Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes

Swedish Meatballs… NOTE: This is a two day recipe, the meatballs need at least four hours in the refrigerator; overnight is better. This also makes about 36 balls and is another good thing to have in the freezer for the lazy night cooking.

I cannot wait for the IKEA to open in Denver. The building is going up and the sign is hung, but it’s not going to open until Fall 2011. If you have never been to the IKEA, you have missed out. Along with their great home items, they have a great Café. Food is a bargain and tastes great! IKEA is a Swedish company with stores located throughout the World including America. Anytime I am in a city, I try to stop in and eat their Swedish Meatball special.

This Meatball recipe is designed for a party. So if you’re looking for something to serve at your next get together (I will the next time I have a Glee screening) these will make a splash. Do not be afraid of the lingonberry preserves, you never know you might just toss the grade jelly out.

Swedish Meatballs

• 
  
  tablespoon unsalted butter


• 
  
  1/2 medium onion, finely chopped Kosher salt


• 
  
  1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs


• 
  
  1/3 cup milk 2 teaspoons dry sherry


• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon mustard powder


• 
  
  3 large eggs


• 
  
  1/2 pound ground pork


• 
  
  1/2 pound ground turkey


• 
  
  1 tablespoon honey


• 
  
  1/2 teaspoon ground allspice


• 
  
  Freshly ground pepper Vegetable oil, for frying


• 
  
  3 tablespoons lingonberry or cranberry preserves


• 
  
  1/2 cup sour cream Chopped fresh dill, for topping


• 
  
  Fresh pickled cucumber slices, for serving

1. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt and cook until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes; set aside.

2. Combine 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and the milk in a bowl; set aside until the milk is absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the sherry and mustard powder in a large bowl until dissolved, then beat in 1 egg. Add the soaked breadcrumbs, the browned onion, the pork, turkey, honey, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste. Gently mix with your hands until combined.

3. Dampen your hands; form the mixture into 36 small meatballs, about 1 tablespoon each. Put on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

4. Put the remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Whisk the remaining 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl. Dip each meatball in egg, letting the excess drip off, then roll in the breadcrumbs; return to the baking sheet. 5. Heat about 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the meatballs, gently stirring with a slotted spoon, until golden and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. Let stand 10 minutes.

6. Fold the lingonberry preserves into the sour cream and top with the dill. Skewer each meatball with a pickled cucumber slice and serve with the lingonberry cream.

As a side dish with these meatballs, keeping in the IKEA meal, either serve with whole red potatoes or mashed red potatoes. I served smashers with my meatballs. I used Ore Ida Steam n’ Mashed. The bag makes more than two people need so I use what’s left over for lunch the next few days.

Here is a repost of just the recipe without pictures, so if you wanna copy and paste or just highlight and print using selected text.

Swedish Meatballs

tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

Kosher salt

1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons dry sherry

1/2 teaspoon mustard powder

3 large eggs

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground turkey

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Freshly ground pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

3 tablespoons lingonberry or cranberry preserves

1/2 cup sour cream

Chopped fresh dill, for topping

Fresh pickled cucumber slices, for serving

1. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt and cook until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes; set aside.

2. Combine 1/2 cup breadcrumbs and the milk in a bowl; set aside until the milk is absorbed, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the sherry and mustard powder in a large bowl until dissolved, then beat in 1 egg. Add the soaked breadcrumbs, the browned onion, the pork, turkey, honey, allspice, 2 teaspoons salt, and pepper to taste. Gently mix with your hands until combined.

3. Dampen your hands; form the mixture into 36 small meatballs, about 1 tablespoon each. Put on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

4. Put the remaining 1 cup breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. Whisk the remaining 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl. Dip each meatball in egg, letting the excess drip off, then roll in the breadcrumbs; return to the baking sheet.

5. Heat about 1 1/2 inches vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. Working in batches, fry the meatballs, gently stirring with a slotted spoon, until golden and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. Let stand 10 minutes.

6. Fold the lingonberry preserves into the sour cream and top with the dill. Skewer each meatball with a pickled cucumber slice and serve with the lingonberry cream.

Chicken Alfredo Stromboli

Tired of the same old boneless skinless chicken breast; try this… Chicken Alfredo Stromboli. It was a nice light dinner. It’s a one item dinner not needing a side dish. When I buy my chicken breast, I sometimes buy the strips. That’s what I used, and yes I use a scale to measure my items… so what I have learned is; three raw chicken breast strips equals between 5 and 6 ounces. This recipe calls for 6 ounces of chicken and it also calls for 5 ounce French bread baguette. That’s was about 6-7 inches. I could only find a long French bread at the store.

Well here it is…

Chicken Alfredo Stromboli

1 French bread baguette (5 ounces), halved lengthwise

6 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed

1 teaspoon olive oil

4 teaspoons butter, softened, divided

1/3 cup canned mushroom stems and pieces, drained

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Place bread, cut side up, on an ungreased baking sheet. Broil 4-6 in. from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted; set aside.

2. In a small skillet, saute chicken in oil and 1 teaspoon butter until juices run clear; drain. Add the mushrooms, salt, garlic powder and pepper; cook for 1-2 minutes or until heated through.

3. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, Parmesan cheese and remaining butter; spread over bread halves. Top each with 2/3 cup chicken mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Vegetable Soup

I know that my blog is really for Meals for two, but I have found and made a great Veggie Soup. The recipe makes about 18 cups. A serving size is 1 cup. The soup is very hearty, and I took a serving a day to work for lunch and with other food I did not grow tired of it. What I did not package for work, I frozen into individual serving. It will be nice when I am being lazy to have the soup to pop into the microwave. Nothing goes better with soup than a Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

The best part of making this soup, you can control the salt. The recipe does not even call for salt… do not worry its not missing. A cup still has about 335 mg of sodium. The salt comes from the chicken broth used. Make sure you use a low-fat low-sodium chicken broth. Or this is where my cooking Lessons with Martha Stewart comes in. I learned to make my own Chicken Broth. Included in this post will be the VEGGIE SOUP. I will post the Chicken Broth in a different blog.

Vegetable Soup

10 cups fat-free chicken broth, low sodium
4 red potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 cups onions, quartered
1 cup carrots, sliced 1 inch thick
3 cups celery, sliced 1 inch thick
2 cups zucchini, sliced 1 inch thick
8 ounce tomato sauce, canned
2 cloves garlic minced
¼ bunch fresh parsley, chopped
¼ bunch cilantro, chopped
dash black pepper

1. In a large stockpot, combine the chicken broth, potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

2. Add the zucchini, tomato sauce, garlic, parsley, and cilantro. Reduce heat to medium-low heat and cook for 10-15 minutes longer, until the zucchini is just tender. Season to taste with black pepper and serve.

A serving size is 1 cup. This makes about 18 servings. Store in the refrigerator for up to one (1) week or freeze up to three (3) months.

Turkey Breast Cutlets (BBQ) with Corn and Avocoda

Dinner lately seems to include chicken, and most of you know with it comes to chicken, I eat one type… Boneless and Skinless! If you don’t know me that well, you will soon find out that fact. I am trying to branch out, and this last meal was not that much of a branch out, but it is a difference. From the meat counter, I pick up some TURKEY BREAST CUTLETS.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with the blank canvas of cutlets.

Then it hit me, try a BBQ dry rub. I picked a Kansas City Rib Rub. It was a little spicy, but the turkey cutlets turned out very, very nice!

Here is the rub.

Kansas City Rib Rub
Yield: Makes a little more than 1 cup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne

Combine all ingredients together and transfer to an air tight container. Maybe stored up to six months.

I cover one side of the turkey breast cutlets and baked for 20 minutes at 375 degrees. The turkey cutlets were about 4 oz and half inch thick. The rub becomes like a glaze on the turkey cutlets. For a side dish, I made a cup of frozen corn boiled in a cup of water, a little butter and a teaspoon of each salt and pepper. I had a ripe avocado that was needed to be used, so I cut it up and also served it as a side.

Turkey Burger and Breakfast Potatoes

Being tired from one and half weeks of sitting through a training class, I was looking for a quick meal to make for dinner. Well, I was somewhat successful; TURKEY BURGER and BREAKFAST POTATOES. It takes about 30 minutes for this meal. (Not trying to be Rachel Ray, it just worked out that way.) Since turning 30 a month ago, I wanted to start being healthier, so I placed the Turkey Burger in half of a WHOLE WHEAT PITA. Also, to make the burger healthier this recipe calls for grilling or broiling. I don’t have a grill, so I broiled the burgers and it was yummy!

The Breakfast Potatoes are just frozen Southern Hash Browns that I added red and yellow bell peppers and onions. I keep bell peppers and onions in the freezer since they can be added to a variety of meals.

Turkey Burger

10 ounces extra lean, 97% fat free ground turkey
3 tablespoons sourdough bread crumbs
5 tablespoons low-fat butter milk
1 ½ tablespoons green onions, minced
1 ½ tablespoons parsley, chopped
½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 dash of Worcestershire sauce
black pepper to taste

1. Preheat the grill or broiler.

2. Combine all ingredients and form two patties.

3. Grill or broil until cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes per side.

Beer-Battered Fish Tacos topped with Avocado-Corn Salsa

Meal Time once again. It being a Friday night, I thought well let me do go back 1000s of years and serve FISH. I am not the biggest fish fan, but I love tacos. Fish Tacos: it was an easy meal to complete. The recipe was straight forward, but I think it could be tweaked just a little. I have never had any luck using soft corn tortillas. They seem to never heat right and crack down the middle when it is time to eat them; then you just have a mess in your lap. The fix for me for this is switch to flour tortillas. The other tweak to the recipe is the batter for the fish. It seemed a little thin and runny, the next time I am going to double the flour.

Forget putting lettuce and cheese on these tacos. After searching through recipes, I found this simple little Avocado-Corn Salsa! Keep this Salsa recipe on top of the stack because if a small fresh snack is need this will work.

Here are the recipes!

Avocado-Corn Salsa

½ avocado, diced
½ cup frozen corn, thawed
1 plum tomato, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, chopped
Lime juice, to taste
Salt, to taste

1. Combine avocado, corn, tomato, and cilantro into small bowl.

2. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

Beer-Batter Fish Tacos

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/3 cup beer
8 ounce tilapia fillet, cut crosswise into 1 inch wide strips
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 corn tortillas, warmed

1. Combine flour, cumin, salt, and cayenne in a medium bowl. Whisk in beer to create a batter.

2. Coat tilapia pieces in the batter.

3. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

4. Letting excess batter drip back into the bowl, add the fish to the fish to the pan; cook until crispy and golden, about 2-4 minutes per side.

5. Serve the fish in the tortillas topped with salsa.

As a side dish with the tacos, I kept is light and fresh. Just a quick Mexican Coleslaw.

Mexican Coleslaw

2 cups green cabbage, shredded
½ cup carrots, peeled and grated
3 tablespoons cilantro
1 table vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
pinch salt

1. Place cabbage and carrots in a colander; rinse thoroughly with cold water to crisp. Let drain for 5 minutes.


2. Meanwhile, whisk cilantro, vinegar, oil and salt in a large bowl. Add cabbage and carrots; toss well to coat.

Keep the kitchen clean and producing high quality food.

Chicken Cordon Bleu with Black-Eyed Pea and Corn Salad

Wow, what a fanatic piece of chicken! It was very moist and tasty. This is not your typical Chicken Cordon Bleu, as in a piece of chicken stuffed with ham and cheese. The ham and cheese are placed on top of the chicken after searing both sides of the chicken.

When it comes to side dishes I am a little lost, before searching for side dish I would have just made some white rice topped with butter. Well with the Chicken Cordon Blue, I found a nice little recipe for a Black-Eyed Peas and Corn Salad. I know what you are thinking really black-eyed peas… I not that big of a fan either, but I made myself just do it. I am so glad I did. I loved it. It’s the dressing that makes it yummy!

I am also in the process of learning to video edit using an Apple; here is a short video for the Chicken Cordon Bleu. Many years ago I worked at a TV station in the News Department. I loved shooting and editing video, but it’s been over ten years ago that even touched a video camera… So bear with me on this. I will film some of my cooking and other will just be pictures and others might just be the recipe.

I AM TRYING TO GET THE VIDEO TO POST... BUT HERE IS THERE THE RECIPES.

So enjoy. I am including the recipes in all blogs, the two for tonight’s meal is after the video.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

2 boneless, skinless chicken breast (5-6 oz each), trimmed and tenders removed
1/8 teaspoon black ground pepper (for spice mix)
3 tablespoons of shredded Swiss cheese
1 tablespoon reduced fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons of Panko breadcrumbs (Panko is a Japanese breadcrumb)
1 ½ teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 table spoon chopped ham
Salt and black pepper to rub on chicken

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

2. Rub chicken with salt and black pepper.

3. Combine Swiss cheese and cream cheese in a bowl.

4. Combine the 1/8 teaspoon of pepper with Panko, parsley, and 1 teaspoon oil in another bowl.

5. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a medium, over proof skillet over medium heat. Cook the chicken until browned on both sides (about 2 minutes per side).

6. Move the chicken so that both pieces are touching in the center of skillet. Spread the cheese mixture on to the chicken, sprinkle with ham, and top the Planko mixture.

7. Bake chicken until the it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees (5 to 7 minutes)

Black-Eyed Pea and Corn Salad

1 cup frozen black-eyed peas cooked according to package (40-45 minutes)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
4 ½ teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

1. Cook the peas according to the package directions and drain. In a bowl, combine the peas, corn, and onion.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, mustard, sugar, salt, and peppeer.

3. Pour the mixture over vegetables and toss to coat.

4. Serve warm or chilled.

The Cooking School Failed, but a idea...

Since I didn't have much time to write about Cooking Lessons with Martha Stewart, I am going to change it up. I am still going to cook using the Lessons of Martha Stewart, but I am going to write about the meals I make.

The meals I will be making are MEALS FOR TWO.

Tonight's Meal was BRIAN'S LAZY MAN'S LASAGNA. What makes this a lazy man's lasagna is I hate dealing with trying to spread the cheese mixture, so instead of spreading the cheese... I use 4 Cheese Ravioli in place of cheese mixture and lasagna noodles.

I tried something new for this dish tonight, most of the time I just use store bought Pasta Sauce. I stepped out of the box this time and made my own pasta sauce. So the first step of this is making the sauce. This is made with ALL FRESH Ingredients.

What is needed for BRIAN'S TOMATO PEPPER PASTA SAUCE. Its not hot... the Pepper is Bell Pepper.

What's needed:
4 large tomatoes
½ of a red bell pepper, seeded and diced
½ of a onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the tomatoes carefully to the water, and boil the tomatoes skin begins to split. Remove from the water, cool under cold running water, and peel off the skin.

2. Place tomatoes into a medium skillet, and mash with a potato masher. Mix in the bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until the onions and peppers are tender. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

While BRIAN'S TOMATO PEPPER PASTA SAUCE was cooking, I started working on my LAZY MAN LASAGNA. Since this Meals for two, the Lasagnas were made individual 4 inch ramekin. One for each person.

So preheat the oven (I use a toaster oven) to 350 Degrees and start a pot of water to boiling to cook the Cheese Ravioli according to package. I have used fresh ravioli or frozen... either work.

What's needed:

1 batch of Brian’s Tomato Pepper Pasta Sauce
16 Cheese ravioli, according to package
½ of a red bell pepper, seeded and diced
½ of a onion, coarsely chopped
½ link of Smoked Sausage (Turkey or Beef), sliced you need at least 8 pieces
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup Mozzarella Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook Cheese Ravioli according to package. Heat oil in a skillet; add the bell pepper, onion, and sausage. Cook sausage until browned.

3. Place a small spoon full of pasta sauce in the bottom of a 4” ramekin.

4. Place a layer of ravioli. Add a layer of sausage mixture, then top with pasta sauce. Repeat this step one more time.

5. Place half of the cheese on each of the lasagnas.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.