Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Spicy Turkey Meatballs, Peanut Veggies, Squash Seeds

Hello! Thank you for all of the supportive comments regarding my potential upcoming schedule change.

Did you have a good day? I hope so! I woke up feeling 100% better (which was good because I had a big presentation at work today).

When I got home from work, I prepped our dinners. I Josh turkey meatballs (turkey, onion, parsley, garlic, S&P, sprayed with a little olive oil and baked at 350 for 12ish minutes (baking time depends on the size of your meatballs)). I put the meatballs on top of spaghetti with a spicy sauce (marinara and buffalo sauce mixed):

I prepped myself veggies with peanut sauce (and I plan to add a few hand fulls of walnuts to this later) and fruit:
After removing the seeds from my acorn squash last night, I knew I wanted to try and bake them up. I found various sources online on just how to make the seeds but went with the following method:

“Pick through the pumpkin/squash guts and save only the plump mature seeds, no strings attached. Soak them at least two hours or overnight in 2-4 tablespoons of table salt dissolved in 2 cups of water. Drain the seeds in a colander and blot with paper towels. Roast on parchment- or nonstick foil-lined baking sheet(s) at 250 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes, for one hour or until seeds are dry and barely golden.

Before baking, for every three cups of seeds, you could also melt 2 tablespoons of butter (or use olive oil) and stir in a teaspoon of any combination of spices like chili powder, garlic salt (if you only have garlic powder, use just a few shakes), cumin, cayenne, sugar, curry powder, cinnamon or Worcestershire sauce. Stir the seeds into the flavored oil until all the seeds are coated, then bake as above. (I found this on a forum)”

I used just a hint of olive oil and chili powder. The result:


Josh LOVES pumpkin seeds, so I know he’ll be a big fan of these. I'm off to teach Body Attack!!

40 comments:

teresa said...

the seeds look like so much fun, as do those meatballs. delicious looking food, as always!

Leah @ L4L said...

The ONLY reason we are carving pumpkins this year is so I can bake seeds!

Jessica said...

Hmmm...I might be able to eat veggies with peanut sauce on them!

Janetha @ meals + moves said...

ohh i love meatballs! yours look incred. and pumpkin seeds! i need to get on the whole pumpkin carving thing for that reason alone!

Allie (Live Laugh Eat) said...

I bet my acorn squash seeds sizzled last week because I didn't soak them in water!! And I had a lil' bit of guts still there....and I had them in at a HIGH temp. Oops...your seeds turned out perfectly though!!

Sarah @ The Foodie Diaries said...

ahh seeds & chili powder sounds like an amazing combo!!

Stephanie @ cookinfanatic said...

I've never thought of mixing marinara and buffalo sauce, what a great idea! Glad you had a great day :)

vanillasugarblog said...

you know pumpkin seeds are really good for you, they have ____ in them. I'm drawing a blank now and will think of it when I turn off the computer. LOL But it's something not that common, but really good for you.

The Purple Carrot said...

Mmm, I have never saved my seeds before ... I'll have to try that sometime.

I have yet to try peanut sauce but every time you mention it I always say I'm going to, haha ... one of these days maybe I actually will : )

Anonymous said...

I made pumpkin seeds once and it was more fun making it than eating it afterwards! :D
have a nice evening!

Naomi(Onefitfoodie) said...

i LOVE peanut sauce! i havent made it in forever but it is so tasty on fresh veggies and tofu!! you just got me way in the mood for that

the meatballs look fantastic!!

Pam said...

Any thing with pumpkin seeds or peanut sauce is good with me!

Enjoy and glad you are feeling better about things!

Lauren said...

I need to have pumpkin seeds again! It's been way to long since I've had them.

Hopefully I can find them in the store, because I have no intentions of carving any pumpkins anytime soon. But I love your idea of using the acorn squash seeds! Now why didn't I think of that!;)

Maria said...

Great eats:) I went to a worksite wellness conference for work. It was good. I also had volleyball practice. I am coaching the teenage girls in our neighborhood, it is just for fun:)

Meredith (Pursuing Balance) said...

I hope your schedule change gets approved! Crossing my fingers for you!

K from ksgoodeats said...

Glad you were feeling better today! I'm sure you totally rocked that presentation :)

As always your dinner looks amazing - what could be better than veggies and peanut sauce?! Not much is what.

When I was a kiddo, my family used to make seasoned pumpkin seeds all the time. We just did salt but I like the seasonings you picked!!

Holly said...

What a great idea to save the seeds! I've never had pumpkin or squash seeds before. Darnit, and I just threw mine out tonight, too! Looks like I'll HAVE to buy another one! ;-)

BroccoliHut said...

Never would have thought to use the squash seeds--great idea! I go through enough squash that I would have plenty to work with:)

Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) said...

good idea with the seeds, I bet I would love those!!!

Miz said...

how sad is my life that I got excited because this afternoons activity is making (waitforit) turkey meatballs! :)
I usually make em and the child usually doesnt eat them.
My new plan of attack, eeerm, approach is to get her to assist in the creating!

CaSaundraLeigh said...

I always roast my pumkpin seeds!! Such a fun snack--I am thinking about doing a few diff variations for holiday gifts this yr :-)

Glad your feeling better!!

Aggie said...

Oh that spicy sauce sounds great! I'm making acorn squash tonight...glad you posted about the seeds, I'll have to save them!! And I'm glad I checked about long to cook the squash before stuffing it...now I'm prepared! :)....am stuffing with gr turkey, mushrooms, onions, peppers and kale....can't wait! Thanks for the inspiration! :)

Lizzy said...

i need to experiment with peanut sauce cause i know it tastes amazing, but i'm just afraid to use it!

Yum Yucky said...

Body Attack? I need to attack mine with some healthy food. Yesterday was a complete FAIL, including donut holes, danish, and more donuts holes.

S.O.S. !!

Being Healthier said...

attack those bodies lady!!!


delicious turkey meatball recipe, i love fall because of squash. :)

Jenna said...

i adore pumpkin seeds and haven't had any this season yet! these look delicious!

Krista said...

Peanut sauce on veggies? That sounds like a winner to me!!

Therese said...

My mom used to always roast the pumpkin seeds from our Halloween pumpkins as kids. I love them! I'm sure yours were awesome :)

Michelle @ Find Your Balance said...

I roast squash seeds all the time but I"ve never soaked 'em before. Hmmm I will have to try that! My favorite is salt and ground coriander.

Dawn (HealthySDLiving) said...

Glad you wole up feeling better! :) That's a great idea with the seeds--I remember way back in the day we used to make pumpkin seeds...so good!

brandi said...

i haven't had pumpkin seeds in so long!

Glad you're feeling better, too! :)

Julie said...

Oh my god what a GREAT idea with the seeds! Definitely need to give that a try thanks girl :)

glad you're feeling better!

Anonymous said...

The squash seeds look great! Neat idea to use something that would have just been thrown away.

Whitney @ Lettuce Love said...

Love roasting pumpkin seeds!

Anonymous said...

Peanut Sauce on ANYTHING is okay with me!

I can't wait to carve our pumpkin so we can toast up the seeds. Last year I didn't quite get all of the pulp off first, which made for a pretty narsty smell a few days later!

Alison said...

LOVE squash seeds - pumpkin or otherwise! It's a fall foodie rite of passage, isn't it??

Deva (Voracious Vorilee) said...

Mmmm homemade roasted pumpkin seeds - those look and sound really really good!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I had a great day! Thanks for asking!

That spaghetti looks so good!! I am totally craving spaghetti and meatballs right now :-)

Bec said...

I love pumpkin seeds, it is such a great idea to put different seasonings on them!

lk - healthy delicious said...

your meals always look so much better than his. lol
love the grated squash seeds. I haven't done that this year yet... I like to put cajun seasoning on them. yummy!