Middle Eastern Style Meatballs

These Middle Eastern turkey meatballs are reminiscent of childhood meals growing up in a Palestinian-American household. All the warm spices come together making your taste buds ~ (belly)dance ~.

I’m gonna be honest, I rarely every measure ingredients when I’m cooking, guess you could say I’m a pro. Really though, I just measure with my heart. But I realized if I wanted to write recipes then I should probably start using measuring spoons & cups.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey/beef/chicken

1 bunch of parsley

1 medium red onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 jalapeno (optional)

1 small bell pepper (red and orange taste the best don’t @ me)

2 tablespoons of ground cloves

1 tablespoon ground white pepper

3 tablespoons of tomato paste

3/4 tablespoon of cardamom

1 tablespoon of paprika

3/4 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon Aleppo pepper flakes (optional)

1 teaspoon of cumin

dash of cinnamon

Directions:

Finely chop the parsley, onion, jalapeno, and garlic (caramelizing the onions adds more flava-flaaaaav). Add all of the ingredients into a large bowl and mix it together until all the ingredients are hugging&kissing. Preheat your oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Roll them balls to about golf-ball size. This part is optional, but it also adds more flavor. More flavor=more satisfaction=happier belly=happy mind. Heat a (preferably) cast-iron skillet, but any pan will do (pro tip: if you caramelized the onions use the same pan), to medium and add a lil drizzle of olive oil or spray with cooking spray. Wait for the pan to heat up and add the balls in but don’t overcrowd the pan, you will most likely have to do this in batches unless you have an abnormally large pan. Brown for 1 minute on each side and then place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 15-17 minutes or until internal temperature is 165 Fahrenheit.

If you’re a sauce person, try these with garlic sauce, cucumber dill yogurt, or a tahini sauce- (once I have these sauce recipes up I will link them).

Breakfast Burrito

This burrito is glistening in the sunlight, and despite her cracks and edges, she is beautiful. & so are you:)<3

Ingredients:

1 tortilla - whatever one your heart desires

2 eggs or you can just use egg-whites (but like y tho)

2-3 ounces of ground turkey/chicken/beef

1 cup of spinach

1/2 small bell pepper

1/4 cup of shredded any kind of shredded cheese

1/2 teaspoon of black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of salt

1/2 tablespoon of paprika

1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon of onion powder

cayenne pepper (optional)

salsa

Directions:

Cook your eggs however you like first. Add your cooked eggs to the tortilla (pro tip: if there’s too much egg in the tortilla, just have some eggs on the side). Finely chop the bell pepper. Add the bell pepper to a pan with a lil oil or some cooking spray and sautee for a few minutes. Once they start to get some color, add in the ground meat and all of the spices and then add in the spinach. Finish off with a few (or a lot) spoons of salsa and cook until..cooked. Add the cooked ingredients to the tortilla, roll it up nice & tight (ayo), and place it back on the pan (might wanna add more cooking spray) and brown on each side to your liking.

Chicken Enchilada Dip

This beaut was created when my friends and I decided to have a BYOD (bring your own dip) party and I was conflicted between doing a basic taco dip and my strong craving for enchiladas. Thus, the chicken enchilada dip was born (she’s a Scorpio).

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken

2 16oz cans of red enchilada sauce (or you can make your own but I was not about that)

1 4.5oz can of diced green chilies

1 can of sliced black olives

1 can of black beans

1 jalapeno

2-3 cups of shredded cheese (Pepper jack or a “Mexican blend” works best)

2 scallions

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 tablespoon of cumin

cayenne (amount depends on spice preference)

Directions:

Shred the chicken in a large bowl. Add in one can of the enchilada sauce (or if you’re bougie and making your own, add in about a cup). To the chicken, add the chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Finely chop the jalapeno and scallions. Spray a large baking dish and add in the chicken, then the black beans. Then add the rest of the second can of enchilada sauce, the jalapenos, the scallions, and then the cheese. Bake in the oven uncovered at 425 until slightly browned n bubbly.

Eat with tortilla chips or use it as taco filling. You could (and should) also just eat it straight up, raw dog that dip.

Middle Eastern Spicy Shrimp Rice Bowl

This is by far the best dish I’ve ever created on a whim. If you have weak taste buds this is NOT for you..well maybe it is..just tone down the spices in the recipe a bit.

Ingredients:

1 cup jasmine rice

6 ounces of shrimp (or whatever)

1/2 jalapeno (optional)

5 mini bell peppers or 1/2 a regular bell pepper

1/4 yellow onion

1 clove of garlic

2-3 tablespoons of slivered almonds

2 teaspoons of allspice

1 teaspoon of cardamom

1 teaspoon of turmeric

1 teaspoon of black pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of cumin

Directions:

First you wanna marinate the shrimp. Make sure it’s cleaned and dry then place in a medium sized bowl. Add in a light drizzle of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. While the shrimp is marinating, rinse and wash the rice. In a pot that you will be cooking the rice in, heat a light drizzle of olive oil. Once the pot is warm, add in the onion (diced) and sautee for a minute. Next, add in the garlic (diced or pressed) and then the drained rice. Before you add in any liquid, add 1 teaspoon of allspice, 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper&salt. Mix together until all combined and fragrant. Lastly, add in the slivered almonds and then about 1.75-2 cups of water or chicken broth, cover and simmer on low for about 15-20 minutes. While the rice is cooking, slice the bell peppers and jalapeno to your liking. You can air fry them or bake them until slightly charred at 400-425 Fahrenheit. When the rice is almost done, heat up a pan to about medium heat. Spray with cooking spray or use a small amount of oil. Once the pan is hot, add in the shrimp- cooking time will vary depending on the size of the shrimp. Once everything is done assemble your bowl<3

Pistachio Crusted Salmon

My love for pistachios & salmon come together in this chefs kiss dish.

Ingredients:

1 fillet of salmon

1/4 cup pistachios (i used Trader Joe’s garlic & onion pistachios)

1 clove of garlic

2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese

1/2 tablespoon of Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or more, or less..or none)

1/4 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

Clean and dry the salmon. Crush the pistachios finely enough to be able to be a crust for the top. Add in the Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning the crushed pistachios. Brush the salmon with a bit of olive oil and season with the salt and pepper. Grate the clove of garlic and rub that baby in onto the salmon. Transfer the pistachio mixture to a plate and press the salmon into the mixture. If there is anything left from the mixture just sprinkle it on top. I like to cook mine in a cast iron skillet or pan first to give the bottom some color & flavor and then finish in the oven at 400 for about 10 minutes depending on the size of your fillet and how you like it cooked.

Meat Pies

Another Middle Eastern recipe which is definitely a big theme here. Normally, I’d make the dough myself but I don’t have a stand mixer so store bought dough will have to do. The flavor is all in the filling anyways (ayooo).

Ingredients:

2 cans of Pillsbury biscuit dough or 1 bag of store bought pizza dough or if you’re better than the rest of us, make your own dough

1 lb ground turkey/beef/chicken

1 can of tomato paste

1 medium yellow onion (chopped)

1/4 cup of pine nuts

1 tablespoon of sumac

1 tablespoon of black pepper

1 tablespoon of allspice (or 1/2 tablespoon allspice 1/2 tablespoon of cloves)

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of cumin (optional)

1 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

Heat a large pan to medium heat and add in a light drizzle of olive oil or you can just use cooking spray. Once the pan is hot, add in the chopped onion and sautee until they start to brown a bit and then add in the tomato paste and let it cook down for about a minute. Add in the ground meat and all of the seasonings. Combine all of the ingredients together while cooking over medium heat. You don’t want to over cook this especially since it’s going in the oven too. Once the meat mixture is done, let it cool. While it’s cooling get a large baking tray and start stretching the dough out until there is a well in the middle for the filling- if you’re using Pillsbury biscuit dough, 1 biscuit=1 pie, if you’re using pizza dough just roll out a ball of dough to the size of your liking (ayoayo). Use about 3 (or more) tablespoons of filling for each piece of dough. Bake according to biscuit/dough instructions or until the edges start to get a little brown. While they’re cooking, heat up some pine nuts in the oven or on top of the stove and use for garnish.