Turkeylicious Albondiga Soup

I MADE IT TO THE FINALS!  
My name is Virginia and this is my entry to the Fresh and Easy meal idea video contest
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Garbanzo Beans aka Chickpeas - Crunchy Snack

I’m having a moment! 

I need a crunchy, easy, healthy, full of fiber, satisfying snack!

Garbanzo Beans?  Spicy savory garbanzo beans, give them a try.  Make them and keep some crunchy garbanzo beans on hand in your pantry or your office drawer.  That’s if they make it to a container once you get them out of the oven.  These are soooo good.  

Ingredients 

• 2 - 15 ounce cans of Garbanzo Beans – No Salt Added
• 1 tbsp of Olive Oil
• 2 tsp Chili Powder
• ½ tsp Ground Ginger
• ¼ tsp Garam Masala (Indian Spice Mix-easily found in all major supermarkets)
• 1 tsp Mediterranean Sea Salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.  Drain & rinse the beans under cold water.  Place them on paper towels and roll them and pat them until they are completely dry.  In a medium sized bowl, toss all ingredients together starting with your olive oil.  Add the rest of the ingredients and toss until all the garbanzo beans are evenly coated with the spices.

Toss onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes or until they're crunchy.

Serve and Enjoy!

Beef Stew with Guinness

I looked at many recipes before I decided to just make my own version of Irish Style Beef Stew.  Some recipes called for wine and beer, some for thyme and basil and some for parsley.  I bought the thyme and ended up forgetting about it in the fridge.  I have basil in my pantry and forget to add that as well.  The only thing I didn’t forget was the parsley.  I love experimenting with new recipes and working with what I have on hand to make delicious meals.  This one is a keeper and will continue improving it as I make it more often.

Beef Stew with Guinness

Serves 6 – 8 people

Total Time:  2-2 ½ hours, preparation time included

·         ¼ cup olive oil

·         7 pounds of Chuck Beef stew meat, cut into 1 or 2 inch chunks

·         2 – 6 ounce cans of tomato sauce

·         1 – 12 ounce bottle of Guinness Stout Beer equal to 1 ½ cups

·         32 ounces equal to 4 cups of Low Sodium Beef or Chicken broth (I prefer chicken because it seems lighter to me)

·         2 large onions cut into about 1 inch pieces – I used purple onion

·         2 cups of ½ inch pieces of peeled carrots

·         10 medium sized red potatoes cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes

·         Salt, pepper, garlic powder & dried parsley to your desired taste

Heat the oil in a deep pan or a heavy large pot.  Lightly season your meat with salt and pepper.  Add the beef chunks and lightly season again.  If the base of your pan or pot are not large enough to fit all your meat at once, brown your meat in batches.  This way you don’t overcrowd the meat and steam it instead of browning it.  Make sure that all the sides of the beef are browned, they don’t necessarily have to be cooked all the way through.  Remember that they’re going to continue to cook later.  Once all your meat has been browned, take out some of the excess oil from your pan and add your onion to the pan.  Season your onion with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Let your onion brown a bit, add your beef back to the pan.  Add tomato sauce, broth & beer.  Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to medium low.  Place the lid on the pot & let simmer for about 40 – 45 minutes or until your meat is tender.  Add your carrots, potatoes & parsley.  Cook until tender.  Enjoy!

Tip:  Chuck beef tends to be a little bit on the fatty side.  Once you turn off the stove , let your stew sit for about 10 – 15 minutes.  A lot of the fat will float to the top and you can easily skim it with a spoon.

Want to make Irish Soda Bread to go with your stew?  Look for "search this blog" to the right of this post, type in "Irish Soda Bread" and click on the search button.  You can also watch the video on my YouTube channel by clicking here.

Thanks for stopping by Virgie’s Place.  See you next time!  Cheers!

Irish Soda Bread

MAKES ONE 9-INCH ROUND LOAF (I doubled the recipe in my video below)

Recipe:  Irish Soda Bread

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar (I substituted for 1 & 1/3 teaspoons of Organic Agave Nectar)

2 teaspoons salt (I substituted Mediterranean Sea Salt)

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cups buttermilk (I substituted Low Fat Buttermilk)

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour, rolled oats, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Add the buttermilk and cooled butter and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is well combined.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 times. Shape the dough into a 9-inch round loaf and transfer to a baking sheet. Slash an X (or two as I did) about 1/4 inch deep in the top of the bread. Bake for about 1 hour, or until the bread is golden and the bottom sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Transfer the soda bread to a wire rack and let cool completely.

The bread can be made up to 1 day ahead.

Easiest bread I’ve ever made.

Recipe modified from The Food and Wine Magazine website

The recipe is doubled in the video below.

Nature's Sunshine Smart Meal Nutritional Shake Mix

I started replacing one meal 4 to 5 times a week with this shake and have lost 8 pounds in about 6 weeks.  Yes, of course, I’m also doing other things that help.  I walk my baby puppy every day for at least 20 minutes and I watch what I eat about 90% of the time.  To be honest it’s not 100% of the time but I try.  This meal replacement will work for you if you give it a chance.  It’s delicious by itself and mixed with other yummy ingredients.  It’s full of vitamins and it’s all natural.  Try one of my concoctions or make your own.  More recipes coming soon.  Click on the link below or the pictures of the Mix above to purchase one today, or visit www.mynsp.com/virgiesplace to view other great products.

Nature’s Sunshine Smart Meal Nutritional Shake Mix 

½ cup mixed frozen berries

½ medium sized banana

1 heaping tablespoon of plain greek yogurt

2 splashes of grapefruit juice

2 scoops of Vanilla, Chocolate or Chai flavor Nature’s Sunshine Nutritional Shake Mix

1 to 1 ¼ cup of organic vanilla soy milk

(Optional)  Ice Cubes or Crushed Ice

Place everything in a blender cup, blender bottle or your blender jar.  Blend away and there you have it, Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner.

Want to know how I put this delicious shake together?  Watch my video below.  Thanks for watching!

Sushi's Simple Waffles

Why the name Sushi’s Simple Waffles?  My Baby Puppy (Sushi) loves them and you will too.  Check out the instructional video and pics below.  Enjoy!

Take it from this,

To this, in a few simple steps.

Sushi's Simple Waffles

Ingredients

Dry:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons of turbinado raw cane sugar

Wet:

3 whole large eggs

4 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

2 cups, which equals 16 ounces buttermilk, must be brought to room temperature

Butter flavored cooking spray for spraying

Directions

Preheat your waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.

In a bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. In another bowl beat together all wet ingredients. Add the wet to the dry and stir until combined.  Lumps are allowed.  J  Allow to rest for 5 minutes.  With a ladle or a measuring cup pour the recommended amount of waffle batter onto the waffle iron according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Close iron top and cook until the waffle is golden to golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately or keep them warm in a 200 degree Fahrenheit oven until you’re ready to serve.  They might not make it to the oven, they’re just that yummy. 

Tip:  If you have left over waffles, place them in a freezer zipper bag and place them in the freezer.  They freeze really well.  When you’re ready to eat them, place them in your toaster to your desired toastiness and serve.