Watson House Wednesday #6: Porcupine Meatballs

Watson House Wednesday #6: Porcupine Meatballs

From the good old red-and-white cookbook (Better Homes and Gardens), this is a family favorite of ours. The recipe is even online, you can find it here:

http://www.food.com/recipe/porcupine-meatballs-18434

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed tomato soup

1/4 cup long grain rice

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

1 teaspoon minced dried onion

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 dash pepper

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 cup water

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

In medium bowl, beat egg.  Add 1/4 cup tomato soup, uncooked rice, parsley flakes, dried onion, salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Add ground beef and using your hands, mix well again.  Shape into 1-inch meatballs.  This should make about 20 meatballs.  Place meatballs in a 1-inch skillet.  Mix remaining soup with the water.  Add Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and mix.  Pour soup mixture over the meatballs.  Cook without stirring until mixture starts to boil.  Turn heat to low.  Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Using a wooden spoon, carefully stir the meatballs so they don't stick to the skillet.

I tried adding a sprinkle of smoked paprika, and it was pretty good! Subtle, but it worked well with the beef and tomato flavors, I think. These meatballs are also yummy on a sub sandwich, and make wonderful leftovers!

Edit: I just noticed that the online recipe does not include the oregano! In the cookbook version, you add a 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano to the sauce before pouring it over the meatballs. Also, it says to cook for 40 minutes, but the cookbook says 20 minutes. I would recommend splitting the difference, and simmering for about 30 minutes, until the meat is cooked through, and the rice is tender.

Note: When I mentioned that I’d like to try this with ground turkey, my mom says that she sometimes makes it with ground turkey and cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.  We tried this, and it’s also great!

Watson House Wednesday #5 : Taco Seasoning

Watson House Wednesday: Taco Seasoning
Sometimes I find that opening up a box or bag of something is the easiest way to get dinner on the table. But sometimes I find that making your own mixes ahead of time can be helpful, and offer you the peace of mind of knowing what exactly is going into the food that you're making. To that end, I searched for a recipe to mix up my own taco and burrito seasoning. The one that I found we liked best is this one, with some modifications, of course.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Taco-Seasoning-I/Detail.aspx
This is my adjusted version:
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
Blend all ingredients together, and store in an airtight container. I usually use three or four teaspoons with a pound of ground beef and a can of beans for burritos, but the beauty of mixing your own seasoning is that you can adjust the amount of seasoning to your own taste! It also makes a fun gift if you can find a cute jar for it. smile emoticon

Watson House Wednesday, #4: Parmesan Roasted Veggies

Watson House Wednesday, #4: Parmesan Roasted Veggies
Here we have one of my favorite go-to dishes. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and I loved that it was easy and healthy, as well as tasty.

http://chichoskitchen.blogspot.com/…/parmesan-roasted-potat…

I liked it so much, I decided to try it with other veggies. I'm happy to say that it's also delicious with other root veggies and cauliflower, too! It's so filling and tasty, you could even use it as a vegetarian main dish.  Since this was versatile enough, I made a shaker of the parmesan with the seasonings in it, so now when I want to make this dish, it's even easier. 

So this is how I do it!

In a jar or shaker (I use an old parmesan shaker.), mix the following:

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

3 tsp garlic powder

3 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Chop (and peel, when needed) about 3 cups of firm veggies into chunks.  Drizzle a spoonful or two of olive oil over them, and stir to coat the veggies with the oil. Sprinkle generously with the seasoned parmesan, and stir again. Brush a few spoonfuls of olive oil onto a baking pan, and place the veggies onto it in a single layer. I put the pan into a 400 degree oven, and bake for about 30 minutes, turning after about 10-12 minutes. I'd recommend checking it after 20-25 minutes, some ovens seem to cook them faster than others.

So far this dish has worked well with potatoes, yams, carrots, cauliflower, parsnips and beets. I wouldn't recommend onions (they made everything go gooey) or broccoli (maybe just the stems of the broccoli, the florets burned around the edges). I'm looking forward to trying it with the winter squashes sometime!

Watson House Wednesday, #3: Ginger Peach Oatmeal

Watson House Wednesday, #3: Ginger Peach Oatmeal
My breakfast was so pretty today, I had to share! This one is pretty simple, more of an idea than a recipe, but tasty.

Since I have blood sugar issues, getting some protein in the morning is helpful for me, and oatmeal provides some of that, with a lot of healthy fiber as well. I find that instant oatmeals are far too sweet for me, and have a bunch of additives that just aren't necessary. So sometimes I like to cook up a large batch of oatmeal for me and my daughter to have during the week. Microwaving a bowl of cooked oatmeal is just as fast as preparing the instant kind, and more healthy. And with just a few more minutes, you can add a bit of flavor to make it even more delicious. 

During the summer and early autumn, I took advantage of all of the beautiful peaches to be found. I chopped a medium-sized peach, and added it to about a cup or so of cooked oatmeal. 

To this I added a teaspoon of butter, two teaspoons of brown sugar, and a few sprinkles of ground ginger (equal to about a 1/4 teaspoon). I microwaved this for about a minute. 

I then stirred in a tablespoon of roasted, shelled pumpkin seeds and a teaspoon of flax seeds, and microwaved it again until hot. 

Easy, healthy, and delicious. You can use different fruits, sweeteners, and nuts or seeds to create many flavor combinations, but so far, this one is my favorite. 

Watson House Wednesday, #2: Cucumber Tomato Salad

Watson House Wednesday, #2: Cucumber Tomato Salad
This salad is actually best in the summertime, when the tomatoes and cucumbers are in season, bursting forth in our gardens and farmer's markets.  It's a versatile, simple salad, which lets the fresh ingredients shine. It works just as well as a lunch salad, or scaled up to share with a family or potluck. If needed, you can serve the pepperoncinis or the parmesan on the side.

Cucumber Tomato Salad

1 medium size tomato

1/2 fresh cucumber

2 tbsp fresh cilantro

2 to 3 pepperoncinis

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Light Italian dressing to taste

Peel and chop cucumber, tomato and cilantro, place into a medium sized bowl. Slice and add the pepperoncinis.  Toss together with the Parmesan, and a drizzle of light Italian dressing.

Watson House Wednesday, #1: Crock Pot Chili

Last year, I joined a Facebook group via a friend, called "In the Kitchen."  The owner of the group asked if anyone would like to take on posting on a specific day, weekly.  I thought this sounded like fun, so I started up "Watson House Wednesdays." I thought it would be fun to share with a wider audience, and maybe get other recipes and ideas in return.  As it turns out, the readership of the group isn't very large, but it's still been fun to put together.  So, as I'm restarting it from a holiday season hiatus, I decided to share my efforts here, as well.  So I'll be posting them individually, so they'll be listed by recipe in the side bar.  I hope you enjoy, and here we go!

Watson House Wednesday, #1: Crock Pot Chili
My crock pot chili recipe originally comes from a BH&G cookbook, but I've modified it so many times and so heavily at this point, I tend to think of it as my own. There are a lot of cans to open, but you can use dried beans, fresh tomatoes, or home-canned items to reduce that, if you like. Peeling the peppers (and the tomatoes, if you use fresh) isn't strictly necessary, but we prefer not to have them in the chili, as they just slide off during cooking, anyway. You can use more ground beef if you prefer, but draining it is important, to keep it from getting greasy. This chili has good flavor, but isn't too spicy, so it's a good crowd pleaser for potlucks. You can always add a dash of your favorite hot sauce or red pepper flakes, if you prefer it with more of a kick. I would definitely recommend using your food processor or chopper for all of the veggies, it makes the prep so much faster and easier!

Jenn’s Crock Pot Chili
1 pound ground beef
3 cans beans (15 oz. pinto, black, garbanzo, or kidney beans, all one kind or any combination)
2 cans diced tomatoes, undrained (14.5 oz.)
1 can chopped green chili peppers, undrained (7 oz.)
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
3 or 4 large celery stalks, leaves included
1 medium onion
1 medium bell pepper
3 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh cilantro (about a cup of leaves)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons dried oregano (or 2 tablespoons fresh)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper (or more, to taste)
2 bay leaves

Brown and drain the ground beef. Peel and seed the bell pepper, onion and garlic. Chop celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, and cilantro. Combine all ingredients into a crock pot. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Remove bay leaves, stir, and serve.

Inspired by the recipe for “Mexican Chili” in the Better Homes and Gardens “Crockery Cooker Cook Book”, circa 1976.

Healthier Me, Step One: Stepping Out

Evening bellydance practice has not been very successful, to be honest.  Jasmine's been getting home late from school, due to an after-school math class that she was selected for.  She doesn't get home until nearly dinnertime, so we have to do her homework after dinner, so that rather eats up what time and energy I have then.  No big deal, life happens, and it just didn't end up to be a good time for me right now.

Considering all of this, I went for a walk this morning.  It wasn't as long as I'd normally go, only about 15 minutes, when I'd normally go about 30.  but it was something, and felt pretty good.  I went right after I got Jasmine on the bus, since I was outside anyway.  I know this won't always work for me.  Sometimes I have to take Jasmine to school in the mornings for choir practice, and I try to run errands early in the day, so I'm not stressed about rushing home in time for Kyle's bus.  But mostly, I think it'll be good.  Get my walk in right then, before I even go back into the house to finish my coffee.  Moving forward, this is what I'm going to try to do, to make my exercise schedule flexible.

- 30 minute walk in the morning, right after breakfast and/or getting the kids off to school.
- 20 to 30 minute belly dance practice in the evenings, right after dinner is cleaned up, and homework is done.

Hopefully I'll be able to at least one or the other each day, if not both.  I'll try to keep track, and see how I do this week with that.  :)