October 25, 2011: Baked Meatballs Recipe

I’ve recently figured out that there’s an easier way to cook both bacon and meatballs – and that’s by baking them. Cooking these meats on a baking sheet in the oven results in less mess and actually should be healthier because you can drain away all of the grease.

I had a large jar of leftover homemade pizza sauce recently. In order to transform it into spaghetti sauce, I thinned it down with water and added these baked meatballs to give it extra Italian flavor.

Baked Meatballs

1 T. dehydrated minced onion

1 T. Italian seasoning

1 t. garlic salt

1 slice of day old sandwich bread, torn into small chunks (the heel works great)

¼ cup milk

1 egg

1 T. ketchup

1 pound 80% lean ground beef

Combine onion, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, bread cubes and milk in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Let stand for five minutes to rehydrated ingredients. Add remaining ingredients and mix with thoroughly with your hands.

Shape balls out of the meat mixture (make them small or large, depending on your preference. Mine were medium-sized and I made about 13 of them with this recipe; you'd get about twice as many by making them walnut-sized or half as many by making them the size of tennis balls).

Place on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in a 400 degree oven about 20 minutes, or until completely browned. Add to spaghetti sauce during last half hour of simmering.

 Note: You can also use a half pound of ground beef and a half pound of Italian sausage, if desired.

August 15, 2011: White Pizza on the Grill Recipe

I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making pizza on the grill. Although I wasn’t confident enough to place it right on the rack (I used my pizza stone), this still has the flavor and crispiness of a crust cooked in a barbecue with an open flame. This version of pizza is perhaps my husband’s favorite so far. I hope you enjoy it, too!

White Pizza

Crust:

1 cup warm water

2 t. yeast

2 T. olive oil

1 t. sugar

1 t. salt

2 ½ cup flour

Dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add remaining ingredients (use a stand mixer for best results) and mix until it forms a smooth ball. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Roll out the dough into a circle. Carefully place it on a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal.

Place a pizza peel in your grill heated to as high as it will go (with indirect heating). Carefully slide the pizza dough from the peel to the heated stone. Cook for about 5 minutes, until it is just firm enough to slide back onto the pizza peel without breaking or falling apart.

Toppings:

½ jar store bought Alfredo sauce

1 lb. mild Italian sausage, crumbled and cooked

1 Roma tomato, thinly sliced

½ cup thinly sliced black olives

6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

1 ounce shredded Parmesan cheese

Spread Alfredo sauce on the prepared pizza crust (still on the pizza peel). Top with tomato and black olive slices. Sprinkle with cheese, followed by sausage. Slide the topped pizza crust back onto the pizza stone and cook for about 10 minutes. If desired, finish pizza under the broiler for a few minutes to brown cheese.

Makes 8 large slices.