Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1/2 cup Panko
2 large egg yolks
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Gravy
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups beef broth
3/4 cup sour cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg and cooked onion; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
4. To make the gravy, melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Stir in meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
6. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley.

Notes: We've made several other meatball recipes that I think I prefer to this one, but this was still tasty.

Source: Damn Delicious via Kimberly.

Trini Stew Chicken

 Ingredients

For the green seasoning:
1 lime, juiced
1 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tomato
3-4 green onions
1 handful cilantro, stemmed
3 sprigs thyme, stemmed
3 sprigs parsley, stemmed
5 cloves garlic
1 onion, quartered
1 tsp ginger root (grated)
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
habañero peppers, to taste

For the chicken:
2-4 lbs whole chicken legs
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 cups water

Directions

For the green seasoning:
Add the ingredients for the Green Seasoning marinade to your blender or food processor in the order written (liquids first). Be sure to cut things small enough for your machine to handle the pieces. Alternatively, just chop the marinade ingredients and do not use the blender. 

For the chicken:

1. Pour the green seasoning over the chicken and marinate at least an hour. Overnight is better.
2. To brown the chicken: heat up the oil and brown sugar in a large pot. Cook until the sugar caramelizes (it will get foamy and may smoke a bit). Quickly add the chicken. Cook until browned on both sides, a few minutes per side.
3. Pour on the marinade. Cover and simmer about an hour, adding water as desired to thin the sauce or make more of it. Serve with orange rice.

Notes: We used about half a habañero without the seeds, as recommended at the source, and it wasn't too spicy for our kids, who are picky about spicy foods. This was tasty and made the house smell really good. We had drumsticks so that is what we used, but I think it would have been better with the thighs as well.

Source: Global Table Adventure

Slow Cooker Hawaiian BBQ Pork Tacos

Ingredients
1 pound - pork roast
4 teaspoon - liquid smoke
2 teaspoon - sea salt
2 cup - broccoli slaw
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/4 cup - cilantro, chopped

Sauce
1/4 cup - ketchup
1/4 cup - soy sauce
1/3 cup - pineapple juice
1 teaspoon - garlic, minced
1 tablespoon - brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon - ginger, minced

Directions

1. Place pork roast in slow cooker. Rub with sea salt, then pour liquid smoke over the pork. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
2. 30 minutes before serving, shred pork with 2 forks.
3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay wontons on a flat surface. Fill a small glass of water. Spoon a tablespoon of shredded pork into the center of each wonton. Top with some broccoli slaw and red onion.
4. Wet your fingertips in the water, pinch 2 opposite corners of the wontons together to seal. Place tacos on baking sheet, spray liberally with cooking spray. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
5. While tacos are baking, combine sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until boiling, then reduce to simmer. Wisk as it thickens.
6. Remove wontons from the oven when golden brown. Drizzle tacos with sauce. Chop cilantro to garnish. Enjoy!

Notes: I'm not sure if it was some mistake on our part or meant to be this way, but I found the pork in this recipe to be way too salty. If we make this again we'll be using a lot less salt. Other than that it was a fun recipe. Serves 6.

Source: allthecooks

Zucchini Garden Chowder

Ingredients

2 zucchini chopped

1 onion chopped

2 Tbsp minced parsley

1 tsp dried basil

1/3 c. butter

1/3 c. flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

3 c. chicken broth

1 tsp lemon juice

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 10 oz package frozen corn

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Saute zucchini, onion, parsley, and basil in butter until tender in soup pot. Stir in Flour, salt and pepper. Gradually add chicken broth or water and lemon juice, mix well. Stir for 2 minutes and then add tomatoes, milk, and corn.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted.

Notes: I really enjoyed this chowder. For some reason, it reminded me a little bit of the Santa Fe Chicken Soup recipe I posted several years ago, despite several obvious differences.

Source: Brittany got this recipe from her sister, Kimberly, who received it from a neighbor years ago.

Giovanni's Sausages with Potatoes and Rosemary

Ingredients
6 Italian-style sausages
1 lb 12 oz potatoes, scrubbed and sliced (source recommends kipfler/fingerling)
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 rosemary stalks
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 loaf ciabatta, crust removed
1 3/4 oz extra virgin olive oil

To Serve
Handful fresh basil leaves
Arugula leaves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Slice the sausages thickly and place in a large roasting pan. Add the potatoes, paprika, rosemary, salt and pepper. Tear the ciabatta into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan. Drizzle with the oil  and toss gently.

Roast, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the sausages and bread are golden brown. Sprinkle with the basil and serve with a salad of arugula leaves.

Notes: We had a hard time getting the potatoes to soften and probably had them sliced too thickly.  Despite that, I thought this was quite tasty and a nice change of pace for us.

Source: Simple Honest Food: The Best of Bill Granger cook book

Filipino Braised Pork Adobo

Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs pork, cut in large hunks (pork belly, shoulder, etc)
1 head garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tsp whole peppercorns, or cracked if preferred -OR-
1 tsp ground pepper
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
6 bay leaves
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp brown sugar, up to 1/4 cup as desired
salt
pepper
light sesame oil -OR- peanut oil, to taste

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to dutch oven or other large pot (except oil). Start with 1 Tbsp brown sugar.
2. Bring to a boil and reduce to a gentle simmer. Simmer covered for 1-2 hours or until the meat is fork tender, without stirring.
3. Remove meat and brown in oil or on a grill.
4. Meanwhile, boil the sauce to thicken, adding more brown sugar until as sweet as you'd like. The sauce should reduce until thick and syrupy.
5. When done reducing (about 30 minutes), return meat to the pot and serve over rice.

Notes: Nearly 15 years ago I had a roommate that had been a missionary in the Philippines. He made adobo for me a few times. Lately I've been in the mood to have it again so we've tried a couple of adobo recipes. This one is better than the first we tried (Slow Cooker Chicken Adobo), though still nothing at all like what my roommate made. When I took my first bite of this I was a little surprised at all the different flavors. Some advice for the ignorant, though: whole peppercorns can be pretty strong so you probably don't want a mouthful.

Source: Global Table Adventure

Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small white onion, peeled and diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) whole wheat orzo pasta, or other whole wheat pasta
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
4 cups loosely-packed spinach
salt and black pepper

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and saute for 4 minutes, until soft. Add carrots, celery and garlic and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes, orzo (pasta), thyme, oregano, rosemary and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente.
2. Stir in the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Season with salt and black pepper to taste (if needed). Serve warm.

Notes: Another tasty soup. Brittany added 1/2 pound of Italian sausage.

Source: Gimme Some Oven

Million Dollar Spaghetti

Ingredients
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 can Spaghetti Sauce
8 oz Cream Cheese

1/4 cup Sour Cream
1/2 lb. Cottage Cheese
Whole Stick Butter
8 oz. Spaghetti
Bag of Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, mix the cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese.
3. Cook meat until brown and drain. Mix in spaghetti sauce.
4. Place a few slices of butter in bottom of casserole dish. Layer half of the spaghetti noodles over the butter in the bottom of the dish.
5. Spread cream cheese/sour cream/cottage cheese mixture evenly over top of the pasta.
6. Add remaining spaghetti noodles and a few slices of butter on top. Spread meat/sauce mixture over noodles.
7. Bake for 30 minutes, then sprinkle cheddar cheese on top and bake for another 15 minutes.

Notes: This was quite tasty, but also very rich because of the cream cheese. Brittany made the sauce and used low fat sour cream and cottage cheese, and only 1/2 stick of butter.

Source: Being Grown Up

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup half and half, or more, as needed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 sprig rosemary

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
2. Melt butter in the stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, mushrooms, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in chicken stock, bay leaf and chicken thighs, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 4-5 minutes.
4. Stir in half and half until heated through, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. If the soup is too thick, add more half and half as needed until desired consistency is reached.
5. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley and rosemary, if desired.

Notes: This was a tasty soup. I am not happy with my photo. From the source: "Half and half is equal parts of whole milk and cream. For 1 cup half and half, you can substitute 3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream or 2/3 cup skim or low-fat milk + 1/3 cup heavy cream." 

Source: Damn Delicious

Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (16oz) jar salsa verde
1½ c. Monterey jack cheese, shredded (or to taste)
⅓ - ½ c. chopped cilantro (optional)

Instructions

1. Spray Crock Pot with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts evenly over the bottom of the crock pot and cover evenly with salsa verde.
2. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours or until cooked through. About 30 to 60 minutes before serving, sprinkle cheese evenly over chicken. Remove individual chicken breasts from Crock Pot, sprinkle with cilantro (optional) and serve!

Notes: We had this a couple of months ago and although I remember liking it, I must admit that this recipe did not make a big impression on me. It is not one that we will likely have regularly.

Source: Favorite Family Recipes