January 24, 2012: Homemade Meatball Stew Recipe

Last year I shared an easy meatball soup recipe that uses convenience food items. I decided there was no excuse for being lazy and remade that recipe using homemade ingredients and keeping the calories as low as possible.

Homemade Meatball Stew

1 cup crushed Saltine crackers

¼ cup fat free half and half

1 egg

¼ cup ketchup

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. Italian seasoning

1 t. garlic salt

1 t. dried parsley

1 pound 93% lean ground beef

1 cup baby carrots, cut into small pieces

1 cup fresh green beans, cut into thirds

1 large Russet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks

1 celery heart, rib, greens and heart thinly sliced

1 cup canned corn (or fresh)

1 carton beef stock

1 cup water

2 cups dry macaroni or farfalle (bowtie) pasta

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine crushed crackers and half and half; let sit for five minutes to soften crackers. Add egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings. Mix in ground beef with your hands. Shape into small balls.

Spray a Dutch oven with nonstick cooking spray. Place meatballs in the bottom of the Dutch oven and bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from oven and remove meatballs with a slotted spoon.

Add vegetables (with the exception of canned corn) to Dutch oven. Sauté for 2 – 3 minutes, scraping up bits of meatballs from bottom of pan. Add beef stock and water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium; boil gently for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add reserved meatballs and corn. Cook for an hour, until vegetables are soft.

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to meatball stew just before serving. Add water, if necessary, to thin stew.

Serves 6

January 16, 2012: Roasted New York Strip Steak with Wine Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a good steak. Yes, I know, steak is best when it’s grilled but it’s also good when you roast it like this recipe. Give it a try and see what you can think.

Roasted New York Strip Steak with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce

2 (4) ounce, thick cut New York strip steaks

Montreal Steak Seasoning

2 t. olive oil, divided

1 T. minced shallot

4 mushrooms, quartered

¼ cup dry red wine

¼ cup beef stock

2 t. Dijon mustard

¼ cup fat free half and half

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sprinkle both sides of steak with Montreal Steak Seasoning. Heat an oven-proof skillet (cast iron is ideal) to medium heat. Add one teaspoon of the olive oil. Sear the steak on both sides in the skillet, about one minute per side. Transfer skillet to oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer steak to cutting board; tent with foil.

While steak is resting, add remaining teaspoon of olive oil to skillet and heat on top of stove to medium. Add shallots and mushrooms to pan and sauté for about one minute, until veggies are slightly softened. Add wine and beef stock. Cook, stirring frequently, until reduced by half. Add Dijon mustard and half and half. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2 with calories of about 294 per serving

October 30, 2011: Dinner in a Pumpkin Recipe

I’m in Mesa visiting my grandson and his family this weekend while they host a Halloween party. As their occasional “resident chef” I wanted to make something that would be truly memorable. I found this recipe online and with a few little Candy tweaks, found it to be the perfect dish for a potluck party. It would also be a great presentation for a Thanksgiving dinner. Try it and let me know what you think!

Dinner in a Pumpkin

1 large pumpkin (measure your oven if you want to double this recipe and use a really big pumpkin), top cut straight off and seeds scooped out

2 T. brown sugar

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 ½ lb. ground beef

1 lb. bulk pork sausage

1 yellow onion, finely minced (optional)

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 cans beef stock

1 package long grain and wild rice (such as Uncle Ben’s)

1 can cream of celery soup

1 can cream of mushroom soup

2 small cans mushrooms stems and pieces (optional)

2 cans French cut green beans

Mix together brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice; rub on inside of pumpkin.

Cook meat over medium heat in large skillet, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in chicken stock and rice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until rice is done.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix remaining ingredients with meat/rice mixture. Spoon into prepared pumpkin, replace top. Place pumpkin on a baking sheet and bake at least 2 hours, until pumpkin is tender. To serve, scoop out filling along with pieces of pumpkin.