Perfect Beef Meatballs

I love recipes that I can get my helpers to make.

Jimmy is my right hand man in all things involving pot stirring, meat breading and scooping.

This is Ina Garten's recipe for "real meatballs".

They're so simple and delicious.

She tells you to pan fry the meat balls in small batches.

I hate doing that, so I place the balls on a cookie sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and bake them 20-30 minutes at 350F.

Ina's Perfect Beef Meatballs
(adapted from Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook)

2lbs ground beef (or 1lb ground beef, 1/2 lb veal, 1/2 lb pork)
1 C fresh bread crumbs (about 4 slices put through the blender/food processor)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley (1-2 tsp dried)
1/2 C freshly grated parmesan cheese
3/4 C water
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 extra large egg, beaten
olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl using your hands.
Form into 2 inch meatballs.
Place on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350F for 20-30 minutes, flipping and rotating the meatballs half way through cooking time.

Roasted Tomato Meatball Soup

Every Wednesday I make soup.

We have soup because Wednesday nights are busy, soup is fast and it having a 'soup night' takes some of the guess work out of what to make for dinner.

This past Wednesday's soup was particularly good.
It is an oven roasted tomato and red pepper puree with tons of mini meatballs thrown in.

Pretty simple but really different than most of the other soups I make.

I added about a cup of cooked rice and balsamic vinegar right at the end.

It's a most filling soup. I served it with naan and some of Shaida's delicious yogurt.

Roasted Tomato Meatball Soup 
(Eat Shrink and Be Merry Cookbook)

2 Cans San Marzano Tomatoes, drained (I kept the juice and cooked it down for tomato paste) or 8 roma tomatoes chopped
2 large red bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1 large red onion, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme

 2 cups beef broth
1 can V8 juice
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or (2 tsp dried)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 C cooked rice, optional
salt, pepper- to taste

 Meatballs:

1lb extra-lean ground beef
1 chopped green onion
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/2 tsp each thyme and oregano
salt, pepper

Preheat oven to 450.

Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper and, on it, toss together tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, oil and herbs.
Roast in a single layer for 15 minutes. 
Stir and turn oven onto broiler. Broil veggies for another 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, prepare the meatballs. Combine all meatball ingredients and mix well. Form 48 mini meatballs. 
Remove veg from oven. Transfer the veg to a soup pot, add stock and blend with an immersion blender until well pureed. (or puree in a blender half at a time with 1 C stock each time) Add the rest of the soup ingredients.

Bring soup to a boil. Add meatballs. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until meatballs are cooked through - from 5 to 10 minutes.

Best Vegetable Beef Barley Soup

I go through seasons of making certain things.

This soup is going to be my go-to soup for this winter.

Since I failed to make food for the company I had coming for Sunday lunch in advance, I ended up making this soup in the morning before church.

It came together so quickly.

A filling lunch, full of vegetables, thats tasty, and enough for a crowd equals a keeper for me.


Vegetable Beef Barley Soup 
(based on a recipe I saw on epicurious.com)

1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb ground meat (I used beef)
1 C finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper
1 14 1/2 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
4 white potatoes, small dice
1 C chopped celery
1 C chopped carrot
1 chopped bell pepper
1/2 C barley
2 bay leaves
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
6 C beef broth
1 1/2 C frozen peas
1/4 C chopped parsley

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add beef, season with salt and pepper and cook until brown, stirring a few times.
Add onion and garlic, saute until tender.
Stir in tomatoes and all other ingredients except peas and parsley.
Simmer covered 20 minutes. Add peas and parsley.
Serve.

Roast Beef

We had the privilege of spending the last week with our family in Michigan.

It was wonderful for many reasons and I loved every bit of it.

One of the things I most look forward to though, is working in the kitchen with my Mother-in-law.


As part of a luncheon after my brother-in-law's graduation, we made roast beef sandwiches with horseradish sauce.

They were delicious.

This is how to make the beef that we layered on those sandwiches.

I'm making up quite a bit of it and slicing it really thin to put in Jimmy's lunches next week.

Roast Beef

(Allrecipes.com)

**Instead of just seasoning with salt and pepper, my Mother-in-law suggested I use 2 Tbsp of Paula Dean Seasoning.
Here is how to make it.  In a small bowl, combine 1/2 C salt, 2 Tbsp pepper and 2 Tbsp garlic powder.  Stir and store in a jar.


3 lb eye of round roast
Generously salt and pepper** (I used 2 Tbsp Paula Dean Seasoning which is 1/2 C salt

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
Place roast in a baking dish or small roasting pan.
Put roast in the oven and close the door.
Reduce heat to 475 degrees and cook 21 mins or if your roast is a different size cook for 7 minutes per pound.
After your timer goes turn off the heat but don't open the oven door.
Leave the roast in for 2 1/2 hours. Don't peak.
Remove roast and slice thinly.

Spaghetti and Quinoa Beef Meatballs

As if I needed something else to do with quinoa, I found this recipe at Whole Foods and just had to try.

Instead of using all meat in the meatballs, these are a combo of beef and quinoa.

Red quinoa totally blends in with the red meat and is practically invisible.

These are my new favourite.

Seriously, not even in a crunchy and mind over matter health freaky way.

These are good.

Spaghetti and Meatballs, done right, is my favourite thing to eat.

Whole Foods got it just right with these!

Clara even gave these a high review. "I really love these meatballs, Mum. And I'm not just trying to be polite!"

A little note, this recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup of cooked quinoa. I had a little less than a pound of ground beef so used about 1 1/2 cups of quinoa and it was great.

Quinoa Beef Meatballs

(Wholefoods.com)

See bottom of recipe for how to cook quinoa.

1 pound ground beef
3/4 cup cooked quinoa **
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated zucchini
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon chopped garlic (or 1/2 tsp garlic powder)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 egg

Preheat oven to 500°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil then grease with cooking spray; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together beef, quinoa, onions, carrots, zucchini, ketchup, garlic, soy sauce, pepper, salt, oregano, thyme and egg until well combined. Shape beef mixture into 16 balls and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Roast until cooked through and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

**Note: To cook quinoa, bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Pour in ½ cup quinoa, cover and simmer until water is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside off of the heat for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Everyone's Favourite Joe

When I make Sloppy Joes, everyone is happy.

They never disappoint. Ground beef, tomato, vegetables and a bun - It's all there.

I found this recipe over at Simply Recipes. I always have all the ingredients for these and they are, hands down, the kids favourite thing to eat.

I throw together a green salad for Jim and I.

That's it.

Dinner.


Sloppy Joes
(Simply Recipes.com)

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup minced carrots (or chopped bell pepper)
1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium onion)
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
1 1/4 lb ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup (or tomato paste)
2 cups tomato sauce (or 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, puréed)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp vinegar (red wine or apple cider)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
Pinch ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
4 hamburger buns

1 Heat olive oil in a large pan on med high heat. Add the carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. (If you are using bell pepper instead of carrots, add those at the same time as the onions.) Add the chopped onion and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 more minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 more seconds. Remove from heat. Remove vegetables from the pan to a medium sized bowl, set aside.

2 Using the same pan cook ground beef. Season with ½ tsp salt. Strain off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

3 Return the cooked ground beef and vegetables to the pan. Add the ketchup, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Stir to mix well. Add ground cloves, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Lower the heat to medium low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste.
Serve with toasted hamburger buns. Serves 4.

Cooking with Guinness

Steak and Guinness Pie

Guinness Cake

3 delicious recipes with a common theme.

It is very hard for me to let a St. Patricks Day pass without making something with Guinness.

First, a dark rich beef stew baked inside a puffy, buttery crust. Served with peas and a green salad on the side.

Followed by a very dark and damp chocolate cake topped with a fluffy white frosting. (Looking quite like a pint of the dark beverage it contains.)

Regardless of their preferences towards Guinness as a drink, I have yet to find a person who did not love it in these forms.

Steak and Guinness Pie

(adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe)

3 medium red onions peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled chopped

2 Tbsp Butter

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

6-8 mushrooms, sliced or chopped

2.5 lbs stewing beef cut into 3/4 inch pieces and trimmed of fat

1 Tbsp herbs de provence (or 2 sprigs rosemary stemmed and chopped.)

salt and pepper

1 pint of Guinness

2-3 Heaping Tbsp Flour

water or beef stock

1 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese

1 package store bought puff pastry

1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375*.

Heat a very large saucepan over med heat and saute onions gently for 10 mins.

Turn heat up to med-high and add the other vegetables. Stir together and then add beef, herbs, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp pepper. Fry for 4minutes.

Pour in Guinness and scatter the flour over top. Stir in enough water or stock to just cover the beef and veg.

Bring to a boil and then put the lid on the pot and place in hot oven for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is very tender.

Remove the pan and stir the stew. Return stew to the oven and cook another hour.

If the stew is a bit watery at this point remove the lid and cook on the stove top over med heat until some of the liquid is gone and the stew is really thick.

Stir in half the cheese.

Season with more salt and pepper if needed.

Roll out one of the sheets of puff pastry big enough to cover the bottom of the appropriately sized dish. Let the excess pastry dangle over the edges.

Pour the stew into the bowl. Top with remaining cheese and brush the edges of the pastry with egg wash.

Score the other sheet of pastry diagonally in 1 cm crisscrosses. Place the lid on the pie and fold the edges inwards together to seal the pie and make a nice crusty ring around the outside.

Brush the top of the pie with more egg wash and place in the oven for 45 mins at 375* or until pastry is puffed up and golden.

Guinness Cake

(Nigella Lawson)

1 C Guinness

1/2 C + 2 Tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 C cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 C sugar

3/4 C sour cream

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

2 C flour

2 1/2 tsp baking soda

8 oz Cream cheese

1 1/4 C icing sugar

heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9 inch springform pan.

Pour Guinness in a large saucepan, add butter and heat until butter is melted over med heat.

Whisk in cocoa and sugar.

Remove from heat.

Beat together sour cream, eggs and vanilla. Pour into buttery beer.

Whisk in flour and soda.

Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 45 mins.

Cool.

Whip cream cheese until light and fluffy, add sifted icing sugar. Add enough cream to make the icing spreadable. Beat again.

Top cold cake with icing.

Finally, another delicious Guinness meal we have had recently can be found over here.

Pioneer Woman's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

No not this pioneer woman.

(Photo credit and thanks go to Clara, the only one in the family with a functional camera.)

Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, has reduced me to tears more times than I would like to admit. Tears of hysterical laughter, that is. She cleverly logs her tales of farming, parenting and homeschooling with lots of pictures of their beautiful family ranch. Ree also cooks and takes tons of pictures of the food and cooking process. Her Olive Oil Cakes with Lemon and Thyme are so good. Amy brought some to one of our summer brunches and they were hard to keep out of. That reminds me, I must make those soon...today, if possible.

Jim and I went out last night for some very tasty southern BBQ. In our absence the kids ate Meatballs with Peppers and Pineapple from the blog served over rice. Easy as can be, I made it in a flash. Because it makes quite a bit of food and looks so pretty, it would be a great one to do for company.

Meatballs with Peppers and Pineapple

1¼ pound Ground Beef or turkey

½ Onion, Diced Very Finely

1 whole Egg

½ cups Breadcrumbs

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

½ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper, More To Taste

¼ cups All-purpose Flour

Canola Oil, For Frying

2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Seeded And Diced Roughly

1-½ cup Pineapple Chunks

2 cups Beef Stock

2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

½ cups Sherry Or White Wine Vinegar

⅓ cups Sugar

1 Tablespoon Cornstarch

Mix meat, egg, onion, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and crushed pepper flakes. Roll into small balls, dredge in flour and fry in two batches over med-high heat in a large skillet until brown. Set aside. (Ree suggests freezing the balls for 15mins while you make the sauce, I didn't because I didn't have room in my freezer and they still turned out fine. If you have a big/organized freezer go ahead and freeze them.)

Mix together stock, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.

Drain any fat that is in the pan and then add green peppers and pineapple to the pan. Cook a few minutes. Add stock mixture to the pan and bubble a few minutes. Add meatballs, bubble a little more, stirring gently. Add more red pepper flakes and salt to taste.

Serve over rice.

Sesame Beef

I was reading Grace's post about how much she loves Costco and saw her pictures of her freezer full of pretty little packages of meat and felt inspired to do the same. I bought a few very large ribeye steaks and sliced them up finely and went to December's Everyday Food mag and found this tasty little number in the 'Grocery Bag' section.

We don't eat much red meat around here but everyone loved this and the meat came out tender and saucy. Even my meat skeptic, Clara, enjoyed it and ate her whole portion. The ingredients for this are things that I always have on hand. (I think pork tenderloin would also work well here.)

Sesame Beef

3Tbsp soy sauce

2Tbsp dry sherry (I used a dry white wine)

1Tbsp sugar (honey would be good too)

3tsp rice vinegar

1/2tsp red pepper flakes

1/2tsp cornstarch

1Tbsp + 1tsp sesame oil (olive oil would work)

3/4lb boneless NY Strip steak, thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Cooked rice, for serving

thinly sliced scallions, for serving

Whisk soy, sherry, honey, vinegar, pepper flakes, sesame oil and cornstarch in a small bowl.

In a large skillet, heat 1tsp oil and brown beef strips in 2 batches over med-high heat. Max 2 minutes per batch.

Transfer to a plate, add a little more oil if you have to and add peppers. Cook peppers until tender crisp, 2mins. Add garlic, 30seconds. Stir in sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, 1min.

Stir in sesame seeds.

Serve over rice, with a sprinkle of scallions on top.