Italian Meatballs... Great for freezing

This recipe makes a huge batch. I halved the recipe and had enough to feed 4 adults and 2 kids and also had enough to freeze for another meal. I found this recipe on pinterest and they originated from the blog The Yummy Life. I made the meatballs during the day and put them in the fridge till later that night. I made a homemade sauce (you can use any sauce you prefer) and I simmered the meatballs in the sauce for 20 minutes until fully warm. I served over thin spaghetti and shredded fresh parmesan cheese over the top. The meatballs were moist and flavorful. I will definitely make these again, maybe next time I'll make a whole batch to freeze more for later use! These are great over pasta or on italian rolls as a sub!

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1-1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs (I use whole wheat)
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, finely minced or grated
• 1 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 lbs. ground pork
• 3 lbs. ground beef

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine eggs, water, buttermilk, and breadcrumbs in a bowl; let rest for 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken as the bread crumbs absorb the liquid. To this thickened mixture, add garlic, onion, parsley, cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper; stir until combined. In separate large bowl, combine ground pork and beef. Mix meats with fingers or a large fork using a light touch until 2 meats are combined throughout. Add bread crumb mixture to meats. Mix these together, again using a light touch with fingers or large fork. Combine ingredients well, but do not overmix. Form meatballs with hands, or use a scoop. For larger meatballs, use 1/4 cup meat per meatball or use a generous 2" scoop. For mini meatballs, use 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons per meatball or a generous 1-1/4" scoop. Place meatballs on baking sheets. Bake large meatballs for 30 minutes and mini meatballs for 15 minutes, until no longer pink in center.

Mixture of beaten eggs, water, buttermilk and breadcrumbs

I used cheese grater on onion and minced garlic

Chopped parsley

Add all to bread crumb mixture

Combine beef and pork

Add breadcrumb mixture to the meat and mix with hands well.

Form into meatballs. I made some bigger ones and some smaller ones. Key is to put all the same size on the same cookie sheet. So I did one sheet of big and one sheet of small. They cook for different amounts of time.

A little liquid will come out of them while they bake, especially if you use a fattier meat. If you go leaner on your beef you won't see as much of this.

Let cool a bit before putting them in zip lock bags (in a single layer) to freeze.

Tender and flavorful!

Simmered in sauce. Topped with cheese.

ENJOY!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is a two part meal. I first make Shredded Chicken Tacos. Then, within the next few days, I use the remaining chicken for this soup. If you don't want to make the shredded chicken in the crock pot, you can probably still use this recipe by shredding a rotisserie chicken or cooked chicken breasts and season with taco seasonings on the stove top as well as the rotel before adding the other ingredients. I haven't tried it this way so I can't confirm taste.

I didn't get great pictures of it... It tasted much better than it looked:)

Ingredients:

* Aprox 1 1/2 cups of chicken mixture (Use left over chicken from the Shredded Chicken Tacos)

* 32 oz box low sodium chicken broth

* 1 can of corn

* 1 can of rotel (I like the original or the cilantro lime flavor best)

* juice from half a lime

* spices (whatever you have on hand... black pepper, pinch of garlic powder...) I add a little and taste every 10-15 minutes and keep adding more spices little by little till I get it to my liking)

* handful of chopped fresh cilantro

* 1 avocado, diced 

* tortilla strips (I thinly sliced some corn tortillas I had and pan fried them till crispy in a little canola oil)

* optional toppings (shredded mexican cheese, lime slices, extra cilantro...)

1. In a pot, combine chicken broth, shredded chicken, corn, rotel (juices and all), juice from lime and any spices. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20+ minutes. (I think i did mine for about 45 minutes.)

2. 10 minutes before serving, add your fresh cilantro to the pan. Continue to simmer

3. Ladle out soup into bowls. Add small handful of diced avocado to bowl and top with your favorite toppings.

Here is the chicken I made in the crock pot the day before. 

This is after simmering for around 35 minutes. I've just added cilantro and put back on to simmer another 10 minutes. I also added a bunch more black pepper here. 

Served with avocado and cheese

Here i've also topped with my homemade tortilla strips.

Crock Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos

This is a super easy recipe. Only 3 ingredients go in to the crock pot and then add any fixing you wish. My favorite part about this recipe is you can do SO much with it! We made it tonight and made tacos and quesadillas with the chicken. With the left overs, I am going to make Chicken Tortilla Soup and Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada's with Green Chilies (using this chicken as the filling and not adding extra rotel or onions). I would love to hear any additional recipes you may come up with using this chicken! It makes a ton. I'm sure you could freeze for future use as well!

I have another recipe on this blog that is extremely similar. It's the same 3 ingredients but you also add black beans and corn to the crock pot. We like that a lot too, this is just simplified and I feel can be used in more recipes with the leftovers since I necessarily wouldn't want corn in my enchiladas.

Ingredients:

*4-5 skinless boneless chicken breasts
*1 packet of taco seasoning
*1 lg jar of salsa (I like using a chuncky salsa. Aprox 25-30 oz)
*Any additional toppings (toppings we used included: Tortillas, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce, jalapenos, avocado, pico and lime slices!)

Cook in crock pot on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Once done, shred chicken with two forks right in crock pot mixing with all the juices from the salsa.

YUM!

Shred chicken in Crock Pot 

The chicken is very tender and flavorful!

Ju[i]cy Lucy Burger

Another recipe I found on pinterest... These were pretty good, alought I like my patties thinner and with a tad more flavoring. I think next time I make them I will use less meat per ball (making 5 smaller bugers instead of 4 large burgers) and I will use some extra seasonings... maybe montreal steak seasonings and extra Worcestershire sauce. I will also top mine with freshly diced jalapenos:)  The hubby and kids really liked them so I'll make them again like this. We served with baked beans, sauteed onions for topping the burger, and sweet potato fries. 


Here is the link of where the recipe came from. They have great step by step pictures of assembling the burgers to look at. 


Ingredients (makes 4 LARGE burgers) (1/2 burger was enough for the kids when served with sides.)

• 2 pounds Ground Beef (80% preferred), chilled
• 3 oz Frozen Spinach, frozen and crumbled
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tsp. Garlic Powder
• 4 oz. Cheese (American or Fontina, or whatever you like), cut to roughly 1″ squares.
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Your favorite burger toppings
• 1 onion (sweet or red) Saute in a little butter on the stove top  (optional)

1. Preheat grill to high

2. Thoroughly combine beef, spinach, Worcestershire, salt and pepper. If the meat starts to warm up (from your hands) put it back in the fridge, you need to keep it chilled. Measure out 4 oz balls of beef mixture.

3. Roll into a ball then flatten into a thin patty on top of wax paper, about 1/4″ high and roughly 5″ in diameter. On half of the patties place 1 oz of cheese.

4. On to each cheese-topped patty, flip a second patty to cover the cheese. Pinch the edges together forming a swell in the middle. Re-cover with wax paper and refrigerate at least 10 minutes.

5. Grill chilled patties five minutes on first side, then flip, grill another two minutes. Serve on your favorite bun with sauteed onions and your favorite fixings (I used ketchup, mustard, sauteed onion and pickles.)

This was 4 oz of meat, flattened out  

Top with cheese

Top with another flattened 4 oz patty

Grill. Make sure you wait till edges start cooking through before you flip so they don't fall apart. For some reason I had a bit extra meat so I made a single smaller patty with no cheese in the middle as well. 

Had to add a Blue Moon so I could add an orange and make this a well rounded meal:)

Served with ketchup, mustard, sauteed onions and pickles on a bun. Sweet potato fries and baked beans on the side.

Parmigiano-Reggiano Crusted Chicken Piccata

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I found pinned on Pinterest. I LOVE anything lemony and made with Parmigiano-Reggiano so I wanted to give it a try. I followed the recipe exactly, by only adding italian seasoning, and I really liked it. I think the key is really getting the chicken thin. I used 2 big breasts and butterflied them and pounded them even more to make them as thin as possible. My husband said it was a tad too lemony, but I LOVE lemon so I didn't think there was enough:) Kids ate it and liked it as well so I will definitely make it again! We made this with Ina-Garten's Sauteed Broccolini recipe.


Ingredients:
1/4 cup flour 
1 tsp Italian Seasonings2 eggs 
1 1/4 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided 
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, pounded 1/4-inch thick 
Salt 
1/2 pound angel hair pasta 
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided 
Juice of 1 lemon, plus 1 sliced lemon 
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
1/4 cup capers, drained and patted dry, or 12 caper berries, sliced 
1/2 cup dry white wine (eyeball it) 
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley leaves, chopped 
1/2 cup chicken stock 
2 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces 
One package baby spinach (5 ounces) 
Pepper 


1. Place the flour and italian seasonings on a plate (mixed together). In a shallow bowl, beat the eggs; place 1 cup cheese on another plate. Working with one cutlet at a time, coat the chicken with the flour, then egg and then cheese, pressing to adhere. I also added pepper to each side of the chicken. Transfer to a plate.

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it, add the pasta and cook to al dente, 3 minutes. Drain, reserving a ladleful of water.

3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons EVOO, two turns of the pan, over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until deeply golden, 10 minutes. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon EVOO, one turn of the pan, to the skillet. Add the sliced lemon, garlic and capers and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the wine and parsley and cook until reduced, 1 minute. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer.

4. Stir the chicken stock into the sauce for 1 minute. Stir in the butter until melted, then stir in the lemon juice. Spoon a little sauce over the chicken. Add the spinach to the remaining sauce in the skillet and cook until wilted. Add the reserved pasta cooking water. Stir in the pasta and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Add the remaining cheese and toss. Serve the pasta with the chicken.

Butterflied chicken breast and then pounded even thinner

flour on a plate (mix with italian seasoning

Fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Dip Chicken first in flour, then egg wash, then coat in cheese. 

I add fresh ground pepper as well to each side of chicken

Rest of ingredients, Lemon juice, chopped flat leaf parsley, chopped garlic, chicken stock (broth), wine, capers.

Pan fry chicken in olive oil

Flip after 5-7 minutes and cook till cooked through

Add your lemon slice, capers and garlic

Add parsley and wine. Then add chicken broth, butter and lemon juice. Spoon some sauce over chicken. To the rest of the sauce, add the spinach and saute.

Once spinach is wilted add reserved pasta water and noodles. Stir and then add remaining cheese and pepper.

I put noodles down first, then chicken on top. Served with side of broccolini. YUM

Chicken, Mushroom, Broccoli and Rice Casserole

This is another recipe I can thank Pinterest for... Originating from For the Love of Cooking. I followed the recipe almost exactly, except I added shredded cheddar cheese to the top before baking. This is a great, easy recipe for a weekday meal. Great for pot lucks. Kids and husbands love it too! It's a whole meal all in one! I will say, this dish tastes much better than it looks!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 onion- chopped
• 1 lb mushrooms quartered
• 1 stalk of celery diced (I love celery so I used 2 stalks)
• 1 box of Farmhouse Long Grain & Wild Rice (or your favorite brand), prepared per instructions (I used a 6oz box of Near East Long Grain and Wild Rice- Original)
• 2 cooked chicken breasts, cubed (You can use left over chicken, rotisserie chicken or what I did was I put 2 chicken breasts in a Fry pan with olive oil and Montreal Chicken Seasonings. Seared both sides and then placed chicken in 400 degree oven until just done. Then I shredded with two forks. I prefer shredded chicken over diced)
• 1 6-8 oz can of sliced water chestnuts, diced
• 1 cup of broccoli florets
• 1 10 3/4 oz can of Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 10 3/4 oz can of Cream of Celery soup
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise (I used Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil)
• Salt and pepper to taste     

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare rice per instructions. In a heated pan add 1/2 tbsp oil and cook mushrooms until golden brown – remove from pan. Add the other 1/2 tbsp of oil to the pan and cook onions and celery until soft. Using a steamer, steam broccoli until just fork tender, then cool. (I added fresh broccoli florets to a big bowl with 1T of water. Placed paper towel over bowl and microwaved for 3 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Put into a baking dish and cover with cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes prior to serving. Enjoy.

I seared and then baked chicken I seasoned well and then shredded it.

Steamed broccoli, chopped onion, diced celery, can of sliced water chestnuts (that I diced), and quartered mushrooms

Brown mushrooms in some olive oil

Make rice per package instructions

Saute onion and celery in olive oil

Diced water chestnuts

Put all ingredients into a big bowl

Mix well

Put mixture into casserole/baking dish (either a 9x13 or I did two smaller casserole dishes and made one for a party and put the other in the fridge to make for dinner tomorrow night. I could probably freeze it too, but I'm looking forward to it again:)

I added cheese to the top. Cheese makes EVERYTHING better!

Bake at 350 for 30 mins