Thursday, May 30, 2013

Comfort Meatballs

These were a huge hit with my family and there were many requests to do this again. Served with simple boiled red potatoes with salt, pepper, and butter and french-style green beans, these are basically the ultimate comfort food. They heat up well for leftover suppers, and they also work really well on bread or a spare hamburger bun with a slice of provolone as a meatball sandwich. Just a great little staple recipe.

Full confession: I made these with only 1 lb of ground beef, and cut the rest of the ingredients for the meatballs themselves (oatmeal, milk, onion) accordingly. I used the same amount of sauce, and it worked fine for four people. Accordingly, if you do end up using the 1 1/2 lb of meat, you may want to do a 1 1/2 batch on the sauce to make sure all the meatballs get covered.


Comfort Meatballs

Meatballs:
1-1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cups oats
1 cup milk 
1/2 of a sweet onion, VERY finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper
Approx. 1 cup flour (for coating meatballs)
1 tbsp olive oil

Sauce:
1 cup ketchup (I used Hunts, but go for your favorite)
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp vinegar (cider vinegar works also)
3 tbsp Worchestershire
1/4 of a sweet onion, VERY finely minced (use what you've got left over from the onion you used for the meatballs)
Tobasco to taste (I used eight or ten shakes of the bottle, but to each his own on how much heat you like)
1 tbsp soy sauce (optional, I didn't use this and the sauce didn't need more salt)


Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine ground beef with next four ingredients, add pepper to taste. This will end up in a very soft, surprisingly light mixture. That's okay. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. VERY IMPORTANT, DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP: Place sheet in freezer for at least ten minutes, to let the meatballs firm up and prepare them for cooking. (Mix the sauce while the meatballs are chilling.)

Mix all ingredients for sauce in small bowl, set aside.

In a nonstick pan, heat olive oil on medium-high until oil is hot. Remove meatballs from freezer. Immediately dredge in unseasoned flour, and brown in oil until the meatballs are just browned on either side. They don't have to be done through, the goal is just to get them started here. Place them in an oven-safe baking dish when they've had a chance to brown on each side.

Pour sauce over meatballs and bake for 45 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4-6

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Squash Casserole

A Southern classic, and with summer coming up and the squash finally fresh and local in stores again, I thought I'd try my hand at it. It took about an hour to prepare from when I first started chopping to the finish, but since more than half of that is oven time and cooling, it's a pretty easy recipe that leaves time to finish the rest of the meal while it's in the oven. I did it for Sunday lunch along with Cider Glazed Salmon, and the two went over very well.


Squash Casserole

2 1/2 lbs squash, sliced (this is in practice about 5-6 medium squashes)
1 small-to-medium sweet onion, diced
3 tbsp unsalted sweet butter
4 oz cheddar cheese, grated (approx. 1 cup)
1 large egg
Slightly less than 1/4 cup mayonnaise (I actually only fill the 1/4 cup measure about 2/3 of the way full)
15 Ritz crackers, crushed into crumbs
Salt
Pepper (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and add the squash. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, until the squash is tender. Drain and set aside.

While the squash is on, melt 2 tbsp of butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Saute the onions until tender and beginning to become translucent. While the onions are on, in a small bowl, whisk together the egg, mayonnaise, and 1/2 tsp salt.

Add the squash, cheese, and egg mixture to the onions and stir until cheese melts. Spray a 11 x 11 ovensafe casserole dish with non-stick spray, and pour in the whole mixture. Sprinkle the top with pepper if desired.

Melt the remaining 1 tbsp of butter in the microwave, and stir it together with the cracker crumbs. Sprinkle this mixture over top of the casserole.

Cook for 30 to 35 minutes, until cracker crumbs are toasted and brown on the top. Remove from oven and allow it to sit for 4-5 minutes to set before serving.

Serves: 4

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Grandma's Crockpot Roast

My grandmother has always made a magnificent roast in her crockpot whenever the family is over for supper. It's tender, tastes wonderful, comes with a gravy that's perfect for rice, and almost tastes even better the next day as leftovers. The recipe isn't complicated, but here it is so that I don't forget.


Grandma's Crockpot Roast

Boneless chuck roast, between 3 and 3 1/2 lbs (this works best if you get your grocer to cut it for you while you wait. I find that asking them to cut you one generally gets you a good quality roast, and you want one that's thicker than the ones my grocer generally sells pre-packaged.)
1 large sweet onion, cut into 1 inch or 1 1/2 inch wedges
1/2 lb baby carrots
1 lb red potatoes, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
2 cups beef stock
3 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
Optional: 3 bay leaves, or 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
Flour or cornstarch for thickening

Begin by salting and peppering the meat on both sides. Be generous with the salt here, because for a 3 lb roast that's a lot of meat for it to season. If you're really on the ball, you can season the meat up to a day in advance, and let it sit in the fridge to soak in for a while before you cook. If you're like me and usually don't think that far ahead, it's no big deal.

Next heat about 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. When the oil is hot, brown the roast on all sides (I usually cook it for about 3-4 min per side, and less time when I'm browning the edges). If possible, use rubber tongs or a large spatula to handle the meat, since these don't tear up your searing as much as metal tongs do.

Into your crockpot add the following in layers: all the carrots, 3/4 of the potatoes, 1/2 the onions, the meat, then the remaining onions and potatoes on top of the roast. Lightly salt and pepper the whole thing.

Mix the worchestershire sauce and the beef stock, bring it to a boil in a pot on the stove, then pour that on top of everything. You don't actually have to bring the liquids to a boil before you put them in the crockpot, but it helps get a jumpstart on the cooking process and cuts your time a little. If you're using the optional bay leaves or rosemary, put them in with the cooking liquids if you're boiling them and pour them over the roast when hot. Otherwise, tuck them in with the other ingredients and pour the liquids over them cold. 

Cook for 6-8 hrs on high.

When the roast is finished, fish the meat and vegetables out of the crockpot and taste the gravy. Adjust seasoning as necessary. To thicken gravy, mix a 1-1 slurry of flour (or cornstarch) and water in a separate dish, then stir into the gravy, whisking if necessary to ensure no lumps. Taste again, and adjust until the gravy is the desired thickness.

Serves: 6-8

Monday, May 6, 2013

Panko-crusted Baked Fish

This is a low-effort kind of recipe, but it produces delicious, flaky fish and was well-received by several family members that sometimes don't like fish. The recipe will work with any white-fleshed fish. I used tilapia, but catfish, flounder, crappie, or even halibut or cod would work just as well. Accompany it with fresh vegetables (I used sweet corn and zucchini) for a fast, light meal that tastes wonderful.


Panko-crusted Baked Fish

1 lb tilapia filets, thawed (this should be 4-5 small filets for individual servings. If you're using larger filets, separate them into 4-5 portions)
1 tsp lemon juice for each portion
3 tbsp unsalted sweet cream butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 1/2 tbsp parsley flakes
Salt
Pepper
Optional: 1/4 cup grated parmesan


Preheat oven to 400F. 

Melt the butter in a small bowl, then add the panko crumbs and parsley. If you want to use the optional parmesan, mix that in here too. Stir thoroughly so that all the panko gets buttered.

Cover a baking sheet with tin foil and lay out the filets on the sheet. Rub 1/2 tsp lemon juice into each portion, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the filets over, and repeat with another 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, salt and pepper on the other side.

Press the panko crumbs into a layer on top of the fish filets, patting it down to form a crust. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and the panko crumbs have turned light golden. Serve immediately.

Serves: 4

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Tortellini Soup

This is a simple take on classic Italian flavors: tomato, spinach, cheese, pasta. It all comes together in a surprisingly filling soup that doesn't take long to make and is good for nights when you're tired and want something a little rustic. An added bonus: this soup reheats beautifully, which makes is great for carry to work for lunches.


Tortellini Soup

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 sweet onion, julienned 
4 cloves garlic, minced
48 oz. low sodium chicken stock (I use two boxes of the Kitchen Basics brand)
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
8 oz frozen cheese tortellini
1 can cannelloni beans, drained and rinsed
1 can stewed tomatoes, NOT drained
1 9 oz bag baby spinach, washed
2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper


In a fairly good sized soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, saute until the onions are translucent, then toss in the garlic and continue cooking for about two more minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock and add the oregano. Bring the chicken-onion broth to a gentle boil, and add the tortellini. Check the tortellini bag for cooking times, but if it's 10-12 minutes like most frozen tortellini, then set a timer for 10 minutes and allow the pot to continue at a gentle boil.

About halfway through the tortellini's cooking time, add your cannelloni beans and stir the whole pot to make sure that none of the pasta are sticking to the bottom. With about three minutes left on the timer, add the stewed tomatoes and their juice. I like to use my hands as I add the tomatoes to break them up so that there aren't such huge chunks in the soup, but to each his or her own.

When the timer expires, add in the spinach a few handfuls at a time, stirring so that it wilts down a bit before the next batch goes in. Add the basil and the cheese, and let the pot simmer for another minute or so, stirring well until all of the spinach is wilted thoroughly and the cheese has melted into the mixture. Taste and season with salt and pepper as appropriate. Serve immediately, preferably with some crusty bread for dipping.

Serves: 6-8