RECIPE: Baked Meatballs

It's a simple recipe...
It doesn't take much time...
It's not very "chefy"...
It's just mine...
And it's just fine...



Break down some day old bread... (note to self: next time cut off the crust. it'll make your job much easier!)



And give it a whirl in the ol' food processor... until it's fine...



And for the parmesan... let me introduce one of my favorite kitchen tools, Mr Microplane.



He's fine...

Well, at least he grates rather fine! (I apologize for my lameness... I just couldn't resist!)



Then we move on to the meat mixture. Some people like to use two or three different kinds of meats... I go with 100% ground beef. Just a preference. In my humble opinion, there's no right or wrong about it.

(Photography note: As I stand back and look at the next sequence of pictures I'm noticing that it may be difficult to see the large glass bowl I'm mixing everything in. It almost looks like all of those ingredients are just hanging out on my countertop, awaiting their massage. Alas, I was using one of my glass mixing bowls...)

Let's add some flavor by starting with the dried parsley and basil...



And the garlic powder...



And the kosher salt...



And the parmesan cheese...



And the egg...



And the bread crumbs...



Take off your rings, wash your hands and jump in!



Oh darn it... I forgot another ingredient. Here is your fair warning - don't forget the red pepper flakes. (But if you do - I'll forgive you!)



With a small soup spoon, dish out of bowl and roll into small balls. Hold aside on a cookie sheet.



Using the rest of the bread crumbs, roll the meatballs until coated.





Place safely in a mini muffin pan.



Roll and continue...



... until all of the meat mixture is gone...



Approximately 20 minutes later...



You just can't help yourself! Go ahead and taste it... the crunch of those bread crumbs is perfect!



You can immediately drop these into your red sauce or allow to cool on a rack and store in the fridge for up to 48 hours (or in the freezer for up to 3 months).

Have fun with these cute little guys!



Baked Meatballs
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
1 ½ pound ground beef
½ cup Parmesan, freshly grated
1 medium egg
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¾ cup bread crumbs, divided into ¼ cup and ½ cup

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

In a large mixing bowl combine the ground beef, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well incorporated – but do not over mix.

With a soup spoon, scoop out portions of meat mixture and place on sheet pan.

Place the remaining ½ cup of bread crumbs in a small bowl. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, roll in the bread crumbs and place the meatballs in mini muffin tin pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

Remove from pan and cool slightly on cooling rack. Use immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 48 hours.



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Taboule salad

The weather is starting to warm up around here... and it's almost like summer already. If you know me at all you know I'm not very happy about that. My perfect temperature is about 65 degrees F. Yes, that's cold... just like I like it!

Because of that slightly odd peculiarity about this California native... I am already making cool salads to enjoy for the early onset summer.

And yes, I'm cheating slightly on this recipe... (using a boxed mix which includes dried herbs) instead of buying several bunches of fresh herbs.

And below you'll see what bulgur wheat looks like (right out of the box)...



It's rather small... put it in a bowl and follow the instructions on the box. Quick run through of those instructions: add wheat and seasoning packet in a heat-safe bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water over the top. Stir briefly and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes...











While that steeps, prepare the rest of the salad ingredients. Starting with olive oil...



Lemon juice...



and give it a quick whisk...



Let's get to chopping... cucumber first...





Cherry tomatoes (rather "grape tomatoes" in this instance)...





When your 30 minutes are up fluff the wheat with the tines of a fork. This prevents the small clumps of wheat from sticking together too much and makes it light and fluffy. A spoon won't work, a spatula won't work... just trust me on this one and put that fork to use...





While the bulgur wheat is still somewhat warm add the olive oil/lemon juice and stir slowly until all the liquid is absorbed.





And this is where it all starts to come together rather quickly.

But first do me a favor... pretend that I already told you about the green onion, ok?

And now that that's behind us...



Let's start piling it all on...





And the last and most important ingredient... some REALLY great feta cheese. Chop it up rather small... a little smaller than the cucumber/tomato pieces.





Another quick toss...



And a nice little plate... where did that fork go?!



Enjoy this quick and easy salad this summer... and this salad is great stuffed in a pita!



Taboule Salad
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale

Ingredients
1 box Near East Taboule, prepared according to directions on box
¼ cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed (approx 2 lemons)
¼ cup olive oil
1 cup green onions, minced
1 hothouse cucumber, halved and sliced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
¾ pound feta cheese

Instructions
Prepare taboule according to package instructions. As soon as the rice is done fluff with a fork and add lemon juice, olive oil and pepper. Fluff again with a fork and allow to stand at room temperature for about an hour. Add green onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and pepper to taste.

Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Fluff again before serving.

If it’s dry, drizzle a little bit more olive oil over the top. Serve with shards of feta on top or stuffed into a pita.



enjoy your time in the kitchen...

RECIPE: Lemon Deluxe Bars

I've been making these lemon bars since my mom taught me about them quite the long time ago... she learned this recipe in her home economics class back in the day.

Since then I've made lemon bars for friends, for co-workers, for complete strangers... they've been served up at house warming parties, baby showers, retirements parties, wedding receptions, church potlucks...

Well, the list could go on...



And I don't like to brag.... but because many have asked, here it is...

It's a two step process. We prepare/bake the crust first. And then move on to the lemon layer.

So, first we measure out the flour...

Dump the appropriate amount into a large bowl and measure out the confectioner's sugar... and mix well with a fork. (The instructions say to sift these together - I don't like sifters. I'm kind of a rebel that way.)







Next we add a couple sticks of butter to the party. This is room temperatue. Personally, I like to cut them into smaller sizes... it just works better that way when you add them to the dry mix.







One stick at a time... and mash the butter together w/ the dry mix using the back of your fork. It'll still be rather dry... so don't worry about it too much. And just add that other stick of butter.



Mash and repeat...



If it still looks rather dry, you may need to jump in and get a little dirty.



The warmth from your hands will melt the butter a bit more and bring it all together. Mix the dry ingredients and butter until it starts to clump up in your hands. Once it is of the consistently that you can press it into a casserole pan... well, that's what you want to do.



So find that casserole pan, dump in the dough and and start pressing.



I use my fingertips at first...



But it still looks rather lumpy...







So then I use the back of a large spoon to convince it to "STAY!"

At this point, the casserole goes into the oven for 20-25 minutes. Or just until the edges of the dough start to brown a bit. You don't want it too dark... just a bit.


Then I walk away from the kitchen and do something else. And it's the smell of the dough cooking that lures me back in to check on it... you know the smell of hot butter, right?! Wow...


About 10 min before that layer is done... I work on the wet mix for the lemon layer.





What am I doing? Well, I'm beating eggs, of course...


(Pardon me - I'm laughing to myself at the moment. When I was in high school there was this christian drama team that performed at church summer camps and youth events. And a quick search of Google tells me they are still around... they are called the Delivery Boys. And back in my day they had this routine called "Beating Eggs". I couldn't do it justice trying to explain it here... you just have to see it in person. And you would know why tears roll down your face when they did the routine... yes, it was just that good!)

Anyhow, back to my kitchen...

Add the sugar... and the lemon juice...





And keep beating those eggs...







After adding a little more flour and some baking powder... mix well... and we're almost done...




First we have some little lumps to get rid of (if only I had used the sifter ... next time!)



I mash the little flour bubbles up against the side of the bowl, whisk it into submission some more... and ...

THAT looks just about good enough...





Right about the time I'm finished with the lemon layer, the timer goes off for the crust layer. And here it is...




Pour the lemon layer of the crust and put it all back in the oven...



Approximately 20-25 minutes later this is what you have...



Get out the confectioner's sugar again and get to shakin'...



Add as much or as little as you want on top ... but the key is to sprinkle on the confectioner's sugar while it's still hot.



Isn't she pretty?!



Allow to cool for a few hours before you cut into it... but once you do, make sure to dish yourself up at least two pieces...



Now, enjoy one small bite at a time...



Shhh... do not disturb...



Just one more bite...



Well, they ARE small bites...



Is YOUR mouth watering yet?!






Oh!!! Wait a minute! Who ate all my lemon bars?!




Lemon Deluxe Bars

Ingredients

Crust:
2 C sifted flour
1/2 C sifted powdered sugar
1 C butter (2 cubes), softened

Lemon layer:
4 beaten eggs
2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C lemon juice (from jar)
1/4 C sifted flour (for second half of recipe)
1/2 tsp baking powder

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Sift together he 2 C flour and the 1/2 C powdered sugar
3. Cut in the butter until mixture clings together
4. Press into greased 9’ x 13’ pan w/ back of spoon
5. Bake for 20-25 min, or until lightly browned
6. Beat together eggs, sugar and lemon juice
7. Sift the 1/4 C flour and baking powder; stir into egg mixture
8. Pour over baked crust and bake 25 minutes longer
9. Sprinkle with desired amount of additional powdered sugar
10. Allow to cool for several hours before cutting/serving

enjoy your time in the kitchen...