Crock Pot Meatballs!

Make meatballs from previous post and bake as directed. Remove from pan, and add to crock pot. Next take 1 1/2 cups grape jelly, heat in sauce pan until smooth. Add 2 bottles Heinz Chili Sauce. Next, stir in 1/3 cup light brown sugar. Pour over meatballs, warm in crock pot until hot. Serve. **don't over cook!

These make good appetizers at dinners or shower snacks. You can also use the sauce with the little smokies or buy frozen meat balls, just cook them before adding to sauce.

After you are finished cooking, get a little sugar from sweet babies.....

Janice's Meat Balls

So today I was on break in the back room having lunch, looking at facebook on my iPhone. I came across my sister-in-law Janice's recipe for home made meat balls so I thought I would post it. It looks so good.....Make small ones for spaghetti and try making larger ones and serve with spaghetti sauce heated on sandwich buns as meatball sandwiches....forget subway. And these don't look like they are very difficult to make and would taste so much better than store bought. I can't wait to try them! For you cheese lovers make a sandwich of them and add freshly grated Parmesan!

Meatballs:
1 1/4 pounds ground chuck or ground round
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese ( I would leave this out lol )
2 cloves garlic chopped
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Combine beef, garlic, egg, cheese, salt and pepper.
2. Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. The mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape if rolled into meatballs. Shape into meatballs.
3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel.
4. OR Janice bakes hers for 10 minutes in a preheated 425 degree oven.
   

Broccoli Casserole

One of Rick's favorite things to eat this time of year was broccoli. He liked to grow it. It was really good when it was fresh out of the garden early in the season. The cooler the weather, the sweeter the broccoli. This recipe is from Paula Deen. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups crushed crackers
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, mayonnaise, cheese, soup and eggs. Mix well with a metal spoon. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Top with the crushed crackers and pour the melted butter evenly over the crackers. Bake for 35 minutes or until set and browned.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. Will add more later.....have a great week!

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie has been a favorite dish around here for many, many years. I started making it back about 15 years ago. We had it once a week for many years. Everyone loved it and there was never any left over. It was one of Rick's favorites. I have tried variations but always came back to this recipe. If you don't care for the thick crust, then find the pie crust recipe and make it and top it with that or use crescent rolls for the crust or buy the filo dough and use it. We always preferred the Bisquick crust. Enjoy! The baking dish I use 99% of the time for this looks like the one below, it is made by Anchor Hocking or Fire King. I got mine at the Dollar General Store years ago. If your dish is much over half full, consider placing it on a cookie sheet to capture boil-overs.

Chicken Pot Pie

In a deep dish 4 quart casserole (sprayed with Pam) combine:
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can water
1 can peas (drained)
1 can carrots (drained)
2 cans 12.5 oz Chicken ( I like Tyson best then Sam's Club then Sweet Sue then Kroger Brand)
dash thyme
dash oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Stir all together

Crust:
2 cups Bisquick mix
1 egg
Enough milk to make a batter with the texture of cake batter (few lumps ok)
Stir together and pour over above mixture

Bake 400* preheated oven until biscuit mix is completely done, and gravy is bubbly (approximately one hour)

We ate this alone for the complete meal, but you could add a tossed salad.

Adjust baking times to your oven, the thicker the crust on top, the longer it takes to bake.

Chili

I know, I know it's spring! But with this cool day, I decided to post my recipe for chili. Wish I had a bowl of homemade chili right now. I had to settle for canned. When I got home from Church tonight I decided I needed something to hold me over until morning. (See the other blog for info if you want to.) Some day I might make a big pot of chili and see how well it freezes. Would have been good today as cool as it was!

Chili
Brown one pound ground chuck and drain
chop one sweet onion (more or less to your preference, but you have to use at least 1/2 an onion unless you're allergic)
three cans chili beans in mild chili sauce (smaller size cans)
one package McCormick Chili Seasoning (mild or hot to your taste)
2 large cans diced tomatoes (use with green chilies if you like hot hot hot chili)
1 cup water
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a heavy bottom stock pot/dutch oven. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until onion is tender (approximately one hour) stirring often. If you like spaghetti or macaroni in your chili, add it the last quarter hour and cook until noodles are tender. Don't overcook the noodles.

Serve with your favorite sandwich or toppers and crackers. It is also really good to place Frito's in a bowl and top them with the chili......just sayin!

Enjoy!

Enamel over cast iron dutch oven--great for soups and chili!

Sloppy Joes (From cooking school) YUM!

Yesterday at 10am I joined Libby and Suzan at the extension office along with Terri from Community Action and about 10 others for the cooking class. It was extremely informative and a good refresher on nutrition and safe food handling. Then we cooked sloppy joes from scratch. And they tasted much better than Manwich sloppy joes!

Game Day Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground chuck
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 tbsp quick oats
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
Dash hot sauce
12 hamburger buns
In a 10 inch skillet cook ground chuck, onion and celery until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain excess fat.
Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered 30 minutes stirring often.
Makes 12 1/3 cup servings.

Disposable single use and flexible multiple use cutting boards are available and are an inexpensive way to safely chop vegetables and meats without using the same board for both.

It is a very good class and the sloppy joes are excellent.
Recipe from UK Cooperative Extension Service.

3 Pies

I think of all the cream pies or custard pies that I make, lemon meringue is my favorite. I will share my recipe for lemon meringue pie and how to make a great high meringue. Rick's favorite was coconut cream pie. It was also a big hit at family and church dinners, but so is the lemon. I could never stand the texture of coconut.

A hint with the lemon meringue pie, when making the meringue, I use lemon juice instead of vanilla. I don't add the sugar until the meringue is already in soft peaks.

Lemon Meringue Pie
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup corn starch
1/8 tsp salt
4 egg yolks (save whites, separate carefully)
1 3/4 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter
pre-baked 9" pie crust

Combine the sugar, salt and cornstarch in a heavy kettle with a whisk and set aside. Lightly whip the egg yolks in a bowl with a whisk, then stir in the water and lemon juice. Next, gently stir liquid into the sugar mixture and place on burner over low-medium heat. Cook and stir until thick and bubbly and comes to gentle boil. Boil for one minute, remove from heat, stir in butter. Spoon into pastry shell. Top with meringue and place in 325 degree oven approximately 25 minutes until lightly browned.

Meringue

4 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp lemon juice (or vanilla)

Place egg whites in mixing bowl (a stand mixer, any brand with a whisk attachment makes lovely meringue) and beat on high speed until soft peaks begin to form. While the mixer is running, add sugar 1 to 2 tbsp at a time until all sugar is incorporated into meringue. After stiff peaks form, I add the lemon juice or vanilla. Top hot filling with fresh meringue. Brown as above.

Chocolate Cream Pie
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp corn starch
1/3 cup cocoa
dash of salt
Combine dry ingredients in heavy kettle

in mixing bowl, combine:
4 egg yolks lightly whipped
2 cups milk

stir milk mixture into sugar mixture, place on burner and cook over low-medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Boil until thick stir often to prevent scorching. When mixture is thick, remove from heat and add 1/2 stick butter (real) and 1 tsp vanilla. After butter is melted, stir into pie filling. Spoon into baked 9" pie crust, top with meringue and brown as in lemon meringue recipe.

For coconut cream pie, leave out the cocoa and add one small bag minus 1/4 cup (don't toast the 1/4 cup coconut, it is for the meringue) coconut lightly toasted to filling at the same time as the vanilla. Top with meringue and sprinkle on the untoasted coconut, place in oven and brown as above.

Enjoy!