Sweet & Sour Meatballs

When I was growing up, my mom would let us choose our birthday meal, not just our birthday cake. I ALWAYS chose her amazing Sweet & Sour Meatballs. She served these flavorful meatballs with peas and fettucini alfredo. Are you drooling yet?

I tend to make several batches of meatballs at once and freeze them for future Spaghetti & Meatballs or Sweet & Sour Meatballs dinners. My meatball recipe is slightly modified from Mom's since I take advantage of Egg Beaters to lower the cholesterol of the recipe (and garlic powder rather than garlic salt).

Meatballs

1 lb lean ground beef

1/3 c seasoned Italian breadcrumbs

1/4 cup Egg Beaters

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

splash of milk

Blend the meat, but don't overmix or the meatballs will taste tough. Form 1" meatballs and place on a baking dish. Bake at 500 degrees until browned, approximately 10 minutes. Use or freeze immediately.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

1 batch of meatballs

1 jar La Choy Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 14oz can pineapple chunks

Warm the ingredients on the stovetop or in a Crock Pot. Tastes wonderful with mashed potatoes (or fetuccini alfredo). Serves 3-4.

Smashing Super Bowl Chili

Ok... Apologies in advance for not having a picture! It's a testament to how quickly this meal was eaten.

One of the really challenging culinary days for me is Super Bowl Sunday. All those nachos, wings, pizza, etc are delicious, but clearly not Weight Watcher friendly! Therefore, I carefully planned our menu this Super Bowl Sunday to include modified family favorites that have a healthier spin. That and watching portion sizes should make the weekly weigh-in as palatable as the food!

The chili was so good, my sweet husband asked me to make chili with this recipe from now on. It had a rich, satifying meatiness and just enough spicyness to make you feel like a super hero....

Super Bowl Chili
1 15.5oz can Brooks Hot Chili Beans
1 15.5oz can Brooks Mild Chili Beans
2 15.5oz cans diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 bell pepper, diced
1lb lean ground beef, browned
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 c small pasta shells, cooked al dente

Brown the beef, then "sweat" the peppers until tender. Add everythig to the Crock Pot except the pasta. Cook on Low for 8 hours. Add the pasta right before serving. Enjoy with corn bread!

Minestrone Soup

I thought cravings stopped when the pregnancy was over, but apparently they don't! I had a stray craving for kale again that inspired this soup. Traditionally, minestrone contains shredded cabbage and/or spinach, but kale is in season and delicious. As it turns out, this soup is very satisfying and flavorful, while still being incredibly simple to make.

I served this with corn muffins, but any fresh bread or popover would be delicious.

Minestrone Soup
1 1/2 c chicken stock
14 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
16 oz can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
14 oz can green beans, drained
2 leaves kale, coursely chopped
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/3 c small pasta shells, cooked

In a saucepan, combine the first nine ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cooked pasta just before serving, so they don't get water-logged.

By the way, this would be a great candidate for a crock pot soup, too.

Sausage & Lentil Amnesia Soup

Ever see the movie Memento? It's about a guy trying to solve his wife's murder, but he lost his short-term memory after a head injury. He kept track of people and ideas with notes to himself.

Sometimes I forget about this recipe even though it is hearty, delicious, and satisfying. It's a perfect winter night meal when paired with your favorite bread. Be sure to leave yourself a reminder of this recipe and how much you like it where you'll find it as soon as the snow flies...

Sausage & Lentil Amnesia Soup

1 c dry lentils
5 c water
2 low sodium beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp dried basil
¼ tsp black pepper
7 oz turkey kielbasa, sliced
10 oz frozen cut broccoli
1 medium carrot, chopped

Rinse lentils, drain, and place them in a crock pot. Add water, carrots, bouillon cubes, basil, and pepper. Cook on LOW for 6 hours, and then add kielbasa and broccoli. Cook on HIGH for ten minutes. Serves 4.

Note: Those of you who are particularly sharp-eyed will notice that the picture shows peas instead of broccoli. I am nursing, so I shy away from broccoli right now. However, I do prefer the recipe with broccoli, so the recipe reflects this preference.

Baby, It's Cold Outside Beef Stew

We received several inches of snow in the last two days, which is a big deal in Central Indiana. Typically, the weather gets cold without delivering the beautiful, fluffy wonderland. I love playing in snow, then coming inside to make (and eat) hearty stews. Today, I pulled out the Crock Pot to make Beef Stew.

This recipe is based on my Mom's recipe for Beef Stew, but made in the crock pot. I modified it by adding corn and cooking wine, which adds a richness to the savory broth.

Beef Stew (first try)
1 lb beef chuck, cut in 1" pieces
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
1 can corn, drained
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 3/4 c low sodium beef stock
1/2 c cooking sherry
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
dash Cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp flour

Line a Crock Pot with a liner if you have one -- it makes cleanup so much quicker. Blend flour, pepper, and salt. Coat the beef chunks in the flour mixture, then place in the Crock Pot. Next, add the chopped and diced veggies, then the spices. Lastly, pour in the canned veggies, Worchestershire sauce, cooking wine, and beef stock. Cover and cook the stew on Low 10-12 hours (or 4-6 hours on High). About 10 minutes before serving, mix 2 Tbsp flour and three Tbsp water to make a paste. Stir this mixture into the stew to thicken it.

Tonight, I plan to serve this with Popovers. I can hardly wait!

The stew was delicious, but there are a couple of variations I plan to do next time. For instance, I plan to add frozen peas instead of canned corn and red cooking wine instead of cooking sherry. I knew I would prefer the red cooking wine, but I didn't have any on hand today. Trust me, it's worth a trip out to get the red instead of the sherry - it makes a big difference on the flavor of the stew. I will also add a small can of tomato paste.

So the improved recipe will be:
Baby, It's Cold Outside Beef Stew
1 lb beef chuck, cut in 1" pieces
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 celery stalk, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
8 oz frozen peas
1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
8 oz tomato paste
1 3/4 c low sodium beef stock
1/2 c cooking red wine
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1 bay leaf
dash Cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp flour

Line a Crock Pot with a liner if you have one -- it makes cleanup so much quicker. Blend flour, pepper, and salt. Coat the beef chunks in the flour mixture, then place in the Crock Pot. Next, add the celery, potatoes, and carrots, then the spices. Lastly, pour in the stewed tomoatoes, tomato paste, Worchestershire sauce, cooking wine, and beef stock. Cover and cook the stew on Low 10-12 hours (or 4-6 hours on High). About 10 minutes before serving, mix 2 Tbsp flour and 3 Tbsp water to make a paste. Stir this mixture into the stew to thicken it.