Kim's Party Meatballs

Hello there! It's party time around town. Football season is upon us! Lots of tailgating and parties to be had. I, myself am not a fan of football. But, I would love to cater a hungry group of people for a tailgating party! Tonight I have a perfect recipe for that football party, or any party! Kim's Party Meatballs go well with ANY occasion. I have made them many times for baby showers and family get-togethers. And they are a hit! They always disappear quickly. (I think my sister stows them in her purse to take home :)

These meatballs are moist and meaty and are so easy to make up! Here they are! Make sure you take a look at my tips at the end of the recipe! Enjoy!

Kim's Party Meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

2 lbs. Ground Chuck

2 Eggs

1/3 C. Milk

2/3 C. Italian-Style Bread Crumbs

1/2 Small Onion, minced

1 1/2 tsp. Course Kosher Salt (or plain salt is fine too, 1 tsp. if using)

1 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper

1 Tbsp. Oil (for oiling the baking pan)

Cooking Spray (optional)

Sauce:

1 (12 oz.) Bottle of Chili Sauce

14 oz. Grape Jelly

Directions:

1. Gather your ingredients and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mince half of your onion. You can always save the other half in a sandwich bag in the fridge for another use. Or you can use dried minced onions in place of fresh (use 2 Tbsp.)

3. Grab yourself a large mixing bowl and add all of the ingredients for the meatballs. This includes: Ground Chuck, Eggs, Milk, Bread Crumbs, Onion, Salt, and Pepper.

4. Mix all of these ingredients together. There is only one way to do this correctly: with your hands!! :) (Make sure you wash your hands first!!)  Get right in there and mix it up until all of the ingredients are incorporated. (You may use food-grade gloves if you would like.)

5. Wash your hands and take a shallow baking sheet (a cookie sheet works fine) and lay out a piece of aluminum foil onto it. Then take a paper towel and a little oil  and rub it over the pan to avoid sticking.

6. Once your mixture is complete, and you have prepared your pan, grab yourself a rounded Tablespoon measure. Use this to get the meat out of the bowl. This will help your meatballs to be uniform in size, and it is the perfect size for a meatball. If you do not have a rounded Tablespoon, you can use just a regular spoon. 

7. Once you have the meat in the spoon, tap it out into your other hand and begin to lightly roll it between your hands until and small ball is formed. Once you get the hang of it, they will come together very quickly. Although, it will seem like you have a never-ending bowl of meat! Just keep scooping and rolling until all of your balls are formed. You can spray your spoon every now and then with the cooking spray so the meat will dispense easier into your hands. 

8. Place all of your meatballs onto your pan as you make them. I had 52 meatballs out of my mixture. When finished, wash your hands and place them in the oven. Set your timer for 30 minutes. You will want to turn them half-way through cooking to achieve even browning. 

 8. Meanwhile, you can get busy on the super easy and delicious sauce. Get a medium-sized sauce pan and mix together the whole bottle of chili sauce and the 14 oz. of grape jelly over medium-low heat. I used my own homemade grape jelly, but any store bought brand will do fine.

9. Cook this mixture, stirring frequently, until the jelly has dissolved. Once it has dissolved, turn your heat to low until the meatballs are done. Make sure you stir frequently, you do not want this to stick!

10. Once the meatballs are done, you can mix them together with the sauce you made on the stove OR put them into a crock pot and pour the sauce on top of the meatballs. For the stove-top, let the meatballs simmer in the sauce for about 15-20 minutes. I recommend the crock pot method, as the flavors meld together better for me. You can turn them on low or warm for hours. This is great if you make them the morning before serving. They will be perfect when party-time comes around. Serve and enjoy!!

Tips for Meatballs:

~ In step 8, you can cool the meatballs when they have finished cooking and place the whole pan into your freezer until they are frozen solid. Place the frozen meatballs in a freezer-safe zip-bag and you will have them ready to re-heat whenever you need them! Re-heat on the stove or in sauces or in the oven (at 350 for 20 minutes).

~ You can use these meatballs with ANY sauce. They are very versatile and will go with anything.

~ You can use pre-made meatballs with this sauce. Just follow the directions on the package for cooking. Then, follow directions 8-10 to finish.

~ If your meatball mixture is too wet, use a little more breadcrumbs. If it is too dry, use a little extra milk. Just add either ingredient until you have reached the consistency you desire. 

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Today we are making some very delicious homemade chicken noodle soup! It is a delightful meal! Perfect for a cold fall or winter day, which will be coming up sooner than we think.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. Olive Oil (or see what I use in the picture below)
2 Large Chicken Breasts
1 tsp. Seasoning salt
1/2 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp. Onion Powder
1 Onion
1 Large Leek
5-6 Medium Carrots
4-5 Celery Stalks
3 Garlic Cloves
16 Cups, Chicken Broth
1 tsp. Dried Thyme Leaves
1-2 Bay Leaves
12 oz. Package Wide Egg Noodles


Directions:

1. To begin, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together the seasoning salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and onion powder, then set it aside. In a small baking pan (I use metal), place 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Place your chicken breasts in the pan upside-down. This will allow the oil to get on top of the breast and be there when you flip them over. Generously sprinkle on the spice mixture you just concocted. Flip the breasts over and generously sprinkle on the rest of the spice mixture. 

*I use a Canola and Olive Oil mix when working with high heat. 

The canola oil can take the high temps and so can the regular olive oil.

 I also like the flavor of the 2 together. I use the brand Spectrum, it is Organic and Certified Non-GMO.

 

2. Once your oven has reached 350 degrees, place your breasts into the oven for about 45 minutes to an hour. Mine cooked for 45 minutes exactly and were perfect. Every oven varies, so if you are not a seasoned cook, you will want to check your chicken with a meat thermometer when time is up to make sure it is done. The juices will also run clear when it is done.

 

3. Wile the chicken is baking, you can get to work on your veggies. After preparing each one, just toss it into a bowl until everything is prepared. 

 

 

 

 Below is how to prepare each one:

          Onion: Cut off ends, cut in half, remove outer layer of skin, chop into small pieces

          Leek: Cut off the dark green end, remove 1-2 outer layers, slice in half length-wise, wash off with       water, slice into half-circles.

          Carrots: Peel with a vegetable peeler, cut off both ends, slice into bite-sized circles.

          Celery: Wash well with water, cut off both ends, if you have a large stalk, cut it in half length-wise, the slice, if you are using smaller stalks, just slice them up.

          Garlic: Smash each clove lightly with the back of your knife. The skins will then peel off very easily. Mince them with your knife.

 

*Just a side-note: All of the veggies I use are organic. If you are worried about what may be on your veggies, then wash them all very well. I either grow my own or buy organic so I know what is or has been on them. 

 

 

4. You can sit this aside until the chicken is done baking. When the chicken is done, sit it aside to cool. It is good to let it rest and cool. It will let all the juices redistribute and allow it to cool enough for you to handle when it is time. So, while the chicken is cooling, grab you a big ole' stock pot. I used a 12 quart because that is what I have, but a 9 quart will be just fine. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the stockpot and let it heat up on medium heat. When it is heated, add the whole bowl of veggies and let them saute' until they are soft. This can take up to 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I even throw a lid on them because they just don't want to get soft for me. You can test them by taking out a couple of the bigger slices of carrots, letting them cool and tasting them. If they are soft, then most generally, everything else is too. 

 

5. When the veggies are soft, then you can add the 16 Cups of chicken broth. I use the Wyler's Chicken Granules. I add 16 Cups of water to my pot, and then add 5 Tbsp.+ 1 tsp. of the granules and stir.

 These granules give the soup the flavor that I want, but please feel free to use what you like. Some people buy cans of broth, but I think this is better. It is cheaper, takes up less cabinet space, and I can make only what I need without throwing out what might be left from a can. You can also make your own chicken broth homemade if you would like. I have done this before as well. The flavor is not as strong as with the granules, but it is true chicken soup. If using real chicken broth, I would suggest adding 3-4 chicken bouillon cubes or 3-4 tsp. of granules to your soup as well.

6. Stir the broth and the veggies around, keeping the heat on medium. Add the thyme leaves, and the bay leaves.

Give it another good stir. 

7. By now, your chicken breasts should be cooled enough to handle. Take them from the pan, place them on a cutting board and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Add them to a bowl as you chop. When finished, place them into the soup all at once. 

8. Give the soup a good stir to incorporate the chicken. Then turn up the heat to about medium-high and let your soup come to a boil. Once it is at a boil, add the egg noodles. 

9. Stir those egg noodles around and let it all boil for about 5-7 minutes. Then, remove the whole pot from the heat. (Don't forget to turn off your burner.) Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Your noodles will continue to cook during this time, so if they were not completely done within that 5-7 minutes, they will be after the sitting time.

10. Take your spoon, give it a good stir and remove the bay leaves (they are not good eats!) Serve and enjoy! 

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as my family does! Happy eating!!

 

Freezer Preserving Fresh Corn

Since I have been doing a lot of canning and preserving lately, I have decided to share with you one of the simpler preserving methods, freezing. We picked some early corn yesterday at my Grandpa's farm and got just enough for a batch to freeze. Summer sweet corn is the perfect addition to any meal! It is great on the grill, just boiled in water, or cut off the cob and cooked in butter. It is delicious!! So, here we go with freezing some fresh summer sweet corn!

Ingredients:
   12-16 Ears of Fresh Corn
   1 Stick of Butter or Margarine (Salted or Unsalted, you decide)
        (You can omit the butter for a healthier option and use 1/2 Cup more water)
   1/2 C. water

Supplies Needed:
   Sharp Knife
   Bunt Cake Pan
   Large, heavy Pot
   13x9 Metal Pan
   Freezer Quality Ziplock Bags, or Food Saver Bags


1. Gather up your ingredients and supplies. You will want to have everything ready and in reach before beginning. For the corn, Fresh is best!! If you can get it from your own garden or farmer's market, that is great!! They are the best options over supermarket corn. But if you must...well, just do it. I used 16 ears for the batch I made up today.

2. The first step in preparing the corn is you have to shuck it! This process removes the outer layers of corn husks and silks. You can see some pictures below, but it was difficult to grab some pics while shucking it at the same time. I start by taking off the outer-most layers. These require little effort to remove, just grab it from the top and pull down.

After you have the out-most layers off, you can get the rest by pinching the top, including the silks, and pull down. With some effort, you will get most of it off. Once you have removed the first part, the rest is easy.

When all the husk and most of the silks are gone, you want to try to remove the rest of the silks. These can be tricky. Some people will resort to buying a silk remover, which you can find on amazon.com . I just rub my hands across it and it works for me. You can choose whether or not to break the stem off the end of the corn or not. It really doesn't matter if you do or not.

3. After you have prepared all of you corn, you should rinse it well with water. Lay it on a towel to dry it some. You don't want to cut on wet corn. Your knife could slip and you could be a hurtin'! Just damp it with a dry kitchen towel and all will be well. Now comes the best part! It comes with a tip that I just adore! Use your bunt pan to hold your corn while you cut it off the cob. Place your cob over the hole in the middle. Hold it upright, take your knife from the top and cut all the way to the bottom. The hole holds the cob and the cut corn falls right into the pan with no mess! I love it!!

(This is the best picture I could get without someone taking the picture for me :)



4. So, you have all of your corn cut off. Now, dump it all in your large cooking pot along with the butter and water. For my 16 ears, I used a whole stick of butter and 1/2 Cup of water. If you are using 10-12 ears, I would suggest only using 1/2 stick and 1/4 cup of water. Turn heat on medium. Let this simmer until the butter is melted, stirring frequently. When butter has melted, let it simmer for about 2-3 more minutes, still stirring frequently. You do not want this to burn!

5. Once you have finished the cooking step, pour the contents of your pan into the 13x9 baking dish. Spread it out evenly with the back of your spoon. Now you have to let it cool. This could take between 1 and 1 1/2 hours. I let mine set out on my counter top for the whole time. If you are stickler on food spoilage, you can let it set for 30 minutes, then place it in the refrigerator for the rest of the cooling time. Mine does fine on the counter, but do what is best for you.


This is a very important step. You cannot skip this and just bag it and freeze it. It has to be cooled to at least room temperature before you package it.

6. Once your corn has cooled, you can package and freeze it. Only use bags that are of freezer quality or it will not keep. I recommend Hefty/Ziploc freezer bags, or Food-Saver vacuum-sealing (my preference). With my 16 ears, I got about a gallon-sized bag full. You could always divide this in smaller sizes, like quarts. It is up to you and what will work best for your family. My gallon-sized bag will be perfect for having my summer corn at our Thanksgiving dinner!

This recipe can last up to a year in your freezer.

I hope you can take this information and put it to good use! I really do enjoy putting fresh food in my pantry and freezer for my family to have come winter! I think it is the best and most healthy option, opposed to store-bought food full of preservatives and additives! Again, I always recommend that you get your corn or any food item from the best possible source. The more you know about your food source, the more peace of mind you can have at the end of the day. At least this way, you know where your food came from! You know how it was grown and what was put in it and what was NOT put it it. You reduce your food miles from farm to fork and by doing that, you are also helping the environment. Did you know the average amount of  food miles in the US is 5,000 miles!!! Something to think about for sure!!! Happy preserving!!

It's been a long time!

Sheww! It sure has been a long time since I last blogged. I almost forgot I had this. So, an update on myself is in order. Lately I have been very busy canning. My grandpa's garden is luscious and full of life! The corn is standing tall, tomatoes of all colors are poking out this way and that, and the beans are hiding under their leaves just waiting for the right time to be picked. Growing a garden is the most wonderful feeling, especially when you have worked so hard to get it going and tending to it, then when it's time to harvest you have such a wonderful bounty of wealth in the form of food!

The garden has just really begun to give us a harvest, but so far I have canned green beans, tomato juice, diced tomatoes, and Italian-style diced tomatoes. Also some blackberry-apple jam, apple jelly and tomorrow my son and I are going to make some applesauce. We also have enough potatoes to hopefully last us through winter and I have made 4 peach cobblers! God has been so good to us on the weather. Everything has been great! We have been picking cucumbers and we have watermelons, pumpkins and an assortment of gourds on the vines! It really has been a great season so far!

Besides all that, I need to get back to posting up some recipes for you guys! In a couple of days I plan to have one ready for your viewing pleasure, but for now I have found an excerpt from a book I have been reading. This is a cute little book I picked up while vacationing in Pigeon Forge, TN this past spring. And since it is about time for the kiddos to go back to school, I figured this was appropriate.

Book Title: Mama's In The Kitchen, Weird and Wonderful Home Cooking 1900-1950
Author: Barbara Swell from Native Ground
ISBN-13: 978-1-883206-39-0

Page 7:
 School Lunch Suggestions, 1915
      Boys like plain folding lunch boxes, girls prefer daintiness of equipment. Always try to provide some unexpected dainty. Here are some suggestions:
   ~ A mashed baked bean or other sandwich
   ~ Stuffed eggs with buttered rolls
   ~ Individual meat or fruit turnovers
   ~ Plain simple cakes like gingerbread or applesauce 

I just thought this was so cute! Could you ever imagine sending your child to school with a smashed baked bean sandwich?? I'm sure this was of the norm in this time though.  Happy cooking and happy eating!! See ya next time!

Broccoli Casserole

So today I am serving up one of my famous dishes (at least it is famous with my family, for now). This is a hit with everyone and we all love it: Broccoli Casserole!!! It is simple to make and my family cannot get enough of it, especially my 3 year-old son....and yes, he eats it and he LOVES it!! So it may even be the perfect way to get your kiddos to eat their broccoli!!!

Ingredients:

1 (14 oz.) Package Broccoli Florets
1 (32 oz.) Package Broccoli Cuts
1 (10 3/4 oz.) Can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 Cup Milk
8 oz. Velveeta Cheese
1 1/2 Sleeves of Ritz Crackers
2 Tbsp. Butter
Salt and Pepper


Directions:

1. Empty the broccoli into a large pot. Pour water into the pot until it is only about 3/4 of the way to the top of the broccoli. The broccoli will cook down, so you do not need to cover it with the water. Cook on high heat. When it is almost to boiling, add about 2 Tbsp. Salt to the water. This will be the only chance you will have to season your broccoli, so do not skip this step!!! When it reaches a boil, allow it to cook for about 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and carefully pour all the broccoli into a strainer. Let it sit in your sink in the strainer while you do step 2. This will allow the extra water time to drain out.

2. While the broccoli is draining, empty the can of cream of chicken soup into a medium-sized mixing bowl. You can use any kind of cream soup you like, but we prefer the cream of chicken. Next pour the 1/2 cup of milk over top and stir them together until they are thoroughly mixed. You can also add pepper in this mixture if you would like.

3. Take the broccoli and pour it out into a 13x9 baking dish. Pour the soup mixture over the broccoli in the dish and mix them together thoroughly. Even it out with a spoon.

3. Next you will want to slice the Velveeta cheese. You will use the whole 8 oz., but not in this step. I make thin slices with a knife, and kind of pretend that each slice will be one ounce, so you need 6 slices and that will leave about 2 ounces of cheese for later. (This is the only way I can think of to explain how thin I cut the slices :)  ) Then lay the slices out on top of the broccoli in a 2x3 kind-of way. Make sure they are evenly spaced and not touching.

4. Place the pan of broccoli and cheese into a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

5. When the cheese has melted, remove from oven and stir it all up. Then take the remaining 2 oz. of cheese and cut it into small cubes. Then evenly distribute them on top of the broccoli mixture.

6. Crush the crackers inside their packages real good. Open one end and pour over the broccoli. Then take the butter and using a small knife, cut it into real small pieces on top of the crackers.

7. Place the casserole back into the oven for about 20 minutes. When done, let it sit at least 10 minutes before serving. This will allow the cheese to set and not be runny.
Then ENJOY!!!

And my family really did enjoy!! I didn't even get a finished picture when this was done!! Next time I make this, I will be sure to add one!!!

Brown Beans With Cornbread

So for my first recipe, I am posting my all-time favorite meal!!! Brown Beans and Cornbread!!! I cannot begin to explain how much I love this meal! I grew up eating this and still love it to this day. It brings back many great memories of family meals. This is how I make them:

Ingredients:

1lb. bag of dry Pinto Beans
1 Pkg. Sliced Pork Jowl Bacon, Smoked
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Pepper
7-8 Cups Water

Directions:

1. Separate your beans. There are always broken and shriveled up beans in your bag. Sometimes even rocks. You always need to separate your beans before you cook them. I just dump them carefully (so you don't have beans all over your kitchen) onto a clean counter top and push the bad ones to the side and the good ones into a bowl. (I picked out these bad beans and 2 rocks out of this bag!)

2. Put your good beans into your crock pot. Top them with the Jowl Bacon and the salt and pepper. Cover with the water. You need to have just enough water to cover everything, but no more and no less!

3. Cook on Low for 8 hours or on High for 4-6 Hours. The juice will turn brown in color when they are done. You should also stir the beans every couple of hours and make sure everything is under the water, otherwise it will dry out.

When your beans are done, I recommend serving them with fresh diced onions and Jiffy cornbread muffins!Or you could always make you up some homemade cornbread. It is delicious!! Just follow the directions on the box for the Jiffy cornbread! And you will have a lovely southern meal!!!