Swedish Meatballs

I've never made Swedish Meatballs before, so I thought I'd give it a shot tonight. This recipe was rated pretty highly over at the Food Network. This recipe is from Alton Brown, and was very easy to make. It is also available on the Food Network website http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/swedish-meatballs-recipe/index.html

I served this over egg noodles. I used ground veal instead of beef (just because I had it kicking around). It is quite a tasty recipe.

Ingredients
2 slices fresh white bread
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 pound ground chuck
3/4 pound ground pork
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups beef broth
1/4 cup heavy cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.
Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.
In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.
Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.
Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.
Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

Penne with Turkey and Wild Mushrooms

There are days when going to the grocery store can be quite a treat. Our local big box type grocer generally always has someone cooking up some recipe using President's Choice products of some sort or pushing another brand sold in the store.

What I like is the recent change of actually have properly prepared food and not fast precooked frozen samples ready.

I've picked up many samples recently and this one was just delightful. I have no source for this recipe as the chef just handed me a blank page with the recipe on it. The best thing I can do is source "Loblaws in house chef" as the creator of this recipe. I tried to look for it on their website but no luck.

This one is quite good. It's light, low fat etc. Yes it has carbs but I've learned to embrace carbs (in moderation for daily intake of course). Try to stick only fresh herbs if you can but it's fine with dried as well.

Penne with Turkey and Wild Mushrooms

1 pkg PC Slendido Penne Pasta
4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme (or 1 1/2 tsp dried)
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp dried chili flakes
1 1/4 lb ground turkey
1 lb assorted fresh mushrooms, (cremini, stemmed shitake, portabello, oyster etc) sliced
5 green onions, chopped
1 1/3 cup low sodium chicken stock
2 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese
1/2 dry white wine

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Drain very well and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper, thyme, garlic and crushed red pepper. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add ground turkey to pot. cook turkey until browned, breaking up the turkey with the back of a fork, (about 5 minutes)
Using a slotted spoon, transfer turkey mixture to large bowl. Discard any fat, deglaze pan with wine and reduce.

Pour liquid over turkey mixture.

Heat remaining 2 tbsp of oil in the same pot over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and green onions and saute until mushrooms are teer and brown, about 6 minutes. Add turkey mixture and stock. Reduce stock by 1/4 volume.

Add pasta and cook until sauce thickens enough to coat the pasta, tossing often. (approx 3 minutes). Add Parmesan Cheese, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

It's a very good recipe. If you prepare the meat and veggies while the pasta is cooking it generally takes less than 1/2 hour to prepare.

Try this one out and let me know how it works out for you. (Please note. I don't have a pic of the one I made but found something similar on the food network for an image)

Creamy Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie

This one has turned into my 14 year olds favorite "comfort" food dinner. It is scrumptiously yummy, and is a good way to use up vegetables in the refrigerator.

I use this as a base and adjust the veggies to whatever I have sitting in the fridge. You can do this recipe two different ways. One with biscuits on top in a casserole, or you can use deep dish prepared frozen pie shells and make them as a pie. Either way they are fantastic.

Ingredients:
500 grams of chopped cooked chicken breast (cut them fairly small)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I use shallots)
2 tbsp shredded carrots
2 tbsp diced celery
1 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom soup)
1/2 cup grated old cheddar
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan

For biscuit topping:
1 egg
1 cup bisquick
1/2 cup skimmed milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil

I'm going to type the instructions exactly as originally given but I have made substantial changes to it over time.

Put a dab of oil into a large pan. Saute the onions and celery until soft. When that is done add 2 cups of soup plus one cup of milk to the pan and mix well until heated. Add the cheeses over low heat until it's all melted and mix well. Stir in the remaining vegetables and pour into a casserole dish.

Set Aside.

In a large measuring cup combine egg, oil and milk. Give it a little scramble and add to the Bisquick mix in a seperate bowl, until smooth and well combined.

Spoon batter over the chicken mixture in the casserole dish. Bake uncovered for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes in oven at 375 degrees.

If using pie shells, pour the chicken mixture into the pie shell (you may need two shells depending on the size). Cover mixture with second shell by inverting the frozen shell over the mixture and leaving it there for a second. The heat from the chicken mixture will defrost the pie shell and it should slip right out of the foil. Fit it to the underside and pinch the edges closed. Be sure to poke some holes in the top to release moisture. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

So, how does my creation differ? Not much actually. The soup, cheeses and milk remain constant but I tend to use two full cans of soup and adjust the milk accordingly. I use wayyyy more veggies and chicken than called for. I have lots of kids so it must be done. I use a minimum of two chicken breasts, and whatever veggies I have kicking around (plus the onion...the onion is a must). I have tossed cauliflour in, peas, carrots, corn, broccoli into it. Sometimes a couple, sometimes all of them. Experiment with different concoctions to see what you can come up with. I have to admit, the cream chicken soup works better than the cream of mushroom but in a pinch cream of mushroom will do.