The Best Meatballs You’ll Ever Have

The title of this post may be misleading.  The most accurate title may be “Meatballs that are quite tasty and are also easy to make” but that was a little long and also not as catchy, so I shortened it down to its current title.  Journalistic integrity, you may ask?  Oh please, I know the only things you care about are scandals and sensationalist meatball titles!

To make four servings:

• 1 lb lean ground beef (I’ve also used ground chicken)
• 3/4 cup crushed seasoned croutons / bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp prepared yellow mustard (I prefer dijon)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, but tasty)
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning (I used whatever we had in the pantry)

The directions are really complicated, so listen up.  Mix everything together and then form them by hand into meatballs.  Then, you can (1) melt some butter and heat them over medium heat, turning constantly for 20 minutes, or (2) grease a baking dish and bake them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  I opted for the latter because I find that to be easier, and so I’m less liable to screw up.

meaty

OK, I realize the picture does not do the tastiness justice.  You’re just going to have to trust me on this one.

Anyway, I used this to make spaghetti and meatballs, but I’m sure you could find some other meatball-related dishes to combine with this, such as Swedish meatballs, a meatball sub, and meatball ice cream.  Delightful.

Yin-Yang Salmon

Intro

First of all, does it really have to be called Yin-Yang Salmon?  That offends me somehow.  I know they’re trying to express that this recipe uses ingredients that are opposite of each other… wait, is that really what they’re trying to say?  I don’t get it.

I used this recipe the first time I made salmon.  I had just returned from my family vacation in Miami, where everyone seemed obsessed with fitness and health.  I came across a fitness magazine at our god-awful hotel, and there was an healthy eatin’ article with a beautiful picture of salmon.  And in an attempt to repent for my slovenly and unhealthy ways, I was inspired to eat better — nay, to eat well!  Yes, I was going to dream big, just like they learned me in elementary school.  Not that eating salmon necessarily means that I’m being more healthy but dammit, I just don’t understand these nutrition facts!!  (See below.)

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 383
Total Fat: 20.8g
Cholesterol: 85mg
Sodium: 663mg
Total Carbs: 22.1g
Dietary Fiber: 0.2g
Protein: 26.4g

What do these words even mean?  Oy vay.

Recipe (3 servings)

1/4 cup hot red pepper sauce (Tapatio is my choice)
1/4 cup brown sugar, or to taste
1 tablespoon butter
1-1/2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound boneless salmon fillet
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1/2 pinch salt
1/2 pinch freshly ground black pepper

Steps

1. Stir together the hot sauce, brown sugar, butter, honey, and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir continuously for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is well blended. Remove from heat, and set aside.

2. Coat a casserole dish with olive oil. Poke holes in the salmon with a fork, then place into the dish. Pour reserved sauce over the fish, top with green onions, and season with salt and pepper. Marinate for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 C).  Then, bake salmon in preheated oven, uncovered, until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 25 minutes.

Conclusion

Like I mentioned in my intro post, I am so far from being a good cook that the fact I write in this blog is hilariously laughable.  All the food I’ve introduced has been easy to cook and with simple ingredients.  (Except for the goldfish.  That was hard.  Brilliance just happens sometimes though.)  So, even with my standards, this meal is easy.  Really easy.  It’s so easy that I went behind the bleachers at school and got it pregnant.  AND.  Extra bonus here.  Wait for it.  It’s TASTY.  You wouldn’t believe all the crap I eat between the meals I post on this blog.  I only manage to make certain foods look presentable because I know at the end of it, I have to take a picture and document it.  To show to OTHERS.  Oh god, if only people saw the stuff I eat by myself just to save money and time.

So, here are pictures to prove that I made it:

Saucy! And that's my hand!

Salmon up the yin-yang? ... Sorry.

Til next time!

Breaded Parmesan Chicken with Roasted Asparagus

Intro

After I saw Liz’s teriyaki salmon in the last post, I thought to myself that I also wanted to make salmon and I was going to post about the salmon dish that I like.  “It was going to be great,” I thought.  And that’s why I made this parmesan chicken.

What happened was I went to the supermarket and the salmon was more expensive than usual ($8.99/lb?!), so I decided to get chicken instead and figure something out once I got home.  Luckily, this recipe’s ingredients were simple enough that I already had everything I needed in my own home (thanks to C. Sorensen for the recipe, which was unveiled during another one of our “girls’ potlucks”).

Recipe

I am including the original recipe which is enough for 6 servings.

6 large chicken breasts
1 cup dried seasoned bread crumbs
5 eggs
2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese (Note: I used parmesan because that’s what I had.)
1 can chicken broth (or about 1 1/2 cups)
Enough vegetable oil to fry chicken

Steps

1.  Cut chicken into bite-size pieces.  Beat eggs and soak chicken in egg mixture overnight, covered - flip over or mix once in morning.  Drain chicken and coat with bread crumbs.

A wise friend once told me you only need to marinate meats for at most an hour.  I haven’t tested this theory myself, since my cooking intuition hasn’t developed to the point where I stray far from directions.  I don’t know what it was – perhaps it was the thought of waiting a whole day to eat dinner; or maybe it was because I had already disappointed once today, by salmon prices; whatever it was, today was a different day.  Today I would test the depths of the unknown, venture off into uncharted territories, push limits I didn’t even know I had.  Yes, yes … today was a different day indeed.  TODAY I WOULD MARINATE MY MEATS FOR ONLY AN HOUR.

Now, time to get yo’ hands durty durrrty!  I put the eggy chicken into a bowl (and poured in any excess egg), poured bread crumbs over to the amount of my liking, and I mixed to my heart’s content.  Note: Okay, admittedly, if I marinated the chicken for longer than an hour, it probably would have been better breaded (ha ha, alliteration).  But given the time constraint, it did not make a big difference, taste-wise.

bite-sized chicken: not really a necessary shot, but so cute!

breaded chicken, pre-cooking

2. Fry chicken in oil until browned on all sides (chicken will be about 75% cooked).

This is the most important step, in terms of cooking performance.  You have to be careful not to burn the breaded chicken, so I would recommend not crowding the pan with chicken, since I’m told that doing so drops the temperature of the pan and oil.  I would also recommend using low heat and scraping out the leftover bread crumbs for each batch you cook, so that those bread crumbs don’t get burnt.

pan-frying chicken, to 75%

3.  Put chicken in single layer in baking dish, and cover with cheese evenly.  Pour chicken broth over entire dish.  Bake at 325 degrees until cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Mm, pouring chicken broth over chicken!  Isn’t that a little cannibalistic?  I guess not really.  You could probably use a little less chicken broth as it turned out a little soupy the first time when C. Sorensen made it, but it depends on your preference.  Personally, I liked the soupiness.  Also, as mentioned above, I used parmesan cheese because that was what was in the fridge, but I’d recommend using mozzarella cheese because it melts so much better over the chicken.  Also, mine turned out a little bit burnt, which I could have prevented by being more careful during the frying process.  Anyway, the finished product is below!  Delicious chicken awaits you.

yum!

a close-up