Air Fryer Won Ton Meatballs

Sometimes it takes a good friend to point out the obvious. A few days ago I was complaining about the limited choices I have for lunch now that I am working from home because I don’t own a microwave. I can hear you all gasping but I hardly ever used it. It was taking up valuable kitchen real estate I would rather use for other things, like my air fryer, that I use all the time. When mine quit working, I never replaced it and until now never missed it.

My friend, Ess, said “why don’t you reheat things in your air fryer?” How come it took me 5 1/2 months of owning an air fryer to think of that?

Wonton Meatballs

• Difficulty: Easy
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From the Air Fryer Revolution cookbook

1 pound ground pork

2 large eggs

1/4 cup chopped green onion, white and green parts

1 TBS fresh minced ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley, optional

In a large bowl, combine the pork, egg, cilantro, green onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt and pepper. Use your hands to completely mix the ingredients into the meat, about 2- 3 minutes.

For the meat mixture into 12 balls. Place the balls in a single layer in the air fryer basket. Set the air fryer at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Serve.

Apple Pie Spice (Whole 30)

It occured to me when I posted my Cranberry Walnut Buttermilk muffin recipe the other day, I have never posted a recipe for apple pie spice. So here it is.

Apple Pie Spice

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From Served Up With Love

1 TBS cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

In a small bowl, combine all the spices. Mix well. Store in an airtight container.

Turkey Breakfast Skillet (Whole 30)

I am not particularly inspired to write or cook lately. I haven’t done a full in grocery shop in several weeks so I am running out of everything. I even ran out of salt. What kind of cook runs out of salt? The weather is so cold all I want to do go back to bed and sleep the day away.

I am posting today anyway because last year with all the things going on in my life I wasn’t posting much or as regularly as I used to and I want to get back into the habit.

This is a simple breakfast casserole from the Whole Kitchen Sink. I made some substitutions because I am not particularly fond of sweet potatoes and I already had some cooked red potatoes on hand. I also subbed orange bell pepper for green because I already had those on hand too. If you wanted to get fancy, you could serve this with a fried egg on top. I just put it over greens with just a touch of ranch dressing.

Turkey Breakfast Skillet

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From The Whole Kitchen Sink

1/2 lb ground turkey

1 cup diced potato

1/2 bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup onion, chopped

1 TBS olive oil

1 1/2 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 onion powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and diced potatoes. Cook 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are browned but not cooked through. Add the turkey and spices, brown the turkey for 5 minutes. When the turkey is cooked halfway through, add the green pepper and onion, cook 5-7 more minutes or until the peppers and onions are done to your liking.

Fruit Shrub

This summer I really became interested in vinegars, how they taste, how to cook with them, the health benefits of vinegar and so on. One of my friends suggested I try a shrub.

Don’t worry if you have never heard of a shrub before, neither had I. Originally, shrubs syrups were a way to preserve fruit through the hot summers with no refrigeration and a way to hydrate those working in the hot sun. Now shrubs are used to flavor drinks, alcoholic and non alcoholic, make marinades and salad dressings and, probably, a lot of other things I haven’t even thought of yet. Basically, you can use your shrub syrups anywhere you would use vinegar.

Personally, I like to use my shrub syrup to flavor my water and unsweetened ice tea. When you first start experimenting with adding shrub syrups to your recipe, go a teaspoon or two at a time and taste as you go. Shrub syrups are really strong. You can always add more but you can’t take it away once its there.

• Difficulty: Easy
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2 cups cut up fruit, any kind

2 cups white sugar

2 cups vinegar, any kind

Peel the fruit and cut the fruit into chunks. Place the fruit in a bowl and add the sugar. Stir well to combine. At this point, the sugar will not dissolve, it will just coat the fruit. Put the bowl in the fridge. Let the fruit sit for 2 days, giving it a good stir whenever you think about it.

After two days, strain the fruit pulp out of the juice. Add the vinegar and stir well. The syrup is very strong at this point but it is ready to use. I prefer to let the syrup sit for a few days to mellow the vinegar before I use it. I store the syrup in a glass jar in the fridge.

To use your shrub: Add the shrub syrup to taste to your beverage of choice. You can also use your shrub wherever vinegar is called for.

Cucumber and Onion Salad

I have a love/hate realationship with America’s Test Kitchen magazines, like Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country. Every time I sit down and read the magazines, I learn something new. The recipes I have tried have always been good. But OMG!!! They can take a simple recipe and add so many ingredients and steps to it makes me want to just give up before I even get started and I am a fairly experienced cook.

Every so often, however, America’s Test Kitchen publishes a recipe that is perfect in its simplicity.

Pickled Cucumber And Onions

• Difficulty: Easy
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Adapted From Cook’s Illustrated

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 TBS water

1 TBS sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

8 oz cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and cut into thin slices

1/2 cup thinly sliced onion

Whisk vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Add the cucumbers and onions. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Can be refrigerated up to 3 days.