Meatballs & Sauce

I tried a new recipe for meatballs yesterday, although I modified it a bit.

Ingredients:
2 slices bread
4 Tablespoons milk
1 cup diced onions
1 tablespoon oil
.5 pound ground beef
.5 pound ground pork
.5 pound ground turkey
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Take two pieces of sourdough bread (or any other kind of white bread). Tear into bits and add the milk (mine had a hard crust, so that was better removed). Let the milk and bread sit for about 15 minutes.

In the meantime, saute the onions in the oil until soft (you may add garlic as desired as well). I always pre-cook my onions before adding them to meatloaf or meatballs. That way, the water is already out of them and the loaf or balls hold together much better.

According to the website where I got the original recipe, you can find something called meatloaf mix in the grocery store--equal parts ground beef, pork, and veal. One, I find it hard to eat veal and two, not in my grocery store. I substituted ground turkey and bought about a pound of each of them. I browned the other half pounds (with onion) so that I'd have a chili base all ready for Super Bowl Sunday. If I can make two meals at the same time, believe me, I'm going to.

In a large bowl, combine the meats, milk & bread, egg, parmesan cheese. You may also add any flavors you like. I usually add a bit of chipotle seasoning and some oregano. Other possibilities are parsley, basil, taco seasoning, etc. Use your hands to combine, but try not to overwork the meat. Once combined, use your hands to roll and form meatballs about 1.5 inches in diameters. Place on a cookie sheet covered with rapid release foil (that stuff is the best). Cook in a 400 degree oven for about 25 minutes, turning meatballs once. (check for doneness).


Quick sauce:

Ingredients
Two shallots, sliced thinly
two cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
oregano & basil to taste
1-2 tablespoons sugar
salt & pepper to taste
crushed red pepper or a dash of hot sauce, to taste & optional

Saute shallots and garlic in oil. When soft, add the crushed tomatoes and the other ingredients. I try to always have cans of crushed tomatoes on hand. This sauce comes together in about 15 minutes, and has much less sugar and sodium (although the tomatoes have more than you might like) than jarred pasta sauce. I prefer the crushed tomatoes just plain, but they do make them with Italian herbs in the can already. I just like adjusting the seasonings myself.

Not Completely Authentic New Mexico Green Chile Stew

Why it's fake (or at least not completely authentic).
- canned, not fresh, fire-roasted green chiles
- no potatoes in the recipe. My 7 year old detests all potatoes, so I left them out. If you don't live with an irrational potato-hater, I recommend cutting up some red potatoes and adding them. They sop up the grease and are really just a classic ingredient for green chile stew.
- It's made in a crock pot. But, you could just as easily make it on the stove top (bring to a boil, then simmer for about 45 minutes). This afternoon, I held a three-hour Odyssey of the Mind practice with my group of 2nd graders and needed dinner to cook unattended. That, and my brain hurt afterwards (my team is all verbal, all the time), so it was mighty helpful that dinner was already prepared. Otherwise, it would have been call-up the pizza man believe-you-me.

So, with that ringing endorsement of me telling you what's wrong the recipe, you're probably wondering why I'm even posting it. It's very easy, family-friendly and the results are delicious. It got thumbs up from the whole family. It took about 20 minutes to prepare, and that's quicker than heating up something frozen. I'll definitely make this one again. It's just not completely 100% authentic...

1 cup diced onions
1 garlic clove, minced
2 7-oz cans green chiles, mild or medium, depending on your preference (my kids mandate mild)
3 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 beef stew meat, cubed into 3/4 inch pieces
1 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup beef broth
2 tablespoons taco seasoning


Sear stew meat in a hot skillet with the oil. Place onions and garlic in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the green chiles and then the bacon. Place the meat on top of that mixture. In a separate bowl, mix the tomato, beef broth and seasonings. Adjust seasonings to taste. Pour on top of the meat.

Cook on low for 6 hours or so. Serve with warmed tortillas. You may add condiments such as pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheese or avocado as desired.

On a first name basis

Not sure what it means when the glass man pulls up to your house and greets you by name. At this point, he's a familiar face and he remembers all the individual panes he's replaced.

Ah! Boys, soccer balls, windows....I can only hope they grow up to have children of their own.

Where in the World?

Our family puts a lot of emphasis on the new year. We started this because our oldest son was having a lot of trouble trying new things. He was such a perfectionist--he didn't want to do anything he wasn't 100% great at right off the bat. We wanted to show him that even at our ages, we wanted to try new things. So, we started making a big deal about how the new year is your opportunity to have lots of adventures and "firsts."

Every new year, we try to go somewhere we've never been, plan an activity we've never tried and eat a cuisine we've never had before. Some years we spin a globe to find our food; other years we just drive until we see something new.

This is our sixth year with the new year, new food extravaganza. And quite an extravaganza it is, I might add. We usually go to a restaurant and order more than you could possibly eat at one sitting...the point is to sample a little of this, a little of that and to perhaps discover some new favorites. We compliment the kids outrageously on how adventuresome they are...and they really get into the spirit of the whole thing. They try something of everything, no complaints.

Thus far on our culinary adventures, we've tried Chinese, Greek, German, Japanese and Ethiopian. The kids have had at least something they've liked at all the restaurants and they've really expanded their palates. They loved the Ethiopian injera bread; Patrick's favorite sushi is eel; and they both loved potato pancakes with applesauce and spaetzel.

We've been debating what to try this year. Some options are Polish, Russian, Puerto Rican, Korean, Indonesian, or Brazilian. We're lucky enough to live in a city filled with immigrants--so there's almost always a restaurant for any different food. We're open to suggestions and would love to hear any thoughts our friends have for possible adventures.