Baked Cheesy Sausage Meatballs

A great make-ahead meal.
The most flavourful meatball you'll every have!

For the meatballs:

1 lb ground trio (pork, veal, beef)
375 g sausage meat (I used sweet basil flavour)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
1 cup shredded parmesan 
2 eggs
salt to taste

15 small cubes cheese (I used gouda)
3 cups tomato sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Store bought sauce is fine or if you'd like why not give this quick tomato sauce recipe a try? That's what I used for this dish.
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2016/03/quick-tomato-sauce.html


Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs together and divide evenly to form 15 balls. Press a cube of cheese into the center of each and close the meat around it to seal.

Set them on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400F for 20 minutes. Some of the cheese oozed out, but that's alright.

Pour some tomato sauce into a 13 X 9" baking dish and place the meatballs on top. Spoon the rest of the sauce over all

and sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella.

At this point you could cover it with foil and freeze for a later date. Simply defrost in the fridge a day before you want to use it. If that's the case, put it on the counter for about 1 hour to come to room temperature.

Bake, covered, at 350F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and broil 4-5 minutes. 

Pineapple Tidbits

Use an apple corer/cutter to make quick work of cutting your pineapple into tidbit size.

Once you've cut the top and bottom off the pineapple and sliced the bark off the sides (see my note below about the bark) just slice the pineapple and press down with the cutter. The core pops out and you've got evenly cut pieces of pineapple.

Note about the bark:

Don't throw it away! Keep it, freeze it if you must, try these recipes! You won't be disappointed.

Barbecued Salmon in Pineapple Bark
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2015/05/barbecued-salmon-in-pineapple-bark.html

Chicken Breasts Grilled in Pineapple Bark
http://hotandcoldrunningmom.blogspot.ca/2015/08/chicken-breasts-grilled-in-pineapple.html

Cabbage and Barley Soup

Cabbage is known for it's nutritional value and some say it is a good vegetable to eat for cancer prevention, but if you don't particularly like the taste of cabbage, say in cabbage rolls or coleslaw, then you'll find that cooking it in a soup makes it much milder and more palatable.

Ingredients:

1/2 small head cabbage, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsps olive oil
a handful of fresh parsley
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 quart chicken broth
1/4 cup pearl barley
black pepper to taste

Sweat the onion and garlic in a large saucepan with olive oil. Add the cabbage and grind some fresh pepper in to taste, along with the tomatoes and broth. Bring everything to a boil then stir in the barley. Simmer, covered for 45 minutes or until barley is tender.

Add the chopped parsley just before serving.

Asparagus Quiche with Parmesan Chia Crust

Real men DO eat quiche! 

Crust:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or marg
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp parmesan
Cooking spray

Filling:

3 oz feta
1 heaping tbsp cream cheese
1 clove garlic
2" cut from each of 12-14 asparagus stems
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 eggs
1 cup 10% cream
1/2 cup milk
Handful fresh chopped parsley
1 cup shredded cheese
12-14 asparagus spears
8 grape tomatoes, halved
3/4 cup chopped cooked ham


In a food processor add cream cheese, feta, garlic, green onion, 2" cut from each asparagus stem, salt and pepper. Process until blended but not smooth, like this.

Add eggs, milk and cream. Pour into a large bowl and fold in parsley, ham and shredded cheese.

Prepare a 9" baking dish or pie plate with cooking oil. Mix the crust ingredients together using a pastry blender and press into baking dish. Bake 375 F for 10 minutes

Microwave asparagus spears standing in 1" of water on high for 50-60 seconds.

Pour egg mixture into prepared crust. Top with asparagus spears and tomatoes. Ready for the oven.

Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

Cool 15 minutes before cutting.

The crust has a shortbread quality that held together well while still being tender.

Oven Baked Ribs with Apples

The calendar says spring, the temperature still says winter...ugh! But you can still have barbecue-style ribs. This recipe makes enough for 2-3 people. Double or triple it as needed, just make sure additional racks don't overlap.

1 lb pork back ribs
1 lemon, zested and sliced
2 apples, unpeeled
fresh parsley to garnish

Rub:
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cumin
pinch or 2 of cayenne
zest of lemon


Sauce:

1/4 cup ketchup (regular, balsamic or spicy)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
a few drops of sriracha sauce

After zesting the lemon, cut it into 6 slices. Cut the apples in half horizontally and remove the core.

Cut a piece of foil larger than your baking sheet, set the apple pieces on it, then 3 of the lemon slices. Remove the membrane from the ribs

and lay them, bone side down, on top of the lemon slices. Squeeze the remaining slices over the ribs.

Mix the rub ingredients together and spread evenly over the meat. Tent a second larger piece of foil over the top and seal the edges. Let it all rest for 1 hour on the counter.

Bake at 275 F for 3 hours.

Remove from oven and take the top foil off. Mix up the sauce

and spread it all over, reserving some to serve at the table.

Let sit for 15 minutes, then put it under the broiler 3-4 minutes.
Barbecued ribs done right! The cut portions stay together, but the meat falls right off the bone when you eat it!

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with those lovely baked apples.

Turkey Enchiladas

A meal you can prepare ahead of time and just pop in the oven when you need it.

6 - 6" tortillas
1/2 cup refried beans
2 cups cooked turkey (or chicken)
2 cups salsa
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
1  1/2 cups shredded cheese (Monterey Jack, cheddar, mozzarella)

Béchamel sauce:
2 tbsps butter
2 tbsps flour
1/4 tsp salt
a few grinds of pepper
1 cup milk

Melt butter in saucepan and add flour, salt and pepper. Whisk in the milk and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

Mix cooked turkey with fried beans, 2 tbsps salsa, cumin and parsley. Distribute evenly on tortillas and roll them up.

Spoon a few tablespoons of salsa into an 11 X 8" baking dish and sit the rolled tortillas on top.

Pour béchamel sauce between each tortilla and pour salsa on top of each and down the sides to coat .

Sprinkle shredded cheese over it all and bake at 375 F for 20 minutes covered.

Then uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Rest 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

If you make it ahead of time then just remove from fridge and sit it on the counter for 1 hour. Then bake as usual.

Cucumber and Feta Appetizers

A light nibble...

English cucumber
4 oz feta
3 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
2  1/2 tbsps olive oil
sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
fresh basil leaves, chopped

Pulse the feta and cream cheese together in a food processor, then add lemon juice and pepper. Make sure the feta is completely processed.

Pour the olive oil in while the processor is running. Chill until ready to use.

Slice cucumber and top with a dollop of cheese. Garnish with sundried tomatoes and basil and serve.