My Mamma’s Chili
10 SepMeggie’s Meatloaf
9 Sep3 lbs of ground beef
½ to 1 lb of mushrooms
3 onions
2-3 red peppers
A handful of chopped Italian parsley
1 raw egg
½ to 1 can of tomato soup
spices (oregano, thyme, chili powder )
6-7 oz. of Progresso bread crumbs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°.
Sauté pepper, mushrooms, onion and parsley together in a little olive oil, and add chili powder, a little curry, a lot of: oregano, thyme, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Add sautéed mixture to the meat and add the Campbells tomato soup and 1 egg and about 6-7 oz. of Progresso bread crumbs (enough to make mixture moldable).
Lightly grease 9 x 13 glass pan. Cook for about 45 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, braise the meatloaf with some more tomato soup.
(Note: Jan bakes at 350° for about one hour.)
Uncle Lance’s Beef Stroganoff- Meggie Style
9 Sep1 1/2 lb Hamburger
1 Large Yellow Onion
1 package of Mushrooms White are fine, exotic like Chantrells are good too
1 small container of Sour Cream
Beef Stock (probably equivalent to ½ cup of beef broth)
Olive Oil
Dill
1 Small 8 oz can of tomato sauce
Vodka and Sherry
Salt
Pepper
PREP
Dice the onion.
Cut the mushrooms into slices
Mix about a teaspoon of beef stock in warm water till it dissolves
COOKING
Heat Large Sautee pan to medium heat
Add about a tablespoon of OLIVE OIL to the hot pan
Throw in diced ONIONS and SHROOMS and cook till the ONIONS start to turn translucent
Add GROUND BEEF and break up with spoon as it cooks. Cook till brown!
Add TOMATO SAUCE
Add BEEF STOCK
Add DILL about a tablespoon
Add SALT & PEPPER to taste
Cook to a simmer until liquid thickens
Turn of heat and add enough SOUR CREAM to turn the sauce a light brown color, about half the small container of SOUR CREAM
Mix in about a tablespoon of VODKA or SHERRY once the cooking is done and just before you serve
Serve on Egg Noodles!
Whole meal takes about 15 minutes to make!!
…..☮&♥….LDB
* My mom says that it’s possible to substitute cream for sour cream and garlic for onions.
Auntie M’s Meatballs
8 SepThis is a meatball recipe that Aunt Meris sent me. She thinks it’s a recipe that she got from Aunt Tina or Grammy Meg, probably originally adapted from a Grandma Cenza recipe.
Ingredients:
3 ¼ lbs of lean ground round hamburger
4 packets of Herb-Ox chicken broth (use this brand!)2 eggs
1 large batch of flat Italian parsley, chopped
grated Locatelli Romano cheese (1 cup?)
~5 slices of white bread (Wonder Bread works really well for this)
salt/pepper
Directions:
1. Mix one-half cup of boiling water with packets of Herb Ox chicken broth in a small bowl. To this mixture, add the five slices of white bread (leave crust on) and use a fork to mash up.
2. In a large bowl, add the broth-seasoned bread mixture, the minced Italian parsley, a large amount of grated Romano (several handfuls) and mash together. Then add the hamburger broken into pieces and the beaten eggs, more Romano, and salt and pepper to taste. Use your hands to mix the seasonings thoroughly into meat as quickly as possible (try not to overhandle). Taste the mixture and add more cheese or adjust other ingredients, to taste.
3. Make into medium size balls (golf ball size) and place in the cover of the fry pan until ready to fry. If meatballs are real sticky, dip hands in water periodically before forming.
4. Place a generous amount of olive oil into a pan (enough to fry half of a meatball at a time). Let the oil get very hot under a medium to medium-high flame. Dip one ball in to test the oil; if it starts to sizzle the oil is ready; if not, wait.
Fry, not until completely cooked, but until they have a good brown crust on both sides (turning them over once); should take only a few minutes; then take out with a slotted spoon, and place back in cover to drain for a minute. (Alternately, can dry on paper towels to remove more oil).
5. Baking Alternative: Bake on a cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil. If you wish (not needed although will brown more), your can lightly brush each meatball with olive oil using a pastry brush. Bake one half hour at 350°. Test for doneness.
6. Put in cooking tomato sauce (when sauce is about halfway done) and cook for about a half an hour. Remove and place them back in pan. Before serving, add a little sauce from the pot to the pan and reheat.
Tips:
1. When making meatball, cook the sauce in an uncovered pot, so that water from the meat will evaporate.
2. Buy good quality meat: ground round or very lean chuck, or even ground sirloin or beef/port/veal mixture.
3. For 1 lb of meat (makes about 9 meatballs), use 1 ½ to 2 packets of Herb Ox and 2 eggs and two slices of bread; for 1-1/3 lbs of meat (12 meatballs), use 2 packets of Herb Ox, 2 eggs and 3 slices of bread.
Note: Bread lightens the mixture and egg makes it heavier.
This recipe makes about 30 large meatballs. Make sure and make a double sauce as the meatballs will use up a lot of sauce.