Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Here's another great recipe from Melanie at Mels' Kitchen Cafe.  So quick & easy, and really tasty!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

from www.melskitchencafe.com

*Serves 4-6

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

3/4 cup quick oats

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well. Form into about 12 balls, each about 2 inches in diameter. Place in a casserole dish. Cover with sauce (below). Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve over rice.

Sauce:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon mustard

1/4 cup barbeque sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine ingredients and blend thoroughly. Heat in a small saucepan until combined and sugar is dissolved and pour over meatballs. (This dish is not overly abundant on sauce so if you enjoy things a bit saucier, double the sauce ingredients- I did and we loved the extra sauce over our rice.)

Foil Packet Fish over Greek Orzo

You know how sometimes you find a recipe and try it, and it's just so-so?  And then other times you try one and it is WAY more amazing than you expected?  Well, this recipe definetely fits the latter description!  It was really flavorful and delicious, not to mention quick and easy, and healthy!  We loved it!

Foil Packet Fish over Greek Orzo (from Annie’s Eats)

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
8 oz. orzo (this is found in the pasta section)
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
¼ large red onion, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
4 oz. sliced kalamata olives (I used black olives)
1 tbsp. butter
Salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 oz. crumbled feta cheese
6 white fish fillets, about 6-8 oz. each (we used tilapia)

For the compound butter:
6 tbsp. butter, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. minced fresh dill (or 1 tsp. dried)
½ tsp. lemon zest
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Heat a grill to medium-high. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add the orzo to the pot and cook until a few minutes shy of al dente. Meanwhile, combine the spinach, onion, tomatoes, olives, and butter in a large bowl. Drain the orzo in a fine strainer. Pour the hot pasta into the bowl with the butter and vegetables and toss gently until well mixed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Cut out 6 large squares of foil, about 12-inches on each side. Divide the orzo mixture evenly between the pieces of foil, placing it over the lower half of each square of foil. Sprinkle some of the crumbled feta over each pile of orzo. To make the compound butter, combine the butter, garlic, dill, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.

Spread a layer of the compound butter over each of the fish fillets. Lay the portions of fish over the orzo. Fold the foil over and crimp the edges together to seal the packets. Place the packets on the heated grill, cover, and let cook for about 12 minutes or until the internal temperature of the fish registers 160˚ F on an instant read thermometer. Remove the packets from the grill. Open the packets, being careful to avoid the steam. Sprinkle each serving with a bit of fresh dill. Serve immediately.

Tomato-Basil Parmesan Soup

I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Sister's Cafe.  They used a crock-pot, but somehow I often forget to start dinner that early, so I made it on the stove.  It was the best soup we've had in a long time!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

2 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup finely diced onions
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbsp fresh oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
2 cups half and half, warmed
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt, to taste (I didn't need to add any)

In a large pot or Dutch oven, combine tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, bay leaf, oregano, and basil . Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer for about 30 minutes, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

Blend soup with an immersion blender or in batches in your regular blender. Next prepare a roux: Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour; stir constantly with a whisk for 5 to 7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup until smooth. Add another 3 cups soup and stir until smooth.

Add all back into the pot. Stir and add Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for about 10-15 minutes until ready to serve. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Shrimpo de Gallo

We first made this dip last year for one of our Superbowl snacks, and really liked it.  We had it again for New Year's Eve this year and I remembered how good it was, and that I needed to post it! I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman's blog.

Shrimpo de Gallo

Ingredients:

1 pound Cooked Shrimp (tails Removed), Chopped
½ whole Red Onion, Diced Finely
½ cups Green Or Black Olives, Chopped
2 whole Tomatoes, Diced
2 whole Fresh Jalapeno Peppers, Minced
2 whole Avocados, Chopped
2 whole Limes, Juiced
Kosher Salt To Taste
2 cups Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions:

Combine shrimp, red onion, olives, tomatoes, and jalapenos in a large bowl. Add lime juice to taste, then a dash of kosher salt. Add cilantro. Stir gently with a spoon, then taste on a tortilla chip so you’ll have an accurate gauge of the salt content. Add more salt and/or lime juice if needed.

Chill until serving. Note that the avocado will brown if too much time passes, so if you want to make this ahead of time, leave out the avocado until just before serving.

Serve with tortilla chips!

Double Chocolate Waffles w/ Berries & Cream

Double Chocolate Waffles with Berries & Cream

recipe from Our Best Bites

2/3 C flour
1/3 C corn starch
1/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 t baking powder
3/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/8 t cinnamon
6 T granulated sugar
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil
1 egg
1 1/2 t vanilla
1/2 C mini chocolate chips

Berry Sauce & Topping
3 C berries, fresh or frozen
1/4 C raspberry jam (you could use strawberry if you prefer)
2 T hot tap water
optional: powdered sugar to taste

Sweetened whipped cream
Start by making the berry sauce since it can sit while you make the waffle batter. Combine jam and warm water and whisk until combined. Add in the berries and gently stir until combined. Depending on the sweetness of the berries, you can add a little powdered sugar if you'd like. Set berry sauce aside and make waffle batter.

Waffles:
Preheat a waffle iron. Combine flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Use a whisk to combine. In a separate bowl whisk together sugar, milk, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk for a minute so it gets a little frothy. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry a little at a time, whisking to combine. Just stir until they're combined and don't over mix. Stir in the chocolate chips. This is a pretty thin batter, so don't be expecting something that looks like a pancake batter. It's supposed to be thin.

You shouldn't need to grease your waffle iron. Place batter in and cook according to your iron. Be careful to not overfill. This batter has plenty of leavening so it will expand.

A tip: Instead of pouring batter, use a ladle and spoon it in, making sure to stir the batter each time. Otherwise the chocolate chips won't be distributed.

It's a little harder to tell when chocolate waffles are done because you can't go so much on color. Go by smell and touch and realize that they will crisp up a little more after they come off the iron.

When done cooking waffles, top with berry sauce and sweetened whipped cream.  YUM!!!

Shrimp Pasta with Oven-Dried Tomatoes

This pasta dish was really easy and delicious!  We always love shrimp and the flavors in this were really good.  I made the oven-dried tomatoes ahead of time and kept them in the fridge, and the rest of the dish came together quickly!  I'm sure if you were in a hurry, you could use sun-dried tomatoes instead.  The recipe came from Annie's Eats.  We served it with crusty garlic french bread.

Shrimp Pasta with Oven-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Olive oil
Small pinch of sugar
Kosher salt and pepper

1 lb. bowtie pasta
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
¾ cup chopped yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
½ cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
6 oz. mascarpone cheese
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Directions:

To make the oven-dried tomatoes, preheat the oven to 225˚ F. Place the tomatoes in a small baking dish in a single layer, cut side facing up. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with a pinch of sugar, salt and pepper. Bake for about 3 hours, or until the tomatoes are mostly shriveled up. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Once boiling, cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain well.

While the pasta is cooking, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook in a single layer, flipping once during cooking, just until opaque, about 2-3 minutes. Remove to a plate, tent loosely with foil and set aside. Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in the pan. Sauté the onion until slightly softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the wine or broth and scrape any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium-low. Return the shrimp to the pan and add in the drained pasta along with the oven-dried tomatoes. Add the mascarpone to the pan and stir until completely melted. Stir in the basil and Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with additional Parmesan as desired.

Stuffed Bell Peppers {Updated}

My mom always made these growing up, but I think the recipe came from my grandma, Mimi. When the other colors of peppers are on sale, I sometimes use the orange, yellow, or red ones. Get nice big peppers for this recipe!

Stuffed Bell Peppers
3-4 large bell peppers
1 lb. ground beef or turkey
1/2 med. onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes
salt & pepper
1 1/2 c. grated cheese
2 c. cooked rice
Cut peppers in half and remove membranes and seeds. Blanch in boiling water about 5 minutes, remove from water, drain on paper towels, and salt insides of peppers lightly. Meanwhile, brown meat and onions, drain. Mix in tomato sauce and season to taste w/ salt & pepper. Mix in rice and 1 c. cheese. Fill peppers with mixture, place in baking dish, and top w/ remaining cheese. (I always have extra filling, so I put it in a small dish to bake for the little ones who don't like peppers). Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.