Mandy and Jace

I have a confession to make. I never liked meat balls. All the ones that I’ve tried were always huge, bland and in a thick, slimy sauce that drowns what little flavor that the meat may have. I didn’t like them until Jace found these while watching food network and made me try them.

Jace loves to watch Alton Brown on Food Network. Now, it’s not that I dislike AB but he tends to be too smart for his own good. When I cook, I like to use as few dishes as possible and keep everything neat and tidy. When he cooks he uses every dish in the kitchen plus most of the power tools in his work shop. So any time we watched him I just got more and more annoyed seeing him pull dish after dish out of his cabinets. You can just imagine me yelling at the TV telling him to WASH YOUR DISHES BEFORE FOOD DRIES ON THEM AND THE WORLD ENDS. It’s hard to imagine, I know. So, when this meatball recipe came up I was very skeptical of AB and meat balls in general, but I’m a good wife and I made them. Lo and behold, they were amazing. They have a little bit of a kick to keep you on your feet, but the parmesan and bread crumbs make them so smooth and wonderful. We don’t put a sauce on these because they just don’t need them. We cook some spaghetti and drizzle some olive oil and lemon juice then put the meat balls on top. Pure perfection!

Meat balls
adapted from Alton Brown
1/2lb ground pork
1/2lb ground lamb
1/2lb ground beef
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or just a bit more if you want them pretty spicy)
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

If your meat is not pre-ground grind your meat using a meat grinder. I used the grinder attachment to my big kitchen aid mixer.
In a large bowl, combine the pork, lamb, beef, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. With your hands, form the meat balls into the size you want.

Place the remaining bread crumbs in a bowl or large coffee cup. Take each meat ball and roll it in the bread crumbs coating each one. Place each meat ball in the cups of a mini muffin tin. (If you don’t have one a baking sheet will do). If you have time place the whole tin with the meat balls in the fridge for about an hour so all the flavors can come together. If you don’t have time it’s ok.
Cook the meat balls for about 20 minutes or until they are golden brown and cooked through. Serve on top of spaghetti.

We have lots of great food planned for this week and hopefully we’ll actually get to eat it. Jace’s grandmother is in the hospital so we’ve be going back and forth between the hospital, work and home. Please be in prayer for her. There are a lot of things we still don’t know, but what we do know. She fell and hit her head last week and she is in tremendous pain right now. I know she would appreciate your prayers.

Here’s the plan.
Tonight: roast chicken and potatoes
Tuesday: Tex-Mex pork chops with rice
Wednesday: tailgating with the youth group
Thursday: take out before praise and worship practice
Friday: not sure what’s going to happen

Happy eating!

This weekend was a great one! We watched our youth group kids share their talents in the district fine arts competition. They all did a great job even though there were some disappointments in judging. There are always judging disappointments, though and it happens to even the best musicians. We also got lots of things done around the house and storage building. It was very busy, but fun.

We have a big meal plan for this week.
Tonight: chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with veal gravy and corn on the cobb
Tuesday: meatballs on lemon spaghetti with salad
Wednesday: turkey and cheese paninis
Thursday: chicken fajita burritos with refried beans and rice
Friday: date night!

I love all things pizza. It’s tasty, easy and versatile. You can make it as healthy or unhealthy as you want and as easy or difficult you want. I have found that I really enjoy making breads and doughs and so far my best has been my pizza dough.

This recipe uses my normal pizza dough recipe but I stuffed the dough with my ingredients. I chose to make a three meat calzone, with sausage, pepperoni and bacon. However, you can do so much more. Be creative!

Here is the recipe for the dough. If the whole wheat scares you just replace the whole wheat flour with white flour. It works just as well as the wheat.

Three Meat Calzone
(I didn’t put measurements because it’s up to you how much you put in)

Fresh made dough
Pepperoni
Sausage
Bacon
Mushrooms, sliced
Mozzarella cheese
Tomato sauce or pasta sauce
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil

Roll out your dough to your desired thickness and place on a greased sheet pan. Spoon your desired amount of tomato sauce or pasta sauce on half of the dough leaving a one inch border around the sides to close the calzone.

In a bowl combine your pepperoni, sausage, bacon, mushrooms and cheese together. Pour the mixture on top of the sauce .

Brush the border of the dough all the way around with the beaten egg and pull the side of the dough without anything on it up over the meat mixture.

Take a fork and press it down on the edge of the calzone to close and cut a slit on the top to let out steam. Brush the top of the calzone with the egg wash for browning.

Put in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve immediately.

I’m not sure why but I’ve never really been one for casseroles. I think my need for everything neatly in it’s place goes a little nuts when I see the plated dish. Everything is everywhere on the plate and there is really no way to make it look pretty. But, when it tastes like this did I’m willing to excuse the mess.
I do think next time I’m going to make this dish into King Ranch Enchiladas. Instead of layering everything I’m going to roll the meat into the tortillas then put the sauce and cheese on top. That way it will look a little better when plated.

Either way you make this though, it is really good! I used a rotisserie chicken and shredded it but you can use any chicken or beef you want. I am wanting to get to like mushrooms so I bought some to throw in but, forgot about them. It would probably be pretty good but I don’t really know. It does take quite a while to make so be sure you have plenty of time. It also freezes well. Just make sure you cover it with several pieces of foil so it doesn’t get freezer burn.

King Ranch Casserole
adapted from Homesick Texan
1 1/2 lbs chicken shredded without skin
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 an onion diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 can Ro-Tel
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup sour cream
3 cups of the cheese of your choice, grated
10 corn tortillas
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet on medium heat combine the chicken, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons chili powder and cook for a couple of minutes to combine.
In a large saucepan on medium heat melt the butter. Add the onions, bell pepper and poblano and cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, cumin, flour, cayenne and 2 tablespoons chili powder and cook for one more minute.
Add the chicken broth and cook until thick. Pour in the half and half and Ro-Tel, cover and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the sour cream, the rest of the lemon juice. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
Heat the tortillas for a couple of seconds in the microwave.
In a 11×7 casserole dish spoon in 1/2 cup sauce. Place a layer of tortillas on top, then add a layer of chicken half of the remaining sauce and 1 cup cheese.
Continue to layer tortillas, chicken, sauce and cheese.
Place casserole, uncovered, into the oven and cook for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.