Meatballs! Stroganoff and a Sub!

Stroganoff pictured here

 This recipe makes enough meatballs to set some aside in the freezer for spaghetti, meatball subs (scroll to the bottom of this post for my meatball sub), or any other recipe you'd like to have a batch of meatballs ready to go. I forgot to write down exactly how many it made, but I baked two baking sheets of about one-inch meatballs. So 40-50 meatballs. I strongly suggest chilling the meatballs, as it helps them hold their shape and it's easier to form them. They can be prepped the night before, so all you have to do is throw them into the oven.

As always, much of this recipe is personal preference. For example, the mushrooms. I would have preferred large slices of mushrooms, but I live with mushroom-haters (haha), so I chopped them up pretty small. Same with the onions.  The meatballs were a big hit with them, by the way.  Score one for me. I won't tell if you don't. :)
Oh, also, a mixture of ground meats, such as pork, lamb and beef is preferable for ultimate meatballs, but I used just ground beef for the sake of my wallet.  They were still moist and wonderful!
But enough of that! Let's get to the recipe..

Meatballs:

• 3 lbs ground beef
• roughly 2 cups torn bread chunks from a thick bread like a sub bun
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup minced white onion
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry as possible
• 1/4 cup fresh fine chopped mushrooms
• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire 
• few good pinches of black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage

Stroganoff gravy:

•  5 Tablespoons margarine, plus 1 Tablespoon
• 1 cup minced onion 
• 1 cup fresh mushrooms, chopped small
• 1 small dried bay leaf
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups beef broth
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire 
• salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind the meatballs will add salt taste)
• 1/2 cup sour cream, plus more to top with, if desired

To make meatballs:
 
Soak bread chunks in 3/4 cup of milk in small bowl for about 10-20 minutes, until all the milk is soaked up. 

Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl. Mix with your hands to combine, but try not to over mix or squish too harsh. Cover bowl and chill for at least an hour; up to overnight.  

Line a cookie sheet (one with a small edge so the meatball drippings don't get all over your oven, that's always joyful) with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Using a small ice cream scoop, gently make about 1 inch meatballs. They don't have to be exact, but try to make them even sized as possible for even cooking.  When baking sheet is full, put leftover mix into fridge until the first batch is done.

Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of your meatballs. I usually find when they are firm, but not hard, to the touch, they are done.

Let meatballs stand for about 3-5 minutes before removing from the baking sheet.

Remove and make the last batch of meatballs.

You should have 40-60 meatballs. Save some for this recipe and in labeled freezer bags, freeze the others for quick meals or snacks.

Stroganoff Gravy:
In large pan, use 5 Tablespoons of margarine, with bay leaf, to soften onions about 3-4 minutes over medium heat and then add mushrooms and dash of salt and pepper. Stir and cook a couple more minutes, but not so long as to soak up all the moisture in the pan.

Add 1 Tablespoon margarine and using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in flour.

Cook and stir until all flour is moistened and you have a thick mixture, or roux. Keep stirring for about 2-3 minutes, lowering the heat just a touch, if needed, so as not to burn the flour.

In a slow, but steady stream, add beef broth while stirring vigorously to avoid lumping. Keep stirring and adding broth slowly, until all the broth is added.  Add milk and keep stirring until thickening slows.

Add nutmeg, Worcestershire and then salt and pepper to taste, if needed. 

When gravy is thick, remove from heat and add sour cream. Stir, then add meatballs.

Serve over medium egg noodles, rice, or alone, and with extra sour cream, if desired.

 Mmmm.. I love extra sour cream!

What I did with some extra meatballs I saved out:
Add about 2 Tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan to a small can (15 oz) of spaghetti sauce to about 15 meatballs or so, depending out saucy you like them. Put on a buttered and toasted sub bun sprinkled with garlic powder. Arrange meatballs, spoon sauce over, top with a bit more grated parmesan, some thin sliced mozzarella, teeeny pinch of Italian seasoning, stick under broiler to melt and tada! LUNCH! yum!

Ahhh...nothing like a hot meatball sub for a Saturday lunch!

Arepas stuffed with Chipotle Lime Shredded Chicken

This is a delicious shredded chicken  that can be served in tortillas, in a taco salad, on a toasted sub bun, so many possibilities!
The warmth of the chipotle can be increased if you desire a hotter chicken, and is offset by a wonderful subtle sweetness given by the honey that should also be increased a bit if you increase the heat.
Make the day before a potluck, or freeze for quick lunches!


I'm sure you could make this in a crockpot too, but I don't have a crockpot now, so can't tell you what the heat and time would be on this. If you make this in a crock, feel free to drop me a note and I'll add the heat and cook time to this, crediting you, of course.

You can use the Mexican cheese, cotija, but I served this on arepas with avacado and feta cheese. The tangy-ness of the feta went SO well with the sweet heat of the chicken, and was easier on my wallet. I'll include the arepa recipe below.

I'm getting hungry, so on with the recipe!

• 5 lbs chicken leg quarters
• 2 cups crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup diced purple onion
• 1 (4 oz) can LaPreferida roasted green chilies (found in ethnic foods or Mexican isle, look for a small red and white label. About a dollar and SO good!)
• 1 jalapeno, seeded & deveined, unless you prefer very hot foods :)
• 1/2 chipotle, with its sauce, chopped (small cans of chipotles can be found next to the green chilies, freeze the rest of the chipotles and sauce for a quick flavor and heat boost to many dishes)
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• juice from 2 REAL (lol please don't use the bitter bottled stuff) limes (about 3-4 Tablespoons)

Season chicken on both sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a large pot with lid, or dutch oven, brown chicken on both sides, in a little vegetable or olive oil.

When chicken is browned, remove from pan and set aside.
Add onion and jalapeno. Reduce heat to medium heat. Cook and stir about 2 or 3 minutes, then add the can of chilies, chipotle and sauce, and tomato paste. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook and stir a minute or two and add crushed tomatoes, seasonings, bay leaf, honey, and salt and pepper to taste, and lime juice.

Reduce heat to a low simmer, and add chicken back into the pan, stirring them around so all the chicken gets a coating of sauce.

Cover and cook 30-45 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and practically falling off the bone. Remove chicken to a plate to cool to the touch so you can pick the meat off the bone and shred.

Add cooked chicken back to sauce and, leaving the lid off, cook and stir over a very low heat while you prepare tortillas, or arepas, or the rest of your meal.

Arepas 

Arepas are to South America what english muffins are to North America. Sort of.

They're wonderful little pockets of yumminess almost the size of an english muffin and can be filled with just about anything you like.
They're made of a gluten-free precooked white cornmeal that is ground very fine into a flour. It's found in the ethnic isle of a grocery store or a Mexican/Latino grocery, and is no more expensive than regular white flour. Common names are P.A.N, masarepa, harina precocida, but NOT to be confused with masa harina, that is used for corn tortillas.

I LOVE these as an alternative to tortillas. They're yummy like a tortilla, but easier to make and have a crunchy exterior, but a soft interior and split easily apart much like english muffins. Fill them with egg, ham and cheese for a quick breakfast, a variety of meats and cheeses for snacks, lunches, or paired with soup and salad for a complete meal.

To get a better feel of how to make these, visit youtube and look up arepas. There are tons of videos to show you how to make them.  Don't be intimidated, they're easy as heck once you get your heat and grease just so. Much like pancakes, the first one or two might not turn out until you get the heat and grease "just so". 

I don't find these do too well in a dry pan like tortillas, they need some kind of help. So you can use the spray stuff, margarine or butter.  I don't recommend  butter or olive oil as these may burn in the medium-high heat needed to cook the arepas. 

I'm getting hungry typing about these! Let's get to the recipe!

To get started, you'll need:

• large frying pan or griddle
• 1 cup masarepa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cup hot water
• butter or vegetable oil for frying

Masarepa flour will have directions on the back, but what they don't tell you is the water should be HOT tap water, not warm or lukewarm.

Put hot water in medium bowl FIRST (they don't tell you this either), then add the masarepa and salt. Using your hands, mix it until you get a nice, pliable dough. This is where videos come in handy! Form a ball, and using your palms, slap into an english muffin size, but a bit thinner than an english muffin.

Put a dab of margarine or oil in a pan or griddle preheated over medium-high heat, and set the arepas in it and move them about a bit, so they all have a bit of butter under them.

Cook 5 minutes. They'll be a nice, golden  brown, with darker spots. Flip, adding more butter or oil as needed, and cook 5 more minutes until done. When done, they'll have a hollow sound when you tap on them.

Remove from heat onto paper towels, and cool to the touch. Slid a thin knife into the side of them to open up a little pocket like with a pita.

This recipe makes 6-8, depending on size.
Fill as you desire! so yummy.  These can be made ahead of time, and once cooled, wrapped in foil and refrigerated. Warm up in the oven, or hot pan, to crisp up.  I haven't tried putting them into a toaster to reheat and crisp, but I'm thinking that might work too!

Enjoy!

Salsas

Salsas are a wonderful and easy way to use up a bunch of summer tomatoes!

I'm sharing with you, a Kiwi-Jalapeno Salsa and Creamy Artichoke Salsa, but really they are a basic recipe. Use as many or as little of the ingredients, as you wish.  Jalapenos and onions can vary in taste and heat, so what was perfect for my salsa, may be too hot or too mild for your tastes. Add ingredients, subtract, make them your own!  It's hard to go wrong with salsa! :)

Roasting jalapenos is easy and only takes a few minutes. Just slice in half lengthwise, take out the seeds and veins, sprinkle with olive oil and kosher salt, give a little mix around, and put in a hot preheated oven, about 450 degrees for about 10-15 minutes, or until you hear them sizzling and one side is starting to blacken.

Stick them in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and in about 5 minutes, or until they're cooled enough to handle, the skins will slip off and you'll have a bunch of nicely roasted jalapenos. They can be kept in the freezer so you can just cut off whatever amount you wish to add to eggs, stews, chilis, anything!

I am also in LOVE with the tender, mild celery flavor of celery leaves. I used these to garnish the salsas instead of the popular cilantro. I'm just not a huge fan of cilantro and find celery leaves are a great, fresh substitute, without overpowering a dish.  So when you celery shop, choose a celery bunch with a lot of nice, bushy leaves on the inside.

Without further ado, the recipes:

Artichoke Salsa

• 2 cups chopped tomatoes, squish the seeds and pulp out of most of them, so the salsa isn't too watery.
• 1 (6 ounce) jar marinated artichokes, drained and rough chopped
• 1/2 cup red onions, small diced
• 3 Tablespoons mayo
• 1 1/2 Tablespoon sour cream
• 1/2 (4ounce) can green chilies, undrained 
• 3 cloves roasted garlic, chopped up
• 3-5 roasted jalapenos, depending on heat level of them and your heat preference, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed with your fingertips as you add it in
• tiny pinch red pepper flakes, crushed with your fingertips as you add in
• pinch cayenne
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• celery leaves for garnish
  
  Combine all except mayo and sour cream and chill.  Be sure to taste and adjust heat and salt level.  Go a little at a time and test again after you've chilled it for about an hour. Drain any excess juice, then add mayo and sour cream. With kitchen shears, snip a bunch of celery leaves and mix in. Serve with pita chips, tacos, just about anything..I was ready to just eat it with a fork! haha!  If it's not creamy enough for you, you can make more mayo sauce, just remember 1 part sour cream to 2 parts mayo.

 Kiwi-Jalapeno Salsa

I'm not a huge fan of really hot salsas, but I love how the sweet kiwis balance out the heat and the sweet-hot salsa is addictive!  As always, adjust amount of jalapenos to your heat preference.

• 2 cups chopped tomatoe
• 1/2 cup small diced red onion 
• 2 small kiwis, peeled and diced
• 1/2 (4 ounce) can green chilies with liquid
• 3-4 roasted jalapenos, depending on size and heat, chopped
• 1-2 raw jalapenos, deveined and seeded, finely chopped
• 2 cloves roasted garlic, chopped
• dash cayenne
• pinch salt and black pepper
• the juice of one small lime
• garnish with celery leaves or cilantro, if desired

Combine all, being sure to taste for heat and salt levels, and chill! That's it!
Yum!

Homestyle Refried Beans

My Homestyle Refried Beans topped with Spicy Shredded Beef , cheese, sour cream, green onions, and yellow corn tortilla chips.

These may not be authentic style, but they are homestyle and with these, I see no reason to slave over my cast iron when I can buzz them in my food processor. I can not help it. Yummy refried beans, minimal cost, minimal work. LOL

It's so easy, it's almost another nonrecipe!
So on to the nonrecipe!

• one pound of dried pinto beans
• small chunk of salt pork, about 1-inch by 2 inches big or so. I like the flavoring this gives the beans, but I don't want them to taste like bean soup.
• 1/2 cup beef broth
• salt and pepper to taste

Sort, soak and cook beans according to package directions with the salt pork. When beans are very tender, drain and remove salt pork. You can toss it or use it for something else.

You may have to do this in two batches if your food processor isn't big enough. Just be sure to mix everything together well in a bowl when you're done.

Put beans, beef broth, salt and pepper in a food processor and process until creamy and smooth.
Tada! That's it!
Make sure you taste for salt! And take into account the saltiness if your chips if you're going to use it for a dip; you might want to cut back on the salt a little.

It's even better the next day!
I used them for nachos in the picture above. oh my! YUM!  Only thing missing is my avocado!

Pepperjack Cheese Bites

Fantastic little bites that you can adjust to be fiery little bites! But the G-kids are here, so I kept the cayenne and pepperjack down.
To save oil, I like to make these in the same oil right after I pull my Honey Kissed Corndogs out of the oil.

The recipe sounds weird, but try it! Sooo good!
On to the recipe so you can make some too!

• enough canola oil for about 1-2 inchs of oil in the bottom of a large heavy pot
• 1 cup Aunt Jemima Just Add Water pancake mix (the ONLY pancake mix I use, it's just that good.)
• 3/4 cup grated pepperjack cheese
• 1/2 cup water
• small bunch green onions, trimmed and sliced, including some of the green part
• pinch of cayenne, if you like lotsa heat, add more!
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• kosher salt for  lightly sprinkling on the bites after they come out of the oil

 While the oil heats to about 300 degrees or so, pour the water into a medium mixing bowl.
Add the pancake mix, green onions, cheese, and seasonings all together. It'll be very thick, like dumpling dough.
When the oil is hot enough, drop by very small spoonfuls, like about a teaspoon size, into the hot oil like you would dumplings into bubbling stew.
Just do a few at a time so they don't stick together. Plus they go fast! Turn over when they start to turn deep golden brown on the underside.

Fish out with a spider spatula or tongs (careful!), and sprinkle some kosher salt onto paper towels to set the bites on.
Great dipped into the tart sweetness of my easy Honey Mustard Dip, or ranch, or sprinkled with your favorite hot sauce!Yum!

Honey-Kissed Corndogs

I just love these soft, slightly sweet corndogs.
Be warned, if you have a high frustration level, this recipe works better for half-dogs than it does for a full corndog. ha! True!  On my second full-sized corndog, I was beginning to wonder if I really wanted a corndog THAT bad, and maybe I should just give the half-sized to the g-kidlets and be done with it. LOL But I persevered and they turned out great.

 SO, when I make these again, I'll just stick to the half-sized.  And eat double. haha :)
Also, I was going to add about 1/4 teaspoon of dry mustard, but I forgot and I didn't even notice until I was going over my notes I jot down while cooking, and noticed I'd forgotten. They tasted awesome, so I don't know if I'll ever add it.  So that one is up to you.

Be sure to work quickly, because the longer the batter sits, the harder it is to get to stay on the long dogs.
Enough chit-chat! On with the recipe!

• 6 hot dogs, preferably cut in half (lol), poked with something thin like a thin meat thermometer, and a popsicle stick inserted halfway into the dog
• 1 1/4 cups flour, plus 1/2 cup for rolling the dogs in.
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 or 12 wooden popsicle sticks 

 Sift together all the dry ingredients like this:

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the beaten eggs, milk and honey and mix together well, until there are no lumps.
When dogs have sticks inserted in them, and oil is about 300 degrees, roll dogs in a light coating of flour, dunk in batter, using a spoon to help cover the dog quickly and to help pull it out of the batter without the batter falling off. When it's covered with batter, quickly transfer it into the hot oil.

Fry until the underside is a deep golden brown and flip over to fry the other side. When it's done, take out gently with a spider spatula or tongs and place on paper towels to drain.

oooooooooooo so yummy!
NOW the tart-sweet honey mustard. Are you ready ?  Equal amounts of French's mustard  and a good honey! That's it!! FANTASTIC! I'm not kidding. So simple, SO good.

Those are my Pepperjack Cheese Bites alongside the corndog. :)

Blueberry Sauce

I love using this sauce for a syrup, ice cream topping, in oatmeal, smoothies, anything you don't mind turning that lovely purple. :)
This is a rough recipe. Adjust more or less cornstarch and sugar to your liking of sauce consistency and sweetness. I like mine fairly sweet.  Just remember it'll thicken up a lot when it cools and in the fridge. I like to put the stored sauce in the microwave and warm it up before topping my ice cream. OH YUM!

It was still hot and thin when I took this pic. I couldn't wait any longer! haha!
On to the recipe! It's so easy it's almost a non-recipe!

• about 1 quart 3 cups of fresh blueberries.  I forgot to measure them. haha..sorry. But it was a little over half a 2 quart box from the farmer's market.  Next time I'll measure exact and edit this for you. Or I'll try. I'm always tossing in a couple extra--just for good measure. Really.
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup of water (or less if you want more berries and less sauce. I love extra saucey berries.)
• 2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

 In a medium saucepan, start to warm your berries and sugar over med-low heat; stirring occasionally.

mm..much to my dentist's horror, I could eat them just like this.
So, babysit the berries, stirring more often as the berries and sugar come together.
After about 4-5 minutes or so, the sugar will have melted and the berries poppin' and juicin', and coming to a simmer. If they're getting too rowdy in the pan, turn the heat down a little so they don't burn.

hm. You can't really tell in this picture, but it was simmering. Trust. I can almost smell them.
Add the water, melt the cornstarch in the 2 tablespoons of water and add, while stirring, to the berries.

Keep stirring. Turn the heat back up a little if they're simmering too slow. You want a nice, healthy simmer unless you don't mind waiting longer for your warm ice cream topping.  I didn't think so. :)

After the cornstarch, the sauce will be a little cloudy, but don't worry! It'll clear up in a minute or two.

Add more sugar at this point, if you like.

Try to resist adding too much cornstarch and water because it'll thicken up as it cools and after a night in the fridge, if you put too much in, it'll be like a blueberry jam. Which isn't bad either. Just put on toast or warm in microwave for a topping.  :))

Simmer for about 10 minutes, then take off the heat and cool, stirring occasionally!
That's it!

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

After much agonizing over the loss of my old banana bread recipe, I started a new one, adding to what I could remember of the old one, and adding something new: mini chocolate chips! This is such a yummy, moist bread!  I can't wait to make another one without the chips and with some other ingredients added.


I used something called a SilverBullet little mini-mixer thing my son convinced me to buy a few months ago, and I have to say, it has grown on me and I may love it more than my pesky blender that doesn't seem to do much better than a 20 dollar blender.  Did I say that? I'm sorry blender. :p

Anyway, I took my bananas out of the freezer to thaw, then squeezed the insides out into this mini blender thing that I originally didn't want to buy (lol), and gave it a few whizzes. It took about 7 frozen, thawed bananas to make about 2 cups of whizzed banana.  It seems like a lot of bananas, but it really isn't if you consider that it always seems the last one or two bananas in a bunch start to go spotty and no one wants to eat it, so I toss it in a freezer baggie and throw it into the freezer. Better than throwing it away and having fruit flies until garbage day. ha!  You think I kid!

So go thaw out your bananas, grab your blender or mini-blender because you'll want them more than just mashed, and take your eggs out of the fridge to come to room temp.  Ready? Let's make some banana bread, I'm hungry!

• 1/2 cup butter, softened, don't use the microwave for this, just let it sit out at room temp until you can leave a squishy fingerprint, but the butter isn't melting all over the place.
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs, room temp
• 2 cups whizzed thawed frozen bananas
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease a loaf pan with spray pam or similar.

Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla in a large glass bowl until smooth and light on med-high speed.
Beat in eggs one at a time.
Beat in bananas on med-low speed.

In a smaller bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt, and dump into the wet mixture in the large bowl. Stir with large wooden spoon JUST until combined. You don't want to over stir.
Fold in mini chocolate chips gently.

Carefully pour into your loaf pan and bake uncovered for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Check about 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time and, if needed, cover with foil to keep top from getting too dark.  Uncover when you take it out of the oven to cool.

Serve with soft butter warm out of the oven! MMMmmmm !!

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

If you don't already keep roasted red bell peppers and roasted garlic on hand, I suggest you take about an hour and roast some up to pop into the freezer and have on hand for recipes like this.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

• 2  (15 oz) cans garbanzo beans
• 1 cup roasted red peppers with their liquid (jarred is fine)
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon (about one lemon)
• 2 tablespoons tahini (found in Mideastern or peanut butter sections of your large grocery)
• 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• dash cumin (you may want a pinch more, I'm a wimp)

  Drain and rinse the beans.
In a large bowl, under running water, rub beans between the palms of your hands as if you are washing your hands, the bean skins will rise to the surface of the bowl of water. The running water will help the skins slide off the top of the full bowl into the sink waterfall-style.  Slough off the bean skins best you can. This may seem a bit tedious, but makes all the difference!


 Toss beans into a food processor with all the ingredients but the olive oil, and process, slowly drizzling in olive oil until it's the consistency you like. I like it thick, but not so much to break the chips, I used about 1/2 cup.

Taste for salt, cumin, or lemon. You may prefer more.. Play with it and make it your own. :)