OKK MEMES & PRIOR CONTRIBUTORS – Page 60 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

Stuffed Meatballs & Roasted Veggie Spaghetti Sauce

STUFFED MEATBALLS & ROASTED VEGGIE SPAGHETTI SAUCE

I start with whatever vegetables I have in the vegetable bin. Today was Roma tomatoes, celery stalks, green onions and snap peas.
Then I drizzle olive oil and salt and pepper over it all and bake it for an hour at 400 degrees.
I started the sauce with a can of Contadina tomato paste, 1 teaspoon Better than Beef Bouillon paste, 2 cups orange juice and a V8. This truly was a clean out the fridge day.
When done roasting add the vegetables to the sauce and set to simmer all day. The vegetables will continue to cook down into a uniform consistency with the sauce. Salt & pepper taste.

For the meatballs:
1 pound hamburger
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
3 large slices sourdough bread, crumbled
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 bunch green onions, finely minced
2 teaspoons minced garlic, jar
mozzarella cheese, about 4 ounces, cut into 1 inch cubes

Crumble bread into a large bowl.
Toss in Parmesan cheese, parsley, green onions and garlic.
Add meat and with your hands mix extremely well until you have a uniform mixture.
Roll meatballs around a Parmesan cheese cube.
Chill Meatballs until sauce is done.
Just before the sauce is finished, brown meatballs.**
Add the meatballs to the sauce and bring to a medium high simmer until meatballs are cooked though, about 20 minutes.
Prepare pasta and Parmesan Cheese Bread while meatballs are cooking.
Enjoy

**If you prefer you can add the meatballs directly to the sauce and SLOW simmer for a couple hours instead of browning.

Lemon Meringue Pie: What Did You Bake Today?

One of our favorite pies to have at all major family dinners is lemon meringue pie. The filling is made in the microwave lickety split. The meringue is made using America’s Test Kitchen’s no weep secret. The pie crust is our old tried and true prebaked.

Lemon Meringue Pie:

1 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cup sugar

dash salt

1/2 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/3 cup water

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (we used more of those wonderful lemons from Florida)

4 egg yolks

1 Tbls butter

In a large microwave safe bowl, combine water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil in the microwave (at this point, you can’t ruin it, so just keep adding minutes until it boils). Add the cornstarch/water mixture and boil until clear (2 minutes at a time until it reaches that state). Add the lemon juice and egg yolks and cook until thick (1 minute at a time, stirring after each minute). Add butter, cool and fill a 9 or 10″ baked pie shell.

For the Meringue:

4 egg whites, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbls cornstarch
1/4 cup water

Combine the cornstarch and water and microwave until it looks Vaseline (no joke!). Beat the egg whites and sugar until soft peaks appear. Add the cooled cornstarch mixture a dollop at a time and whip until stiff peaks form. Top the lemon pie while it is piping hot, sealing the edges (meringue to crust) and bake 325 degrees for 7 minutes.

What Did You Bake Today?

We interrupt this regularly scheduled meme to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a safe and happy holiday and Get your Spatulas ready!

We would also like to announce our upcoming new meme to kick off the new year. Dave from My Year on the grill will be joining our team for a weekly event. He will be featuring experiments with recipes he’s collected from other bloggers. Dave recently guest hosted at Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? for us and has a wonderful sense of humor and will certainly give us all a run for our money.

Look for I CAN COOK THAT on Thursdays beginning New Year’s Eve.

BLACKBERRY SOUFFLES

They serve up great for a Sunday brunch buffet.

BLACKBERRY SOUFFLES
6 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into eight 2 inch cubes
2 cups sliced blackberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spray 8 ramekins with PURE.
Beat together eggs, water, and salt.
Fill ramekins 2/3 full with egg mixture.
Top each one with a cream cheese cube.
Evenly sprinkle brown sugar on top of each ramekin.
Top each one with blackberries.
Bake 15 minutes or until brown sugar is melted and eggs are set.
Slide out of ramekins (if you want), dust with powdered sugar and the rest of the blackberries.

Chicken Chow Mein ~ Dieter’s Delight

I’m filling in for Pam today so I hope you enjoy this recipe.

I use my salad spinner for draining pasta to get all the excess water out.

CHICKEN CHOW MEIN

3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 cup sliced celery
5-6 cups shredded Napa cabbage
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 cup sliced carrots
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons cold water
1-2 cups shredded chicken pieces
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes +/-
1 pound spaghetti or vermicelli

Prepare spaghetti according to package directions.
Over a medium high flame heat the peanut oil in a heavy skillet.
Saute’ the celery, onions, bean sprouts and cabbage until cabbage is wilted.
Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add a bit more oil and saute’ chicken pieces.
Remove with a slotted spoon.
Add the broth, sesame oil, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer for several minutes.
Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water until smooth.
Add to the broth mixture and bring to a boil.
Add vegetable mixture and chicken pieces back in, heat through and coat well.
Toss with prepared pasta and heat through.

Fudge Bottom Brownies & Peanut Butter Fudge Drops ~ Cookies that look like you spent all day in the kitchen, but there isn’t even any baking!

Did you know that Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar are the same great pure cane sweet goodness? The name is based on where you live! You should head on over and check out their websites for some fun and creative recipe ideas from themed parties, cookies and edible ornaments to mixes in ajar for the upcoming holidays. Here is one of our favorite recipes from their recipe files to get you started.

FUDGE BOTTOM BROWNIES
BROWNIES
1 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup Domino® Granulate Sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup walnuts, chopped
3/4 cup Domino® Light Brown Sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups boiling water

TO SERVE
2 packages fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons Domino® Granulated Sugar
whipped cream
1 milk chocolate bar, for shaving
1/2 cup chocolate melting candies or almond bark, for hearts

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine first seven ingredients, stirring until blended.
Stir in nuts.
Spread mixture into an ungreased, 8-inch square baking pan.
Whisk light brown sugar and cocoa. into boiling water.
Pour over batter and bake 40 minutes or until cake portion is set.

To serve, puree 1 1/2 packages of fresh raspberries with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Puddle raspberry puree over the bottom of the plate and sprinkle edges of plate with chocolate shavings.
Arrange a generous piece of warm brownie in the center of the puree and top with a large dollop of whipped cream.
Arrange chocolate hearts in whipped cream and serve immediately.

To prepare the chocolate hearts, heat chocolate melts in your microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until smooth.
Pour melted chocolate into small freezer bag and snip one corner to create a pastry tube.
Pipe heart shapes onto waxed paper and allow to cool until hard.

One of our favorite nieces is coming to visit this weekend so I whipped up these yummy cookies using her favorite Hershey’s kisses. These are for you Kat! They are keepers too I’ll use for our upcoming Christmas cookie party!

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE DROPS

2/3 cup Hot water
10 ounces Land of Lakes cocoa mix
2 cups JIF creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3 cups C&H powdered sugar, divided 2cups + 1 cup
2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
2 cups crushed ginger snaps
72 Hershey Kisses (I like the cherry cordials)

Whisk together the hot water and cocoa mix until smooth.
Add peanut butter and corn syrup. Blend until smooth.
Add 2 cups powdered sugar and stir until well blended.
Stir in cookie crumbs until well blended.
Spray wax paper with PURE (these will be sticky so don’t forget this step).
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto the wax paper.
Place the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and dredge in powdered sugar.
Press your thumb into the center and fill with a Hershey’s kiss.

Don’t forget our Upcoming Cookie Party!

FULL DISCLOSURE: In the interest of full disclosure I was contacted and asked to voice my opinion and Domino Sugar links in exchange for a Domino Sugar gift card. I did this because I believe in the product and the recipes and not for payment.

Fudge Bottom Brownies & Peanut Butter Fudge Drops

Did you know that Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar are the same great pure cane sweet goodness? The name is based on where you live! You should head on over and check out their websites for some fun and creative recipe ideas from themed parties, cookies and edible ornaments to mixes in ajar for the upcoming holidays. I did and here is one of my favorite recipes from Domino Sugar and C&H Sugar to get you started.

TO SERVE
2 packages fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons Domino® Granulated Sugar
whipped cream
1 milk chocolate bar, for shaving
1/2 cup chocolate melting candies or almond bark, for hearts

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Combine first seven ingredients, stirring until blended.
Stir in nuts.
Spread mixture into an ungreased, 8-inch square baking pan.
Whisk light brown sugar and cocoa. into boiling water.
Pour over batter and bake 40 minutes or until cake portion is set.

To serve, puree 1 1/2 packages of fresh raspberries with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Puddle raspberry puree over the bottom of the plate and sprinkle edges of plate with chocolate shavings.
Arrange a generous piece of warm brownie in the center of the puree and top with a large dollop of whipped cream.
Arrange chocolate hearts in whipped cream and serve immediately.

To prepare the chocolate hearts, heat chocolate melts in your microwave at 20 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until smooth.
Pour melted chocolate into small freezer bag and snip one corner to create a pastry tube.
Pipe heart shapes onto waxed paper and allow to cool until hard.

PEANUT BUTTER FUDGE DROPS

Whisk together the hot water and cocoa mix until smooth.
Add peanut butter and corn syrup. Blend until smooth.
Add 2 cups powdered sugar and stir until well blended.
Stir in cookie crumbs until well blended.
Spray wax paper with PURE (these will be sticky so don’t forget this step).
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls of dough onto the wax paper.
Place the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar in a shallow bowl.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and dredge in powdered sugar.
Press your thumb into the center and fill with a Hershey’s kiss.

Don’t forget our Upcoming Cookie Party!

Homemade Rootbeer Floats~ Simple Saturday with girlichef

Yes, I know it’s a million times easier just to buy a bottle of root beer, but it’s a million times more fun to make your own at home!! And very, very simple…fun for the whole family. Really 🙂

Easy Homemade Root Beer Floats
straight from the McCormick‘s Root Beer Concentrate Box
makes 6 cups

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Root Beer Concentrate
1 bottle (1 liter) cold soda water, seltzer or club soda
Vanilla Ice Cream (or another flavor if you prefer)

Bring water to boil in medium saucepan. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add concentrate; stir until well mixed. Pour into a container and refrigerate until ready to serve. When ready to serve, pour reserved root beer mixture into a pitcher and slowly pour in the soda. Stir slightly to blend. Serve immediately over vanilla ice cream in a glass. Or drink as is!

*originally posted at girlichef

What simple food and drink have you made this week?

Lemon Pudding: What Did You Bake Today?

My husband brought 3 bags of lemons back from Florida and we are coming up with all sorts of fun ways to use them. Some of them are the size of large oranges!

This old fashioned recipe is a good way to eat them. As it bakes, the top becomes a sponge cake and the bottom forms a rich, creamy pudding.

Lemon Pudding (from 1980 edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
4 tablespoons butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
6 eggs
2 cups milk
3 tabespoons flour
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Beat the butter and sugar. Separate the eggs and add the egg yolks. Beat in the flour and then add the milk and lemon juice. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs until they form stiff peaks. Fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture. Pour into a 3 quart baking dish. Put that dish into a bigger dish and fill it halfway up with water (the fancy term for this is a bain marie). Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour. Serve chilled.

What Did You Bake Today?

Save Room for an apple fluff pie recipe

Here’s a recipe from my Joy of Desserts archives. Apple sauce is available year round and apples are in season, even if they are also available year round these days, so it’s a nice recipe to bring back to the surface. I like to dig into other blogs’ archives too, because there are so many great things just waiting to be discovered. If you don’t already do the same, give it a try sometime.

Apple Fluff Pie Recipe

2 cups well-sweetened apple sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon flour
2 eggs
Few grains of salt

Combine apple sauce, lemon juice, salt, flour, and well-beaten egg yolks. Cook over hot water until thick and smooth. Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake in hot oven (425 F.) until crust is brown and filling is firm.

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RUM RAISIN CARROT CUPCAKES with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Save Room for Dessert is hosted by Joy at OuR KrAzY KiTcHeN
Vintage Recipe Thursday is hosted by Joy at Joy of Desserts
hosted by Kristen at OuR KrAzY KiTcHeN

I just found an awesome new bakery, Just Cupcakes. I bought a couple of cupcakes for hubby and I as a treat for the week and they inspired me to make this recipe.

RUM RAISIN CARROT CUPCAKES with CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
CUPCAKES
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup packed golden brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
3 Jumbo eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup golden rum*
3 cups grated carrots
8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts

Pour rum over raisins and set aside for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour cup cake tins or line with papers.
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugars.
In another bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, vanilla and 1 egg. Add additional eggs and beat until well creamed.
Add dry ingredients gradually until well blended.
Add carrots, pineapple and walnuts until well blended.
Drain raisins and fold in last.
Pour batter into prepared tins.
Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes.
Cool completely.

*As an option you could soak the raisins in orange juice instead and then substitute 1 teaspoon maple flavoring for the rum.

FROSTING
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
juice of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Add lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until blended.
Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended and smooth.
Ice first layer and then add 2nd cake top and ice again including sides of cake.
Refrigerate 1 hour to set icing before serving.

Would you like to be a guest host at Our Krazy Kitchen ? We are selecting guest hosts for our new Thursday meme Guess Who’s Coming for Dinner. If you have a good recipe to share let me know!

Leftovers Pizza – Monday Munchies

I do a lot of meal stretching. I spend a lot less time in the kitchen during the busy weekdays that way, and it saves a lot of money in the grocery store as well. When I think of stretching out meals I usually think in terms of cooking extra so there are always leftovers – enough for a different meal created from the main dish a second night, and sometimes even a bit of extra for a third meal or appetizer. When it comes to those small amounts of leftovers I think soups, salads, appetizers, strata, and pizza toppings. Cooking like this makes life easier during the busy holiday months too!

Here’s an example of using up just a tiny bit of leftovers to create a quick yummy meal or for the appetizer buffet for game days. This time I used store bought pizza crusts (I like the Mama Mary brand, thin crust), add sauce, shredded cheese and toppings. Bake until cheese is bubbly and just barely starting to brown.

Toppings shown here are a teeny bit of leftover steak (not enough to do much of anything else with), a little bit of leftover roasted asparagus, cherry tomato halves and sliced portabella mushrooms. It’s a bit different, but I promise it’s great! Almost anything can go on a pizza – GET CREATIVE! 🙂

*Originally posted at Menagerie

Category: OKK MEMES & PRIOR CONTRIBUTORS