Meatballs and Mushroom Sauce over Egg Noodles

I thought of this while I was at the grocery store one day.  In the freezer section they have those frozen dinners and one of them was "Swedish Meatball and Eggnoodle in a Sauce".  It sounded like it could be delicious - nevermind that they don't tell you what kind of sauce it is - but the image of it was just completely unappealing.  Later that night I set out to replicate the dish but with it actually tasting good.  This is what I came up with.


You will need:


-1 lb ground beef
-1 egg
-1/2 - 3/4 cup bread crumbs, plain or "italian"
-1 small onion, finely diced
-3 garlic cloves, finely diced
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp black pepper
-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
-2 medium/large white mushrooms, chopped*
-2  packages mushroom gravy
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1 package egg noodles
-chopped green onion for garnish

-shredded Parmesan for garnish

Combine ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, half your diced onions and half of your garlic.  If mixture is too wet, add additional bread crumbs.  Mix well and form into balls roughly the size of a golf ball. Pan fry until browned through, place on a sheet tray and set into a warm oven.

Prepare egg noodles according to package direction.

While the noodles are cooking, return the meatball pan to medium heat, add oil if necessary.  Sautee onion and chopped mushroom, adding the garlic the last minute or so so it doesn't burn. Pour in 2 cups water followed by gravy packets. Bring to a boil for 1 minute and reduce to simmer.  Once the noodles have been cooked, strain them and place them back in the boiling  pot.  Place meatballs in with noodles.  Add sour cream to your gravy and stir, allowing to cook til heated through.  Pour over egg noodles, mixing well to ensure its all coated.

Serve hot sprinkled with green onion and parmesan cheese.

ENJOY!


*If you want a thicker sauce, opt for 1 can of beef broth mixed with 1 can cream of mushroom soup instead of the gravy sauce.

Beef Chimichangas

These are delicious and spicy and super easy to make!  I always make some extras because they reheat well and are great the next day.

You will need:

-1 lb ground beef - I used 80/20 but you can always go for leaner if you wish.  This recipe also works well for ground chicken or turkey
-1/2 a yellow onion, diced
-2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
-1 small can La Costena pickled jalapeno slices, diced*
-1/2 tsp salt
-1/4 tsp pepper
-cilantro
-2 - 4 tsp cumin (however much you really want)
-shredded cheese of your choice (I do a Jack/Monterey blend)
-large flour tortillas
-sour cream
-salsa verde


In a large tub, combine meat, peppers, salt, pepper and onion and let it rest for about an hour or so.  In a large skillet, brown the meat with the peppers and onion and drain off any excess fat.

Reheat skillet to medium - add 1 tbsp of oil if necessary.

Lay out a tortilla and put a small handful of cheese in the center, spoon in some of your meat, toss on a couple tomatoes and some fresh onion if you desire.  A few cilantro leaves give it some wonderful flavor. Top with more cheese.  Fold two of the ends over, they should overlap a bit as you don't want the filling coming out while frying, and then fold the other end and press to crease.  Lay seam side down in the hot pan and cook until golden brown.  Flip and brown the other side - it should stay closed - sprinkle with cheese and remove to a sheet tray in warm oven.

For the dipping sauce: mix 1 part sour cream with 1 part salsa verde.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

*I only recommend this kind because I have not looked for others.  I'm sure you could use fresh jalapenos but I prefer the taste of these.

Green Eggs & Ham

I got this from Rachel Ray and made some modifications.

Level of difficulty: Easy but moderately labor-intensive

What you need:

-Large cup muffin tin*

-1 package bacon**

-1 bunch spinach

-4 or 5 Yukon Gold potatoes

-salt, pepper, garlic power, paprika to taste

-foil lined baking sheet

-cheese grater

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place bacon on foil lined sheet and place in preheated oven - cook approx 10 minutes. The bacon should be slightly cooked through but still soft and pliable. When bacon is done, pour off drippings into a large skillet. Remove cooked bacon and place onto paper towel lined plate to remove excess grease. Place remaining bacon onto sheet and place back in oven for approx 15 minutes. Once remaining bacon is cooked, pour drippings into skillet.

Reduce oven heat to 375. Line each muffin cup with bacon and place 2-3 spinach leaves in each, pressing down in center to create a small bowl. Meanwhile, heat skillet with bacon grease over medium-high heat. When the grease begins to ripple but not smoke, crack an egg in and allow the bottoms of the white to barely set, then slide off into one of the egg cups. Continue to do this until your tin is full and then place in the oven. Allow whites to set fully. When eggs are finished cooking, remove from heat and allow to rest for a few minutes before easing a spoon around the outside of each cup and gently removing.

You can also crack the egg directly into the tin (as shown above) and cook at about 400 for 15-20 minutes or until whites are set.

You can use the mini muffin or regular size tins, depending on your needs. The minis work great if you're using this for appetizers.

**To make this more traditionally, you can use deli sliced ham in place of bacon or precooked bacon.