Hearty Meatballs

My sister, Julie, gave me this yummy meatball recipe. It's easy to make and quite delicious. A bonus is that you can freeze them for a night when you just don't have time to cook.





Ingredients
1 (6 ounce) package stove top whole-wheat chicken flavor stuffing mix
1/2 cup hot water
1 egg 1/4 cup light ranch salad dressing
1 lb lean ground beef 1 cut cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 C. ketchup (or other sauce of your choice)

Directions

1. PREHEAT oven to 375ºF. Combine stuffing mix, water, egg and dressing and let sit until moistened (while grating cheese)
2. Add meat and cheese; mix well.
3. Shape into eight 2-inch meatballs.
4. Place on greased baking sheet; spread with ketchup.
5. Bake 30 minutes or until cooked through.

Note: I don't care for meatballs that large, so I made them quite a bit smaller and had 20 instead. It only took 15 minutes to bake. I think this would also make a great meatloaf, stuffing for peppers or mushrooms, or served with pasta and sauce.

I don't particularly care for ketchup and I also like spicy food, so I made half of the batch with ketchup and the other half with Johnny's Jamaica Me Sweet Hot & Crazy sauce. I highly recommend that sauce!

Snickers Salad

Most salads are healthy. This one is not. It is, however, absolutely delicious! My mom made this a few years ago and it's now a family favorite. A huge bonus is that it's super easy to make.



Snickers Salad
12 oz cool whip
Snickers bars (You can cut up regular size bars or fun size or just throw in a bag of mini bars)
4 apples cut in bite size pieces. (Red and green look pretty)
3 bananas

My mom usually mixes it all together and serves it in a trifle bowl. I used the trifle bowl and put everything in layers (whipped cream, apples, bananas, snickers, repeat). It looked very pretty all layered like that, but it all ends up in your tummy no matter how you serve it!

The Most Delicious Cheeseball Ever!

Our family has been making this cheese ball recipe for as long as I can remember. The recipe calls for you to make it into balls, chill, and roll it in chopped nuts, but we love it so much that we end up just eating it as a dip because we can't wait for it to chill in the fridge! Although I love nuts, I think I like this recipe better without the nuts. (I have actually done the whole roll into balls, chill, and roll in chopped nuts thing.)



Delicious Cheese Ball
3 eight oz cream cheese
3 jars Old English cheese
1 jar Roka Blue cheese
1-2 Tbsp grated onion
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
1/4-1/2 Tbsp Accent
1/2 cup parsley

Instructions: Mix all together- let chill- then form into balls and roll in chopped pecans. It tastes delicious with celery, carrots, and assorted crackers. Some family favorites are Club, Chicken in a Biscuit, Wheat Thins, and Triscuit.


Note: Sometimes I just finely chop (or food process) a little onion or green onion instead of grating it. I know my sister will use dried onion in a pinch. I prefer using fresh parsley as well, but dried works just fine. I do think 1/2 cup is a bit much. The parsley is really just to help it look pretty anyway. Also, Accent is a spice and it really does affect the taste of the cheese ball. I had no idea what Accent was and had to call my mommy for recipe advice the first time I made the cheese ball.

Another Note: I tried freezing some. I only left it in the freezer for a few days, but it tasted delicious when it was thawed. Since the recipe is quite large that's definitely an added bonus!

Enjoy!

1st Annual Christmas Drop-In Party

Matt and I decided it was high time to get to know our neighbors so we hosted the first of what (we hope) will be an annual drop-in party for the Christmas holidays. The party was a success and the food was great! The menu included:

Cranberry Salsa
Double Chocolate Cookies
Cheese ball (we served it as a dip)
Snickers Salad
Baklava (Thanks to Matt's grandmother who sent this to us for Christmas)
Fresh Pineapple

Hot Chocolate Mix

One of my favorite childhood memories was helping my mom make an instant hot cocoa mix. The recipe makes a HUGE batch and it seemed to last for about a year. Of course, I was a child so my memory may be a little skewed. The recipe is HUGE though; that part of my memory was not skewed!

I had my mom dig up her old recipe and then ran off to purchase the ingredients. It cost approximately $25 for all the ingredients. We plan to put some of the mix in cute containers and give it as Christmas gifts this year.

One of the things I love about the mix is that it has dry milk in it, so it is just as though I had taken the time to heat up milk and mix in cocoa and sugar. Who has time to do that in real life though? One of the things I remember not loving was that it always seemed much more milky than chocolaty. In looking at the recipe it also seemed a bit too sugary for my grown up taste buds. I decided to make some adjustments to the recipe. I'll post the original recipe and then explain my adjustments. My favorite part of the recipe is the mixing instructions. Make and adjust as you please!

Instant Hot Chocolate Mix
1 20 qt box of powdered milk

1 16 oz coffee-mate (powdered)

1 2 lb. nestles quick (Now called Nesquick)

1 lb powdered sugar

Mix together. Fill cup 1/3 to 1/2 full with mix and fill with hot water. Stir, Sit back and relax!

Now- I decided to mix everything together except the powdered sugar. I thought the Nesquick would provide enough sugar. It mixed well and tasted just fine. I then wanted a darker, more chocolaty flavor so I added baker's cocoa powder to a small amount of the mix and tested it out. I thought it tasted great, but I wanted a second opinion. My husband tested it out both ways and agreed that he liked the cocoa powder. Here's my new recipe-

Anna's Hot Chocolate Recipe (2010)
1 20 qt box of powdered milk
1 16 oz coffee-mate (powdered)
1 2.54 lb Nesquick (It came in either 1.5 lbs or 2.5 lbs. I decided just to put in the full 2.5 lbs since I wasn't going to include the powdered sugar)
1 10 oz Baker's Cocoa (Most of them came in 8 oz containers, which I'm sure would work just fine. I just liked that particular brand.)

Note: This mix is HUGE. As you can see from the pictures, I used SEVERAL large mixing bowls and containers to mix it all together. I wanted to get all the ingredients really mixed in well, so I mixed a little of each into each bowl and then tried mixing them all together. When my husband came home he reminded me that we had a huge stock pot in our closet. I knew that stock pot would come in handy when I put it on our wedding registry! Then 20 qt stock pot did the trick. We put the lid on, clamped it down tight with our hands, and took turns shaking it. We also took huge ladles and stirred it around as best we could. The whole activity provided hot chocolate, exercise, and entertainment!

Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

I am too in love with these yummy sliders I found on the Pioneer Woman's website. I have made them several times already and I'm pretty sure I will be making them again soon. Last time I made them with homemade sweet potato fries. Happiness on a plate.

Mushroom and Swiss Sliders with Spicy Fry Sauce

Ingredients

⅓ cups Mayonnaise

2 Tablespoons Ketchup

1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper (less If You're Sensitive To Spice!)

4 Tablespoons Butter

½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced

8 ounces, weight White Mushrooms, Chopped Finely

½ cups White Or Red Wine (optional)

4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce

Kosher Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper

2 pounds Ground Beef

4 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream

4 dashes Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

4 slices Swiss Cheese, Cut Into Four Squares

8 whole Dinner (or Slider) Rolls, Split

Preparation Instructions

In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, ketchup, and cayenne. Stir together until totally combined. Set aside. (This is the spicy fry sauce.)

Melt butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add mushrooms and toss around, then add wine (if using), Worcestershire, salt and pepper. Cook for several minute over medium heat, or until all liquid has evaporated. Transfer mushroom mixture to a separate bowl, scraping all contents from the skillet.

Mix ground beef, heavy cream, Worcestershire, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients. Form 1/4 to 1/3 cup of the meat mixture into patties, making an indentation with your thumb to keep the patties from plumping too much when they cook. In the same skillet as the one used to cook the mushrooms, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium to medium-high heat. Add four patties at a time, indented side face up. Cook for 4 minutes, then flip. Spoon generous portion of mushroom mixture on each patty, then top with one or two squares of Swiss, depending on your preference. Place lid on skillet and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until burgers are cooked through and cheese is melted. Remove to a place and keep warm while you repeat with the rest of the meat mixture.

Toast halved buns under the oven broiler. Spread generously with spicy fry sauce. Place patties between buns and serve immediately with fried onion strings.

Enjoy!

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

I found the most delicious cookie recipe on FoodNetwork.com. Of course it is by the beautiful (and frightfully thin) Giada De Laurentiis. If you like lemon and you like cookies you will love this recipe. The best thing is that they stay soft for days. My family loves them and my husband asked me to make them for his office. Enjoy!

Prep Time:15 min
Inactive Prep Time:2 hr
Cook Time:15 min
Level: Easy
Serves: 44 cookies


Ingredients
Cookies:
•2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•1 teaspoon baking powder
•1 teaspoon salt
•1 stick unsalted butter, softened
•2 cups sugar
•2 eggs
•1 (15-ounce) container whole milk ricotta cheese
•3 tablespoons lemon juice
•1 lemon, zested
Glaze:
•1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
•3 tablespoons lemon juice
•1 lemon, zested
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cookies:

In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the large bowl combine the butter and the sugar. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the ricotta cheese, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat to combine. Stir in the dry ingredients.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spoon the dough (about 2 tablespoons for each cookie) onto the baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, until slightly golden at the edges. Remove from the oven and let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 20 minutes.

Glaze:

Combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon about 1/2-teaspoon onto each cookie and use the back of the spoon to gently spread. Let the glaze harden for about 2 hours. Pack the cookies into a decorative container

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/lemon-ricotta-cookies-with-lemon-glaze-recipe/index.html

Here is an easy recipe I got from a friend at work. It is quick and pretty tasty.

Loaded "Baked Potato" Soup

Prep Time:

15 min

Total Time:

30 min

Makes:

4 servings, about 1 cup each

What You Need!

1 lb. baking potatoes (about 2), cubed

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 cup milk

3 slices Bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided

1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

1 green onion sliced, divided

1/4 cup Sour Cream

Make It!

MICROWAVE potatoes in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 5 min., stirring after 2-1/2 min. Stir in broth and milk. Microwave 10 min., stirring after 5 min. Carefully crush potatoes with potato masher.

RESERVE 2 Tbsp. each bacon and cheese and 1 Tbsp. onions for topping. Stir remaining bacon, cheese and onions into soup.

SERVE topped with reserved bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.