Jen's Baked Meat balls

I made Alton's baked meatballs from the great balls of meat episode.

I couldn't get a half lb of ground lamb so i used 1 lb pork and 1/2 lb ground beef. I also used the whole 10 oz pkg of frozen spinach. Instead of the 5 oz that was called for in the recipe.

The kids thought it was too spicy but there was only 1/4 tsp of red pepper flake. I thought they were pretty good. It was interesting idea to make them in a mini muffin pan. I like baking meatballs as I'm impatient to cook a large amount in a pan on the stove top.

I will post my pictures tomorrow.


Happy Halloween.

Jeannie's Sloppy Joes

We enjoyed these very much. I didn't read the recipe carefully enough when planning so I didn't realize you were supposed to use the crock pot. Didn't matter! I made them (like Melanie: 1 lb. ground beef, halved other ingredients) in a regular pot and let the sauce simmer down for about 10 minutes. Took about 30 minutes from start to finish, so a pretty easy and tasty dinner.

Cami's Sloppy Joes

I know. I know. This doesn't look like Sloppy Joes at all. Well, I made a few modifications. I have good reason. When I got married Jason had a list of things he would prefer I never ask him to eat. He had different reasons for each item but Sloppy Joes was indeed on the list. Other things on the list were macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, tatertot casserole and jello with carrots in it.

So, I still wanted to try this recipe. I divided it by 4 so it made 4-5 servings. Perfect. I also added roasted veggies (zucchini and squash) and served it over rice instead of on buns. Jason thought it was good, but probably wouldn't request it again. I also thought it was good. If I did make it again I would probably add a lot more veggies. I think it added a lot of hearty flavor.

Stella & Kirt's Sloppy Joes

Unfortunately Stella & Kirt ran into problems trying to post, so I'm going to do it for them. If anyone else has problems please let me know and we'll try to get it figured out. It makes 20 ppl servings. We have only made it once and it was for my parents, siblings and their kids and there was plenty. So we used the full recipe.

Questions:
Kirt is in blue and Stella is in green.

When did you start baking / cooking? 14 12
What is your favorite kitchen tool? my mixer, Crock pot
Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it? garlic powder Almond extract(not sure if that is a spice)
What is your favorite book? The Big Red cookbook from Betty Crocker same as Kirt
If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? Hawaii anywhere my husband is
If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to? wouldn't change it Me too
Where do you currently live? Hermiston, OR same
Where are you from? Hermiston, OR Same
If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be? spigetti and my bread sticks
Turkey and Ham sub

LuAnn's meatballs

No picture from me either, but I thought these were really tasty. This was my first time making meatballs. I've never been very interested in them because like Danielle, I'm not into ground meat...and I can't see what's in them. But I like the fact that these had a variety of fruits and veggies in the sauce and meat. I was thinking that the carrots, peppers and onions were going to go into the balls so I chopped them really fine. I actually chopped the carrots and onions and half of the green peppers in my mini food processor. If I realized they were going into the sauce I would have left them in bigger pieces. But the sauce was still really tasty.

I let the meatballs cook in the sauce for 25-30 minutes because my meat was defrosted just enough for me to stir it. Since I didn't have room in the pot to put in any rice I put my precooked sushi rice in a 9x13 dish, poured the meatballs and sauce on top and put it in the oven for about 10 minutes...uncovered so the sauce would thin. It turned out just right.

I'm wondering how this could be frozen. I think if I cooked the meatballs for 15 minutes in the sauce and then put it into a casserole dish with the rice. Then I would freeze it and when ready to eat I'd let it defrost for an hour and then put it in the oven for 20 minutes or so. Thoughts?

I'm also wondering if I could add some nutrients by using a small can of tomato sauce and a small can of tomato paste...I've heard tomato paste is the healthiest form of tomatoes...even more so than the tomato itself. Can anyone verify that? I might also consider adding some pureed spinach to the meatballs (this idea inspired by Jessica Seinfeld). More thoughts?

P.S. I have to note that I made this dinner and it was ready at 6:30 even though Jeff had class until 6. This was a major breakthrough for me. I chopped most of the veggies earlier in the day (this was Danielle's suggestion for me when I said how hard it was to make dinner with 2 kids awake and getting hungry) so it didn't take much to put it together at dinner time. Danielle...you should be so proud...this was the 2nd day in a row that we had a real balanced meal from scratch. Today we'll eat leftovers! Maybe I can do this.

*I thought I'd add a picture of my little helper since I have no picture of the food. I was so absorbed in scooping and dropping those meatballs into the sauce that I honestly had no idea he had emptied the entire drawer onto the floor and he was less than a foot away.

Cami's Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Yummy. I really liked this. I've never used ground chicken before and found it pretty easy to use and rather tasty. I liked how the flavors mixed together. I also liked how many of the ingredients I seemed to have on hand. My sweet and sour seems a little less saucy than others, but it was very good. I would make this again, for sure.

New Recipe! -sorry it's late

Sorry this recipe is a day late. I just got back from spring break and it has been a little hectic. Anyway, I chose to make this recipe because I am a huge fan of Chinese food and I love having a themed dinner. (and I usually have just about everything on hand already. And if I don't it's usually something that I can do without) When I'm done with this recipe, I usually cook rice in the sauce. Then just add a few egg rolls and some chop sticks to your meal and you are set!

Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 large carrots, chopped 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice 1/4 cup ketchup

1 slice white bread 2 tablespoons milk 3/4 pound ground chicken 1/2 zucchini, shredded 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 2 cups instant rice

Directions:

1.	Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, green pepper, and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes, until onion is softened. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, brown sugar, white vinegar, pineapple with juice, and ketchup. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
2.	Meanwhile, soak bread in milk in a large bowl until milk is absorbed. Mix together with ground chicken, shredded zucchini, egg, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Shape into 12 meatballs, about 2 tablespoons each.
3.	Drop meatballs into simmering sauce. Cook 15 minutes, or until cooked through, turn over once during cooking.
4.	Remove skillet from heat. Stir in rice. Cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff rice with fork before serving.

When did you start baking / cooking?
I don't remember. I have been baking/ cooking for a long time, ever since I was little. My mom made sure her kids were well trained in all the domestic chores.

What is your favorite kitchen tool?
Um, I don't have many to choose from. Sadly my kitchen supplies aren't what I'd like them to be. But I'd have to choose a pastry blender.

Do you have a favorite spice? If so, what is it?
Not really. I like different spices with different things so I can't really say I have a favorite.

What is your favorite book?
Again, there is no way I can pick a favorite. I love reading and I have a lot of favorite books. If I'm totally into the book I'm reading at the moment it is usually my favorite, but the minute I start a new book, my favorite changes. But some favorites that will never change are Harry Potter Series, the Twilight Series, and the Emeralds and Espionage Series.

If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
Greece!

If you had to change your first name right now, what would you change it to?
If I HAD to, I guess I'd just shorten it to Mel. But if that's too close and doesn't count, I'd change it to Jade. I have no reasoning why.

Where do you currently live?
In Chicago- the Twin Towers to be exact. But not for long! I'll be moving to Alexandria, VA in about 6-7 weeks.

Where are you from?
I am from Morgan, UT. A beautiful little valley in northern Utah, where I grew up working on the family dairy farm, riding horses, and playing sports. I'm a country girl. It's the good life!

If you could eat one thing for every meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Probably cereal:)

- Melanie Crockett