I Beat My Own Balls.

Meatballs that is.  Now my softball sized meatballs have always been yummy, but I wanted something different; I needed a change of pace.  Instead of that huge one meatball on top of my spaghetti or pasta, how about two to three smaller ones; same amount of meat, just a different look for the eye.  Another change is mostly due to supply and demand; finding a simply ground pork that hasn't been preseasoned for use as a breakfast sausage is almost next to impossible around here.  Oh, and one more minor change, the onions; instead of dicing them up and putting them into the meat mixture raw, I added a can of diced tomatoes with sweet onions.  The onions are steam processed with the tomatoes, so are softened; sometimes the raw onions don't soften up when added raw and not everyone likes to bite into raw onion.  In our tiny store which acts as the local "supermarket", the Western Family brand is sold and they carry diced tomatoes with sweet onions.  I've looked in supermarkets and Walmart, but haven't found anything to its equal as yet; so if you can find some, stock up!



Of course the meatballs are parbaked in the oven before adding them to a pot of homemade sauce to finish off cooking.  Taking out all that excess grease from the meat makes a big difference on how your sauce will turn out.

 

Meatballs - 2014 Version

 

Ingredients:
 

3 lbs lean ground beef

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with sweet onions

2 eggs, beaten

1 and 1/2 cups Italian flavored bread crumbs

3 Tbsp grated Romano cheese

1 Tbsp garlic powder

 

Preparation:
 

Preheat oven to 350F; spray a large jelly roll pan (aluminum sheet with edge) with nonstick cooking spray.

 
 

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients thoroughly; use a 1/3 cup to help measure out the mixture portions.  Roll between palms of hands; place on pan about a half inch apart.

 

 

 

 

 

Bake for a half hour; dab each meatball onto a paper towel to remove any excess oil.  The meatballs are only partially cooked, so do not eat yet; place into pot of sauce to finish off cooking.  If stovetop cooking, two hours; if slow cooker (crock pot), four hours.

 

Makes 20 meatballs.

 

Mary Cokenour



Onions with a Sweet Kiss.

Onions are best known for making us cry. Once an onion is cut, it begins to release a sulfuric component which irritates our senses. Keeping onions in the refrigerator will deaden this effect somewhat, but as the onion begins to warm up, so does the acid.

There are, however, on the market types of sweet onion which have a mild sulfuric, and higher water, content than regular onions. Examples of these are Vidalia from Georgia, Walla Walla from Washington state, Sunbero from Nevada and Maui from the Hawaiian island of Maui; to name a few. Red onions, also called purple onions, are also mild and sweet; their coloring brightens up any dish.

One way to use sweet onions is to make a relish which can be spread on toasted bread, used as a condiment on sandwiches, or an enhancement for beef, pork or poultry.



Sweet Onion Relish
Ingredients:

2 Tbsp canola oil
6 cups chopped sweet onions
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp celery seeds
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup water
¼ cup diced roasted red peppers

Preparation:

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium heat; add onions and celery; sauté until tender. Mix in remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring often. Let cool. Spoon into a bowl; cover and chill for 8 hours.

Makes 4 cups.

Mary Cokenour
March 23, 2006

....so lets cook up a family meal with that relish.

Sweet Onion Chicken Casserole
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 large red skinned or Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup sweet onion relish plus ¼ cup (set aside)
1 can (10 ¾ oz) cream of mushroom soup
½ cup half n’ half
1 (4oz) can sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp paprika

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 2-qt baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium-high heat; brown both sides of the chicken breasts.
Layer the potato slices in the baking dish; spread the onion relish on the potatoes before beginning each layer. Mix together the soup, half n’ half and mushrooms; pour over top of potato/onion relish layers. Place chicken breasts on top, spread the reserved ¼ cup of onion relish over the chicken breasts; sprinkle paprika over the chicken.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for one hour; remove foil and bake additional 15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour
July 22, 2006