Chile Verde Meatballs

This recipe has been in my computer file for a couple of weeks, but I didn’t make note of where I found it, so I can’t share the source with you. It’s also been on my menu plan for a couple of weeks, but I finally was able to make it for supper, so I can share that with you!

This is so easy to whip up, and very tasty without being too spicy. I made my own meatballs (remember, I keep some in the freezer) instead of using purchased frozen ones. Even if you don’t have any meatballs in your freezer, they don’t take long to make (20 minutes in a 350 degree oven), so you, too, can avoid the icky, rubbery grocery store variety.

These were served with rice, refried beans, and warm flour tortillas. My original plan was to have black beans, but it turns out we didn’t have any in the cupboard. (Back to the freezer again for the homemade refried beans. Yea!)

This photo is Jessi’s plate, since I had gobbled down half of my meal before thinking of taking a picture. She really likes sour cream, so I thought I’d make note of that – I didn’t use quite that much. :o) The sour cream really does finish off the flavor of this dish, though, so make sure you have some for garnish.

Chile Verde Meatballs
SERVES 4 -6
1 large fresh onion, minced
2 cloves minced garlic
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa Verde
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs frozen meatballs
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish
Directions
- Into a large, heavy pot, add the onion, garlic, salsa Verde, broth, and the meatballs.
- Simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally; add the ground cumin
and simmer for 15 minutes more.
- Serve with sour cream for garnish, along with rice and beans and
tortillas.
**Note: you can also make this in your crockpot on low for 4 hours, adding
in the cumin in the last 30 minutes.

Surf, Turf, & Love

We celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, but it’s usually understated and simple. Some flowers and a candlelit steak supper. This year was only a little different.

Yesterday we came across a “surf & turf” special at a big grocery store in Lincoln. This included two 5-ounce filet mignon steaks, and two 5-ounce lobster tails for one very reasonable price. I looked at Greg and said, “I haven’t bought you anything for Valentine’s Day yet, have you bought me anything?” He shook his head “no”, and I said, “So we get this and it’s ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ to us? He smiled and nodded. 

We’ve eaten lobster many times, but only cooked it once, when Nick was a baby and there was a deal on them at a local grocery. That’s like, twenty-five years ago. Hmmmm…

 

So we thought we’d grill both the surf and the turf, but awoke this morning to a snowstorm, the wind howling, and freezing cold temperatures. Ack. No grilling outside today. We do have a cast iron grill pan, though, and that worked great for the filets. After doing some research online, we decided to boil the lobster tails. Instructions were for boiling salted water, and cooking for one minute per ounce of weight. Easy enough.

Greg grilled the steaks, then while they rested, he boiled the lobsters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five ounce tails, so they cooked for five minutes…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry this last photo is a little blurry. By then, I’d had

a little bit of this:

(Columbia-Crest is one of the wineries we visited when we went to Seattle. This merlot-cabernet blend is perfect with beef.)

It was a lovely meal with twice-baked potatoes, garlic bread, and a fresh Caesar salad. I was too busy feasting to get a photo, though. :o)

I love when we work together and then enjoy the end results together. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Beef Stew

I don’t remember when I picked up a package of beef stew meat, but there it was, in the freezer, one of the last packages of beef anything I had in there. I had a can of potatoes and some carrots, celery, and mushrooms that needed to be used, so it all went together for this basic but comfortingly tasty dish.

To be honest, I didn’t save the recipe I used to my computer. About 3 p.m. I quickly Googled “beef stew” and found one that only took a few hours. I got the meat going in some beef broth and water with a couple of bay leaves, then Bradley and I went to his room and started cleaning out the closet. (Little tip: don’t leave the meat boiling and go off to clean a closet.) It didn’t burn, but was almost there when I realized what was happening, so the stew had a bit of a “smoky” flavor. We ate it anyway.

So after I added another couple of cups of water and the veggies, it simmered an hour or so on the stovetop before adding a little cornstarch to thicken it up. While that finished, I popped some biscuits in the oven to complete our meal.

I used the cast iron Dutch oven and could have made this dish in the oven if I’d been able to start it earlier in the day.

Sorry for not keeping the actual recipe, but I did want to post yet one more way I kept to the challenge and created a wholesome and delicious meal.

Meatballs

More than just a bad Bill Murray movie from 1979…

Whenever I buy a large quantity of ground beef (on sale), I always make a batch of meatballs to keep in the freezer for future recipes. By “a batch”, I mean triple or quadruple a regular recipe. Today I tripled this one for plain, basic meatballs, using ground sirloin, and ended up with 80 meatballs, about ping-pong ball size.

Some will be for supper tonight in the Meatball Minestrone Soup. The rest will be flash frozen and stored in a Ziplock bag. We’ll pop some in the crockpot with barbecue sauce for Super Bowl snacks, and Jessi is planning to co-host a baby shower in early February and I’m “catering” the event, so a few dozen will go for that. Perhaps a meal of spaghetti and meatballs or mashed potatoes with meatballs in brown gravy to use up the rest? We’ll just have to see…

I bake my meatballs on a cookie sheet covered in aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. They take about 25 minutes at 350 degrees F. When they come out of the oven, they go onto wire cooling racks with waxed paper underneath to catch any drips. This batch didn’t have that issue (93% lean meat).

This recipe came from a Google search – you can click on the title to go to Recipezaar and see the original.

Easy Basic Meatballs

25 min | 5 min prep

• Ingredients
• 1 lb ground beef (we also use ground turkey)
• 1/2-2/3 cup dry breadcrumbs (can also use seasoned crumbs)
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4-3/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 small onion, chopped (approx 1/4 c)
• 1 egg

Directions

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

2. To oven bake: Place in ungreased 9x13 pan (you may want to line it with foil for easier clean-up).

3. Bake 20-25 min or until light brown and cooked through; turn meatballs halfway through, if desired, to help maintain a round shape.

Mini Man Burgers

Sliders have become a popular appetizer on restaurant menus, so I recently searched for a recipe to make them at home. I came up with a couple versions of beef sliders, and have made this one twice for supper. Last night we had them with baked beans and corn on the cob - a perfect summer meal. I doubled the recipe so we'd have leftovers for the freezer. I'll pop each onto a bun (without mayo) and put two in each sandwich Ziplock, then all of the sandwich bags into a freezer bag. These will microwave easily for Greg's lunch.


Mini Man Burgers

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2003

Ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 pound ground chuck

8 (3-inch) buns or rolls, split in half

2 to 3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Preheat a griddle to 350 degrees F. (I used our cast iron grill pan)

Combine the onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Line a jellyroll or sheet pan with parchment paper, and place the ground chuck in the middle of the pan. Cover the meat with a large sheet of plastic wrap. Roll meat with a rolling pin until it covers the surface of the pan; it should be very thin.

Remove the plastic wrap, and sprinkle the meat with the seasoning mixture. Fold the meat in half, from side to side, using the parchment paper.

Use a pizza wheel to cut the meat into 8 even squares.

Wrap the buns in foil and place in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the burgers on the griddle and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Remove the buns from the oven. Spread a small amount of mayonnaise on each bun and top with the burger and any other condiments, as desired.

Serve immediately.

Menu Monday & recipes

While planning menus this morning, I kept in mind some things in the frig that needed to be used up, and which meats I already have in the freezer. Grocery shopping will be minimal this week, and that's always a good thing.
Monday: Green salad w/ warm goat cheese and stuffed mushrooms (recipes at the end of this post). I meant to make bread this afternoon to go with this, but got busy around the house and forgot until it was too late.

Tuesday: chicken piccata, angel hair pasta, steamed broccoli, focaccia bread

Wednesday: grilled steak and shrimp kabobs, couscous, grilled veggies

Thursday: grilled burgers, baked beans, fresh veggies w/ dip

Friday: crock pot pot roast w/ veggies, homemade artisan bread

Recipes for tonight's supper:

Salad w/ Warm Goat Cheese

(adapted from Ina Garten)

1 (11 oz.) log plain or herbed Montrachet (I used plain goat cheese)
2 extra large egg whites, beaten w/ 1 TBS water

fresh white bread crumbs (I don't buy white bread, so mine were wheat bread crumbs - no big deal)

Slice the Montrachet into 12 (1/2" thick) slices (use dental floss). Dip each slice into the beaten egg whites, then the bread crumbs, being sure the cheese is thoroughly coated. Place the slices on a rack and chill them for at least 15 minutes.

Melt 1 TBS oil and 1 TBS butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat and just under smoking. Cook the goat cheese rounds quickly on both sides until browned on the outside, but not melted inside. Top each salad with 2 warm rounds and serve. (I used only one round per salad.)

I used a combination of romaine lettuce and mixed baby greens, tossed with a low-cal balsamic vinaigrette.

Stuffed Mushrooms

(Allrecipes "Andie's Stuffed Mushrooms")

Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
2 pounds fresh mushrooms-stems removed,
chopped and reserved
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
2 teaspoons minced garlic
3 teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed
2/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup soft bread crumbs
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

(I add a little salt and pepper, too)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Place ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the margarine and stir in the mushroom stems, green bell peppers, garlic, parsley and basil.

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, mushroom stem mixture, dry bread crumbs, soft bread crumbs and Cheddar cheese.

Place the mushroom caps, upside down, on a large baking pan. Generously stuff each cap with the mixture.
Bake in the preheated oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is golden brown.

Cube Steaks w/ Onion Gravy

We scarfed these down before I thought to take a photo. The cube steaks weren't as tender as they could have been - perhaps simmering a little longer than 5 minutes in the sauce would help - but this was still a tasty dish. One change I made was adding thick-sliced mushrooms to the pan while cooking the onions.

(From "Saving Dinner the Low-Carb Way" by Leanne Ely)

4 cube steaks

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp thyme

2 TBS olive oil, divided

1 large onion, sliced

1 C beef broth, divided

1 TBS whole-wheat flour

Season steaks w/ salt, pepper, and thyme on both sides. In a large skillet, heat half the olive oil over med-hi heat. Brown the steaks on both sides, about 3 minutes each. Remove from pan and keep warm.

Add the remaining olive oil, heat, then add the onion. Cook until the onion becomes translucent; add half the broth, deglaze the pan w/ a wire whisk andlet simmer about 5 minutes to reduce slightly. Place the steaks on top of the onion, cover, and simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Remove beef and onion and keep warm. Turn up the heat and continue heating remaining liquid in the pan.

Take the remaining beef broth and mix w/ the flour. Pour into the sauce, stirring till thickened. To serve, place steak on the plate, top w/ onion, then ladle gravy over the top.

4 servings

296 calories per serving

Valentine's Dinner

As promised, Greg grilled a rib eye steak and some sea scallops for our Valentine's Day dinner. As a little "something extra", he sprinkled some crumbled Maytag blue cheese atop the steak. It added a little creamy sharpness and tang to the meat that went well with the garlic mashed potatoes. Maytag is a very strong cheese, so a little bit went a long way.
The scallops were perfectly done, still tender and moist.
We split the steak and divvied up the scallops - but I don't think I got quite half of either...
Our wine was a merlot from Canyon Oaks, California. I can't find a website for the vineyard, but there are lots of positive reviews for their wines. This was a bottle that was given to Greg by a vendor from work. It's not an expensive wine, but it was very good. Lots of fullness and flavor.

Dessert was labor-intensive, but delicious, and of course, chocolate. Check back later this week for that one - it's worth the wait. :o)

Pot Roast, Southwestern style

This is the second time I've made this excellent recipe for crockpot chuck roast. The sauce is a little labor-intensive, but so worth it. The recipe comes from Kalyn's Kitchen - linked on my sidebar.

I served it with refried beans, fresh homemade guacamole, sour cream, and shredded cheese.

ENJOY!

Southwestern Pot Roast Cooked in the Crockpot

(Makes about 4 servings, recipe created by Kalyn)

3 lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed of visible fat

1 can reduced sodium beef broth 1 cup + 1/4 cup your favorite salsa (I used Pace Picante Sauce - mild

steak rub or your favorite seasoning for steak to rub on meat before browning

1-2 tsp. olive oil for browning meat
Put beef broth in a small saucepan, removing any fat that has collected on top in the can. Boil until the broth is reduced to 1/2 cup.

While beef broth is reducing, trim all visible fat from chuck roast. You may need to cut the roast into several pieces to remove big pockets of fat. Rub pot roast on all side with steak rub (or your favorite seasonings for steak.) Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan (pans that aren't nonstick will give the best browning.) Brown roast well on all sides. Don't rush this step because browning provides flavor, and I think it's especially important in crockpot cooking. When roast is browned on all sides, put pieces of meat in crockpot, arranging them in a single layer.

Pour reduced beef broth into frying pan and use a metal turner to scrape off any carmelized bits from the browned meat. Add salsa and stir into broth, then pour salsa/beef broth mixture over pot roast.

Cook on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook 3-4 more hours, or until meat is very tender when pierced with a fork. (You could also cook for a longer time on low setting. If you don't have a slow cooker, cook in a heavy dutch oven on stovetop at lowest setting for 2-3 hours.)

Remove meat from crockpot and pour sauce into small saucepan. (If there is a lot of fat on top of the sauce, spoon it off or use a fat separator to remove the fat. You may not need to do this if you did a good job trimming.) Put meat back into crockpot to keep warm, then add final 1/4 cup salsa to the sauce and simmer until reduced to about 1 cup.

To serve, slice meat across the grain and serve hot, with sauce spooned over the top. I also think this meat would be great served as a filling for tacos or burritos.