Pasghetti and Meatballs

 

Kids like video games (ugh), watching TV (anything on Netflix), hanging out with friends, playing outside and COOKING. Last week end my bestie and I took the night off and hired some mini professional chefs. What a blast! We barely assisted...just giggled and salivated because of the delicious aromas coming from the oven and the stove. The excitement of our children was intoxicating. 

The kids chose the recipe earlier in the day. We picked up groceries, unpacked and started planning. The key to a good meal is a solid plan. 

 

I love that they included set the table. They even pulled out a table cloth and candles.  The meal was so special. 

The boys started on the meatballs, the girls started the sauce. 

Easy Marinara Sauce

Finely chop an onion and two cloves of garlic. 

Sauté the garlic and onion over medium heat; in a tablespoon of olive oil. 

When the onions soften and brown, add two 680 ml bottles of Strained Tomatoes to the pan along with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. 

Add 1 tsp of oregano, 1 sprig of fresh basil, 1 bay leaf and salt and pepper to taste. 

Simmer for 6-8 hours. Time is the most important ingredient in spaghetti sauce! The longer it cooks, the better it tastes. Your tomatoes will sweeten as they simmer; if you feel the sauce isn't sweet enough when you're ready to serve, add 1/2 tsp of dark brown sugar. 

 

The boys used the above recipe to make the meatballs. It's one I pulled out of a Compliments Magazine years ago. Its a fantastic recipe, always delicious and extra special with the milk soaked bread. Due to food sensitivities, we opted to use beef only. 

 

The mixing of the meatballs could not have been more entertaining! Raw meat was was an interesting sensation for the boys. My son, Drew, was less than pleased but watching him was hilarious. Once all of the ingredients were mixed, the boys expertly rolled out meatballs. 

 

While the boys prepped meatballs, the girls put together a Caesar Salad and Isabella made a beautiful garlic bread. 

 

She used 2 baguettes and my favourite spreadable garlic butter. She cut the bread on her own, buttered the bread and sprinkled with fresh Parmesan Cheese. Immediately before dinner, we preheated the oven to 375 F and baked the bread for about 10 minutes. 

 

The girls needed some guidance cooking the meatballs, which they browned in a pan and transferred to a 350 F oven for 15 minutes, checking for an internal temperature of 160 F. 

When it came time to serve, we left some of the meatballs without sauce, for the picky eaters. We mixed the rest right in with the sauce and served over el dente pasta. 

This meal was such a hit!  The kids ravaged the meatballs...so did the adults. Dinner was fabulous. The kids were beyond proud of themselves, willing to try something new and excited about the fact that they that had created a restaurant quality meal.  What a special night. 

 

Thanks for reading!!  If you liked this blog or have any  questions or you just liked this Big Idea, feel free to comment below!

Bacon Dust Burgers

Mmmmmm....bacon. I love bacon on a burger...but why not put it inside the burger? This past Sunday we hosted family for dinner. The weather as of late has been lovely. Barbeque seemed like an obvious choice and if I'm having BBQ...I want a burger. A Bacon Dust Burger. 

 

I had some help in the kitchen again!!  My amazing niece is a pro with a hand chopper! She helped to make the bacon dust for the patties. 

These patties are simple to mix up and freeze well!!  Can be cooked from thawed or frozen. My preference is frozen!

Bacon Dust Burgers 

Ingredients: 

Half a package of cooked bacon, processed in a food processor or with a chopper to become "Bacon Dust"

1 Family pack of lean ground beef appx 1.75 kg

1 pack regular ground beef appx 0.5 kg

3 cloves of garlic 

1 tsp of onion powder

3 tbsps of Worcestershire Sauce

Salt and Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and hand mix. To shape your patties, I use a 2 cup, oven safe, flat bottomed bowl. My mother in law uses a peanut butter lid, which is perfect...but mine keeps getting thrown out! 

Make a giant meatball and push it into the bottom of your dish. 

 

Rolling into a meatball first helps your patties to cling together. 

 

I line my platter or container with parchment paper, in order to stack my patties. This recipe makes approximately 20 burgers...you're going to need to stack. 

That's it! Freeze for a later date or cook straight away on your BBQ. I always add a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and some Worcestershire Sauce to the outside before cooking...I can't pass up the opportunity to add flavour!

 

If you have any questions or you just liked this big idea, feel free to comment below!! Thanks for reading!

 

The Couldn'ts

 

"The Couldn'ts." This is an expression my husband uses from time to time.  Growing up in Newfoundland, Canada, he has been known to have colourful language. "The Couldn'ts" are the leftovers from your meal, the night before. They can easily be repurposed to make the most wonderfully delicious recipes.

Yesterday's dinner was Prime Rib, with oven roast potatoes, steamed carrots and broccoli and Yorkshire Pudding. Today, I need an appetizer for a Super Bowl Party. Stuffed Mini Yorkies seems perfect!!  And while I'm at it, a healthy bone broth to be turned into a beef and barley soup. I have a head cold. I need to build my immune system!

 

STUFFED MINI YORKIES

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of oil

2 eggs

1 cup of flour

1 cup of milk

1 tsp of salt

For Stuffing:

Approximately 1 cup of cooked beef, chopped. 

1/4 cup of sautéed mushrooms, chopped. 

1 tbsp of garlic butter 

1 tsp of horseradish, optional. 

Finely chop leftover beef and leftover fried mushrooms. Melt down a tablespoon your favourite garlic butter and if you love it, add a tsp of horseradish. 

 

Add the chopped mushroom and beef mixture to your melted butter. Sauté for 1-2 minutes. Top with grated Parmesan Cheese. 

 

Stir the cheese into the mixture and set aside. 

 

Preheat the oven to 400 F. 

Add approximately 1tsp of oil to each muffin tin. If you have leftover beef drippings, add to the tins. Once the oven is preheated, place the muffin tin into the oven for 3-4 minutes. You'll hear the sizzle of the oil. 

While heating the oil, prep the batter. 

Beat two eggs and cup of milk with salt and flour. 

 

Remove the tin from the oven. Fill to 3/4, with the batter. Add approximately a teaspoon of the beef and mushroom mixture to the top of each muffin cup. 

 

Return the muffin tin to the oven, which is still preheated to 400 F. Cook for 16 minutes. 

After removing from the oven, allow 2 minutes to cool in the pan and then transfer with a spoon to a platter. 

 

As my mini muffin tin is rather small, I had extra batter and meat mixture, so I threw together a small casserole dish, with 1/4 cup of oil. Increased the oven temperature to 425 F. I heated the oil in the oven. 

When heated, I removed it from the oven, added the additional batter to the heated oil and topped with the remainder of the beef and mushroom mixture. I baked this larger Beefy Yorkshire Pudding for 18-20 minutes. 

 

This can all be completed as you build a healthy Beef Bone Broth!!!  Check out my recipe here:

http://melsbigideas.blogspot.ca/2017/02/bone-broth-benefits-least-of-which-beef.html?m=0

If you have any questions or you just liked this Big Idea, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!!  

Bone Broth: Benefits. Least of which: Beef and Barley Soup

 

 

I must heal!!  I have a dreadful head cold.  A bone broth soup should do the trick!!  I had some delicious leftover prime rib, so I'm using the rib bones to make a bone broth. 

There are many benefits to consuming bone broth. For me, it was just how I learned to make soup. I honestly, didn't even consider dumping a container of store bought broth into a pot! Thanks Mom for teaching me such a healthy way to make soup!! I had no idea I was building my immune system with each delicious slurp. A bone broth is loaded with minerals. In fact, it's now considered a super food, because it's so loaded with healing compounds. A bone broth contains collagen, which heals your gut lining and reduces intestinal inflammation. It has high levels of glycine, which promotes a restful sleep. It is filled with phosphorus and magnesium; minerals which seep out of the bones into the broth. These compounds are fantastic for your bones and joints. Basically if you are sick, a bone broth soup will build you back up!

The trick to a good bone broth is time. The longer you leave it, the more nutrients and minerals it will possess. I have left a chicken carcass in the slow cooker for up to 24 hours. Just boiling away with some veggies!!! Today my rib bones are stewing on the stove for 6 hours. That's pretty much a minimum for a bone broth, but I want soup for dinner!

 

When prepping a broth, fry up some veggies and bones in some olive oil, along with your favourite seasonings. Pepper, basil, garlic, bay leaves, salt, thyme. Really go crazy...if you love it, add it to the broth. 

 

Add water to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue boiling for a minimum of 6 hours. Watch your water level and top off, if need be. 

When you're ready to take your bone broth off of the stove, you've got options!! You can cool it and keep it in the fridge; up to 5 days or freeze it for a later date. Today, I'm making beef and barley soup. 

 

 

The trick to a good soup is adding the ingredients, according to their cooking time and chopping the individual ingredients in an uniform manner. 

Barley first!!!  Be sure to rinse your barley. I'm adding half a cup! I put my thyme in on the first addition. Often, it cooks off of the stocks of the plant. The stocks can be removed later. 

I had to top up my soup stock with water so I added 1/2 tsp of knorr powdered beef broth. Add this sparingly, this stuff goes a long way!!  Also, I shook in 1/2 a tsp of of tarragon, I love this flavour with beef. 

After the barley has simmered for 15 minutes, add potatoes and carrots. Leave the pot simmering with the lid on for an additional 15 minutes.   Take this opportunity to pick the meat from the cooled bones. Soup is truly an economical food. Made from ingredients that you have on hand and some that you might otherwise throw away. Add the meat to your pot. Though this meat is a little less flavourful than your reserved protein; it will increase the heartiness of your soup. After 15 minutes have passed, check your veggies and barley for doneness. Mine were perfect and the thyme had floated off of its stocks; which I removed from the soup. 

Add your zucchini and beef, simmer for 5 more minutes. When this step is complete, remove from the burner, add 1/2 a cup of frozen peas, stir and serve yourself a bowl. I'm adding sriracha to my bowl tonight!!  I have some congestion to clear!  Also, I'm enjoying my soup with a slice of Beefy Yorkshire Pudding. 

Thanks for reading!!  If you have any questions or you just liked this Big Idea feel free to comment below!