MEATBALL SUBS

1 lb ground turkey
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cloves fresh garlic
1 teaspoon minced onion
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
1 can/jar spaghetti sauce
Mozzarella cheese
Hoagie buns or crusty french bread

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Combine turkey, red pepper flakes, garlic, minced onion, egg, bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Then shape into 1" balls and place into the skillet. Brown meatballs on all sides.

Add spaghetti sauce and a little water. Stir to combine. Cover to let simmer for 15 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Toast buns and fill with meatballs and sauce. Top with mozzarella and enjoy.

CHINESE DUMPLINGS

Bailu came over and we made delicious dumplings. We just used store-bought won-ton wrappers. We stuffed them with a mixture of ground turkey, carrots, cabbage, ginger, garlic, and some secret Chinese spice that she had. They turned out SO GOOD. I don't have an exact recipe, but I didn't want to forget about them.

EASY SHEPHERD'S PIE

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs ground round beef
• 1 onion chopped
• 1-2 cups vegetables - chopped carrots, corn, peas
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs potatoes (3 big ones)
• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice

Method

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes).

2 While the potatoes are cooking, melt 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick) in large frying pan.

3 Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 mins). If you are adding vegetables, add them according to cooking time. Put any carrots in with the onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of the cooking of the onions, or after the meat has initially cooked.

4 Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worcesterchire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.

5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.

6 Place beef and onions in baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 30 minutes). Broil for last few minutes if necessary to brown.

Serves four.

RASPBERRY & CREAM DELIGHT

Remember this? Well, I took a spin on it and used raspberries instead of fresh peaches, since they are so hard to come by this time of year. It was pretty tasty. Tart and sweet all at the same time.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

--Glenda Bingham

½ cup shortening
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ cup molasses
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

In a mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves. Beat till combined, scraping bowl. Beat in molasses, egg, and vinegar till combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill for 3 hours or till easy to handle. Grease a cookie sheet; set aside. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough at a time to 1/8-inch thick. Using a 2 ½ inch cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake in a 375 degree over for 5 to 6 minutes or till edges are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool. If desired, decorate cookies with icing and candies. Makes 36 to 48 cookies.

MOUSSAKA

2 eggplants, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
4 zucchini sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 pound lean ground beef
One 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
3/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 pint low-fat cottage cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 500 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the eggplant and zucchini in two large bowls and season with salt; let stand for 40 minutes. Rinse the vegetables and pat dry. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared pans and toss with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Roast until golden, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a 9-by-11 baking dish. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add the scallions and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes; add the ground beef and cook , breaking up the meat, for about 4 minutes Add the tomatoes, sauce, mushrooms and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Spoon the meat sauce over the eggplant and zucchini. Top with half of the mozzarella. Spread cottage cheese next and finish with remaining mozzarella. Bake for 17 minutes. Transfer to broiler and cook for 3 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing.

SPICY MEXICAN MEATBALLS

1 lb ground pork
1/2 cup pimento-stuffed olives, chopped
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all ingredients and form into meatballs. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet for 20 minutes.

DIPPING SAUCE
1 avocado
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro
1 clove garlica
Salt

In a food processor, puree all ingredients. Serve with meatballs.