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Food

Quick Meatballs Gravy and Potatoes

Turns out, I still know how to cook. Who would have thought?

I made a promise to Andy that we’d start planning out our meals for the week. So I had us schedule out pasta dishes, chicken with veggies, and even a taco night. Well, when it came time for me to make the meatloaf I had planned all week on making, I took the ground beef out of the fridge, only to find it was still frozen.

I scrambled, searched through the cabinets looking for an alternative. I couldn’t swap it for another day, those had frozen pieces to the meals as well.

So I boiled some potatoes, threw some broccoli into some boiling water. Then I went through the freezer and fridge and found some frozen meatballs. Ok, I can work with this. The only issue was making gravy. I didn’t have any drippings to work with, so I lucked out with some beef bouillon cubes.

Andy loved it so much, that he’s asking me to make it again. Wahoo! That’s a win for last minute meals that were basically a throw in the pan and hope for the best!

Easy Meatballs and Gravy Recipe

Gravy Recipe
2 cups of water
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoon margarine
pepper
garlic powder

In a large saucepan, add water and bouillon cubes. Heat on medium-high heat until cubes have dissolved. In another heated pan, add margarine and flour. Stir to combine and cook until flour was thickened, creating a roux. Slowly add beef broth mixture you just created. Stirring to combine.

Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/2 tablespoon of black pepper to gravy. Continue cooking and stirring until gravy as thickened to your desired consistency. I usually let mine boil a bit while stirring to quicken the process.

Add frozen meatballs to gravy and cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through. Top over mashed potatoes, and serve with a side of steamed broccoli.

October 31, 2015 by Roni

Food

Chicken Parmesan Pizza

chicken parmesan pizza

You ever can’t decide between two different meals, then take the plunge and say, “I’ll just have both”? Well, that’s kind of what happened here. You see, I really wanted to have Chicken Parm, and Andy really (and I mean REALLY) wanted to have pizza. So much so that he was about to speed dial Domino’s, and I was already pulling out the bread crumbs for my half of the meal.

So we put our heads together and brainstormed. . . and then we compromised. Why not have Chicken Parmesan Pizza? Well, besides the excess of calories, and the amazing amount of carbs ready to be ingested with such a meal, we dove head first into making what we hoped (and what became) a very delicious meal.

Turns out that it’s not that much harder than making chicken Parmesan, the only difference is instead of serving it with pasta or a side dish of veggies, it’s coming with bread.

Chicken Parmesan Pizza

1 ball of pre-made, uncooked pizza dough
1 large chicken breast
Canned garlic and herb pasta sauce
1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
Fresh grated Parmesan cheese
Panko bread crumbs
1 egg
Dry Italian herbs
Olive oil
Fresh basil, diced (optional)

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut chicken into three flat pieces, but cutting it into thin stripes. In a bowl, whisk eggs. In a second bowl, place 2 cups of Panko bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons of dry Italian herbs, mix. Dredge chicken in eggs wash, then place in Panko mix and coat chicken. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Place chicken in pan and cook through until breadcrumbs are browned and chicken is cooked through, about 6-8 minutes total (4 minutes a side).

Remove chicken from pan and after letting it cool for a few minutes, cut chicken into strips, or about 30 pieces total.

While chicken is cooking, roll out pizza dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until dough is hard to the touch but still spongy.

Spoon pasta sauce onto pizza dough, enough to evenly coat the dough. Top with diced chicken, the top that with mozzarella cheese. Add about a 1/4 cup of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and place in oven. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Remove from oven, top with basil. Serve and enjoy.

October 7, 2014 by Roni

Food, Savory

Spicy Turkey Meatballs, Take 1

Learned a lesson this week. A very important lesson for those of you out there trying to plan a week of meals to take to work without any will power. Don’t make bite-sized meals. You’ll regret it.

Every time I got bored, I’d sneak downstairs, open the fridge, and pop a few of these babies in my mouth and go back to watching TV. My only saving grace? I have to walk up and down a set of stairs to get from my bedroom to the kitchen. That has to be a couple calories burned, right?

All I wanted was to make some turkey buffalo meatballs, which I didn’t exactly create. Need to take another go at them, however, they did end up spicy. I ended up eating a good portion of them before work the next day. Seriously, I need help.

Anyway, they came out delicious, probably would be good in a sauce or on sub roll with some melted cheese. I’ll have to try that with the next batch if they make it through my snack time.

Gather the Goods:
1/2 pound of ground turkey
1/8 cup of minced onion
1/8 cup of minced green peppers
1 egg
1/2 cup of unseasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
1/2 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
1/8 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Olive oil

In a oven-safe sauce pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix together all ingredients in a bowl (except olive oil). Portion out mixture into 1-inch balls and place into heated pan. Cook for five minutes, or until golden brown, turn. Cook for another five minutes. Rotate one more time and put into oven on a low broil on the middle rack. Bake for another 7-9 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Pull from oven and let rest on paper towels. Serve or put in fridge for later. Enjoy.

August 14, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Broccoli Sausage Pasta

Seems I’ve been so busy this summer that I’ve let my blog go for far, far too long. I apologize to those who actually read my blog and have been looking for recipes. My greatest apologies, I’ll bake some cookies once I get the chance to make it up for you. Fresh from the oven to you. But until then, I’ll give you a quick update on my summer festivities.

I just spent a week with friends up at a cabin in Moosehead, Maine. I have to say, it was fabulous. We saw moose (even if it was from aboard slightly sinking and very old pontoon boat), I took my first spin on a jet ski (very unsuccessful I might add), and willingly jumped into a lake (I always avoid the fish, they’re creepy!). And to top it all off, our group of a dozen of us fit into a cabin that was more than enough room for us. What a find!!

Now that I’m back home, I figured out I need to cook for myself, not a slew of 12 people. So I opted for a “big” meal that was (shocker!) pasta based

Broccoli Sausage Pasta

1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup green peppers, diced
1 cup chopped fresh broccoli
olive oil
1/2 pound of ground Italian sweet sausage
1 tablespoon butter
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
&
1/2 box of linguine, cooked and drained

In a medium sauce pan, heat enough olive oil to slightly coat the pan. Add onions and pepper, cooking on medium-heat until onions are translucent or about 6 to 8 minutes. Add chopped broccoli and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes. Add sweet sausage and another tablespoon of olive oil and cook through and until browned. Once meat is browned, add the butter and then toss in the pasta. Continue cooking for another 3 minutes, or until butter is melted and pasta is thoroughly coated and has soaked up the sauce. Top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

August 6, 2013 by Roni

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