Not Your Mama's Meatballs

Who doesn't love a good meatball? I am not sure I personally know anybody who doesn't enjoy them, except for maybe one of my vegetarian friends back on the west coast---those kinds of people don't tend to last too long out here in the good ol' midwest.

It may seem a little strange to be blogging about a hearty Italian comfort food during the first official weekend of summer, but these meatballs are so good you will want to eat them for breakfast! A good staple recipe to have, turn them into meatball subs, throw them into your pasta sauce (or as the true Italians like to say, "gravy"--- weird) or serve them as appetizers at your next party!

My favorite part of cooking Italian food for dinner? Sipping on some dry red wine while I am making it! Please excuse Red's camio appearance in a few of my pictures! :)

makes approximately 15 meatballs depending on size :)

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (if you're not a fan of spicy foods, take this down to 1/2 teaspoon)

1 squirt Asian hot sauce- preferably Sriracha

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup grated italian blend cheese

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup diced white onion ( the smallest you can possibly chop it)

3 cloves garlic minced

1 glass dry red wine for drinking while you cook! :)



First things first, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

Combine salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and set aside.

Chop onion as smal as you can possibly cut it, so that you don't get any overwhelming pieces of onion in one of your delicious meatballs. Measure 1/2 cup  of onion and set aside. Mince garlic and combine with onion.

Combine bread crumbs and cheese and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together ground beef, spices, sriracha garlic and onion. Add milk, worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs and cheese. For best results mix with your hands so all the ingredients get evenly distributed.

Form mixture into balls with your hands and be sure to pack tightly, Tom tried making these and didn't realize you needed to pack the meat together! :)

Place you meatballs on baking dish and bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

For best results, when your meatballs are done cooking in the oven pop them into your pasta sauce and let them soak up the tomato goodness! :)

ENJOY!!

No Excuses French Toast

French toast is a family favorite, I think we made it every Mother's Day for as long as I can remember (take note, Tom!) It pleases every palate and is worthy of the extra carbs/calories/sugar intake (enter whatever diet excuse here). The mere thought of this recipe makes my mouth water, and once you try it you will understand why. It truly is pure decadence!

Serves 4 people, or 3 gluttons!


1 cup milk (the more fat the better)

1 pinch salt

4 eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon white sugar

Zest of 1/2 orange

1 loaf Hawaiian sweet bread (under no circumstances can you substitute another bread)

Raspberry Topping

1 (6 ounce) jar raspberry preserves

1/4 cup orange juice

Zest of 1/2 orange


Whisk together , milk, salt, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, vanilla and orange zest until smooth.

Cut the loaf of hawaiian sweet bread in half and then take each have to cut 1/2 inch slices.

Heat lightly greased griddle over medium heat

Dip, dunk and soak bread slices in mixture until no dry spots can be seen. Cook bread on each side until golden brown.

Raspberry Topping:

 

In a small saucepan over medium low heat mix raspberry preserves and orange juice and orange zest. Stir occasionally while the french toast is cooking. Add raspberries just before serving french toast.

No syrup needed here! Serve you french toast with the raspberry topping and powdered sugar, I promise you there will be no leftovers!