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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Melomakarona Recipe

I originally discovered these Greek cookies while completing a practical exam in culinary school, where I had to prepare a meal of traditional Greek foods.

The melomakarona cookies I made for dessert ended up being absolutely delicious, and I couldn’t wait to make them again.

With love, I have refined my recipe for years ever since, resulting in the soft spiced cookies bathed in honey syrup and sprinkled with walnuts that you’ll find in this post.

Not only do the warm Mediterranean flavors instantly put me in a Christmas spirit, but because these cookies stay fresh up to two weeks, I actually CAN start my holiday baking by making them earlier in the month!

“Oh, my goodness! Made these cookies to bring to my daughter’s for Christmas. I waited patiently to do the “taste test” and it was worth the wait! They are delicious and taste just like the ones I’ve been buying at the annual Greek festival close to home for years. Thank you so much!”

—Connie

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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 Dill Sauce Recipe is a party for your tastebuds

Salmon is one of my favorite weeknight proteins, thanks to how healthy and easy to prepare it is. But sometimes, I admit, it gets a bit boring.

What does a home chef do in an event like this? Whip up a restaurant-quality Dill Sauce for Salmon that will elevate the whole meal!

What does Dill Sauce taste like?

This lemon dill sauce for salmon is a delightful blend of creamy, tangy and herby flavors.

The rich, smooth base of Greek yogurt and mayonnaise is flavored with generous amounts of zesty lemon juice, spicy Dijon mustard and earthy fresh dill and garlic.

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You will love this Pastichio Recipe

Since the start of this blog I have tried to consistently bring you recipes that my family eats and loves. With an emphasis on classic, well-loved dishes without fussy ingredients, like my fettuccine bolognese. 

They might make you feel like a chef right in your own home, but mostly, they’re just delicious.

You know I have an affinity for comforting baked pastas like my family’s Midwestern classic, lasagna recipe with cottage cheese, and it’s vegetarian cousin, vegetables lasagna.

And my taste buds often crave Greek flavors, so Greek chicken meatballs with Greek yogurt mashed potatoes are a dinner we make often, and my melomakarona recipe are our favorite Christmas cookie.

So add that all up, and what do you get? This Greek Lasagna, which is something I have been making for my family for years and years, but haven’t published on this blog until today.

“Made this for my boyfriend and I on date night. I was really worried because I have never made anything like the cream sauce before, and I am newly non-vegetarian so cooking meat is also fresh to me. It turned out EXACTLY like the picture and I’m so excited I get to eat the leftovers for the next few days. This is definitely going into my special occasion recipe rotation. Thank you for the great recipe!”

—Lara

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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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I believe that one of the easiest but most impactful ways to take your home cooking up a notch is to make homemade salad dressings.

While jarred salad dressings are certainly quick and easy, they’re also generally filled with quite a bit of preservatives (like sodium and sugar) and artificial ingredients. Same goes for bottled meat marinades and glazes, which is why I make my own flat iron steak marinade and balsamic glaze.

Additionally, the flavor can be really hit or miss, and you usually don’t know how it’s going to taste until you’ve already committed and purchased an entire bottle. There’s nothing worse than spending $6 or even more on a fancy bottled dressing and discovering that nobody in your family likes it.

That’s why I love to make homemade salad dressings like miso dressing and citrus salad dressing.

Today, allow me to show you how another homemade salad dressing with big flavor can come together quickly and easily, and wow your family and friends.

The combination of lemon and feta can’t be beat – I’ve already made sure of that with my Greek yogurt mashed potatoes.

This feta dressing recipe is inspired by the salad dressing at a local Lebanese restaurant. It’s an incredibly versatile recipe to have in your back pocket, especially to toss with greens and serve alongside Greek lasagna, lamb bolognese or meat sauce rigatoni.

“Just made this dressing in 5 minutes and it’s absolutely delicious! What I really love is that I had all the ingredients in my fridge/pantry already. That’s always a huge plus finding a recipe with everyday ingredients. This will be a new staple for me!”

—Jessie

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For me, there is no meal more decadent or special than lamb chops. I have a very fond memory of helping to make the banquet dinner for the graduating class of culinary students when I was in my first year of school.

I was in charge of searing lamb chops all night. At the end of the evening, there was a ton of food left over, and the instructors let us take home as much as we could carry. Jeff and I feasted on lamb chops and vegetable quiche and shrimp deviled eggs and big slices of vegetables lasagna all weekend and it was glorious.

While ground lamb makes it into more frequent meals like lamb tacos and lamb bolognese, chops are special. Especially lamb “lollipops” which are chops cut from a rack of lamb that has been “Frenched,” meaning all excess meat and fat has been trimmed off the exposed bones so they look extra pretty.

Today, I’ll teach you how to cook lamb lollipops, as well as make the best marinade and herby yogurt dipping sauce for them.

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A quick and easy Mediterranean Rice Recipe

While I don’t officially follow the Mediterranean diet, those flavors always appeal to me, and I could enjoy them for pretty much every meal, without issue.

Either I’m snacking on olives and feta cheese, taking Greek layer dip to a party, or making Greek lasagna or gyro pizza for dinner.

Today, I’m taking some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors and turning them into a fried rice-inspired Greek rice recipe that is a complete dinner in one bowl.

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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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