Make Turkey Meatballs in Air Fryer for a quick dinner!

If you’ve ever been disappointed with turkey meatballs, this is the recipe that will change your mind about them.

I know this because I have a friend who texts me at the start of every summer, asking how to make a turkey burger that isn’t dry. Every year, I tell him “you have to add fat and moisture.” It’s the same for turkey meatballs.

I know that the whole reason many people eat ground turkey instead of beef is because turkey has less fat and saturated fat. I get that, I do. But you simply can’t use super lean ground turkey and no additional fat or moisture, and then wonder why your burger or meatball is dry.

So, I like to think of it in terms of adding GOOD fat. Instead of relying on the saturated fat that beef would contain, I’m using 85% lean ground turkey, and adding good fat like olive oil, and moisture from Greek yogurt.

Not only does the yogurt add moisture to the meatball mixture, but the enzymes in the dairy help tenderize the turkey, which makes it more . . . tender . . . to eat.

My friend reports back that his turkey burgers are improved, and I’m confident you’ll feel the same way about your turkey meatballs, too.

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This Greek Farro Salad recipe will have everybody coming back for another scoop!

With a 4-year-old in the house, it’s not every day that I put something (that’s not mac and cheese) on the dinner table that EVERY family member loves.

Unexpectedly, this Farro Salad recipe received that reception! With it’s vibrant Mediterranean flavors that balance salty, sweet, briny and acidic, something about it just makes everybody want to take another bite. And another.

My daughter even asked for the leftovers to be packed in her lunch for school the next day!

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This Shawarma Chicken is a Detroit classic!

I’ve introduced you to many classic Detroit foods, including Detroit style pizza and corned beef egg rolls. And thanks to a large Middle Eastern population, Detroit is also famous for our chicken shawarma!

It’s sold everywhere from ballparks to gas stations, with my favorite being from a restaurant called Bucharest Grill. Today, I am sharing my homemade version of this irresistible wrap sandwich.

While it may look like a long list of ingredients, it’s very fast to put together. In fact, you can make the chicken shawarma marinade and the sauce for the wraps at the same time. I’ll also offer shortcut ideas to make it even easier for a busy weeknight.

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Ground Chicken Meatballs

Now that I’m my 40’s and ever-so-predictably watching my cholesterol, ground beef, pork and lamb recipes are happening in our house less and less (lamb bolognese is saved for a special occasion).

In red meat’s place, I’m definitely turning to ground turkey and chicken wherever possible. Meatballs are one recipe where I don’t feel like they NEED to be beef to be delicious.

In fact, these Greek chicken meatballs are not only one of my favorite New Year’s Eve snacks (along with ham and turkey sliders), but I make them just about every other week as a quick dinner by adding a few side dishes.

So grab a rosemary gin cocktail, and let’s chat about these delicious Mediterranean meatballs. They can be baked or air fried, and served with things like feta, orzo and tzatziki to make them extra special.

“I have made this recipe so many times in the last year, I don’t even need to look at it anymore. The meatballs are so tasty, and when I was trying to lose weight, these were one dish I could enjoy guilt free. The whole family enjoys them too; you can throw them in a marinara sauce and use them in a meatball sub, or with pasta, or even cold leftovers out of the fridge!”

—Sharon

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My family is still doing mostly carryout for restaurant meals these days. We eat on outdoor restaurant patios when the weather is warmer, but since we live in the Midwest, it’s takeout throughout the winter.

And I can’t say that I’m not sick of it. I am!

While some food is fine for carryout, like maybe lasagna cottage cheese or beef stroganoff from our favorite local hole in the wall, other food just does NOT carry out well. Particularly anything where the crispiness is really at it’s peak straight out of the fryer, like fried chicken.

And don’t even get me started on carryout brunch of any kind. I’ll stay home and make my own vegetable quiche, bacon in the oven and bloody mary with an epic garnish for a bloody mary, thanks.

But probably my least favorite dish to attempt to do carryout for is nachos. Nobody wants soggy chips, and they certainly don’t survive the trip home.

So, I’ve been making nachos of all kinds at home, where we can enjoy them fresh out of the oven, immediately.

We’ll do the classic ground beef/cheese/lettuce/tomato/tortilla chips variety quite often, or sometimes make them topped with my fajita vegetables recipe, but once in awhile we change it up and get creative.

These Wonton Nachos are inspired by the flavors of a pork banh mi sandwich, but turned into a crispy, crunchy plate of finger food.

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Where are we at when it comes to food served in jars? I feel like recipes like mason jar taco salads, and food of all kinds served in mason jars, really, was peak 2014 on Pinterest.

Since I started this blog in 2013 and also happened to love mason jars, many of my early “popular” recipes were mason jar-based.

Trends come and go, and over time, people began replacing mason jars with other, more updated ways of packing their lunches.

But now that we’re hyper aware of germs, shared utensils and social distancing, maybe the time is right for jars to make a comeback?

I can make a pretty solid argument for jarcuterie being the new charcuterie board. And today, I’m doing away with layered dips in big communal baking dishes and serving them in individual jars instead.

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I’m sure you’re aware that White Claw hard seltzer is all the rage right now, and has been for awhile. It seems like everywhere I go, somebody is drinking a can of it. People can’t get enough!

And while I drink non-alcoholic seltzer daily and sparkling mango lemonade using seltzer), White Claw on it’s own was honestly not my favorite (give me a lemon bourbon rosemary cocktail any day, though).

And of course, I didn’t discover that until I already had a full case of it chilling in my fridge.

So, if you love White Claw straight from the can, I’m happy for you. Go forth and enjoy your summer with a Claw in hand.

But, if you’re like me, you might enjoy a cocktail, like a gin and seltzer made with White Claw, a little bit more. This cucumber and lime White Claw cocktail might become your favorite drink this summer!

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Nothing makes my eyes light up at a party like seeing a big spread of appetizers. There’s a reason New Year’s Eve is one of my favorite days, and it’s definitely the savory baked brie, jarcuterie and other New Year’s Eve food!

My absolute favorite kind of appetizer spread? The kind that you get to assemble yourself, like my DIY elote cup bar or even individual charcuterie cups. And if your group of friends and family is anything like mine, everybody has different tastes.

Some people don’t like onions, others can’t get enough. Somebody hates tomatoes, whereas I make my Detroit style pizza recipe with pickled tomato sauce.

I think we can all agree that lots of options never hurt anybody, and that’s what I’m giving you today with this smoked salmon platter!

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This Miso Sesame Dressing is irresistible

Whenever there is a potluck situation, there’s always plenty of people who volunteer chicken meatballs, dips, spicy potato chips, brownies, cookies, etc. Somebody (OK, me) may even show up with a big batch of lemon margaritas.

But you have to be pretty brave to be that person that throws down “I’ll bring a salad,” right?

Because let’s be honest, most people could easily ignore the green salad at a party. It’s probably the weekend, and it’s a fun gathering, and who wants to crowd their plate with salad when you could be loading up on stuff from one of my charcuterie ideas instead?

That’s why I’ve experimented with this Great Green Salad with Miso Dressing to make it the maximum amount of irresistible. Nobody is going to a skip a serving of this, I promise.

So go ahead – be that brave soul that declares I’M GONNA BRING THE SALAD.

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Little known fact about me: I don’t really like pizza that much. I know, it’s as un-American as it gets. But it’s not entirely true.

You see, it’s fine, but I would just never choose pizza, when I have my choice of restaurant or takeout meals (or even the option to make a super fast meal at home, like turkey meatballs recipe air fryer or salmon pesto pasta).

So many American families default to pizza as the easiest option at the end of a very long, busy day, but we hardly ever do. My long suffering husband never gets his fill of takeout pizza (although I will make him a crostini pizza bar once in awhile).

But don’t feel bad for him. Because I do love HOMEMADE pizza, especially with flavor combinations that go beyond the typical cheese and pepperoni.

This Gyro Pizza is the type of pizza that I’m happy to eat, and share with you!

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