Extraordinary Entree: Italian Meatballs

I love Italian food! Pizza, ravioli, stuffed shells, the list goes on and on, but nothing makes this girl happier than a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs!  I LOVE serving this at my dinner parties for two reasons: 1) my meatballs are to DIE for and 2) the sound of slurping spaghetti is music to my ears. I love watching people enjoy my cooking! The sound of slurping spaghetti is the icing of on the cake for this dish!

To be clear, I'm not Italian, but I know a good recipe when I see one.  I adopted this meatball recipe from a combination of recipes I've seen around the web and put this winner below together. Every time I make it I purposely make enough to have meatball sliders the next day for lunch (or sometimes breakfast!). My preparation may be a little different, my ingredients may be a little non-traditional, but believe me when I say you'll enjoy these moist morsels of deliciousness!

Ingredients

1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf Italian Parsley, chopped fine (no stems)
1-1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb mild bulk sausage
1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
Olive Oil cooking spray
3 - 6 cups of your favorite marinara sauce (or use my recipe below)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

Place the onion, garlic, and parsley in a blender or food processor and puree.  Slowly add the chicken stock to form a paste. You may not end up using all of the stock.

 

In a large bowl, whisk together the puree, remainder chicken stock, spices, salt, red pepper flakes, and eggs. I like to call this the flavor mix.

Combine the flavor mix, meat, bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese.  Mix by hand until the mixture is uniform, do not over mix.

 


Put a little olive oil on your hands.  Using an ice cream scooper, scoop out the meat mixture, and form mixture into balls about the size of golf balls.

Lay foil on a sheet pan. Spray with olive oil cooking spray. 

Cook for 25 minutes. Turn meatballs, drain excess oil, and cook for another 25 minutes.

 

While meatballs are cooking, heat the marinara sauce in a large pot.

Transfer the meatballs to the pot with the marinara sauce and simmer for at least one hour.

 Serve alone or over your favorite pasta.  Use any leftovers for a delicious Italian Meatball Slider!

 

Makes about 20 meatballs.

Stews and Soups: Zuppa Toscana

Ingredients
1 yellow onions, diced
1 ribs celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 pounds bulk mild Italian sausage
2-1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
Salt to taste
10 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
12 fingerling potatoes, cleaned and quartered, leave skin on
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 bunch fresh kale, tough stems removed

Directions
Heat a large pot over medium heat.

In a blender, combine 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 celery to make a smooth paste. Set aside.

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a large pot over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain except for 2 tablespoons of the drippings, and set aside

Stir in the onions-garlic paste; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Pour the chicken broth and add the bay leaf into the pot with the onion-garlic paste; bring to a boil over high heat.

Add the potatoes, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes.  Stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through.

Mix the kale into the soup and allow to wilt into the soup just before serving.

Sassy Sauces and Seasonings: Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients
32 fluid ounces half and half
1/4 small onion
4 cloves of garlic quarted
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons regular cream cheese
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and white pepper to taste


Directions
In a saucepan over low heat, simmer the half and half, onion, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, oregano, and parsley, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.

Add flour and stir until flour is cooked and roux is formed.

Strain milk mixture and thoroughly blend in the warmed milk, stirring constantly.

Add cream cheese and continue to stir.

Stir in nutmeg and grated Parmesan cheese.  Stir constantly until cheese is completely melted.

Simmer over medium low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Garnish with additional grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sassy Sauces and Seasonings: Marinara Sauce

Ingredients
1 head of garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
or
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomato (for less sugar, 3 chopped roma tomatoes)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the outer layer of papery skin of the whole garlic head, leaving the head itself intact. Using a paring knife, slice off the top 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch of the garlic cloves so they are all exposed. Drizzle olive oil over the garlic heads, salt lightly, and wrap lightly in aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes.  Set aside and let cool.

Saute onions and carrots with the oil in a medium saucepan. Add tomato paste and stir well. This will cook off the tomato paste and give a nice orangy color. Cook for about 10 minutes. When vegetables are softened add the roasted garlic, salt, sugar, and stir together until incorporated.
Pour in the tomatoes. Fill the empty can with water and add it to the pan. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1 hour, uncovered. Stir occasionally. Once sauce is ready carefully pour it into the food processor and puree until smooth.

Adapted from: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/danny-boome/eggplant-lasagna-recipe/index.html

Extraordinary Entree: Red Sauce Lasagna Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup marinara sauce
1 lb ground beef (1 pkg may be a little more than 1 lb and that's ok. The meatier the better.)
12 wonton wrappers (should be found in the produce section of your supermarket. Each package makes 25 muffins).
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Asiago/Parmesan cheese blend
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
Olive Oil flavored cooking spray
6-muffin baking tin (I think the 12-muffin baking tin makes them too small and the wonton wrappers don't fit as nicely in that tin.)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray.

Brown beef and season as you normally would. Drain of any excess fat.

Stir marinara sauce into brown beef and cook through. Set aside.

Cut wonton wrappers into circle shapes using a biscuit cutter or using the top of a drinking glass. For 2 layers 12 round wrappers will be needed.

Reserve 6 tablespoons Asiago/Parmesan cheese blend and 6 tablespoon mozzarella for the top of you muffins. Start layering your muffins. Begin with a wonton wrapper and press it into the bottom of each muffin tin.

Using about 1/2 tablespoon of each ingredient layer the wonton in the following manner: a) spread Ricotta cheese on the wonton wrapper; b) sprinkle Asiago/Parmesan cheese blend and mozzarella cheese; c) top with meat sauce.

Repeat layers ending with meat sauce. Top with reserved Asiago/Parmesan blend and mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. To remove use a knife to loosen the edges then lift and pop each muffin out with a spoon.

Extraordinary Entree: White Sauce Lasagna Muffins

Ingredients
1 cup Alfredo Sauce
1 lbs ground turkey (1 pkg may be a little more than 1 lb and that's ok. The meatier the better.)
12 wonton wrappers (should be found in the produce section of your supermarket. Each package makes 25 muffins).
1/2 lb spinach or broccoli florets (stems cut), thawed and drained
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup Asiago/Parmesan cheese blend
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
Olive Oil flavored cooking spray
6-muffin baking tin (I think the 12-muffin baking tin makes them too small and the wonton wrappers don't fit as nicely in that tin.)

Directions
Brown turkey and season as you normally would. Drain of excess fat.

On med-low heat Stir defrosted, uncooked, and drained spinach or broccoli florets into ground turkey until spinach is wilted or broccoli is well combined. Set aside.

Warm the Alfredo sauce and stir into turkey-veggie mixture. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.

Start layering your muffins. Begin with a wonton wrapper and press it into the bottom of each muffin tin. The edges will rise up the side and that's ok.

Using about 1/2 tablespoon of each ingredient layer the wonton in the following order: a) spread Ricotta cheese on wonton wrapper; b) top with 1 tablespoon of meat sauce mixture; c) sprinkle with Asiago/Parmesan cheese blend; d) scoop Alfredo sauce only; and 3) top with mozzarella cheese.

Repeat 2nd layer.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. To remove use a knife to loosen the edges then lift and pop each muffin out with a spoon.