meatballs

 

meatballs with tomato sauce, meatballs with brown gravy, meatballs in a sub roll with bbq sauce, everyone needs a good meatball recipe...here's the one I like.  change it up to fit your needs--don't like pork?  add only beef.  want a fresh flavor, add some fresh Italian parsley!

don't worry about making too many--freeze some for another day!  

ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil (+small amount for baking sheet)
1 medium onion, diced small
1 lb. lean ground beef (I use ground chuck)
1 lb. ground pork
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs (works fine with Italian too!)
2 eggs
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (or to taste)
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
2 tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup milk (water is ok too)

instructions:
preheat oven to 425 degrees F

very lightly oil a baking sheet.  (a little oil on a piece of paper towel works perfectly!  or spray with cooking spray.)

heat olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat, add onions and cook until translucent (don't brown!)
let cool.

use your hands to mix together beef, pork, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, parmesan cheese and milk.  mix in cooled onions.

form meat mixture into about 1 1/2" balls (I use my small cookie scoop to get equal portions!)  arrange on prepared baking sheet.

bake in preheated oven 20 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

add the meatballs to your favorite sauce (tomato, bbq, brown gravy).

enjoy!!!

these freeze really well!  put meatballs into a zip lock freezer bags in a single layer, remove the air, zip and freeze.  use small bags for smaller portions, so you only pull out what you need!

today's dinner---pierogies!

dough:
6 cups flour
16 oz. sour cream
4 large eggs
1 stick of butter, melted

combine 6 cups flour with eggs, sour cream and melted butter, mix well until blended and not sticky.

filling:
5 large potatoes, diced
sharp white cheddar
salt pepper

boil potatoes until soft, mash very well. add shredded cheese stir until melted, add salt and pepper to taste.

make the pierogi:

roll dough to 1/8” thick, cut with glass, fill with potato filling, pinch ends to seal.  

drop into boiling water and simmer 8 minutes.  drain.  (like them crispy? after boiling, fry them in butter for a few minutes!!)

serve with caramelized onions and sour cream.  (Kielbasa too!!!)

enjoy!!!

popcorn!

homemade kettle corn!

ingredients:
1/4 cup vegetable oil (or peanut oil, or ghee!)
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
1/4 cup sugar (white for kettle corn, brown sugar for a more caramel flavor!)

instructions:
heat oil (or ghee) in a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat.

stir in popcorn kernels and sugar.  cover pot with lid.

listen for the first kernels to pop!  when they do, shake the pan on the burner (continuously, or it will burn).

turn the heat down, when you hear a pause (a few seconds) between pops, it's almost done!

remove the pot from the heat and continue to shake until popping stops.

pour the popcorn onto a baking sheet lined with parchment.

break up large pieces and sprinkle with salt.

enjoy!!!

pad thai with chicken

ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) package rice noodles

2 tablespoons butter

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into thin, bite-size pieces)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

sauce:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/3 cup fish sauce

3 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more/less to taste)

1/2 lime, juiced

toppings:
1 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup crushed peanuts

4 green onions, chopped

1/2 fresh lime, cut into wedges

instructions:

Cook rice noodles, leaving them very al-dente because they will cook more later.  

Rinse with cold water and set aside.

Make the sauce:  Combine white wine vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, and juice of 1/2 a lime in a small bowl, set aside. 

Heat butter in a wok pan or large heavy skillet.

Stir fry chicken until no longer pink.  Remove from wok pan, and set aside.

Heat oil in same wok pan over medium-high heat. Crack eggs into hot oil, stir fry until firm.

Stir in chicken, softened noodles, and sauce mixture. 

Stir and cook until noodles are tender.

Adjust seasoning (pepper flakes) to taste. 

Top each serving with green onion and peanuts.  Serve with bean sprouts and lime wedges on the side.

serves 4.  Does NOT freeze well.