Baked Ground Turkey and Sweet Potato Empanadas with a Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Aioli

I have an obsession with ground turkey. I use it often in many recipes (skinny lasagna, meatballs, turkey picadillo, etc.) It's an easy substitution for ground beef, and is usually a leaner option. My latest creation made with ground turkey were ground turkey and sweet potato empanadas for Sunday football. I was watching my beloved Miami Dolphins play and enjoying some yummy food. I grew up eating empanadas filled with all sorts of meats and fruit. I knew I wanted empanadas for my football menu and knew that I didn't want anything fried. So, I decided to make these amazing baked empanadas:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into small pieces

salt and pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground oregano

shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 egg for an egg wash

In a pot, over medium-high heat, add olive oil, onions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes and then add ground turkey. Cook until turkey has browned. Add carrots and continue cooking.

Cut sweet potato into small bite-sized pieces. Add sweet potato to turkey. Add salt, pepper, cumin and oregano and mix together. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 7-8 minutes. Remove turkey from heat.

When I make empanadas, I take a shortcut on the dough. Surely you can make your own dough, but I purchase packaged frozen dough at the grocery store. SOOO much easier. Make sure you defrost your dough by leaving it out for 1 hour prior to using.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out your empanada circles on a lightly floured surface. Add about 1 spoonful of the ground turkey and sweet potato mixture to one-half of the circle.

Top with shredded cheese. 

Now close your empanada by making sure the sides meet up. Then take a fork and press down all around the empanada to close it securely. 

Transfer empanadas to a lightly greased baking pan. Brush with an egg wash and transfer to oven. Bake empanadas until they turn golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Aren't they gorgeous?

I love ground turkey and sweet potatoes. I think they go amazing together!! I served my empanadas with a red pepper garlic aioli. The aioli is super easy to make. 

Roasted Red Pepper Garlic Aioli

Ingredients:

1 roasted red pepper

1 cup lite mayonnaise

3 garlic cloves

1 chipotle pepper with adobo

salt and pepper 

Add all ingredients into the blender or a food processor. Blend until smooth.

Easy, huh?

These empanadas were perfect game-day food. They are handheld, only require a napkin and can be made for a crowd! 

Skinny Lasagna

New year, new weight loss resolutions and new fitness goals. We've all been there and it's hard to keep up. Losing weight and getting fit takes effort and dedication. I'm terrible at both. I take it step by step, especially this year, I have a wedding to look amazing for. I've started with some walking and trying out skinnier versions of my favorite meals. I do not deprive myself of yummy foods. It doesn't work for me so I just come up with variations that still taste amazing, like this skinny lasagna. Skinny lasagna still has pasta, still has meat and still has cheese, just with some changes like ground turkey instead of ground beef, cottage cheese instead of ricotta cheese and 2% mozzarella instead of whole. I promise you it's delicious and your whole family will love it!

Skinny Lasagna

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1 box cooked lasagna noodles

1 1/2 lbs lean ground turkey

1 can diced tomatoes

1 small yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 16oz tub of cottage cheese

2 cups of 2% reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese

fresh basil leaves

salt and pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups of red pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a pot, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over high heat. Add ground turkey and cook until brown. Once browned, add onions, garlic, tomatoes, cumin, oregano and tomatoes. Mix well, cover, lower heat to medium and simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking dish. Add red pasta sauce to the pan, covering the bottom, about 1 cup. Layer with lasagna noodles and then ground turkey mixture. Layer with noodles and then top with half the cottage cheese. 

Repeat the layering process. 

On your last layer of noodles, spread 1 cup of red pasta sauce, top with mozzarella cheese and basil leaves. Cover with aluminum foil and transfer to oven. 

Bake covered for 15 minutes and then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes. Once cheese is golden, remove from oven!

Let sit for about 15 minutes before cutting into the lasagna. It will be gooey and cheesy and amazing!!

This lasagna is a staple in our home (especially since Amberly and JC have both cut red meat out of their diets). Sometimes, I make two and freeze the second one. We love lasagna and this skinny lasagna is heaven-sent!!

Best Ever Homemade Pancakes

Is there anything better than light, fluffy homemade pancakes for breakfast? Nope!! Homemade pancakes are so heavenly. My kids are big pancake fans and I knew I had to come up with the perfect homemade recipe for them to enjoy. It took me a couple tries but I've done it!! Here is the best ever homemade pancakes recipe you will ever have!

Homemade is best. Even though it takes a little extra time and effort, I prefer making homemade food for my family. I like knowing what is in their food and I like knowing that the food is fresh. 

Homemade Pancakes

Makes about 8

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tbsp light brown sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cup whole milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

1 large egg

maple syrup for serving

Heat electric griddle to 350 degrees. 

In a bowl, with a wire whisk, stir flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add milk, vanilla, butter and egg. Stir until flour is moistened. Do not over mix as this will toughen pancakes. 

On a hot griddle, pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook until bubbly and then flip pancakes.

Flip pancake. Cook another 3 minutes and then remove from griddle.

Serve with warm maple syrup.

Honestly, these pancakes are amazing. Make them for your family for breakfast and you will be a star!!!

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SoHoppinGood #TopYourSummer #CollectiveBias

School is almost out, 10 days to be exact here in Miami, and that means it's time to plan our end of school celebration. This year, my friend will be hosting a pool party and I will be bringing dessert. I knew I had to come up with a super fun dessert option for the kids and there is no dessert more fun than ice cream! Ice cream cake to be exact!!!

I decided to do a quick test run beforehand to make sure I created ice cream cakes the kids would love. First step was to make a stop at my local Walmart Neighborhood Market and stock-up on the new Blue Bunny® ice cream flavors. I picked Blue Bunny® Homemade Vanilla, Blue Bunny® Pistachio Almond, Blue Bunny® Butter Pecan and Blue Bunny® Banana Split!

I also picked up a couple more essentials for my cakes: whipped cream, Smucker's Sundae Syrup caramel flavored syrup, butter pound cakes and maraschino cherries! I am super overwhelmed with end of the year activities at school so I took a couple shortcuts with my cakes. I like easy recipes and there is no easier recipe than my Banana Split Ice Cream Cake!

Banana Split Ice Cream Cake

Serves 8

Ingredients:

1 Blue Bunny® Homemade Vanilla ice cream

1 Blue Bunny® Banana Split ice cream

1 butter loaf pound cake

Whipped cream

3 maraschino cherries with stem

Smucker's Sundae Syrup caramel flavored syrup for serving

1 foil loaf pan

1 gallon size resealable bag

First, slice your pound cake, lengthwise, into 4 slices. 

Place one slice of cake at the bottom of your foil pan. 

Next, place three scoops of Blue Bunny® Homemade Vanilla ice cream over the loaf slice. Spread evenly with the back of a spoon.

Top the vanilla ice cream layer with a slice of pound cake.

Top second slice of pound cake with 3 scoops of Blue Bunny® Banana Split ice cream. Again, spread ice cream evenly with the back of a spoon.

Repeat the layering steps again with the vanilla ice cream and then top the cake with the last cake slice. 

Place a plastic top on your loaf pan and place the cake in a resealable bag. Put in freezer for 2 hours to set. Putting ice cream cakes in a resealable bag helps them maintain their freshness. In a resealable bag, the cake will keep up to one week.

When ready to serve, remove the cake from the freezer and run a warm knife around the edges to loosen the cake. Then, turn onto a plate. 

Top your cake with whipped cream. I only add whipped cream to the top but you could frost the cake with whipped cream as well!

All amazing banana splits need to be topped with cherries so make sure your cake has some yummy cherries on top! Slice and serve with caramel syrup!

My family loved this cake. It was banana split heaven in a slice. This is a great make-ahead cake and I plan on making about 5 of them for pour end of the year pool party!!!

Right click image to print recipe card

Blue Bunny® ice creams are available at your local Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Markets in the ice cream section!!

Apricot & Goat Cheese Bites

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #StackitUp #CollectiveBias

Spring is here and there is nothing I love more during this time than the great weather. Great weather leads to fun get-togethers with friends and family. When I spend time with friends and family, I love to serve delicious, easy food, especially easy appetizers. I like to always serve various easy appetizers since we usually grill our main dish and sometimes that can take long. My go-to appetizer for any get together is super easy to make, only has 3 ingredients and can even be a vegetarian appetizer: Apricot & Goat Cheese Bites!

Don't my bites look amazing? Like I mentioned before they are super easy to make. All you need are RITZ Original crackers, apricot preserves and goat cheese. I always, always have a box of RITZ Original Fresh Stack crackers in my pantry. They are super yummy alone or with toppings. The other day at Walmart, I even found the Limited Edition RITZ Ultimate Butter Fresh Stacks!! The Fresh Stack size is super convenient and make taking your RITZ on-the-go even easier!

To make my super simple appetizer, all you need are RITZ Original Fresh Stacks crackers (I estimate 5 per person, which is the recommended serving size), 4 oz of fresh goat cheese and 1 jar of apricot preserves. 

To assemble, you just place a cracker on your hand and spread the goat cheese on top. 

Then, I place all my goat cheese topped crackers on my serving dish.

Then I top each cracker with 1/2 tsp of apricot preserves. 

It really doesn't get any easier than that! These really are a favorite in our home. The kids love them as after-school snacks too! I also love how versatile this appetizer can be. You can top RITZ Original Fresh Stacks crackers with any of your favorite toppings and they will be amazing little snacks!

RITZ Original Fresh Stacks and RITZ Ultimate Butter Fresh Stacks can be found at your local Walmart. The Limited Edition RITZ Ultimate Butter Fresh Stacks will be available while supplies last. 

More recipes can be found on Snackworks.com!

Do you have creative ways to top RITZ Original Fresh Stacks crackers for appetizers?

Springtime Lamb Roast with Lemon & Herb Risotto

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc., and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MySignatureDish #CollectiveBias

I love to cook. Growing up, I wanted to go to culinary school but my life took me in a different direction. My love for cooking and learning new techniques has never faded. Now, it's a hobby. A hobby that JC totally loves since he gets to try new dishes all the time. Recently, to celebrate the arrival of Spring, I decided to make him a special dish, something more gourmet than I usually make. To me, spring is fresh herb and lemon dishes. After a little thought, I knew exactly what I wanted to make: a delicious Springtime Roast Lamb with a Lemon & Herb Risotto. So fancy!

Springtime Lamb Roast

serves 3-4

Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2-3 pound leg of lamb, boneless and butterflied

salt and pepper to taste

Filling:

1 cup baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup fresh rosemary

5 cloves garlic, diced

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

kitchen twine

When I make dishes like this, I like to pull out all the stops. I purchase organic lamb, the freshest ingredients I can find and I always use my most amazing cookware: my bad boy Calphalon Signature™ Stainless Steel 12" Omelette Pan. One thing I have learned about cooking is that you need to use the right pans for certain dishes. My Springtime roast lamb needs to be seared and then roasted. I need to use a pan that heats evenly and can be transferred from stove top to oven. Calphalon Signature™ Stainless Steel cookware is made with five layers of metal that delivers exceptionally even heating and precise temperature control. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Gather all the ingredients for your filling.

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, rosemary and walnuts. Cook until fragrant (about 5 minutes.)

Add spinach, salt and pepper to taste and cook until spinach wilts. 

Transfer filling to plate. Wipe down pan with a paper towel. Now to prepare your lamb for searing. First, make sure your lamb has been set out for at least 30 minutes if it was in the refrigerator. Cover your lamb with a piece of wax paper and than pound/flatten all over.

Season lamb with salt and pepper lightly. Then spread filling evenly all over the top of the meat. 

Now to roll it up. Cut a long piece of kitchen twine and set aside. 

Start at the thinnest end and slowly roll your meat. Some of the filling will spill out. Just stuff it back in at the end. 

Tie with twine. Make sure you tie it tight and end with a bow!

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat. Place lamb in pan and sear for about 3-4 minutes per side. 

I love to sear all meats I roast. Searing gives your roast such a beautiful color and helps trap in the juices! Once seared on all sides, transfer roast in the pan to oven and bake for about 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, remove roast from oven and let sit for about 15 minutes before serving. 

Make sure you slice into the meat with an extremely sharp knife. Also, make sure the slices are about 1 inch thick. Look at that filling!

I served my Springtime Lamb Roast with a Lemon and Herb Risotto. I love making risotto when I feel like a fancy meal, especially on date nights. I instantly feel like I am out at a restaurant, even though it's just JC and I at home.

Lemon & Herb Risotto

Serves 2

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup Arbolo rice

2 tbsp yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups chicken stock, warmed

1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 tbsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook until rice begins to crackle, about 2 minutes. 

Slowly add chicken stock. NOTE: Please warm chicken stock before adding. This is a super important step to make sure your risotto is soft and creamy. 

Cover and cook rice over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, finely chop all your fresh herbs. 

Once your rice is al dente, lower heat to low and add your fresh herbs. 

Add your lemon juice, stir and turn off the heat. 

IMPORTANT: Time your meal so that the risotto is ready to serve as soon as it's done. If you need to wait before you serve it, keep it on low heat and add a little warm chicken stock before serving. 

This meal is so delicious. I highly suggest you try it out on your next at-home date night!

I love my stainless steel pans but honestly, I used to be terrified to use them. They look so pretty when you take them out of the box but man can they be nasty when you are done cooking with them. It used to be such a pain to clean all the cooked on food until I found the easiest method to clean stainless steel ever!

All you need to keep your stainless steel pans looking like new is a bottle of non-abrasive, non-bleach cleaner, a little water, a scrubbing pad and a cloth. 

First, add a little water to your stainless steel pan. Then sprinkle in your cleaner to a paste consistency.

Now for a little work. This part is all elbow grease. Grab your scrubbing pad and start scrubbing. It's not too bad though, you will immediately start seeing those spots disappear. Once all stains have been removed, rinse your pan and dry with a soft cloth. 

VOILA! Like new!! I always, always clean my stainless steel pans like this and they always come out amazing!!

In case you were wondering, I purchased my Calphalon Signature™ Stainless Steel cookware at Bed, Bath & Beyond! They are available online and in stores. Calphalon Signature™ Non-stick and Stainless Steel cookware pieces have a full lifetime warranty!

Tell me: Do you pull out all the stops for certain dishes? Do you go gourmet when it's a date night at home?

Be sure to check out Calphalon on Facebook and Instagram for more culinary inspiration!