Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs:

1 small onion, grated
1/3 cup Italian parsley 

1 teaspoon oregano

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt 

4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 lb. ground beef
Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
10 cups chicken stock
12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In medium bowl combine, meat, egg,bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil & onion powder; shape into 3/4" balls.

3. Shape meatballs and put on baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook in oven until lightly brown.

4. In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock, finished meatballs and spinach and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium.

5.  Add orzo and cook at slow boil for 10 minutes or until orzo is tender.

6. Stir frequently to avoid sticking.

7. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Slow Cooker Beef Ribs with Homemade BBQ Sauce

Homemade BBQ Sauce:

• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons cup honey
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1/3 cup brown sugar  
• 4 tablespoons apple vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp onion powder

Directions: 

Mix bbq sauce ingredients into a bowl.  Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.  Put ribs in slow cooker and cover with bbq sauce.  Cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.  Enjoy!

 

Habenero Jalapeno Vodka

I would like to state first and foremost, I do not recommend this for those who can't take a lot of heat!  I, myself, eat challenge wings are restaurants for fun and one shot of this put me down (not my finest moment).

However that was a straight shot and this vodka is PERFECT for very spicy Bloody Mary's.  I always ask for spicy Bloody Mary's and never feel like they quite cut it.  With this, they are perfect!




What You Need:

• 1 Mason Jar
• 4 Jalapenos (I get mine from the Farmer's Market because I find them spicier)
• 4 Habaneros
• Vodka

Cut up the peppers and add to a clean Mason jar.  Fill the mason jar with vodka to about the top.  Secure the lid tightly and store in a cool dry area for three days.  After three days, strain out the vodka into a new mason jar or bowl.  If you are using a bowl, once you discard the peppers, you can transfer the vodka back into the original mason jar.  Store the jar in your freezer or make yourself a Bloody Mary and enjoy!

Homemade Beef Broth

3 celery stalks chopped
3 carrots chopped
1 medium onion chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
beef soup bones


Add beef bones on top of veggies, sprinkle bones with 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar and a little bit of salt. Fill water til just covered and add 2 bay leaves. Leave on low 8-10 hours in slow cooker. Strain broth and discard solids.

Eye of Round Roast

The eye of round roast was a bit harder for me to come up with a recipe. I'm not a fan or crock pot vegetables, or a typical "Sunday Roast" type of recipe. After doing research on the internet for recipes - including best way to cook the meat - I ended up using bits and pieces of multiple ones. While this meat was not my favorite so far, it was still pretty tasty. I also got to use my homemade beef broth (see other post)

4 lb. Eye of Round Roast
1/4 c. flour
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 medium sliced onion
3 stalks chopped celery
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
10 oz. beef broth
3 cloves minced garlic
3 - 4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
1 tsp onion powder


In a small bowl combine the flour and black pepper. In another bowl, mix together can of mushroom soup, beef broth, and minced garlic. Coat the roast with the flour/pepper mix and lightly brown on all sides in hot oil in a pan. Layer the bottom of a crock pot with sliced onion and celery. Transfer the browned meat into the crock pot and dash a few drops of Worcestershire sauce on the meat. Cover meat with soup/broth mixture. Add cayenne pepper, onion powder and bay leaf. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

The leftover juice we made into a gravy by tranfering into a pan cooking with water/cornstarch mixture and served over the meat.

Spicy Curry Beef Stew

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds beef stew meat
salt and pepper to taste
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, diced
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 cloves minced garlic
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 onion, sliced and quartered
2 cups beef broth
1 bay leaf


Directions

1. Heat the 2 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and brown the beef stew meat on all sides. Remove from skillet, reserving juices, and season with salt and pepper. Cook and stir 3 cloves minced garlic and 2 chopped jalapenos in the skillet for 2 minutes, until tender.

2. Place 1 chopped onion in the bottom of a slow cooker, and layer with the browned beef. Mix in the skillet mixture, 2 cans (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with juice, and 2 c. beef broth. Add 2 tbsp. curry powder, 2 tsp ground ginger and 1 bay leaf.

3. Cover, and cook 6 to 8 hours on Low.

4. Serve over cooked egg noodles or rice

HOT AND SPICY!!! :-)

Ok so I have a friend who I love to cook with. I love it because he pushes me. The one person who will be honest and say "ya know, this doesn't have enough..." or "I'm not a fan or this because..."

It's hard when you are a cook, because most either a) don't know how to cook so no matter what you make is amazing b) don't ever help in the kitchen which can be a positive AND a negative and c) never give constructive criticism (at least in a good way)

So this weekend I went on a cooking spree... first of Pork Chops, my family Broccoli Cheese (also known as "Susan Broccoli" in my family) and garlic mashed potatoes

Of that, I'll only give you the pork chops because Broccoli Cheese is a family secret and mashed potatoes I hope you can make on your own

Pork Chops:

Mix together the rub:

2 tbsp. olive oil
dash of pepper
1 tbsp of basil
1 tbsp of oregano
4 tbsp of cayenne pepper
1 tsp of pepper
1 tsp of salt
a dash of crushed red pepper

Preheat oven 350 degrees. Wet boneless pork chops, lay in dry mix (both sides), place in broiler pan lined with aluminum foil. Cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour

So second meal and tied or even better....

My family chili altered (cuz other than my late father and some guy cousin no one can take heat!!)

1 lb ground turkey
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cans of stewed tomatoes (preferably with basil and oregano)
2 chopped jalapenos
2 chopped serreno peppers
2 chopped orange habenero peppers
2 tbsp hot sauce
1 can of pinto beans
1 can small baked beans with brown sugar

1) Brown ground turkey in big pan

2) Add onion and minced garlic until onion is tender and meat is brown

3) Add stewed tomatoes, hot sauce and peppers and spices

4) Cover pot and let stew for 45 minutes - 1 hour

5) Add beans

6) Heat and stew for another 10-15 minutes

Serve with cheese, crackers, hot sauce and cornbread


The chili was a HIT!!! :-)

WARNING: these are for only those who can hang with hot, spicy goodness :)