYI. Take 'em out in the morning and warm up a quick meal one night next week or so.

The sauce in the picture was made with pork spare ribs.  I didn't have a pic from today to post.

Turning Over Stones

When I was a kid I used to love to play in the creek that ran behind the orphanage where i lived. It was one of those places that the rest of the world did not exist. Just the good old out doors and nature. Jimmy, this other kid that lived at the orphanage at the same time and i would go out in the creek and play all day. we would build dams, pummel each other with cat tails, and turn over stones.

When we turned over stones we were always filled with anticipation and wonder about what might be under the stone, maybe it would be a crawdad, a salamander, or a snake even. Crawdads were fun we learned how to pick them up behind their pincers so they could not pinch us. Salamanders were the best because those suckers were fast. i remember this bright red salamander once. it was the coolest thing. It seemed to just look at me from my palm experiencing me as I was experiencing him. it was the first "god moment" i can recall.

But snakes were the always a possibility. They would scare the crap out of us. I must say Jimmy and I turned over hundreds of rocks many times going back to the same ones because something new might show up. Fear of the unknown did not scare us away from turning over stones. Come what may snakes were not that common and we were alert and ready.

Spiritually speaking life seems to be a bit like playing in that old creek. I keep turning over rocks never knowing what is likely to show up. The crawdads that I am encountering are people who are protecting themselves with hard shells and snappers. Quite a few of them seem to be transforming into wonderful people and are joining the rest of us orphans as we turn over stones. Some stones need more than one traveler to get them to move. Some are just to heavy and we will never know what sleeps rests under them.

The salamanders are slippery folks who seem to be able to move fast and are curious about seeing the world and experiencing what comes their way. The red or special salamander type folks are not afraid . They know who to trust and go with the flow. Salamanders seem to be able to boogy through life with a permanent smile on their face no matter if it's heavy weather or a sunny day.

Now to the snakes. I don't run into too many of them but they are there. they have their own axe to grind. They are full of double talk about caring and concern but in the end they do not want you to be free for the sake of being free. they want to tell you which rocks to turn over and which rocks not to turn over. They definitely do not want you hanging out with salamanders and those former crab like folks.

In our creek Jimmy and I new where we could find almost anything. We would drink right from the stream too. i never got sick from it once. the water was sweet. and refreshing. I remember it well. Drinking now
from the spiritual stream or path the water is proving to be sweet and refreshing just like when i was a kid.

When I quiet my mind and turn the thinking off i seem to operate at a deeper level than when i am fighting against the current muddying the waters. I don't really feel like an orphan anymore. I am connected to the creek to the others like Jimmy. We share the similar experiences but never the same because the stream is always flowing. Covered in mud and sharing smiles we enjoy the place where the rest of the world just doesn't seem to exist.

I am excited to see what waits under the next stone, perhaps a new wonderful treasure or nothing at all. Either way i will keep turning over stones.

Going to the Market and Getting My Fix On

Bouncing like Tigger from the minivan toward the market door with little Jen in hand I am so excited. I am going shopping for groceries. I love shopping for groceries. It is relaxing and almost to the point of meditation. The Kiefer family gets its nourishment from the supermarket most of the time. We frequent Bellevue Kroger. It's brand new and awesome. They have everything just about.

Finding great deals on things is fun. I have the whole face recognition thing going on various workers there. The produce guy answers my questions about this kiwi verses that kiwi and why do these organic veggies look sick compared to those? The counter lady at the deli offers me samples and chats me up a little bit, telling me I might like this if I like that. I don't see her do this with anyone else. The butcher and I have a thing going on too. If it is the tall goofy guy he usually will talk to me and ask what I am cooking. We chat it for minute and I find out what's on sale and good. He has saved me some money too. The cheese guy is this old hippy. he cuts the cheese. (LOL, i couldn't resist.) He places the samples of really nice cheese out for folks. I usually ask for a taste of some pecorino,  gruyere or something that he doesn't have out and he always cuts me off a nice bite. They are really helpful and engaging people who make the journey to the supermarket interesting and fun.

I've been going to the store these days with a budget in mind. So much so I go with cash only. I really like the fun of making my money work for me too. By cutting back on this item I can get that fancy item. Last week I went over budget 25 cents. This week I came home with money to spare. I crack myself up. In my younger years I would buy everything and just blow through cash like it was no big deal. But now like snoop says,"Iv'e got my mind on my money and my money on my mind."

Today, I picked up some chocolate pudding. Janine and I are doing the no carb thing and trying to cut out the sugars. We were chocolate ice cream addict/eaters,getting our boost on almost every night. We miss our bowl of loving goodness. When I got home Janine and Josh flew out to his swim meet and I stayed home with the girls. Little girls in bed, it's time to make the pudding. Once we get the big kids to bed my sweet and I will relax and have something close to our evening fix.

I had to Dr. it up a little of course. Here is what I did and I must say just a little tweek and wow this is really good and maybe we have a winner here. Janine will be the judge.

Box of Jello Chocolate Pudding

Follow the directions. 3 cups of milk and stir. I deviated by using one cup of half and half in place of one of the cups of milk and adding a tablespoon of cocoa. I whisked it up for 2 minutes and wow this tastes really good. 

Give it a try and let me know what you think. I know it's not totally fat free with the added half and half but let me tell you this, a junkie will get their chocolate fix.


BTW I have lost about 10 lbs. and Janine has lost... I think it best to keep that confidential.