Berry Patriotic

Since the 4th of July is next week, I decided to be a good little patriotic American and make red, white, and blue food, and chant 'USA' a few times.  In reality it would probably be much more American if it was loaded with high fructose corn syrup and artificial dyes, but believe it or not, they’re not necessary.  This little tasty bite is colorful, delicious, and actually quite healthy.  It’s the perfect little nibble to add to your barbeque menu. 

Here’s what you need:

• Large strawberries
• Blueberries
• 1 15oz. container of full fat ricotta
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 orange

Dump the ricotta into a mixing bowl.  I know, it looks like a big pile of paste, which you haven’t been interested in eating since you were 5.  It gets better, though.  I promise. 

Add about a teaspoon of orange zest. 

Squeeze in about a Tablespoon of the juice from the orange.  (no I didn’t measure these things, but you can if you want to go to the effort)

Whip that together for a good minute or two.  The ricotta should become nice and fluffy. 

Sift the powdered sugar over the top and mix until it’s completely incorporated.  Make sure you scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl at some point. 

Now, put that into the fridge to chill while you prep your strawberries.  After you’ve washed them, run a knife around the top to remove the hull, leaving an empty cavity. 

Then turn the strawberry over and slice off the tip. 

You want to remove enough that it has a nice flat base to stand on. 

There should be enough filling for around 30 strawberries or so, depending on their size.  When I’m in need of large ones, I can usually count on Costco to have some in stock.  Go ahead and prep as many strawberries as you want and line them up on a sheet pan.  (Feel free to line it with parchment.)

Scoop the ricotta mixture into a pastry bag with a medium star tip.  You can just use a plastic bag with the corner cut off if you don’t have a pastry bag.  It just won’t be star shaped.  You could probably even just use a spoon and dollop it if you want.  Otherwise, pipe the mixture into the cavity of the strawberry, filling it, and making a spiral on top. 

Then place a blueberry on top of that.  Isn’t that cute? 

Repeat with the rest of your strawberries, filling, and blueberries.

These really are the perfect little patriotic snack.  They’d make a fabulous snack or dessert for any summer evening, though.  Juicy strawberries, filled with lightly sweet, orange, ricotta cream, and topped with a fresh blueberry.  Seriously divine, and best of all, no oven required so you can keep your house cool. 

What are your plans for the 4th of July?

Mouthwatering Mini Meatloaves

I don’t know about you, but I think the best parts of a meatloaf are the edges.  So when I was considering making a meatloaf, I thought, why not make little ones so that there’s a much higher edge to middle ratio.  And well… why not wrap them in bacon?  Bacon is always a welcome addition. 

Here’s what you need:

1 lb. ground turkey breast
2-3 small onions (they have to be small)
½ of a red bell pepper
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 egg
12 strips of bacon
Salt and pepper

 

In my world, bacon isn’t cooked unless it’s crispy.  Nothing bugs me more than something wrapped in a soggy piece of bacon.  With that in mind, you’ll need to par-cook the bacon before doing anything else.  Lay the slices on a foil lined sheet pan.

Bake at 350° for about 10 minutes.  Or until it looks about like this.

Remove it to some paper towels to drain and cool.  Next, dice your onion and bell pepper and mince your garlic.  You’ll want the pieces to be pretty small. 

Now, pull out your meat.  Drop it into a mixing bowl with an egg. 

Mix them until the egg is fully incorporated. Hubby likes things spicy.  Since I don’t really, I compromised and put in about a teaspoon of hot sauce.  You can as much as you like… or none.  This is a good time to add the salt and pepper as well.   

Once that’s mixed in, go ahead and stir in the onion, bell pepper, and garlic. 

Now, this is where the importance of having small onions comes in.  If you can’t find any really small onions, you can just remove some layers to make them fit.  Place a thin slice, about ¼ inch, into the bottom of each muffin cup. 

Now comes the bacon.  Place one strip around the edge of each cup.  Mine was center cup, so it didn’t quite make a complete circle, but close enough.  Look at that, a perfect little cup for your meat. 

Fill each one and press it with wet fingers to smooth out the top. 

I had two extra strips of undercooked bacon, and I’m pretty sure it’s blasphemous to waste bacon, so I just cut them up and topped each cup with a little piece. 

Bake, uncovered, in a 350° oven for 45 minutes.  I placed my muffin tins on a sheet pan just to be safe.  When they’re done, they won’t really be brown, but the bacon on top will be cooked as well as the strips around the edges.

If you’re careful, you can flip the meatloaves over and serve them with the onions on top.  The onions are sweet and caramelized, and I think they look fabulous that way.  I plated them both ways so you could see the difference.  Aren’t they cute? 

I served mine with a slice of potato and zucchini pie, which was a fabulous accompaniment. 

What full size recipe would you like to see miniaturized?