Caprese Meatball Bake

Caprese Meatball Bake

This is my first blog post in a very long time. I was experiencing personal health issues that made it very difficult to do anything other than sleep. BUT I’m back.

My first post is for Caprese Meatball Bake. Caprese salad is a classic Italian salad made of fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. I just added meatballs and gnocchi. You can buy premade meatballs and cut the cooking time by 40 minutes. I just like homemade meatballs. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Servings: 4-6
Hardware:  A cutting board and knives, measuring spoons and cups, a mixing bowl, un-powdered latex gloves, a deep skillet that can be used on the stove top and in the oven-if you do not have an oven proof skillet you will need an 8X8 glass baking dish, a large pot, a slotted spoon or a skimmer
Time:  Cook time: 1-hour, active time: 20 minutes, Dinner in about 1 hour and 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ pound ground beef
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• ⅛ teaspoon pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
• 16 ounces gnocchi
• 8 ounces of FRESH mozzarella
• Fresh basil
• Balsamic vinegar for drizzling (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400˚.
2. Put on latex gloves. Combine the first 8 ingredients in the bowl and mix with your hands. Make golf ball sized meat balls. You should get 12 meatballs.
3. Heat the oil on medium. Brown the meatballs on all sides for about 8 minutes. Turn them ¼ time every 2 minutes.
4. Drain the fat from the skillet.
5. Add the marinara sauce to the skillet. Simmer them for about 45 minutes, turning them over at the 20-minute mark. Check the largest meatball to see if it is done.
6. Close to the time for the meatballs, put on the pot of  salted water on to boil. If you are using a glass baking dish, grease the bottom and pour the meatballs and sauce into it. If your skillet is oven proof, just remove it from the heat.
7. Add the gnocchi to the boiling water. Gnocchi cooks in 3-4 minutes. It is done when it floats. Use the slotted spoon or skimmer to scoop the floating pasta out of the pot and place it in the skillet with the meatballs. Gently stir so that you don’t mush the meatballs or gnocchi.
8. Slice the mozzarella and place it on top of the meatballs. Place the dish/skillet in the oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
9. Shred the basil leaves. Sprinkle them on top of the dish. You can also drizzle balsamic vinegar (lightly!) over everything.

Rosemary Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Rosemary Lemon Chicken and Potatoes

Rosemary Lemon Chicken and Potatoes is a one dish meal that checks off all the boxes. Delicious? Check! Simple to make? Check! Inexpensive? Check! Easy to clean up? Check! I just cooked up some steam in the bag broccoli to make this a complete meal.

When I make this, I use small new potatoes, because I just need to wash them and not peel or slice them. If you aren’t using new potatoes, add about 5 minutes to your prep time.

Servings: 4
Time:  Prep: 10 minutes; Cook: 50 minutes Dinner in about an hour
Hardware:  measuring cups, a microwave safe dish, a cutting board and knives, a small bowl, a large heavy bottom skillet that can be used on the stove and in the oven (I prefer a cast iron skillet), tongs, a thermometer

 Ingredients:

• 4 chicken thighs
• ¾ pound (12 oz) potatoes
• ½ pound (8 oz) onion
• 2 lemons
• 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
• ½ teaspoon of olive  oil
• Salt & pepper

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 375˚.
2. Slice the onion into rings. Wash the potatoes. If you are not using baby potatoes, peel them and cut them into chunks. Slice one of the lemons. Slice the other lemon in half and juice it. Set aside.
3. Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Be generous.
4. Heat the olive oil in the skillet on medium high. When the skillet is hot, add the chicken skin side down. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until the skin is crispy. Turn the chicken with tongs and cook for 6 more minutes.
5. While the chicken is crisping, place the potatoes in the microwave safe dish and zap on high for 5 minutes. This ensures that the potatoes don’t take longer in the oven than the chicken does.
6. Nestle the onions, sliced lemon and par cooked potatoes around the chicken. Sprinkle on the dried rosemary or throw the sprigs of rosemary on top of the thighs. Pour lemon juice over everything and generously salt and pepper the whole dish.
7. Place the skillet in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the thermometer reads 165 ˚F  when inserted into the meatiest thigh.
8. Allow the chicken to rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Taco Skillet

Taco Skillet

Most of my recipes are simple, nothing complicated. I believe that most people just want to make something quick and tasty for dinner. That is what I try to provide. This Taco Skillet only requires one pan and is easy and kid friendly. Maybe next time I’ll do something fancy. Or maybe the time after that.

Here are the tweaks: We were out of elbow macaroni, so I used ditalini. It worked out fine. You can use any small tubular pasta. You can control the heat by the type of Ro-Tel that you choose. If you want no heat at all, try Ro-Tel Mild. Ro-Tel Original is a little spicy. Chipotle, Serrano, and the aptly named Hot are much spicier. I use 2 packets of taco seasoning because I like bold flavors. That is up to you. In order to save time, you can buy diced onions and peppers in the produce section. You can also buy them frozen. If you don’t eat red meat, you could substitute ground chicken or turkey.

Servings: 6-8
Time:  Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 20 minutes; Dinner in 30ish minutes
Hardware:  Measuring spoons and cups, a cutting board and a knife, a deep skillet with a lid, a colander, a can opener, a wooden spoon

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound of ground beef
• 2 ounces (¼ cup) bell pepper
• 2 ounces (¼ cup) onion
• 8 ounces ( 1 cup) uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 can (10 ounces) Ro-Tel Tomatoes & Green Chilies
• 1¼ cup water (maybe more)
• 1¼ cup milk
• 1 packet of taco seasoning or 2 tablespoons of your own
• 8 ounces (1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese
• Optional: taco sauce, hot sauce, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, chopped tomatoes, roasted bell peppers

1. Dice the onions and green peppers. Cook them in the skillet with the ground beef over medium high. Crumble the beef while it is cooking. When it is cooked through, drain the beef mixture.
2. Return the beef to the deep skillet. Add the pasta, the Ro-Tel (do not drain), water, milk and seasonings to the skillet. Stir. Make sure the pasta is submerged. You may need to add a little more water or milk. However, you are not making soup. You just want the liquid to completely cover the pasta.
3. Cover the skillet with the lid and bring to a low boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, stirring once or twice, just enough to keep everything from sticking.
4. When the pasta is tender, usually after 10-11 minutes, stir in the cheese and remove the skillet from the heat.
5. Serve warm with any toppings that you would regularly put on a taco. This is really good as leftovers!

Hamburger Potato Bake

I was digging around in the pantry trying to throw dinner together. This happened. It is delicious, inexpensive, easy to make and kid friendly. It is also a casserole.

Don’t be afraid. I know sometimes casseroles are mushy. Often, they are made up of cream of something soup or have hot, canned tuna in them. I am not down on you if you like any of those things, but many people do not. I cannot blame them. My Hamburger Potato Bake is nothing like that.

The trick to making sure that nothing is mushy is not to cook everything together. Potatoes take longer to cook than ground beef. If you cook them together the burger will be gray and mushy. Make your own cheese sauce. Or don’t. If you want to save time, just melt equal parts Cheez Whiz with milk. But don’t get angry and say my casserole wasn’t good.

 I use baby golden potatoes because they cook quickly, and you don’t need to peel them. I also use a mandoline to slice the potatoes because a) the potatoes cook evenly if they are sliced about the same thickness and b) I got a mandoline for Christmas and use it ALLLLL the time now.

Hamburger Potato Bake

Servings: 4-6

Time:  Prep: 10 minutes; Cook: 50 minutes; (An hour if you are making your own cheese sauce); dinner in an hour

Hardware: Cutting board and large knife, measuring cups, a large bowl, a slotted spoon, and a 10-inch skillet that can be used in the oven. If you do not have an oven safe skillet, just transfer the pan drippings to a 9X9 inch glass baking dish and go from there.

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of bacon
• 4 ounces ( ¼ cup or one small) onion
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1-pound golden baby potatoes
• 1-9-ounce bag of frozen broccoli
• 1 cup of up of cheese sauce
• ½  cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400˚.  Slice the onion into rings and then slice the rings into quarters. Chop the bacon.
2. Heat the bacon and onions on medium high for 4 minutes, stirring often. Add the ground beef, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and cook and crumble until the beef is no longer pink. This usually takes me about 10 minutes.
3. While the beef is cooking, wash the potatoes. Slice them as thin as you can. Make sure to try to keep each slice the same thickness.
4. Using the slotted spoon, remove the onions, the bacon and the beef from the pan and into the bowl. Do not drain the pan. Add the potatoes to the pan and make sure that they are covered in the pan drippings. Lightly salt and pepper them. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake until the potatoes are tender. This should take 25-30 minutes.
5. While the potatoes are cooking, follow the directions on the package, and microwave the broccoli for about 30 seconds less than recommended.
6. When the potatoes are easily pierced with a  fork, fold the meat mixture, broccoli and cheese sauce into the potatoes. Be careful, you don't want to tear the potatoes. Top with the shredded cheese and return to the oven and roast until the cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown, probably 5-7 minutes.
7. Serve right away.

Southwest Corn Casserole

Southwest Corn Casserole

My mother-in-law gave us the recipe for Corn Casserole. It is so popular that one of my cousins gave us a wedding gift of a glass casserole dish with a lid and a carrying case so that she could get this stuff warm at holidays. I am not a big ‘crushed crackers, cream of anything soup’ sort of cook. However, for potlucks we make exceptions. And really this tastes so good.

This Easter my sisters decided we would have a taco bar rather than the usual ham and mac-n-cheese. Such a good idea. I decided to change up my M-I-L’s recipe to give it more of a Southwestern flair. Such a success. I will do this again.

I used a food processor to cut up the veggies. I also froze the butter and used the food processor to slice it into thin pats before I placed it onto the cracker crumbs. I will definitely do that again, too. But all of this can be done with a knife. I substituted crushed corn chips for of part of the crackers. You can choose to do that or not. Instead of frying and crumbling 8 pieces of bacon, I just bought the precooked pieces you can find in the salad dressing aisle. You could also omit the bacon and use cream of corn soup if meat isn't your thing.

You can make this up to step five, cover it and refrigerate it overnight. Remove it from the fridge 30 minutes before you want to bake it to allow it to come to room temp. Then top it with crackers and bake.

Servings:  8-10 side dishes

Time: Time:  Active time: 10 minutes; Cook: 45 minutes, casserole in in a little over an hour

 Hardware:  Measuring cups, knives, cutting board, food processor (optional), can opener, wooden spoon, large mixing bowl, and 8.5” x 13” glass baking dish

Casserole

• ½ cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 cans of Mexican corn, drained
• 1 can of shoe peg corn, drained
• 1 can of cream of bacon soup
• ½ cup crumbled bacon (about 8 slices)
• 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
• Cooking spray

Topping

• 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers, crushed
• ½ cup crushed corn chips (optional)
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 stick of butter, sliced thin

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°
2. Chop the veggies-the smaller the better. Drain the corn. Set everything aside.
3. Spray the dish with cooking spray
4. Mix all the casserole ingredients together.
5. Pour the corn mixture into the cooking dish.
6. Crush the crackers and corn chips. Mix them together with the chili powder. Slice the butter as thin as possible. This is easier if you freeze it first.
7. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the casserole.
8. Place the pieces of butter evenly over the crumbs.
9. Bake for 45 minutes.
10. Allow the casserole to cool slightly before serving warm.