CROCK POT SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

CROCK POT SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS

I didn't realize it was suppose to be cooked on high.  We finished cooking in microwave.  This was a super yummy meal. I made the balls in the morning and kept in fridge.  I made the balls way too big.  Would make smaller next time.  Ended up cutting them in half when we reheated for another meal. 

UPDATE: Everyone but Abagail loves!  Made balls the night before and kept in fridge.  Super easy!  We love with salad and breadsticks from Cash & Carry.

1# (or less) low moisture mozzarella cheese, cut into 3/4 inch (or smaller) cubes (cut up a cheese stick - super easy!) 

In a large mixing bowl combine:
1 pound ground beef
1 pound hot Italian sausage (didn't do hot, like sausage from Cash & Carry)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup bread crumbs (I did half crumbs half panko)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup chopped parsley
---
1 - 2 cans of spaghetti sauce (or can do 1 can plus some diced tomatoes or tomato sauce)

Roll golf ball sized balls with the meat mixture. Squish mozzarella cube into the center and pull the edges of the meat ball around it until it’s a new ball again.

Arrange meatballs in slow cooker and cover in tomato sauce.

Cook on high for 2 to 2.5 hours.  Works to cook on low all day long.

QUICK MEAT SAUCE & SUMMER BEEF-AND-RICE CASSEROLE

QUICK MEAT SAUCE
http://www.marthastewart.com/925151/gnocchi-quick-meat-sauce
This is a really good meat sauce.  Couldn't find gnocchi so had it with pasta noodles.   But I am sure it would be good with gnocchi like recipe called said.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 pounds ground chuck (80 percent lean)
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
• 3 carrots, shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes, pureed in a blender
• 1 pound fresh or frozen gnocchi, cooked according to package instructions
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)

Directions

1. In a large heavy pot, heat oil over high. Add meat and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until it begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add onion, carrots, and garlic and cook until meat is browned and onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add tomato puree, and bring to a rapid simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; transfer 5 cups meat sauce to an airtight container, let cool, then refrigerate for Summer Beef-and-Rice Casserole. Serve remaining sauce over gnocchi, topped with Parmesan and basil, if desired.
   
   
   
   
   SUMMER BEEF-AND-RICE CASSEROLE
   • 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs
   • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan (1 ounce)
   • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
   • 5 cups reserved Quick Meat Sauce (from Gnocchi with Quick Meat Sauce)
   • 1/2 cup long-grain white rice
   • 1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
   • 2 zucchini or summer squash, very thinly sliced
   • Salt and pepper

   Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and 1 tablespoon oil. In a large cast-iron skillet, bring meat sauce to a rapid simmer over high. Stir in rice and remove from heat. Top with onion, then carefully arrange zucchini in a single, slightly overlapping layer. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil, and top with breadcrumb mixture. Return to heat and bring to a simmer. Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake until rice is cooked through and breadcrumbs are golden, about 10 minutes more. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

MEATBALLS

MEATBALLS
We all LOVED this recipe. Goes great with mac & cheese or spaghetti.

1 pkg mild Italian sausage links or ground (I like ground)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup finely chopped onion

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, cheese, milk and onion.  Add sausage (remove casings if used links) to mixture and mix well.  Shape into 20 meatballs.  Arrange in shallow baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.

FISH

It is my goal this year (2011) to have fish once every week.

COATING FOR FISH:

first dip in milk

then dip in:

handful of Panko crumbs

handful of wheat bran

some shredded parmesan cheese

some pepper

CRACKER-COATED FRIED FISH

We liked this recipe. It was easy and fast to prepare.

Taste of Home Family Collection pg. 148

FISH AND VEGGIES PRIMAVERA

Scott and I liked, but not the kids so much. Jackson thought it was too spicy with the lemon juice.

Taste of Home Family Collection pg. 154

BAKED PARMESAN

We really liked this. Very easy. We had it with snapper. Used Fiber One cereal instead of corn flakes. taste of home 2009 Quick Cooking pg. 63.

PECAN CRUSTED TILAPIA

This is so yummy and easy. A family favorite (except for Jackson who doesn't like fish). Would love to try it on salmon. We had it with Thai Heavenly Pineapple Fried Rice.

4 Tilapia fillets (used Safeway frozen - that had been thawed)

2 T butter

1 1/2 T honey

2 T Dijon mustard (didn't add)

---

1/4 cup soft bread crumbs (used Panko)

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

2 tsp finely chopped parsley (I probably had more)

---

lemon wedges and parsley for garnish, optional (didn't add)

Preheat oven to 450. Place tilapia in a lightly greased 9x13. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (I only did pepper). Melt butter and honey in microwave. Add mustard. Brush on fish (or just pour). Combine rest of ingredients. Spoon evenly over fish.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley, if desired.

ANOTHER WAY TO DO PECAN COATING:

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/2 cup sweetened, flaked coconut

1 cup bread crumbs (use Panko)

Put above items on wax paper. Roll fish in mixture. Place fish in pan and top with remaining mixture.

GINGER HONEY GLAZED SALMON

We LOVED this!!! I especially liked cooking it on the stove - less clean up. Need to start at least 1/2 hour early. Came from an Albertsons pamphlet.

1/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

2 T honey

1 T ginger, ground (I did about 1/2 this)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 green onion, chopped (forgot this)

1# salmon fillets

Mix orange juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic powder and green onion in a small bowl. Reserve 2 T of the marinade. Place salmon in a large resealable plastic bag or a glass dish. Add remaining marinade; turn to coat. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Remove salmon from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Grill over medium-high heat 6-7 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily with a fork, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.

Per Serving - Calories: 186, Fat: 6g, Carbohydrates: 8g, Cholesterol: 62mg, Sodium: 421mg, Fiber: 0, Protein: 25g (not sure why the sodium is so high in this???)

MEAT LOAF

BEST MEAT LOAF
Taste of Home pg. 79
Yum! Yum! Uses bacon and has a relish on top. Tasted similar to the one I got off the food network.  It is fast and easy. Has ingredients I normally have on hand.


DAD'S MEATLOAF WITH TOMATO RELISH

This came from the Food Network - Tyler's Ultimate. This takes awhile to prepare, but is so worth it. If Scott sees me making meatloaf he always asks if this is the one I am making. It it isn't he is disappointed.

Tomato Relish:

olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and finely diced

2 tomatoes, halved, seeded, and finely diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 (12 oz) bottle ketchup

1 T Worcestershire sauce

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

MEATLOAF:

3 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks by hand

1/4 cup whole milk

1 1/2# ground beef

1# ground pork

2 eggs

leaves from 2 fresh thyme sprigs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3-4 bacon slices

Preheat oven to 350. Coat a skillet with a 2-count of oil and place over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic and bay leaves for a few minutes to create a base flavor. Throw in the red peppers and cook them for a couple of minutes to soften. Now add the tomatoes; adding them at this point lets them hold their shape and prevents them from disintegrating. Stir in the parsley, ketchup, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper. Simmer the relish for 5 minutes to pull all the flavors together. Remove it from the heat; you should have about 4 cups of relish.

Place the torn white bread in a bowl and add the milk to just barely cover, swish the bread around in the milk and let it sit while you get the rest of the ingredients for the meat loaf together.

This is where you get your hands dirty! In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef and pork with 1 1/2 cups of tomato relish, the eggs, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and add the soaked bread to the meat mixture. To test, fry a small "hamburger" patty of the meatloaf until cooked; the patty should hold together but still have a soft consistency. Taste the patty for seasoning.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Transfer the meat mixture to the center of the cookie sheet and form into a log about 9" long and about 4" wide. Coat the top of the meatloaf with another 1/2 cup cup of the tomato relish. Lay the bacon across the top lengthwise.

Bake the meatloaf for 1 - 1 1/2 hours until the bacon is crisp and the meatloaf is firm. Rotate the meat loaf while it's baking every now and then to insure that the bacon brown evenly. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it cool a bit before slicing. Serve the remaining tomato relish on the side. Unbelievably moist!!

ZUCCHINI MEAT LOAF

Everyone loved this meat loaf including Jenna who was over for dinner. Got this recipe from Fabulessly Frugal.

MEAT LOAF:

2 eggs, slightly beaten

2-3 cups shredded zucchini (1-2 small)

1/3 cup bread crumbs

1/3 cup chopped onion

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1/4 tsp. pepper

1-2# ground beef

TOPPING: (I doubled the below ingredients and thought it was just right)

1 T brown sugar

2 T ketchup

1/2 tsp. yellow mustard

-Heat oven to 350. In a large bowl (used big silver), mix all the meat loaf ingredients until well blended. Press mixture into ungreased 9 1/2" deep dish glass pie plate (used 8x8 pyrex). Bake 35 minutes.

-Meanwhile, mix topping ingredients in a small bowl.

-Remove meat loaf from oven; pour off drippings. Spread on topping and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until cooked in center and thermometer reads 160.

-Drain off dripping again.

-Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Miranda Lambert's Mama’s Meatloaf

This was really good. I added 2 cups of shredded zucchini. I doubled the ketchup/brown sugar mixture.  Baked on a cookie sheet on top of tin foil.

MAY 28, 2014 – 5:00 AM – 0 COMMENTS

Share on printShare on facebookMore Sharing Services68

By PARADE @parademagazine

The new book Country Music’s Greatest Eats, from Southern Living and CMT, features delectable dishes from musicians’ kitchens. Here’s one of Miranda Lambert’s favorites.

Mama's Meatloaf

• MAKES

  10 servings

• ACTIVE TIME

  25 min.

• TOTAL TIME

  2 hr.

• SAVE RECIPE
• PRINT

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb lean ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork sausage
• 18 saltine crackers, crushed
• ½ green bell pepper, diced
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp yellow mustard
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided
• ½ cup ketchup

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine first 8 ingredients and ¼ cup brown sugar in a medium bowl just until blended.
2. Place mixture in a lightly greased 11- x 7-inch baking dish, and shape mixture into a 10- x 5-inch loaf. Bake at 350° for 1 hour.
3. Remove from oven and drain. Stir together ketchup and remaining ¼ cup brown sugar; pour over meatloaf. Bake 15 more minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into thickest portion registers 160°F.
4. Remove from oven; let stand 20 minutes. Remove from baking dish before slicing.