Italian Meatballs with Noodles

This is a recipe that is one of our favorites. Tender, juicy, flavorful meatballs served with a delicious sauce spooned over noodles or rice.  We bake our meatballs because it just makes things easier and faster for us, but you can fry them as well. It is up to you.

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. hot sausage
3/4 c. breadcrumbs
1/4 c. whole milk
1 egg
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped fine
1/4 c. parsley
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
Egg noodles or rice, cooked

Sauce

4 Tbs. butter
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbs. flour
2 c. beef broth
1 c. heavy cream
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. mustard
4 Tbs. sour cream
1 Tbs. cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil if desired. Lightly spray the baking sheet or lining paper.  

In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, sausage, breadcrumbs, milk, egg, garlic, onion, parsley, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix lightly to combine.  Do not over mix as that makes the meatballs tough.

Roll into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.  You can scoop the meat up with a melon baller to keep them more uniform. Place the meatballs on a prepared baking sheet in a single layer, leaving space between each meatball.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove them from the oven and turn them over.  Bake another 7 to 10 minutes, or until done. Set aside.

In a cast iron skillet, melt butter.  Add onions and garlic. Stir and fry until the vegetables are tender. 

Stir in flour and whisk for 1 to 2 minutes to remove the flour taste. 

Slowly pour in the beef broth, and heavy cream, stirring constantly. 

Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, mustard, sour cream and cream cheese.  Bring to a simmer.  Cook and stir until the sauce starts to thicken.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Add the meatballs to the skillet and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the meatballs are hot. Serve over noodles or rice.

Vanilla Sugar Cream Pie

This is an old recipe from my grandmother on my dad's side of the family. It is an easy recipe to put together and it is so smooth, and delicious. All the ingredients are sure to be found right in your pantry.

Topping Ingredients

4 Tbs. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg

Pie Ingredients

1 (9-inch) deep dish pie crust, baked
3/4 c. sugar
4 Tbs. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 c. heavy cream or evaporated milk
4 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a saucepan, mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in heavy cream or evaporated milk and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, but do not bring to a boil or the mixture will curdle. This part can take between 15 and 20 minutes. Remove from heat.  

Stir in vanilla.

Pour in prepared pie shell and smooth the top to make it even. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven.

Turn the oven to broil with the rack set 6 to 8-inches below the broiler.

Pour the melted butter over the top of the pie. Sprinkle the sugar cinnamon mixture over the top. 

Cover the edge of the pie crust with aluminum foil or use a pie crust guard. Put the pie in the oven and broil for 30 to 60 seconds.  You only just want to caramelize the sugar. Watch it carefully, so the sugar does not burn.

Remove from oven and allow the pie to cool at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator.

Savory Ham Sausage Pie

  A complete meal in one skillet. This is an easy meal that is perfect to serve if you have left over ham.  The meal has ham, sausage, onion, bell pepper and peas in a cream base pie, topped with cheesy biscuits. It does not have a crust for the bottom layer, which makes this easier and quicker to make.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
1 sweet bell pepper, chopped
4 Tbs. butter
5 Tbs. flour
1/4 tsp. mustard
1 can cream of chicken soup or cream of mushroom soup
1 1/3 c. milk
1 Tbs. lemon juice
2 c. diced cooked ham
1 c. pork links, chopped and drained
1 c. frozen peas or canned peas, drained
salt and pepper to taste

Biscuits

1 1/2 c. biscuit mix
6 Tbs. milk
1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 425°.

In an oven safe cast iron skillet, melt butter.  Sauté onion and sweet bell pepper until golden. 

Stir in the flour. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes to remove the flour taste.

Add cream of chicken soup, milk and lemon juice.  Stir until smooth.

Pour in lemon juice and stir well.

Add ham, pork links and peas.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Set aside while you make the biscuits.

In a bowl, mix the biscuit mix, milk and cheddar cheese. Mix only until combined. Remove the dough and place on a lightly floured surface. Gently knead the dough about 8 times. Pat the dough out with your fingers, or you can use a floured rolling pin to a thickness of about 3/4 inches thick.  Cut with a round cutter and place on top of the ham mixture.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned.

Serve and enjoy.

Broccoli Cheese Casserole

Who can resist broccoli and rice in a creamy, cheesy sauce? It will get even the pickiest of eaters wanting to eat more of this delicious vegetable. 

Ingredients

4 c.  broccoli fresh or thawed frozen
1 onion sliced in half rings
1 c. minute rice or cooked left over rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. mustard
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. 

Make minute rice according to directions on package.

Place broccoli and onion in a 1 1/2 qt. baking dish.

In a saucepan, mix soup, milk, mustard, 1 cup cheese, and cooked minute rice.

Pour over the broccoli and onion. Stir to coat with the cheese sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over the top

Bake for 30 minutes until the broccoli is tender.

Texas BBQ Chicken

This chicken recipe is so good.  Tangy barbecue sauce and tender chicken.  A super easy recipe that you and your family will love.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, cut up or 2 lbs. chicken legs or thighs
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbs. oil
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. celery
1 clove garlic
1 1/4 c. ketchup
1/3 c. vinegar
1/4 c. water
1/4 c. butter
2 Tbs. sugar or brown sugar
1 Tbs. paprika
1` Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
hot sauce (optional)

Directions

In a large cast iron skillet, heat oil. 

Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper.  Brown the chicken, working in batches. The chicken does not have to be fully cooked, just browned.

Place the chicken in a single layer in a 13 x 9 baking pan. Set aside

In a medium sauce pan, combine onion, celery, garlic, ketchup, vinegar, water, butter, sugar, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Cook and stir over medium heat and bring to a boil. 

Spoon the Bar-B-Que sauce over the chicken.

Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.

Homemade Vanilla Pudding Mix

You can easily make smooth, creamy, delicious vanilla pudding any time you want with this handy mix. It's as easy as opening up a box of store bought pudding and dumping it in the saucepan.

Ingredients

2 3/4 c. milk powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. cornstarch
1 tsp. salt

Directions

In a large container that has a tight-fitting lid, combine, dry milk powder, sugar, cornstarch and salt.  Mix well. 

To make Vanilla Pudding.

In a large saucepan, combine 2 1/4 cups milk, and 1 well beaten egg. Using a whisk, mix in 1 1/4 cups of the pudding mixture until smooth. You don't want lumps in the pudding.  

Over medium heat, cook and stir until the pudding comes to a boil.  Cook and stir until the mixture is thickened. This takes about 1 or 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Stir in the butter and vanilla extract.

Pour into serving bowls. At this point, you can eat the pudding warm, or put it in the refrigerator to chill. If you put it in the refrigerator, cover the pudding with plastic wrap. That will prevent a skin from forming on top of the pudding.

1. dishes; cover and chill 2-3 hours.

Whipped Cream Pecan Caramel Rolls

 

These rolls are soft, rich, sticky, gooey and delicious. They take a little bit of time, but the effort is so worth it in the end when you sit down to eat one of these rolls.  Pouring cream over the rolls just before baking is what puts these rolls over the top.

Ingredients

1/2 c. warm water
2 pkg. yeast
1 Tbs. sugar
1 1/2 c. milk
1 stick butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, room temperature
7 - 7 1/2 c. flour
1 stick softened butter
brown sugar
cinnamon

Topping

1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
4 Tbs. cream or evaporated milk
2 Tbs white sugar
1 pkg pecans (optional)
1 c. cream (to pour over the top of the rolls)

Directions

Oven temperature set at 350°.  Grease or spray two 9 x 13-inch cake pans.

In a bowl, add water, yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar.  Stir to dissolve. Set in a warm location for about 10 minutes. This allows the yeast to bloom.

In a pot, combine milk, sugar, salt and butter.  Heat only until the mixture is lukewarm. Do not boil.  If the temperature goes over 110°, you will need to let the milk set a while to cool.  The butter does not need to melt. Pour into a large bowl. 

Stir in 2 cups flour. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. 

Add in the eggs and yeast mixture.  Beating again until the mixture is smooth, for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stir the remaining flour.  When the dough becomes too stiff to mix, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough, until the dough is for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. The dough should be slightly tacky, but not overly sticky that it sticks to you and your floured surface. 

Lightly grease or oil the bowl you made the dough in. Place the dough into the oiled bowl, turning once to ensure that all sides of the dough are lightly oiled. 

Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm location until doubled in size. This takes about 90 minutes, depending on how warm the location is. 

Punch the dough down, cover and let the dough rise again a second time. This will give you light and fluffy rolls.

While the dough is rising for the second time, it is time to start making the caramel topping.

In a saucepan, add the brown sugar, butter, cream and white sugar. Stir constantly and bring to a boil.  Pour half the caramel mixture in one pan, and the other half in the second pan. Place the pecans on the caramel if desired. Set aside while you finish making the rolls. 

Punch the dough down and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or pat the dough out onto a lightly floured surface into an 18 x 12-inch rectangle.  

Spread the 2 tablespoons butter over the top of the dough. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the top, almost to the edges of the dough. I rarely measure the filling ingredients. I just smear butter over the dough and sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over the top. For this step, you can add as much or as little brown sugar and cinnamon as you want or like.

 Roll up, jelly roll fashion. Starting at the narrow side. Cut into 12 slices and place, cut side down, on top of the caramel in the pan.  Repeat for the other half of the dough. 

Cover with a tea towel. Place in a warm location until the rolls have until doubled in size. 

Pour the cream over the top of the cinnamon rolls, dividing it evenly between the two pans.  Let set for 10 minutes.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

 Remove the pans from the oven and allow them to sit for 5 minutes.  Carefully place a platter or cookie sheet over the top of the pan. Invert the pan onto the cookie sheet or platter, then remove the pan that you baked the rolls in. Scrape out the caramel topping while it is still warm in the pan and drizzle over the top of the rolls.

Sit down and enjoy. You can allow them to cool, but we find that these rolls, fresh out of the oven, are the best!