Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs

Somehow I have never made my own homemade meatballs....  until tonight.  This was a pretty yummy recipe!  It was also fairly easy to make, similar to making meatloaf.

Ingredients:
2 Large Eggs
1/3 Cup Fresh Breadcrumbs
4 Tbsp Grated Cheese (I used Gruyere)
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Mediterranean Basil
2 Large Garlic Cloves (Minced)
1 tsp Alpine Touch (Salt & Pepper)
1 lb ground beef

1 12-16 oz can of tomato based pasta sauce (I used Tomato & Basil)
Angel Hair Pasta

Directions:
Stir eggs, breadcrumbs, cheese olive oil, basil, garlic and alpine touch together in a bowl.  Add ground beef and mix thoroughly.  With moistened hands, form beef mixture into meatball shapes. 
Pour additional olive oil into a skillet over med-high heat.  Work in batches, adding meatballs to the pan.  Fry until brown and cooked all the way through, turning frequently for about 15 minutes per batch. 
Boil the noodles to al dente, strain and set aside.
Heat up the pasta sauce in a sauce pan and add the browned meat balls.
Serve with the sauce over the noodles and enjoy. 
*You can add additional shredded cheese and a dash of basil over top.  

Mix together the ingredients and then mix in the hamburger

Add olive oil to a skillet and form the meat mixture into meatballs, place in the pan to fry

Heat the pasta sauce in a pan and add the finished meat balls

Serve & Enjoy!

Basil Orange Lime Chicken Drumsticks

I received so many limes with my bountiful basket yesterday that I had to do something with a few of them.  Orange Lime Chicken sounded delicious, and here you go:

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp Orange Emulsion
2 Limes (Juiced)
Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Basil, Oregano)
5-6 Chicken Drumsticks

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix the Oil, Orange, Lime Juice and seasoning together in a bowl.  Roll the drumsticks one at a time into the mixture and place into a deep pan (I covered with tinfoil to make cleaning easy).  Once complete, pour the remaining mixture over top of the drumsticks in the pan and the sprinkle with additional seasoning.  Cook for 40-50 minutes or until done all the way through.  Serve & Enjoy!

Get all of your ingredients ready

Mix up the liquid ingredients

Roll the drumsticks in the marinade and then top in the pan with remains, and add a dash of seasoning

Cook for 40 to 50 minutes, remove, serve & Enjoy!

Homemade BBQ Sloppy Joes

I have been craving sloppy joes for about two weeks now, so it was finally time to whip some up using a variation of my tried and true delicious Sloppy Joe recipe!  I suggest using a BBQ sauce that is NOT sweet, or if you do to use less brown sugar otherwise it can turn out tasting waay too sweet.... 

Ingredients:

1 lb ground hamburger

2 Tbsp Butter

3 Carrots (Peeled & Minced)

2 Garlic cloves (Minced)

2 Celery Stalks (Minced)

1 Tbsp Vinegar

1/2 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper

1/2 Tbsp Thyme
1/2 Tbsp Fresh Basil (Minced)

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar Bourbon Grill Mate (or another great steak seasoning)

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp Tomato Paste

1/2 Cup Ketchup

1/2 Cup BBQ sauce (the type of sauce you choose will affect the flavor more than anything else)

Directions:

Brown the hamburger.  Drain and set aside.

In a separate pan add the Butter, minced carrots and garlic and saute' for 2-3 minutes.  Add the minced celery and cook for another minute.  Add the Vinegar and seasoning and cook for another minute or two to thoroughly season the veggies.  Add all remaining ingredients and thoroughly mix.  Add the hamburger to the mixture and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Sauce will be ready to serve.  Serve on your favorite bun, roll or bread for the best eating experience.

Brown the hamburger

Set hamburger aside and melt the butter in a separate pan

Add the minced carrots and garlic to saute' for a minute or two

Add in the celery and saute' for an extra minute

Add the vinegar and spices

Add all remaining ingredients and mix together

Add in the hamburger and simmer for 10-15 minutes

Serve & Enjoy!

Grilled Pork with Balsamic Reduction & Loaded Mashed Russet Potatoes

Balsamic Vinegar is always great to cook with because it helps to ensure that your pork doesn't turn out tasting too sweet!  Pork is a great meat for sucking up any sort of minor hint of flavor that you add to it!  The variations that you can do with a recipe like this are practically endless and have yet to disappoint in my experience.  

Grilled Balsamic Pork

Ingredients: 

1 Bottle Raspberry Blush Balsamic Vinegar (about 1 Cup, 8.5 oz, 250 ml)

1/2 Cup Peach Preserves (If you want your reduction sauce to be thick, use 1/4 Cup instead)

3 Pork Tenderloins (Thickly Sliced)

Seasoning (Mediterranean Basil, Crushed Rosemary, Alpine Touch)

Dollop of sour cream

Rosemary leaves

Directions: 

Prepare the grill (I used my handy George Foreman Grill).  Bring the Balsamic Vinegar & Peach Preserves to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.  Cook until reduced by half.  While the sauce is reducing, season the pork tenderloins.  Place on the grill.  Cook for about 15 minutes until cooked all the way through.  Remove from the grill.  Cover or keep warm in the microwave.  As soon as the sauce is thoroughly reduced score the meat to ensure the sauce will seep in.  To serve spoon the balsamic reduction over the meat to just cover (or to taste).  Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and rosemary leaves on top.  *Do not shy away from the sour cream, it enhances the flavor tremendously and makes the taste sweeter.

*Optional: You may also garnish with a few blackberries or any other kind of fruit

Loaded Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

2 Large Russet Potatoes (Peeled & Cubed)

2 Tbsp Butter

1/3 Cup Cream

1/2 Cup Cheese (I used Cheddar/Monterey Jack)

2 Tbsp Sour Cream

Garlic Powder

Basil

Alpine Touch

Leeks

Directions:

Add the potatoes to the pot and cover with water.  Boil until easy to mash and then turn heat down to low.  Mash any lumps out and add the butter and cream and stir in thoroughly   Add all remaining ingredients except the leeks and mix thoroughly.  Serve by topping with snipped leeks and Basil.  Enjoy.

The ingredients for my Balsamic Reduction sauce

Boil the potatoes and the Vinegar & Peach preserves

Season the pork

Place the pork on the grill

Multi-task like a champ :)

Finish boiling the potatoes while continuing to boil the reduction sauce

Mash the potatoes while the sauce is still reducing

Add the butter and cream to the potatoes, continue to boil sauce and grill pork

Add remaining ingredients to the potatoes and finish reducing the sauce

Serve & Enjoy!

Teryaki Chicken Stir Fry

I have been trying to use up all of my leftover veggies in the fridge before I get my next bountiful basket full of delicious and fresh produce!  Stir Fry is one of those great meals that you can make with all kind of different ingredients.  I must say that the mixture of ingredients that I used this evening made a wonderful combination.  I had never cooked with turmeric before and it added an amazing element to the flavor, I would definitely user it again in all kinds of recipes.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Chicken Breasts (Chopped)
Seasoning (Alpine Touch, Crushed Red Pepper, Oregano, Thyme, Tarragon, Dash of Cinnamon)
1 Carrot of Peelings (Peel outer skin layer off first and trash)
1 Stalk of Broccoli (Florets only)
2 Leek Leaves (Chopped)
1 Red Pepper (Seeded & Chopped Thinly)
2 Leaves Bok Choy (Chopped)
2 Leaves Fresh Basil (Chopped)
1 Piece Fresh Turmeric (Diced)
2 Cloves Garlic (Diced)
1 Bottle of Teriyaki sauce (11.8 oz)
1 Cup Jasmin Rice

Directions:
Add the oil to a heavy bottom skillet.  Add the chopped chicken and season according to preference.  Cook the chicken thoroughly on med-high heat for about 6-8 minutes.  Turn the heat down to low-med and add the vegetables stir everything together and cook for about 3 or 4 minutes to soften the veggies a little.  Add 3/4 of the bottle of Teriyaki sauce and mix thoroughly, cook on Simmer for a few minutes to let the sauce soak into the chicken and veggies and serve over a bed of freshly steamed Jasmine rice (1 Cup is enough for moderate plate for 2 people, make more as needed).  When serving you can add additional Teriyaki sauce if you are a huge Teriyaki lover like I am, otherwise there is more than enough flavor in the dish already.  Serve & Enjoy.

Add the oil, chicken & seasonings to a heavy bottom skillet

Cook the chicken all the way through

Add the veggies! 

Mix them in with the chicken

Add the Teriyaki sauce

Stir it all together

Serve over the fluffy Jasmine rice and add additional Teriyaki sauce on top

Chicken Cordon Bleu: February's Winning Choice

You voted and your choice was loud and clear for the main dish.  Chicken Cordon Bleu won by a landslide!  Having never made this before, it was definitely a new and unique challenge for me.  I was surprised that it definitely didn't take as long as I had anticipated.  I changed the recipe some to speed up cook time and ensure that the chicken was thoroughly cooked by finishing it off in the oven, instead of pan frying it the entire time.  It had a wonderful juicy finish to it!  I definitely recommend this dish to anyone!  A lot simpler than it look and so wonderful to eat!

Ingredients:
4 Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breasts
4 Slices of Provolone Cheese (I am not a big swiss fan, but any white cheese will work just fine)
8 slices of ham
2 Eggs (scrambled)
3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Mediterranean Basil
6 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
1 tsp Chicken Bouillon granules (or 1 cube mashed)
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream


Directions:

Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place the eggs in bowl and scramble with a fork.  Brush the egg on the top piece of the chicken breast (the pretty side).  Place a  slice of ham on either side of the cheese and put on top and in the middle of each chicken breast on the bottom side (not the side you brushed with egg). Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. The side that you brushed with egg should be facing out.
Mix the flour, paprika and basil in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet in tin foil to reduce mess and make for fast cleanup.
Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides (about 10 minutes).  Transfer the chicken onto the foil covered cookie sheet and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Add the wine, chicken bouillon, cornstarch and whipping cream into a bowl and whisk together.  Slowly whisk into the remaining butter in the skillet and cook on low.  Simmer for about 10 minutes and keep warm.  
Take the chicken out of the oven and remove the toothpicks using tongs for easy removal and to prevent yourself from burning your fingers or hands.  Serve by spooning the sauce on top of the chicken and enjoy! 

Pound chicken breasts to flatten and make thinner

Scramble the eggs

Brush the top side of the chicken with egg

Put a slice of ham on either side of the cheese and place in the middle of the chicken on the bottom side

Wrap the chicken around the filling and seal together with toothpicks

Mix the flour, paprika & basil together in a separate bowl

Coat the chicken with the flour mixture and set aside

Continue this process until all of the chicken breasts have been filled, sealed and coated

melt the butter in a skillet and add the chicken

Brown on all sides of the chicken (about 10 min)

Transfer the chicken to the cookie sheet and cook in the oven for 20 min

Mix the wine, cream, corn starch and chicken bouillon in a bowl

Whisk it all together

Whisk it into the remaining butter in the skillet

Add extra basil if you would like

Remove the chicken from the oven and allow to cool for about a couple minutes

Remove the toothpicks before serving

Serve by drizzling sauce over top of the chicken and enjoy!

Here are the winners of the past:

January's Winner: Sauteed Scallops

December's Winner: Pizza Pot Pies

November's Winner: Lasagna Stuffed Manicotti

October's Winner: Pumpkin Risotto

September's Winner: Burgundy Pork