An Cooking: meatballs

Tampilkan postingan dengan label meatballs. Tampilkan semua postingan

Sabtu, 12 April 2014

Spaghetti Marinara with Meatballs

A simple and delicious marinara sauce served over steaming spaghetti with meatballs! One of my favorite dinners because, to me, it is the definition of comfort food. It makes you feel good, like you have accomplished something when you have finished making it. Bonus, is that it gives you so much food for the money. I purchased 1 lb. of ground chuck, which was on sale for about $2.94/lb, from which I made 4 golf ball sized meatballs and froze the other 1/2 lb. for another use. Plus 1 pound of pasta which is about $1.00 and a can of tomatoes which is about $1.89, except that I scored a rare can of actual San Marzano DOP certified tomatoes. Even using the Rolls Royce of tomatoes, I still only shelled out about $5.00.

To make this versatile marinara sauce start with a large sauce pan, cold, and about 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1-2 minced cloves of garlic. Add the garlic to the cold olive oil in the cold pan and then turn on the heat. Allowing the garlic to come up to temperature really infuses the oil with the garlic flavor. I also like to add about 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of hot pepper flakes as well, but thats optional. After the garlic begins to sizzle, but before it turns brown, add 1 large can of whole tomatoes. I like to use a potato masher to break up the tomatoes, but you can also squeeze them between your fingers, which is kind of fun too, or poke them with a fork. Add 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a grinds of fresh cracked pepper. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until it has reached the proper consistency, and remove from the heat. Stir in about 1/2 cup of chopped fresh basil and you have a fabulous all-purpose marinara sauce.

The meatballs start with 1 pound of ground beef in a large bowl. To the ground beef add 1 clove minced garlic, a few tablespoons of finely chopped onion, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, 1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 - 1/2 cup bread crumbs and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well, but be careful not to overwork the meat which will cause it to become dense and dry. Place meatballs on a baking sheet and cook in a 375 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes. Turn the marinara sauce back on and bring to a simmer. Remove the meatballs from the oven and place in the marinara sauce to finish cooking or for just another 10 minutes or so. Serve over the pasta of your choice and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Selasa, 11 Februari 2014

Sicilian Sweet and Sour Meatballs and The Dinner Divas

If you ever moved to a new state you know how difficult it is to make new friends. Its hard enough on children but eventually they make friends in school, during sports and other after school activities. If youre an adult its even harder. There really isnt anywhere to meet people if you have moved to a state where you dont know more than one person. This was my problem when I moved to New Jersey with Steve. I decided to be brave and reach out to people on the Internet and join some groups. Im a busy girl these days. The group that is closest to my heart is "The Dinner Divas". We are a group of young women who get together once a month and eat wonderful homemade food that we have made. Each month one of us hosts a themed meal of our choice and the rest of the members contribute an appetizer, dessert or wine. Ive made some great friends through this group and I hope its something that well continue for years. Id like to take this time to thank my Dinner Divas friends, you guys are great! I truly appreciate the commitment that everyone makes to the group each month and always look forward to seeing my friends!

If you have any questions about how to start a dinner group in your own area feel free to email me at myitaliangrandmother@hotmail.com.

This past weekend Janet hosted a Sweet and Savory themed dinner. My job was to make an appetizer so I decided on Sweet and Sour Meatballs. A friends mother used to make these but I never made them myself and didnt have a recipe. I looked it up online and found a recipe from Sicilian Home Cooking. Check it out. I have adapted the recipe to meet my tastes which was my basic meatball recipe with some raisins and pine nuts mixed in to continue the sweet and savory theme and used their directions for making the sweet and sour onions. I made them Swedish meatball size but of course they can be made larger.

The result was awesome! Im really excited about this recipe and I plan on making this more often! So, without further adieu, here is my recipe!

Sicilian Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lbs ground beef (85% lean)
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
¼ cup milk
1 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste
½ cup bread crumbs
Garlic powder and onion powder
1 handful raisins
1 handful of pine nuts

Sweet and Sour Onions:

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra virigin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water

Sprinkle beef with garlic powder and onion powder. Just enough to lightly cover meat. Then add all ingredients, mix to combine. Form meatballs and fry in olive oil. Set aside and drain on paper towels.

Add onions to pan and season with salt and pepper. Sauté onions in extra virgin olive oil on low heat until they become tender. Do not allow them to brown.

Stir in vinegar, sugar and water.

Return meatballs to pan and gently toss in sauce. Let them cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and cool. Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!