Sweet n Sour Meatballs

This dish is packed with flavor! It has a bed of rice, seasoned vegetables piled on and is topped with sweet n sour meatballs and sauce. I love this sweet and sour sauce because it is super easy to make and can be made from ingredients that I always have on hand. I put a slight spin on my Mom's original meatball recipe to really amp up the flavor. I used mostly frozen vegetables that I buy fresh, and then blanch (excluding the corn and peas). This time when I made this I actually wrote down what I did, so I could share the recipe!

Sweet n Sour Meatballs

Meatballs                                                     
   -1 lb ground beef                              
   -1/3 to1/2 C oats                                         
   -1/2 minced onion                            
   -1 tsp minced garlic                          
   -1/4 tsp pepper                                    
   -1/2 tsp salt                                      
   -1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground ginger                        
   -1/4 to1/2 tsp ground cumin                      
   -1 tsp sesame seed oil                      
   -2-3 Tbsp soy sauce 
   -1 egg 

Seasoned Vegetables  
   -1 C corn                   

   -1 C peas
   -1 C chopped broccoli
   -1 C chopped carrots
   -1 bell pepper, diced
   -1/2 onion, diced
   -any other vegetables you'd like
   -salt and pepper to taste
   -1/8 tsp ground cumin
   -1/8 tsp ground ginger
   -2 Tbsp soy sauce
   -1 tsp sesame seed oil

Sweet n Sour Sauce                           
   -1 C brown sugar
   -1/4 C ketchup
   -1/3 C vinegar
   -2 Tbsp soy sauce

Meatballs
Dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly. Form into balls and place in a frying pan over medium to medium-low heat. Place a lid on top for more thorough cooking. Turn each ball every few minutes until all side are browned and the internal temperature of the meatball reads at least 160 degrees F.

VegetablesMix the seasonings (ginger, cumin, soy sauce, sesame seed oil and salt and pepper) in a small bowl and drizzle over the vegetables, stirring until all the vegetables are coated. Cook the vegetables in a large frying pan with a little bit of oil or butter over medium heat until desired tenderness is reached. 

Sweet and Sour Sauce
Place all the ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes.

When sauce is finished, mix in the meatballs, coating them completely with the sauce.

*For a thicker sauce*: Mix 2 Tbsp of cornstarch with 1 C of cold water. Whisk into the sauce and cook over medium heat until the sauce darkens in color and thickens. (roughly 5-10 minutes)

Plate cooked rice, then vegetables, and finally top with the meatballs and sauce. Enjoy! 

Creamy Garlic Chicken

You know when it is 5 o'clock and you have no clue what you are going to make for dinner? So you open your fridge and decide you can throw together something eatable out of the random things in there. That is pretty much what I did here, but it turned out so good that I figured I'd better record what I did so I could make it again sometime in the future, because my kids couldn't get enough of it!

Creamy Garlic Chicken

Chicken mixture:                           
  -2 cloves of garlic, minced            
  -1 medium onion, diced                
  -1 bell pepper, diced                            
  -1 large tomato, diced                  
  -1 chicken breast, diced              
  -1 tsp Italian seasoning
  -2 tbsp olive oil

Garlic Sauce:
   -1/2 c butter
   -2 cloves of garlic, minced
   -1 tbsp flour
   -1 c milk
   -salt and pepper, to taste

-Pasta of choice

-Saute chicken with the olive oil and seasoning. Add the vegetables and cook until they reach desired tenderness.

-In a sauce pan, melt the butter with the garlic. Whisk in the flour and cook for a few minutes, until thick. Whisk in the milk until smooth and cook over medium heat until the flour is fully cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste and pour over the chicken mixture, and continue to simmer over medium low heat for 5-10 minutes while your pasta cooks.

-Bring water to a boil and add pasta. Cook until pasta is tender. Drain.

Plate pasta and spoon on desired amount of chicken garlic sauce. Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Tomato Soup

Yesterday was hot and I didn't especially feel like cooking because my husband is out of town. That and cooking just for kids can be a real pain, especially picky eaters. So about half an hour after our regular dinner time, I finally decided to throw together some grilled cheese sandwiches. I like to eat my grilled cheese with tomato soup, but since I don't have any canned soup I had to make my own. The following recipe is what I came up with. Nothing fancy, but it's easy, fast and my kids actually ate it...well first they complained about how yucky it was...until they tasted it, then it didn't take too long to disappear.
You can definitely enhance the soup by using fresh chopped, garlic, and basil, but for a decent meal in under 10 minutes, the dried spices worked just fine.

Simple Cream of Tomato Soup

-1 can of diced Tomatoes
-1/4 C cream or milk
-1 tsp garlic powder (or minced garlic)
-2 tsp onion powder (or diced onions)
-basil to taste
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 bay leaf (to be removed before serving)

-Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Simmer on low heat until you are ready to serve.
-If you don't like chunky tomato soup, you can blend your ingredients before heating, or use tomato sauce instead of the diced tomatoes.

Nanaimo Bars

This is a classic Nanaimo Bar recipe. Best Canadian treat ever. I'm including some instructions on how to make them without Bird's Custard Powder, since I've never been able to find it in the states. They aren't as good, but they still taste yummy, especially if you are really craving a nanaimo bar.

Nanaimo Bars

Bottom Layer:                           
   -1/2 C Butter                                
   -1/2 C Sugar                                
   -1/3 C Cocoa                                
   -1 Egg, slightly beaten                  
   -2 C Graham Cracker Crumbs
   -1 C Coconut

 Middle Layer:
   -1/2 C Butter
   - 1/4 C Cream
   -2 Tbsp Custard Powder
   -2 to 4 C Icing Sugar

Top Layer:
    -1 1/2 or 2 C Chocolate Chips

Bottom Layer:
-in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the sugar and cocoa until the sugar is dissolved.
-add the egg and cook until the mixture has thickened slightly
-mix in the graham crackers and coconut and press into a 9 x 13 pan. let cool.

Middle Layer:
-Mix the cream with the custard powder until smooth. Whip it in with the butter and icing sugar. Add more cream if it's too dry or more icing sugar if the mixture is too soft.
-You'll want the end result to be fairly thick in consistency. Thick enough to be able to spread melted chocolate over.

Top Layer:
-melt the chocolate chips and spread on top. Chill and then cut into squares.

Making Nanaimo Bars without custard powder:
Substitute the custard powder with 2 Tbsp of instant vanilla pudding + 1 tsp vanilla extract. Mix the pudding with the cream until the sugar has dissolved completely (or else your middle layer will be gritty instead of smooth.)

Taco Soup

I didn't really know what Taco Soup was, since I'd only had it maybe 2 times ever in my life. One day I decided to give it a try and make some and this is what I came up with.

Taco Soup

-1 lb ground beef             
-1 onion, diced
-1 pkg taco seasoning      
-2 cloves garlic, minced              
-2 C beef broth
-1 can tomato sauce        
-1 can diced tomatoes
-1 green pepper, diced
-1 red pepper, diced
-2 C frozen corn
-1 can pinto beans           
-1 can kidney beans
-chili powder, to taste
-cumin, to taste
-cilantro, to taste (fresh or dried)
-salt & pepper, to taste    

-Brown the beef. Add the taco seasoning.
-combing everything else into a soup pot
-Add the spices to your personal taste. (usually 1/8- 1/4 tsp)
-Simmer over medium-low heat until the vegetables are tender.
-Serve with tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream

Puffed Wheat Squares

I got this recipe from my mom and I loved it when she made these when I was a kid.

Puffed Wheat Squares

   -1/3 C Butter           
   -1/2 C Corn Syrup (dark corn syrup works best)
   -1 C Brown Sugar   
   -2 Tbsp Cocoa 
   -1 tsp Vanilla          
   -8 C Puffed Wheat Cereal (plain, not Smacks or Sugar Crisp)

-Mix everything together except cereal in a sauce pan over medium heat and bring to a boil for 2 1/2  to 3 minutes.
-remove from heat and pour over cereal
-press into a greased 9 x 13 pan and let cool.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is one of my favorite creations. My family seriously cannot get enough of these cookies, they are SO good! Slightly crisp on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside!

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

-1 C Butter                
-1 C White Sugar      
-1 C Brown Sugar    
-1 tsp Salt                
-2 tsp Vanilla            
-2 Eggs   
-1 tsp Baking Powder
-1 tsp Baking Soda
-1 1/2 C Flour
-1 3/4 C Cocoa
-1 C semi sweet chocolate chips
-1 C white chocolate chips

-Cream butter, sugars, salt and vanilla.
-Add eggs one at a time, mixing each time until combined.
-mix in baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and flour
-stir in chocolate chips.
-chill dough for 1/2 hr in the fridge and then form into balls.
-place on a cookie sheet layered with parchment paper

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes