Savory Onion Sauced Meatballs

I love meatballs. They are the perfect little globe of deliciousness. You can serve them as a main entree, as an appetizer, in a sandwich, in soups, even on a cracker. They can be beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, pork ... if you can grind it you can pretty much make it into a meatball. Without a doubt they are the perfect bite!
I developed this recipe a few years ago and had forgotten about it until I found my chicken scratch notes stuffed into a cookbook. The meatballs in this recipe are light and airy, and the onion sauce they cook in is savoy and richly flavored because the onions are cooked down until they are caramelized and just slightly sweet. I am so happy I can share it with you!

Serves 2-4

For the meatballs:
------Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees
1 pound ground chuck
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 small onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 slice of bread, crust removed and soak in 6 tablespoons of half & half.
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Course grind of black pepper

Mix all the ingredients together. Do not compact the meat. Incorporate the ingredients into the meat by running your fingers through it by gently rubbing your thumb against the pads of your fingers. I find this keeps the meat "light and airy". Make 18 - 2" balls. Instead of rolling the meat in your hands, which makes the meatball dense, flip the meat back and forth between the palms of your hands. Doing this will create a round meatball without having to squeeze or roll it. Place on a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes.

For the onions*:
3 large yellow onion sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon light butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat a large stainless steel skillet over medium low heat, add oil, butter and onions. Stirring occasionally, cook onion for 30-45 minutes until dark and sweet. Twenty minutes into the cooking process add the 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

For the Sauce:
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 1 cup of beef stock

Once the onions are done raise the heat to medium high and add  the Worcestershire sauce, thyme and salt. Stir and let almost completely evaporate then add the 1/2 cup stock to deglaze the pan. Add the remaining cup of stock. Using either an immersion blender or in a blender puree the onions and stock. If using a blender pour back into pan, add a splash of beef stock if too tight or thick for your taste. Bring up to a boil add meatballs, cook for 1 minutes then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes, roasted green beans or a light salad. Enjoy!


*Alternatively, you can put all the ingredients into a small slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4.

Kitchen Shears ... They Do More than Cut Up a Whole Chicken

Did you know your kitchen shears have a double life? They do! They can be used in place of your knife in many instances.  How many times have you just cleaned and put away the star of your kitchen, "the knife" and it's trusty companion the cutting board, only to realize you forgot to cut the green onions that put the finishing touch on your dish. Kitchen Shears to the rescue! Here's a list of the many uses of your kitchen shears.

1. Cut green onions into discs or on the diagonal
2. Snip parsley or any herb over food
3. Slice a bell pepper or any type of pepper
4. Slice garlic
5. Cut up lettuces
6. Snip strips of meat for stir fry
7. Snip chucks of chicken to make nuggets
8. Cut bread slices in half
9. Cut the crust off of bread slices
10. Cut celery
11. Snip chives
12. Cut pizza
13. Shred cabbage - roll up several leaves to look like a cigar and snip away
14. Removing a lobster from it's shell
15. Trim the ends off of beans, like green beans
16. Cut up bacon into smaller pieces - fresh or cooked
17. Cut lasagna noodles to fit the dish
18. Cut up sausages
19. Cut up dried fruit
20. "Chop" canned whole tomatoes while they are in the can

And of course  ... cutting  up a whole chicken into individual pieces

Asian-Inspired Ground Beef and Cabbage

Sometimes I just don't plan ahead, even when I know I'm going to have a busy errand running day. I had a few hours till dinner and no idea what I was going to make. Often times I will open the fridge door and bins for inspiration, and sure enough, half a head of cabbage was sitting in the veggie drawer, screaming "do something with me". Inspiration struck and this "Asian-inspired" recipe was born.
This recipe cooks up quickly and is perfect for weeknight meals.

Serves 4

Half a head of green cabbage, sliced thinly
1 pound of ground beef, seasoned with 1 tablespoon garlic powder and a light sprinkle of salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 tablespoon light butter
1 medium onion, sliced in slivers
1 medium red onion, sliced in slivers
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium carrots, matchstick slices
2 stalks of celery, finely minced
3-4 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste
1/2 cup of beef stock
1/4 cup low sodium teriyaki sauce
1 generous tablespoon oyster sauce

Heat a large stainless steel skillet over moderate heat and add the oil and butter, followed by the  onions, sprinkled with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add celery, carrots, garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 3-5 minutes or until all vegetables have softened. Lower heat to medium low to avoid scorching vegetables and garlic, if needed. Remove vegetables from pan and set-aside.
In the same pan, crumble the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
Spread the cabbage evenly over the beef and spread the vegetable layers evenly over the cabbage. Crank the heat up to a medium high, open a "hole" in the center of the vegetable, cabbage and beef mixture so that you can watch when the bottom of the pan starts to darken. Upon darkening, quickly add the beef stock over top in a circular motion and immediately cover and reduce the heat to medium low.  Allow to cook, covered for 3-5 minutes or until most of the beef broth has evaporated. Stir all the layers together until well incorporated, and stir in the teriyaki and oyster sauce. Allow to cook covered for 3 minutes and you are done.

Serve with jasmine rice, sprinkle with chopped green onions.

Quick & Easy Chicken and Rice with a Latin Twist

You can do more with a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket than just heating it up. By combining a few staple food ingredients and a store bought rotisserie chicken you can conjure up a yummy dish any weeknight in about 30 minutes. To give this meal a Latin twist, I took some of my favorite seasonings and flavors from the traditional Nicaraguan Christmas hen, and incorporated into this recipe. This is one of my top 10 "go to" recipes for an easy weeknight meal.

Serves 4

All the meat from one rotisserie chicken, shredded but not too finely

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large Spanish onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium carrot, diced-small

3 tablespoons each, pitted green olives and capers

1/8 cup raisins

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Indian-Inspired Ground Beef and Potatoes

This Indian-inspired dish of ground beef and potatoes has most of the elements of its true counterpart, Keema Aloo, with a few tweaks to suit our taste preferences.

The Hub is not a fan of coriander, so I substitute it with garam masala. I know garam masala has coriander but it's not a whole portion of it and that seems to do the trick. It's warm and satisfying, easy on the budget, cooks up quickly, which makes it a great weeknight meal.

Serves 4

1 pound of ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon light butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons ginger root, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons tumeric
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
1 large russet potato, peeled & diced (1/2")
1 cup tomatoes, chopped
1 cup beef broth

In a stainless steel skillet, head the olive oil over moderate heat and add the onions. Saute for 3 minutes, then add garlic and ginger root and cook for 2 minutes, taking care to not burn the garlic. Sprinkle in  the cumin, garam masala, tumeric, cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir to coat the onions and add the tablespoon of butter, cooking for 2 minutes. Incorporate the ground beef and break up any large clumps, sprinkle with remaining salt. Add raisins, tomatoes and potatoes. Cook till beef is no longer pink and then add the broth. Allow to come to a full boil and then lower heat to a simmer.  Cook, covered for 15-20 minutes.

Serve with basmati or jasmine rice, naan or pita bread and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. ENJOY!

RECIPE TWEAK Oct 7, 2014:
This is one of my favorite "go-to" weeknight recipes. Recently I tweaked it a bit by switching out the beef for ground turkey, the raisins for dried cranberries and the olive oil for coconut oil. The results? WOW, I did not think it could make it any better but I think I prefer this version to the original!

Coconut Curry Red Lentil Soup with Ham

This recipe came out of desperation on a day when I hadn't planned ahead.  I had a carton of coconut-curry broth, ham, potatoes, carrots, baby corn and 7 ounces of red lentils. And did I mention I was in the mood for soup? All in all this recipe was deliciously satisfying.

Serves 4
1 tablespoon canola or grapeseed oil
1" inch piece of ginger root minced
2 - 3 cloves of garlic minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Thai roasted red chili paste - to taste
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal

Burnt to a Crisp ... Dinner and My Favorite Pan

No, there is nothing wrong with your screen, the "image" you are seeing is right. It's a black box and it represents today's cooking disaster. It's been years, and I am thinking more than 20 years, since I've completely wrecked and crispy burnt a dinner like I did today.  Guessing I was due for a kitchen disaster, yes?
I had planned on making a German-inspired dish today ... Rouladen.  Rouladen is rolled up thin beef steaks stuffed with pickles, caramelized onions and bacon, then simmered in beef stock. I was so excited to try this out. Everything went well and fairly quickly. Then when it came time to simmer the beef rolls, I added the stock, covered it and walked away to take a break for lunch and just chill for a bit. About fifty minutes later, the scent of burnt food comes wafting into the family room. I got up so fast I nearly hit the ceiling. I ran into the kitchen and knew immediately what I had forgotten to do. I cook on induction burners, it is faster, heats up the house less and doesn't require 220 volts of electricity to power them. I had forgotten to lower the heat to a simmer. When I removed the lid the bottom of my favorite all-clad french skillet was charred, and the bottoms of the Rouladens were charred to a crisp. There was no salvaging the rolls, only one seemed to be somewhat okay. I was so disappointed ... dinner was a charred mess and then I was really mad when I saw the condition of my favorite skillet.
I figured what the heck, let me at least taste the one salvaged roll and I am happy to say ... it was delicious! I can't wait to try this again and now I know what needs to be tweaked to suit our palette.
So while dinner is now a charred memory, I can say I WILL be making this again and this time I will make sure to double check my heat setting OR leave the simmering portion of the recipe to my slow cooker.
Oh, and my skillet you ask? Nothing a little soaking in oven cleaner can't handle! Next time you char your dinner to the skillet, don't flip, just spray with some oven cleaner, let it soak and your stainless steel skillet will shine like new!
Now, the question is ... what the heck do I make for dinner!?