Easy Basic Meatballs

I watch Rachel Ray's morning talk show, and in honor of it being "Meatball Week", I've decided to share my Easy Basic Meatball recipe again.  (We're having Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner tonight.)

You can view my original "meatball" post here...and see the photos.
http://bookfairy43.blogspot.com/2013/01/easy-basic-meatballs.html

here's the basic meatball recipe I use.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 to 2/3 c. dry breadcrumbs
1/4 c. milk
1/4 to 3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg

Combine all ingredients and shape into 20 to 24 meatballs (about 1 to 1 1/2 inches each).

To oven bake:  Place in an ungreased 9 x 13 pan.  (You can line with foil for easier clean up).
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown and cooked through; turn meatballs halfway through, if desired, to help maintain a round shape.

To pan fry:  Cook in skillet on medium heat, turning as needed, until brown (approx. 20 minutes).

To microwave:  Place in a microwave proof 12 x 7 pan and cover loosely.
Microwave on high for 3 minutes; rearrange meatballs.
Cover loosely again and microwave until brown inside, approx. 5 to 7 minutes more.
Let stand uncovered 3 minutes.

Taco Soup

It's raining and a tiny bit chilly out today so I'm declaring it a soup night in our household.  We will be having Taco Soup for dinner.  This is the recipe I use http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-soup-iv/ .  It's quite good.  

(this is not my photo...it's the photo shared with the recipe)

Taco Soup

2 lbs. ground beef

1 onion, chopped

1 (10.75 oz.) can of tomato puree

1 (10.75 oz.) can of tomato sauce

1 cup water

1 (15 oz.) can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 oz.) can of whole kernel corn, drained

1 (1.25 oz.) package of taco seasoning mix

1. In a medium stock pot brown beef and onion, about 10 minutes; drain grease if needed.
2. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, beans, corn and taco seasoning. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Top with cheese, corn chips, sour cream and olives.

Cowboy Lasagna

Last night's dinner was Cowboy Lasagna.  It was pretty good.  In fact, there weren't any leftovers.  None.  So that's testament to its tastiness.  I got the recipe from here on the Peppermint Mocha Mama blog.  We have food allergies in our household, so I omitted a couple of things like the ground mustard, but those were just spices.  To speed things up, I have included Peppermint Mocha Mama's recipe here on my blog.  For clarification, this is NOT my recipe or my photo.  Stop by her blog and check it out.

Cowboy Lasagna

Ingredients

1. 1 lb of ground beef
2. Minced onions - 4 tbsp
3. Worcestershire sauce - generous sprinkling
4. Parsley - roughly 3 tbsp, divided
5. One can of tomato soup - 10 3/4 ozs
6. One can of corn - 15.25 ozs
7. Dried ground mustard - 3 tbsp
8. One package of tater tots - 32 ozs
9. Salt and Pepper to taste
10. Mozzarella cheese - roughly 4 cups

Directions

1. Brown ground beef with spices - drain. Add can of soup and can of corn, simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, arrange tator tots in single layer. Cover with 2 cups of cheese. Pour ground beef mixture over top and cover with remaining cheese and 1 tbsp of parsley.
3. Place in a 350F oven for 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Menu and a recipe

Here's my last week's menu:

3/11 - Venison Stir Fry (I don't care for venison, so I had a baked chicken breast and a baked potato)
3/12 - I had a broasted chicken so I used the meat for Broasted Chicken Sandwiches and/or a Chicken Caesar Salad
3/13- This was a busy night for us.  We had a quick meal of Hot Dogs and Mac & Cheese
3/14- Take Out Night - Pizza (another busy night)
3/15- Tenderloin Sandwiches (and yet another busy night)
3/16- Kids were gone.  So it was fend for yourself night.  Big Daddy made a couple of corn dogs but burned them.  I had a Grilled Cheese.
3/17- Bacon Broccoli Pasta (recipe to follow).  I cooked.
3/18- Crock Pot Meal - Pork Roast, Carrots, Potatoes with Lipton Onion Soup Mix


Bacon Broccoli Pasta

16 oz. Angel Hair Pasta
1 bunch of fresh broccoli - cut into florets
1/4 pkg. of bacon - cut into pieces
3 tsp. minced garlic
1 c. parmesan cheese (I used fresh)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. margarine (I used light)

Cook the broccoli florets in boiling water until al dente.  Drain.
Cook the pasta in boiling water until al dente.  Drain.  Melt the margarine and add to the pasta.
In a large skillet, heat the oil.  Add bacon and fry until crisp.
Reduce heat to medium.  Add the garlic and stir fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add the broccoli and pasta.  Heat for 2 or 3 minutes just to warm everything back up.
Remove from heat.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Note:  If the bacon is really fatty, you may have to remove some of the fat from the skillet before adding the garlic.  

Sugar Cookies

Small T has ventured into the kitchen again.  This time to make sugar cookies for her "not a boyfriend" as part of his Valentine's Day gift.  She started them on Thursday, but due to time constraints and extra-curricular activities, she wasn't able to finish them until after school yesterday (before the bus left for the ball game).  I think she did a really good job and the only thing I helped with was the icing.  I made that just because she needed to get ready to leave.

If you don't know much about Small T, let me say this....she's not had a lot of experience in the kitchen.  I try to get her in there, but she's not interested.  When she does take the notion that she wants to make something, well....we do it, no matter what.  I think she's able to bake chicken, make a grilled cheese, cook Ramen Noodles (sort of), bake a frozen pizza (if there's someone around to take it OUT of the oven), etc..  I ended up getting quite tickled at her yesterday when she was telling about some of the friends giving her heck over baking cookies for Hayden.  I guess it was a conversation stopper at the lunch table as everyone was shocked to hear that she was in the kitchen.  While she was telling me about this, she makes this statement, "I don't know why they were giving me heck.  In fact, I fancy myself as more of a baker, not a cook."  Now...this may not seem funny, but honestly, the way she said it, and the fact that she just doesn't cook (or bake), was hilarious.  However, my laughter was contained INSIDE my body.  I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings.  Nope.  No Way.  Anyway, the cookies were made and they were great!  I've even got the recipe out to share.

Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

Cream butter.  Mix in powdered sugar.  Add egg and vanilla.  Blend.  Add flour, a bit at a time, until mixed in.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 2 to 3 hours.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness on a floured surface.  Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to cut out cookies.    Place cookies on greased cookie sheets and bake for about 8 minutes.  You do NOT want to let these cookies get brown on the edges.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Icing

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

1 capful of vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar

small bit of milk to make it creamy

Mix it all together.  It makes a very thin icing.  If you want it thicker, just keep adding powdered sugar.

**We placed wax paper under the wire racks of cookies before icing them.  Then, Small T spread the icing on the cookies.  The extra icing dripped off onto the wax paper.  No mess to clean up.**

Menu Update

Once again, I've been lax with posting my dinner menu's.  Here's what we had the past two days and what we are having tonight.

Saturday- Baked Boneless Pork Chops with homemade Rice A Roni, Peas and Spinach.

Sunday- Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Carrots.

Monday (today)- Creamy Broccoli Chicken with Egg Noodles.

Creamy Broccoli Chicken (crockpot meal)
boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used a 3 lb. package of them)
1 bag of frozen broccoli
2 cans cream of broccoli soup (I used cream of celery since I was out of the broccoli)
1 c. lowfat milk
pepper
cooked rice or egg noodles

Spray the crockpot with non-stick cooking spray.  Put the chicken in the crockpot.  Add the frozen broccoli then the soup.  Add pepper to taste.  Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Add the milk 45 minutes before serving.  Serve over rice or with egg noodles.

Weekly Menu

I've been lax in posting this.  Sorry.  :(

Monday - leftover night...chicken wings, sub sandwiches, etc.

Tuesday - Taco Tuesday.  Yum!  We ate out.

Wednesday - Chicken Fajitas and white rice.  (recipe to follow)

Thursday - Hamburger Helper (Cheeseburger Macaroni) and green beans.  Big Daddy made chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

Friday - Eating out at the ball game.


Chicken Fajitas

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into strips 1/2 inch thick
• Salt
• 2 Tbsp canola oil 
• 1 large onion, sliced lengthwise (root to tip) into 1/4-inch strips
• 3 bell peppers of various colors, sliced into 1/4-inch strips

Marinade
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a glass or plastic container. Add the chicken, mix well, cover and let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Wipe off most of the marinade and sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt.

Heat the canola oil in a skillet, stir fry the chicken until no longer pink in the middle.  Remove chicken to a dish.  Stir fry the onion and green peppers until almost cooked.  Add the chicken back to the skillet just to reheat it.  Remove the skillet from heat.  

Built your fajitas....flour tortilla....chicken fajita mixture....cheese....salsa.....etc..

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

This is what we're having for dinner tonight.

Crock Pot Teriyaki Chicken

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used a 3 lb. bag of them)
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. low sodium soy sauce
6 Tbsp. cider vinegar
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. pepper

4 1/2 tsp. cornstarch
4 1/2 tsp. cold water

Hot cooked rice

Put the chicken in the crock pot.
In a bowl, combine the sugar, soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger, garlic and pepper.  Pour over chicken.
Cover and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken from crock pot.  Skim the fat off the liquid.  Pour the liquid into a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.
Combine the corn starch and cold water and mix until smooth.  Gradually stir this mixture into the hot liquid and stir until its thickened.
Serve the sauce with the chicken and rice.

Homemade Beer Bread

I'm making this now.

Homemade Beer Bread

3 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 (12 oz.) bottle beer (I'm using Michelob Light)
3 tbsp. butter, melted (I'm using Blue Bonnet Light margarine)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 5x9 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.  Add beer and mix until combined.  (Dough will be sticky.)  Place dough in loaf pan.  Pour melted butter over top of loaf.

Bake, uncovered, for 50 to 60 minutes, or until top is golden brown and toothpick comes out clean from center.

Serve warm or cold.

*If desired, you can substitute a 12 oz. can of soda for the beer.
(I'm not sure how this would work.  But I would probably try something like Sprite or 7-up.)

Pulled Pork with Low Sodium BBQ Sauce

Tonight, we are having Pulled Pork with BBQ Sauce Sandwiches for dinner.  My family likes the BBQ Sauce on the side, so that's how it's being served.  We're also having some potatoes and a veggie.

Home Made Low Sodium BBQ Sauce

1 c. no salt added ketchup
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. molasses
1/3 c. packed brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan.  Heat until hot.  Turn heat down to low and let simmer and thicken.

Makes about 20 servings (2 Tbsp. each).

Overnight Crock Pot Oatmeal

Last night, I made the Overnight Crock Pot Oatmeal before going to bed.

The photo shows what it looks like before it's cooked.

Here's how you do it.  (I've posted this recipe before.)

Throw 2 sliced apples, 1/3 c. of brown sugar, and 1 tsp. of cinnamon in the bottom of the crock pot.  
Pour 2 c. of oatmeal and 4 c. of water on top.  Do NOT stir.
Cook overnight for 8 to 9 hours on low.

****Notes:  This morning when I ate a bowl of it, I decided that I should have peeled the apples instead of just slicing them.  I don't care for the skin in the oatmeal.  Also, my oatmeal turned out runny.  So...I'll use a bit less water next time.  (Timna's turned out thick, so I think it's the difference in our crock pots.  Check yours out before you adjust the water too much.)  Also, I didn't stir it up before cooking.  This left a hard crust on the top the next morning.  Next time I'll stir it and see what happens.

Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken

Last night's dinner was Slow Cooker Garlic and Brown Sugar Chicken.  I put it in the crock pot that morning, then Big Daddy made rice and a vegetable just before dinner time.  (I was down with the migraine.)  Everyone liked this!  In fact, a friend of Small T's finished off the 2 pieces that were going into the refrigerator as leftovers.

6 chicken thighs (mine were bone-in, and frozen)
1 c. packed brown sugar
2/3 c. vinegar
1/4 c. lemon-lime soda (I used diet mt. dew as that's what I had on hand)
2 to 3 Tbsp. minced garlic (I used 3 Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce (I used lite soy sauce)
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. water
Rice or noodles, cooked

Place chicken in slow cooker.
Mix together brown sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper.  Pour over chicken.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
Remove chicken from slow cooker.  Pour remaining sauce into a sauce pan.  Turn heat to high.
Mix corn starch and water, pour into sauce pan and mix well.  Let sauce come to a boil and boil for 2 to 3 minutes or until it starts to thicken and turns into a glaze.
Remove from heat and let sit for a minute or two.  It will thicken as it cools.

Serve chicken over rice or noodles.  Top with glaze.

Vegetable Soup (for a crowd)

Thursday night was the chili/soup supper at school.

As always, I bring the vegetable soup.

The photo shows the huge pot of it that I made.

Here's how I did it.

Vegetable Soup (for a crowd)

Family Pack of Ground Beef (about 2 3/4 lbs.)

5 lb. bag of potatoes

1 lb. bag of carrots

1 large onion

2 cans of tomato juice

1 box of beef broth

2 cans of whole kernel corn

2 cans of peas

2 cans of green beans

Brown the ground beef; drain.  Set aside.

Peel and dice the potatoes, carrots and onion.  Place in a very large pot.  Cover with water.  Cook until done.

Add ground beef, beef broth, tomato juice, and the drained cans of corn, peas and green beans.  Add enough water to make the soup the consistency that you like.  Simmer until heated through.  

Dinners....Monday and Tuesday

I have been lax with posting our dinner/supper plans for yesterday and today.

Yesterday, we had LEFTOVER night.  There was leftover Hamburger Helper, Chili, and Orange Chicken.  For those that had the Chili, I also made a Grilled Cheese Sandwich to go with it.

Tonight, the kids have a ball game, so I am making a Pork Stir Fry.  There will be enough left over for Small T to take in her lunch tomorrow, plus some for them to eat if they are hungry after they get back home tonight.  My stir fry is pretty simple.  I will slice some pork really thin, then saute it in a very small amount of oil.  Then I will add a bit of seasoning such as teriyaki or soy, 2 packages of stir fry vegetables, and a little bit of water, and then cook until the vegetables are just tender.  While this is happening, I cook up some rice.  That's it.

Edited to add.....
Big Daddy is in the mood for taco's.  In fact, he's craving them.  It's Taco Tuesday at the sports bar here in town, where the taco's are $1 each.  Since we've only been to Taco Tuesday once before, I will be ordering out a few taco's for him.  I'm still cooking the Pork Stir Fry for the kids and I though.

Edited to add....
I had a few pieces of sirloin pork that I didn't use in the stir fry, so I seasoned them up and baked them in the oven so I could use them for something else over the next day or so.

Homemade Rice-o-Roni

Homemade Rice-o-Roni

3 c. water
1 1/4 c. rice
1/2 c. spaghetti, broken into small pieces
3 Tbsp. powdered beef or chicken bouillon
1/4 c. each chopped carrot, celery and onion
2 Tbsp. margarine

Melt margarine in skillet.  Add rice and spaghetti and cook until lightly browned. Stir in all remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and the rice and spaghetti are tender.

Serves 6 to 8 

What to do with Oranges

I have a friend that has an over-abundance of oranges, and she was wondering, "What do you do with a bunch of oranges before they go bad?".  So I did some research and here's what I've come up with so far.

1.  Juice the oranges and freeze the juice.

2.  Make orange marmalade.

3.  Cook with them.  However, most of the recipes I'm finding only use up one orange at a time.  Of these recipes, I found one that seems pretty promising, since she has kids at home.  Here's the recipe.
Orange Smoothie
1 peeled, seedless orange
1 c. ice cubes
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Put everything in the blender and blend until smooth.

Anyone else have any ideas???

Bacon Wrapped Cheese Dogs

Here's another idea I found on Pinterest.
I'm posting this for my friend, Timna.
This is something she could do with the abundance of turkey dogs she has in her freezer.  (And the kids are tired of them.)  Slice each hot dog down the middle, but not all the way through.  Put cheese inside the slit.  Wrap each hot dog with a slice of bacon.  Bake in the oven until the cheese melts and the bacon is cooked.

Lazy Cake Cookies

Lazy Cake Cookies - 

1 box of yellow or white cake mix

2 eggs, beaten

5 Tbsp. melted butter

2 c. chocolate chips

Mix together and bake in 9X13 pan on 350 degrees F for 20 min. 

**I found this on Pinterest.  It's worth a try sometime.

Hamburger Helper / Chili

For dinner tonight, we are having a "split" meal.  Some of us are having Chili and Small T is having Hamburger Helper (as she won't eat Chili).  The Hamburger Helper will also be used for school lunches tomorrow.  We still haven't received our monthly check yet, so grocery shopping is on hold.  However, I need to find the cash to go purchase a package of hamburger for tonight's dinners, since it's still on sale for $1.99 per lb..  It looks like it will be a lean week for grocery shopping.  :)  Which is no big deal, we're eating out of the freezer and pantry quite well.

Easy Homemade Chili

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes (I am using crushed tomatoes)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans
1 1/2 c. water
pinch of chili powder
pinch of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

1.  In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the beef and onion and saute until meat is browned and onion is tender.  Add the stewed tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, beans and water.

2.  Season with the chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Pineapple Cake

I made a cake last night for my family.  It was something that Big Daddy could have as well.

Pineapple Cake

1 box Angel Food Cake Mix
1 (20 oz) can of crushed pineapple

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix the dry cake mix and the crushed pineapple together.
Spray a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with cooking spray.
Bake for approx. 25 to 30 minutes, until cake is done in the middle.

Here's a photo of what it looks like before it goes in the oven.

I don't have a photo of what it looks like after being cooked though.  It was gone by the time I remembered to take one.