Two-in-One Recipe: Meatballs and Meatloaf

It is pretty typical for us to be making dinner around 8pm, so having things ready to heat up makes things much easier. About  a year ago, we posted our Meatball Potpies, which are still a favorite in our house. If we make them on a Sunday, when we have more time, leftovers on Monday are a great way to kick off the week. To keep things easy later in the week,  we have learned that while we are taking the time to make the turkey mixture for the meatballs, we may as well double the recipe and use the rest to make a turkey meatloaf.

To mix things up, once the meatballs are rolled and in the pan, we add some diced bell pepper and BBQ sauce to the turkey, then place in a covered loaf pan to bake later in the week. I have also frozen the meatloaf both cooked and uncooked to have on hand for another time. If you freeze uncooked, just be sure to thaw in the fridge for a day or two in advance so the baking time is quicker.

Ingredients:

2 lb ground turkey (I use 1 lb extra lean and 1 lb lean for added flavor)
1/2 small onion or 2 shallots, diced
1- 2 eggs
1/2 - 3/4  cup bread crumbs (depending on how wet your mixture is)
Salt and pepper
Sprinkle of nutmeg
follow the rest of the recipe for the meatball potpies

Once the meatballs have been made, add 1/4 - 1/2 diced bell pepper (any color) and BBQ sauce to taste (about 1/4 - 1/3 cup) and press the mixture into a greased loaf pan. drizzle more BBQ sauce on top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, until cooked through.

Lindsay's Candied Ale

Finally- a long overdue beer post! We have been really in to brewing seasonal beers over the past year, starting with our summer 2012 brew, Lobster Tale Ale. Last winter, Lindsay decided the beer would be one that incorporated the spices of the season. And so, Lindsay's Candied Ale was born. We found one of these tucked in the fridge, and it is just as tasty on a foggy San Francisco summer day as it was during the holidays.

Recipe for 5 Gallons: 

Adapted from the Brooklyn Brew Shop's Beer Making Book- Gingerbread Ale

4 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves
2 Tbsp candied ginger
2 whole nutmegs, grated
7 lbs malt extract
3 oz Cascade hops (1 oz @ 60 min, 1/2 oz at 30 min, 1/2 oz at 15 min, and 1 oz at 5 min)
English ale yeast

Seared Ahi Wraps

The past two months have been filled with wedding planning, save-the-date making, and an amazing trip across the pond (more on that in another post). For those that don't know, Kevin planned a surprise trip to Kauai for us back in February and it was on that trip that he proposed. Now, 5 months to the day,  I thought it fitting share a recipe that was inspired by that trip.

We ate a few of our meals at Dukes Kauai, and the seared Ahi wrap was incredible. When we returned to San Francisco, we of course missed the beach and the sunsets, but the Ahi wrap!, we missed that too. So, here is our attempt to recreate it. It is a pretty good copy cat wrap when the craving hits, but if you get a chance to try the real thing, we highly recommend it!

Ingredients: (for 2 wraps)

1/2 lb Ahi Tuna

2 whole wheat tortillas (brown rice work well if you are gluten free)

1 cup cooked brown rice (we use the pre-cooked frozen kind from TJs)

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1/4 cup seaweed flakes (also from TJs)

Avocado, sliced

olive oil

salt and pepper

optional- wasabi paste

Directions:

Heat a pan and drizzle enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom. Season the Ahi with salt and pepper and place in the pan. Cook 3-4 minutes each side, until tuna is cooked to your liking.

While the fish is cooking, heat the tortillas and stir the sesame oil and seaweed flakes into the cooked rice. If using wasabi paste, stir together and set aside.

In each tortilla, layer the rice, fish, avocado and wasabi paste. Roll like a burrito and cut in half. We served with a salad of cucumber and carrots tossed with a little rice vinegar, salt and pepper.

If you make extra, these hold up surprisingly well for lunch the next day.

Enjoy!