Easy Italian Style Meatballs

I was preparing my menu last week and realized I hadn't made meatballs in a really long time.  This is the recipe I use for spaghetti and meatballs subs. They can be made into whatever size you want just adjust the cooking time. They are flavorful and easy to throw together for a weeknight meal.

What you need:

• 1 egg
• 1 Tablespoon each parsley, oregano basil
• 1 teaspoon each salt, black pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions
• 2 Tablespoons finely minced garlic
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
• 4 Tablespoons whole milk
• 1.5 - 2 lbs ground beef

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Mix all of the ingredients, except the ground beef
• Add the ground beef to the seasoning mixture. 
• Using your hands gently mix the ground beef into the seasoning mix. Be careful not to over mix
• Take about two tablespoons of the meat mixture and shape into a ball. Do this until you have shaped all of the meat mixture
• Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet and place in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through

Easy Meatball (or Ground Beef) Stroganoff

So in an effort to eat up as much random foods in my pantry as possible before the big redo, I've been cooking up a storm. I have been pleasantly surprised with the items I've forgotten in my pantry.  Egg noodles are a perfect example. I don't care for them much but B enjoys a bowl of chicken noodle soup on occasion.  I prefer the hearty Papperdelle noodle.  There was only about four ounces of egg noodles in the package so I mixed it with some leftover Pappardelle, that I broke up in my hand and viola...creamy, delicious dinner in 30.  It helped that I had meatballs from a previous meal already defrosted!

Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff

What you need:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 8-12 ounces  Pappardelle, broken up or other wide noodle
• 1 1/2 cups milk, I used 2%
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups beef stock
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 2/3 cup sour cream

  What to do:

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the ground beef
• Discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat
• Add the noodles, milk, heavy cream, beef stock, cornstarch, salt, pepper, paprika, granulated garlic and thyme.
• Stir to combine and cover. Lower the heat to medium and allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes, or until the noodles are cooked through
• Add the sour cream and simmer for 5 more minutes.
• Serve immediately

 

 

 

Chili Braised Meatballs

These were another Pinterest find and they were definitely worth the effort. They were rich and smokey and hearty and just plain delicious.

They were formed and then stuffed with a small hunk of sharp cheddar cheese. Then cooked in a rich broth and served over my favorite pasta noodles.

Chili Braised Meatballs
Adapted from: http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/mountain-meatballs

What you need:

Meatballs:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 large egg
• 1 handful breadcrumbs
• 4 oz cheddar or mozzarella or jack, shredded
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Chili sauce:

• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno, seeds removed, diced
• 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1/3 container of cherry tomatoes, or two diced plum tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp molasses
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 6 Tbsp ketchup
• 6 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp paprika powder
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 heaping tsp granulated coffee
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 1 1/2 cup water

What to do:

• In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients under meatballs except the cheese
• Mix well but don't over mix. Form really nice sized balls of meat, a little bigger than the size of an extra large egg
• Press your thumb into the center of each meatball and stuff the cheese inside making sure the cheese is secure inside the meatball
• In a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed boiler, heat the olive oil and brown the meatballs. Once browned transfer them to a plate while you make the chili sauce
• In the same pan you just browned the meatballs, add the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Saute for about 5-7 minutes
• Add the garlic and tomatoes and cook for another 5 minutes
• Add remaining ingredients. Stir well, bring to a boil.
• Add the meatballs back to the pan, reduce heat and cook uncovered over medium heat until sauce thickens and reduces, about 30 minutes.
• Enjoy over your favorite pasta noodles or rice!

Sherry Braised Short Ribs

If you knew how easy it is to roast tough cuts of meat you would probably do it all the time! Here the basic steps:

• Season: Keep it simple, salt, pepper, granulated garlic

• Sear: High heat in a little cooking oil.  Once you place it in the pan to sear, leave it alone! Don't overcrowd the pan, don't keep flipping it and don't press the meat down in the pan, just leave it be and flip it once. You want to get a get a good crust on it. 

• De glaze: For red meats I usually use a dry red wine. For poultry a dry white. Please don't ever use the cooking wine they sale in the store. It's gross. If you don't want to use any wine increase the amount of chicken or beef broth
• Finally, low heat roast: You typically want to do this for 2-3 hours or until meat is super tender. A low roast to me is 350 degrees.

See how easy that is? When I add vegetables, like carrots, celery and onions, I add it during the last 30 minutes of roasting but I add garlic cloves as soon as the meat goes into the oven so the garlic can get all melty and yummy!

Sherry Braised Short Ribs

What you need:

• 6-8 Meaty short ribs
• Enough salt, pepper and granulated garlic to season all sides of the ribs, about 1 tsp of each
• Enough oil(canola, vegetable, etc) to brown all sides of the ribs, about 1/4 cup
• 3-4 cloves of garlic left whole
• 1 cup good red wine (or beef stock or broth), I used Sherry
• 1 Tbs flour, optional
• 2 1/2-3 cups beef stock or broth
• 1/2 cup each, carrots, celery, onions

 

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Add about a tablespoon of oil in a large and deep skillet over medium high heat. Let it get good and hot
• While the skillet is getting hot, season all sides of your short ribs with the salt, pepper and granulated garlic
• In batches, without crowding the pan, add the ribs to the hot skillet and sear them on all sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. 
• Remove the ribs from the skillet and set aside
• Reduce heat to medium, de-glaze the skillet with the wine. Let this reduce for about 5-7 minutes
• Whisk in the flour until there are no more lumps
• Add the ribs back to the pan and pour the stock/broth over the ribs until they are just covered
• Bring the liquid to a boil
• Remove from heat, add garlic cloves, cover and place in preheated oven
• Roast, for 2.5-3 hours or until ribs are fork tender. If liquid gets too low add additional beef stock/broth
• Add the chopped vegetables during the last 30 minutes of roasting
• Serve over rice, mashed potatoes, or a really good risotto

Short ribs will bless you, do you hear me!! Bless. You.

Creamy Bolognese over Pappardelle

So I'm trying this new, free (for now) photo editing software...see how fancy I keep it for ya'll! It has all kinds of fun tools.  One day I will read the instructions for the camera I received for Christmas.  Until then it will be all trial and error around these parts! There is just so much to learn about photography it's alot a bit intimidating. Besides, I have so much on my plate right now I wouldn't be able to give it the full attention that I would like.

My plate was also filled with this delicious comfort food! This was so good.  Pappardelle is my favorite pasta...it can do no wrong! This slow simmering sauce was the perfect companion to this hearty pasta. I mean, make this when you have several hours to be in the house...the longer it simmers the better the flavors meld together...making it a day ahead is even better! Oh the goodness!

Creamy Bolognese over Pappardelle
http://www.fureyandthefeast.com/2009/11/low-and-slow-meat-sauce/

What you need:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 1/4 cup carrot, minced
• 1/4 cup celery, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1 3/4 cup (about 14 ounces) crushed Italian tomatoes
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• Salt and pepper, to taste

What to do:

• In a 3-quart pot over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef. Remove from pot and drain. Set aside.
• Add olive oil, onion, carrot, celery and garlic to pot and sweat for 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes, or until tomato paste darkens in color.
• Add red wine to pot and use wooden spoon to scrape any bits of food that may be stuck to the bottom of the pot. Let wine reduce in half, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add tomatoes, water, brown sugar, oregano, basil and ground beef. Bring sauce to boil, then reduce heat to low cover with pot lid slightly ajar so steam can escape. Simmer for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings to preference. Add heavy cream and butter to finish, and serve with your favorite pasta noodles

CLEARLY, I need move photography further up my long list of to do...most especially photo editing! LOL

Mini Bacon Meatballs

I love when I can look at food and see the ingredients used to prepare them, bits of real garlic, fresh parsley, flecks of coarse ground pepper...love that.


I know this is going to shatter all that us true and holy but these little balls of meat didn't even need the bacon...I know that is straight blasphemy! I mean I put it in there but the flavor was such that you could have done with out them and been good! So don't skip the recipe just because you don't have bacon.

Mini Bacon Meatballs
http://www.cuisinerecipes.com/2011/04/14/mini-bacon-meatballs/


What you need:

• 2 strips bacon, diced
• 1⁄4 cup diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1⁄2 lb. ground beef sirloin
• 1⁄4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
• 1⁄2 tsp. paprika
• 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1⁄2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a pan with nonstick spray.
• Sauté bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat until starting to crisp, about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate. Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. drippings from skillet.
• Sauté onion in same skillet in reserved drippings over medium heat until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic to skillet and cook, 1 minute.
• In a large bowl combine beef, bacon, onion mixture, bread crumbs, parsley, paprika, salt, and pepper . Stir in beaten egg.
• Form mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place on prepared pan.
• Bake meatballs until fully cooked, about 10 minutes.

Originally published Oct 2011