Party food
Some foods just don’t picture well and these meatballs are one of those foods! The good news is these meatballs have great flavor. You can make larger meatballs for a main course or small to have as an appetizer, these can also be served over buttered noodles or over mashed potatoes. The day we had these we simple ate them as is and they did not last the day in fact they were gone before Robby could even try them. My batch made about 18 medium size meatballs.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE MEATBALLS
1 Lb. ground beef
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup whole milk (I used fare life)
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
FOR THE GRAVY
2 Tablespoons butter or dairy free butter
2 Tablespoons flour, I used a gluten free flour
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups beef stock, can use more if you want a thinner gravy
1 Tablespoon minced onion
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Parsley to garnish if desired
DIRECTIONS
Pre heat oven to 400 degrees.
Grease 2 baking sheets with non stick spray and set aside.
Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix until combined.
Form meatball mixture to your desired size. I made them into about 1 1/2 inch balls. Place the meatballs on your prepared baking sheets. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and put them in the gravy to finish cooking through if needed.
To make the gravy add the butter into a large skillet. When the butter is melted add the flour and whisk constantly for about 30 seconds. Add in the beef stock and whisk until combined. Add the Worcestershire sauce and all of the seasonings except the parsley.
Allow the gravy to simmer until thickened, just a couple minutes. Add your meatballs and let simmer for another five minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired.
Enjoy!
These Strawberry Cobbler Bars come from Ree Drummond the Pioneer Woman. I made these bars on Valentines weekend and let me say they were gone by the end of the weekend! They were absolutely delicious. Jim had one bar warm right out of the oven and a second one not much later. I loved the sweet lime icing on the top it added such a zing of flavor! I’ll be making these again for Easter!
INGREDIENTS
FILLING
3 cups chopped strawberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Lime, zested and juiced
CRUST AND TOP CRUMBLE
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 sticks salted butter, cubed and chilled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons turbinado sugar
ICING
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lime juice
DIRECTIONS
Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.
Add the strawberries , granulated sugar, cornstarch, lime zest and lime juice to a bowl. Toss to combine and set aside.
For the crust and crumble- in a food processor combine the flour, butter, brown sugar and baking powder. Pulse until a loose crumble is formed. Continue to pulse as you add the cream.
Spray a 9×13 pan with non stick spray. Dump 2/3 of the batter into the bottom of your baking dish and press flat forming the bottom crust. Top the bottom layer with the strawberry mixture, spreading it to make an even layer over the bottom. Sprinkle over the remaining crumb mixture followed by the turbinado sugar.
Bake the bars until the top is golden brown and the strawberry layer is thick and bubbling. 28-30 minutes.
Remove from oven, allow to cool.
For the icing , whisk together the powdered sugar and the lime juice until smooth. Once the cobbler has cooled drizzle the icing over the top.
Enjoy!
These puff pastry twists were SO good! Light, lemony and crisp all in one bite! This dessert makes you dream of spring! Lemon puff pastry twists would make a great dessert for Easter or on any brunch table!
They are a little messy to work with but well worth it. These are BEST eaten the same day you make them as they do not store well. I only used one puff pastry sheet but you can double the rest of the ingredients to make a bigger batch and use the second puff pastry sheet.
INGREDIENTS
1 puff pastry sheet, thawed
2 lemons, zested
1/4 granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
INGREDIENTS FOR THE ICING
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice , or enough to your desired consistency.
DIRECTIONS
Pre heat oven to 425 degrees.
Line 2 baking sheets with a silo at mat or tin foil sprayed with non stick spray. Set aside.
Mix the lemon zest with the sugar and set aside. Unroll the pastry sheet and place it on a large cutting board.
Brush the dough with the melted butter and sprinkle the lemon sugar over the butter.
Cut the dough into strips about 1 inch in width, I used my pizza cutter for this. Pick up each strip and twist a couple of times and place on your baking sheet. Do this for each pastry strip.
Bake 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.
While the puff pastry is cooking mix your icing ingredients together mixing well getting the desired consistency. I like this icing on the thicker side.
Allow the lemon twists to cool then drizzle with icing.
Serve the same day.
Enjoy!
I mentioned I have been doing some behind the scene’s work on the blog, part of the reason I am reviewing and updating is that later this year I would like to have a book printed with some family recipes from my family, some from Jim’s family and all of our long time favorite recipes. This recipe is one that I have made for MANY years, it always has a spot at our parties. I hate to even call it a recipe as it’s two ingredients that are tossed in the slow cooker, that’s it! It’s a tiny bit sweet with some heat from the jalapenos. I have not made them for a while and decided to make them for an afternoon football game, so good! I like to buy the small frozen meatballs and keep this as an appetizer. So easy for a party and can be kept warm in your slow cooker during the party.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound small frozen meatballs (fully cooked meatballs) meatballs
12.5 ounce jar of Apple Jalapeño Jelly
INGREDIENTS
Simply add all of the meatballs into the slow cooker and add all of the jelly on top of the meatballs and stir. I like to start this on high for one hour then stir and reduce temperature to low until warmed through at least one more hour. Can be left on warm stirring a couple times.
Enjoy!
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday. The first recipe I am giving you for the New year became a family favorite Very quickly, so much so that both Jim and Robby have requested it again for next week! I’m not going to argue with them as I loved them as much as they did! The meatballs balls are light and the sauce is a party in your mouth. I was originally making these as an appetizer but then decided to serve them over rice as that has been one of Robbys favorite things lately. I don’t mind making rice anymore as I just bought a new little Black and Decker rice machine that I absolutely love. I bought it on Amazon for under $20.00 and I have gotten my money back on it already. If you serve them as an appetizer or main course I think your family will be just as happy as mine.
NOTE- I made this a second time using ground Turkey and the results are delicious! We loved this so much the first time so this time I doubled the meatball portion of the recipe BUT kept the sauce recipe as is. The sauce recipe makes plenty of sauce even when doubling the meatballs!
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE MEATBALLS
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 rolled oats , I used Bob’s red mill Gluten free, any will work
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup Vidalia onion, chopped
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
FOR THE SAUCE
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 barbecue sauce-I use a sweet BBQ sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
DIRECTIONS
Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the ground beef,oats, onions, egg, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Mix until well combined but don’t over work the beef.
Using a small scoop or 2 Tablespoons at time roll the meat mixture into balls and place in a baking dish. Roll until all of the meat mixture has been used.
In a medium size bowl mix together all of the sauce ingredients until well combined. Pour over the meatballs and bake uncovered. Depending on the size of your meatballs cooking times can vary. My meatballs took 30 minutes. (I made about 20 meatballs) remove from oven when cooked through and serve as an appetizer or over cooked rice.
Enjoy!
