Mmmmm...Meatballs!

I have been very consciously trying to get back to my menu planning, grocery list keeping days. You know, the ones before you had two crazy kids under foot all day long. Remember those???

It also helps to justify my obsession with tearing recipes out of magazines and leaving them strewn throughout the house, wherever I happened to be reading at the time. It would probably justify this practice even more if I ever actually followed a recipe....but I don't....EVER!

It's not that those recipes don't get to put use...they just don't get followed. They are more of an inspiration. Like my real life pinterest board...all over my house:)

So, to get back to the point, I carried my carefully plotted grocery list into the store today and began to cross things off one by one. [Believe it or not, there was once a time in my life when I was able to organize that grocery list by the departments in the store...produce, cold cases, etc. But that day has passed...oh well!]

Included in that list were all of the ingredients necessary to make meatballs "using" a new recipe I found in the March 2012 issue of Cooking Light. Which in this case, simply meant that I was going to add ricotta cheese to my meatball mixture because the magazine said it would make the meatballs mouth-wateringly moist.

And that's when I saw it...a sale! On lean ground pork! $1.00 a pound! Seriously...a whole pound of ground pork for just a buck! Oh, this meatball making adventure just turned into a expedition! Why make a batch of meatballs for dinner, when I could make 6 batches and freeze them for later use???

And let me tell you...I've made meatballs before. Pork, turkey, lamb, beef, combos, you name it. But these meatballs are so seriously delicious that the 6 batches may not make it to the freezer. YUM!

And, I think you probably saw the homemade marinara mess that Belle and I made this summer. That's some seriously delicious marinara, but it was all in the freezer. So, I bought a jar of Mid's Meatless sauce. I'm not much of a fan of jarred pasta sauces. Typically, I use big cans of tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes and make my own. (You have to save the homemade stuff for really special occassions, 'cause it's a pain to make!) But I had read, in Cooking Light again, that there are some decent brands out there, so I thought I would give it a shot. If I was going to spend half the day making 6 bazillion meatballs then I didn't want to be slow simmering a sauce all day too. And you know what? This sauce is pretty darn good. It's Sicilian style (I won't pretend to know what that means), and relatively thick for a meatless sauce. And it was perfect with these meatballs.

So, recipe...

Inspired by the Italian Meatball Sliders recipe in Cooking Light, March 2012: I've changed the quantities to make enough to freeze for future meals. The directions for tonight's dinner are pretty much straight from the magazine. There is also a great spinach salad recipe with this in the magazine...we had it as well, and it was delish.

Many, Many Meatballs

Makes approximately 50 2-inch meatballs.

Ingredients:

6 shallots - diced

8 cloves garlic - minced

15 oz. container of part skim ricotta

2 cups Panko bread crumbs

1 cup parsley - chopped

2 lbs. lean ground pork

1 lb. ground turkey breast

5 links sweet Italian turkey sausage - casings removed

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. kosher salt

4 eggs

Saute the shallots and garlic until softened. Then combine all ingredients and mix well. Form two inch balls. * See Special Note below* Heat large stainless steel skillet (I'm sure other types of pans would work here, that's just what I used) over medium low heat. Use an oil mister to spray pan. Reserve enough meatballs for dinner tonight. Then, working in batches, brown remaining meatballs on all sides and place on baking sheet. Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake until cooked through, approximately 40 min. Cool completely. Freeze on a clean baking tray, then transfer to freezer containers and return to freezer.

For tonight's dinner - Slightly flatten reserved meatballs. Add to warm pan and cook 3 minutes on each side. Add 1 1/2 cups marinara to pan and cover. Simmer 10 minutes or until cooked through. Serve on warmed slider buns (I used soft wheat dinner rolls from our grocery store bakery). You could top with a slice of fresh mozzarella and some fresh basil leaves too.

Special Note: A friend of mine shared that he always makes his meatballs in the oven. He skips the browning and bakes them on parchment paper. He swears they are crispy and delicious. And I trust him...he's a super cook and baker, so I'd highly recommend you give that method a shot...I know I will be! It will save you tons of time standing at the stove, browning batches of meatballs. You will still want to cook the ones for tonight on the stovetop though so they can simmer in the sauce.

Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest

Have you caved to the addiction? I held out for quite some time, but finally gave in a few months ago. I can honestly say that I am much LESS productive since.

But then, I find things like this from ohdeedoh. It's so easy, doesn't take any additional time out of my morning, but it makes my girls positively giddy! And especially on a day where everyone is under the weather and just a bit on the grumpy side (or in Bee's case, a LOT on the grumpy side), a little pick me up can make a real difference.

So, I'm hooked. And I can admit it, embrace it even. I will continue to pin a million more things that I will ever be able to do. And that's ok with me:)

And in case you're wondering...I very rarely use a pre-made pancake mix. I've pretty much memorized the basic mix that we make because we eat a lot of pancakes, and I do mean, A LOT. But the snowman shown above was made with Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake Mix. And that's a strip of bacon, a few blueberries that we froze earlier this year when they were in season, and some vanilla yogurt. I opted for blueberries and yogurt instead of the marshmallows and chocolate chips from the original post. I wish I could say I did this for health reasons, but in all honesty...it's just what I happened to have close at hand. And no breakfast is complete in our house without yogurt.

Purpose - Spreading Love

If you've visited my blog recently, you might recall that I have been searching for a higher purpose for my crafting/sewing/knitting/cooking/etc/etc/etc. Just a means of using the gifts I've been given to touch others. So, periodically you'll see some links, tutorials, challenges etc. that will hopefully inspire you to do the same.

And this one's a breeze!

I love to cook! Love it! And, no, that isn't sarcasm. I really and truly enjoy it...ok, maybe not with a needy two year old hanging on my leg and a VERY talkative four year old providing endless commentary, but anyway...

Cooking is one of my ways of spreading love. Whether just to my immediate little family of four, or to a neighbor in need. It's one of my favorites ways to give to others.

And my secret to easy, affordable, and delicious treats...BISQUICK! I've found several easy-peasy recipes using the baking mix in various creations. This yummy apple cake recipe takes very few ingredients, very little time, and no baking experience whatsoever. Go ahead, sniff the screen, you know you want to:)

Then, when you are finished drooling, click the link and go make one for someone you love...or better yet, make one WITH someone you love! Then let me know with whom you shared your apple cake...have a great week!

Yummy, Yummy Goodness

Three simple ingredients. Three simple steps. Yummy, yummy goodness!


1. Melt 1 box of bittersweet chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds. Spread the melted chocolate in a thin layer on a sheet of parchment paper (I put my parchment paper on a jellyroll pan for stability).
2. Sprinkle the top of the chocolate with a handful of crushed almonds (I HIGHLY recommend the ones in the pic...Planters Sea Salt and Olive Oil skinless almonds) and about a tablespoon of flax seed.
3. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Then break into chunks.


Like I said, YUMMY, YUMMY GOODNESS! Now quick, hide it from your husband and children!

Monday...String Beans

Always a favorite in our house!!! We love Eric Carle around here:)

My husband is out of town for work, so we had a girls' day and did it up right! The morning started with scrambled eggs fresh from the hen yesterday...thanks Lindsey!

Then we made our way over to our local farm stand and collected quite a bounty! String beans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, squash, zucchini, peaches, blueberries, and cantaloupe (still warm from the field).

Once we were home we immediately cut into that cantaloupe...so sweet, so delicious, so perfect! I always hate to put fresh melon in the fridge, but I figured it was probably a bad idea for Belle, Bee and myself to comsume an entire cantaloupe in one sitting, so in it went.

Once Bee was tucked snuggly in her bed, Belle and I got down to business. We made our favorite wheat bread dough and put it on the deck to rise. Then I sliced a pile of cucumbers to make pickles. Belle filled the jars while I boiled the brine (looking for info on pickling, check out the latest Eating Well mag).

With the pickles chilling, we made lunch. Homemade fish nuggets...I wish I could say we caught the fish, but we had a pretty busy day as it was...maybe next time:) Super simple recipe: Season your fish chunks (I used tilapia because it was in the freezer, but this recipe is perfect for fresh-caught catfish too) with S&P. Coat them in corn meal. Heat a frying pan, spray it with a mist of oil and cook those babies up. Belle loves them and she is some-kinda-picky! We also had market potato salad (a combo of all the fresh veggies from the market and steamed potato wedges...dressing was made from cider vinegar, olive oil, honey mustard, honey and S&P) and of course...cantaloupe!

In the afternoon we rocked to the Toddler Tunes station on our digital cable. Belle has some new rhythm ribbons and today seemed like the perfect day to try them out...they were a HUGE HIT! When our tummies started to grumble we had warm bread with homemade strawberry preserves (recipe posted in May).

Dinner - Charred Vegetable Salad...oh so good!
To make it, chop up a bunch of those veggies from the farm stand (I used corn, peppers, onions, squash and zucchini) and toss them in a HOT cast iron skillet. LET THEM SIT! You want them to char a bit before you stir. After stirring once, let them sit again. While those are cooking, steam any veggies that don't do well in a skillet (I steamed green beans and potatoes). I also hard-boiled two of those yummy eggs. Build your salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, the steamed veggies, charred veggies, egg and whatever else you want to throw in. Dress it and love it! I broiled some of our bread with just a mist of EVOO and rubbed it with a clove of garlic....perfect for scooping up the last little bits of veggies out of the bottom of your bowl.

Dinner was a little early since we didn't have to wait for Daddy, so guess what....bedtime was a little early too:) Both girls are out cold and I am enjoying a little quiet time!

Is every day this idyllic in our house??? HA! But it just isn't as much fun to tell about those other days!!!

Did I mention the freezer FULL of grass-fed, small farm beef we have now too??? Once again...thanks Lindsey! But we'll save that for a Daddy dinner:)