Moroccan Style Meatballs and Couscous

Let me first say that I have no idea if Moroccans eat meatballs and that this is not authentic at all. I just love this Moroccan Place we like to eat at and can't afford to eat there often, so this is my way of having some of those flavors at home. Also, we are trying to eat less red meat, so I made them with ground turkey but I think these would taste great with ground beef also. Something to note, this is very very flavorful, it has a lot more spices in it than most people are accustomed too, at least in the US. It's not a familiar flavor unless you've had Moroccan food before, but we absolutely loved it. If you're unsure about it you could halve the spice ingredients the first time you make this dish.

Here's the recipe:

Meatballs
1 pack of ground turkey, around a 1-1 1/2 lbs
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 C or more of quick cooking oats or crushed crackers or breadcrumbs ( I used a combo of oats and crushed wheat ritz because we ran out of oats)
1 large onion very finely chopped or grated or substitute dry onions
1T paprika
1T cumin
1T turmeric (I actually used some McCormick's Curry blend because it has turmeric and that's all I had)
1T cinnamon
1t ginger
1/4C dry parsley or 1/2C fresh parsley

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Make small meatballs by using a tablespoon to get your meat out so that it stays a uniform size. Put on baking stone for best results, but you may also use a greased cookie sheet or a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it. Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes. It will take about 2 batches.

Sauce
1C tomato paste
5-6 cloves chopped garlic
1 can chopped tomato
1 red pepper (I didn't have this but it still turned out great)
1T paprika
1T turmeric
1T cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

Make sauce while meatballs are in the oven. Saute garlic and add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Add water to make a slightly thick consistency. Bring to boil and simmer, adding more water if needed.

While the sauce is simmering up you can start your couscous. I just bought the quick boxed kind from the store. The chicken flavored kind is good with this. If you don't have couscous you can serve over pasta.

Serve the meatballs over the couscous and top with some sauce. Add a side of veggies for a balanced meal.

Red Beans and Rice

1lb. bag of dry red beans (I used light red) that have been sorted, rinsed, and soaked overnight and then drained and rinsed.
1 quart chicken stock (4 cups)
2 cups hot water
2 bay leaves
1 onion
2 stalks celery
1 green bell pepper
chopped up garlic to taste (I used about 6 cloves)
2T oil
1 package of smoked turkey sausage
2t cumin
2t paprika
cayenne pepper to taste (I used about 1t)
Dash of hot sauce
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Dash of liquid smoke(you can leave this out if you don't have it, but it's a nice flavor)
Dash of thyme
1/4 C or so of parsely
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooked rice, I made about 5 cups and just added in as much of it as looked right for consistency.

Put your beans in a big pot(I used an 8qt stockpot) as this recipe makes about 4 quarts of food, you'll want room to stir. Add your bay leaves, half your diced onion, chicken stock, and hot water. Stir it up. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours with lid tipped and stir often.

While your beans are cooking, chop the rest of your veggies and the sausage. You can also cook up your rice. Saute your veggies and garlic in oil. Add that to your pot after the beans have been cooking about an hour. Cook sausage up so it's browned a bit and then add it to the pot. Remember to keep stirring. Add in all the spices now. Cook till beans and veggies are soft. When that's done you can add in the rice.

This can be served as a main dish or side dish.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Nom! is all that needs to be said about pumpkin pancakes. There were no leftovers.

I got the recipe from here.
PS I left out the ginger because I am not a fan.