Meatballs for Spaghetti

2 pounds ground beef
½ pound ground pork
2 cups bread crumbs
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh parsley
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
½ cup grated parmesan or any dry Italian cheese
4 garlic cloves minced or pressed
1 onion minced

Mix all the ingredients together.  Shape into balls.  We do 3-4T most of the time.  Saute in pan with a little olive oil to brown.  Transfer to foil lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup).

Bake 350 for 30 minutes (depends on size you make so adjust accordingly)

After they bake and we eat, I freeze the rest.  When freezing place on sheet pan separated.  After frozen, then transfer to freezer container.  They reheat quickly making a weeknight meal quick and less messy!!!
These paired with the marinara sauce has unlimited options.  You could serve over zoodles for lower carb.  You can make smaller and make meatball subs.  Just add to your favorite bun/bread and melt a little mozzarella cheese in broiler on them.  You could eat the classic over pasta noodles.  You can serve as appetizers with marinara dipping sauce.

We usually make a side salad with caesar dressing.

 

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Buttermilk Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup butter (frozen & shredded)
1 cup buttermilk

I recently started shredding frozen butter for scones and biscuits and think it makes them extra amazing. If you don’t want to shred, you can also do this recipe in a food processor.  OR you can kick it old school and use a pastry cutter.  OR a couple of forks.

In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.  Then cut in butter or mix in frozen butter. (I do this in a mixer.)  Add buttermilk to mix.  Once mixed drop the whole batch on a floured surface.  Pat it out into a large circle about ½ in thick.  Cut out biscuits.  Repeat and cut again.  The more you work biscuit dough the tougher it gets.  So work with it as little as possible.  Depending on cutter size you will get 8-12 biscuits.

If you don’t keep buttermilk, I have for millions of times (okay maybe not that many) made it with juice of half of a lemon and about ¾ cup milk.  I don’t think they fluff as well, but they are still great.

Another trick to get extra tall flaky biscuits is to “stack” pieces of the dough before you pat it out into the circle.  It’s a fine line though you can’t mess with it too much either or they get tough.  Also, use a SHARP biscuit cutter to keep the edges from sealing and keeping the biscuit from growing taller.

Bake 450 for 8-10 minutes

*I have frozen this recipe and baked later.  It works very well*

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Cinnamon Rolls Overnight or Otherwise

1 cup warm milk (yeast temp 95-115)

1/4 cup butter melted

5 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon yeast

1 egg

3 1/2 cups flour (ISH)

1/4 teaspoon salt

The good stuff for the middle:

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter melted

The good stuff for after baking on the top:

1 cup powder sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Do NOT let all the instructions deter you from trying these amazing and easy rolls.  I like to talk a lot and I probably over explain things when it comes to cooking with yeast.  It is NOT hard to cook with yeast.  Do NOT be intimidated.  Also, I doubled this recipe and it worked up great.  I divided into several pans.  You can make new friends and share.  OR not.

First, melt butter in measuring cup add 1 cup milk to it and continue to warm (I use microwave you can do on stove top too).  After yeast temperature warm (around 110), add sugar and yeast.  Let sit until frothy.  I have to walk away, so I am patient enough to wait.  Add egg to milk mixture.  I switch it to mixer bowl.  Add flour and salt.  Then I let dough hook do the work.  You can mix by hand and when gets too hard to stir drop on floured surface and knead by hand until smooth and elastic.  Then return to oiled or buttered bowl and let rise until double.  If you need to speed this up, you can put bowl in warm water in sink.  Or in warmed oven.

After doubled, roll out into large rectangle (around 15 inches long) on floured surface.  I like to make dough really thin about 1/2 inch thick so there is more swirl to the roll.  After you have your rectangle, spread melted butter all over it.  I use my hands or a brush it is a bit messy, but whatever.  Then I evenly sprinkle the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture on top of butter.  Then roll up so you have a log about 15 inches long.  Cut 12-15 rolls and place in buttered 13×9 pan.

Let rise until doubled or until they are super fat and all touching.

Bake 350 for 25 minutes

Overnight option:  I shape and put in pan, cover, and then refrigerate overnight.  The next morning I get them out (drink coffee), and let them raise till about double.  If you need to speed this up (because maybe you slept longer than you should have), you can preheat oven to 170-200 turn off and put in the oven for quick raise.  After doubled, put in 350 oven and bake.  Go take your shower or make the good stuff for the top OR both.

I am experimenting with a freezer version.  To be continued…

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Mexican Chicken Marinade

6 chicken breast sliced
3 limes juiced
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6-10 garlic cloves minced or use a press or chopped
Mix it all together and let sit overnight or for several hours

Then you can grill or sauté and use for fajitas or make Mexican chicken taco salads or quinoa bowls. OR I plan to add some more jazz and make the chicken taquitos my kids LOVE.  Obviously, you can make half or a 1/3 easily with this recipe.  I just wanted to use the chicken for several things, so I did a bigger batch.  We will be having salad one night with it and I will make taquitos for the freezer with the rest of it.

Another IDEA I LOVE:


Mexican Chicken & Quinoa Salad
2-3 cups salad (romaine is typically what I use)
1/8 cup cooked black beans (I mash as cooking for better consistency)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
Several chicken slices from recipe above
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 avocado sliced
Tomato and/or onion would be good toppings too
Use your favorite salsa as “dressing”

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Trail Mix Snacks

We are always on the go.  And we have lots of waiting time between activities.  So I have started keeping a jar of trail mix in the car.  I have recently started adding roasted chickpeas or garbanzo beans (whatever you want to call them) to my mix.  They add a fun salty crunch.  Mostly we like nuts, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, pepitas seeds, and sometimes chocolate pieces.  Since it stays in the car I am hesitant to add anything that can melt in the heat.

 

Roasted Chickpeas aka Garbanzo beans

Drain and rinse chickpeas.
Let dry or dry with towel
Mist with olive oil or drizzle and stir chickpeas in the oil
Sprinkle with salt
Spread out on a sheet pan (I like a sheet pan with a silicone mat on it for easy clean up)

Bake in oven at 400 for 30-40 minutes stirring every 10 minutes

 

IMG_2498

This particular mix is kind of boring with dried blueberries, cherries, and cranberries mixed with roasted chickpeas and almonds.  However, it is what I had in the cabinet at the time.

 

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Marinara Sauce

Once you make this sauce, you will never want to buy the jar jazz again.  It is easy.  You should make lots and freeze extras for later.  It can be pizza sauce, served over noodles, make lasagna with it, or my kids dip the homemade french bread right in it.  We met some Italian friends that shared this with my husband one year.  They insist on Hunt’s tomato sauce in their recipe.  I made my own sauce from garden tomatoes last summer and it was good too!

5-10 garlic cloves minced
1 onion minced
(I started just blending in the ninja chopper so there would be no chunks in the sauce for that one kid of mine that doesn’t like chunks – and its fast too!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Giant can of Hunt’s tomato sauce or 105 ounces
4 tablespoons Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme)
2 tablespoons extra oregano
(adjust seasonings to taste)

In large Dutch oven, sauté onion and garlic mixture in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add tomato sauce and seasonings.  Then simmer for ½ hour to hour.  The world will not end if you simmer longer the sauce just gets thicker and sometimes I do.  It just depends on how much time you have to make it.  After simmered, divide into freezer containers.

OR make a lasagna for freezer meal.  OR manicotti for freezer meal.  OR have spaghetti.  OR make a meatball and have spaghetti and meatballs.  Or make some pizzas.  OR you get the idea you can take over the kitchen world with this sauce alone.

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