Grandma Wade's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

I recently reorganized my cupboards.  I threw out a lot of spices and other things that were expired.  They look really pretty now.  That has nothing to do with the rest of this post.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Lots of Healthy Yummy Vegetables

There are only a few cookbooks that I use regularly.  One of them is the Watson Family Recipes cookbook, with recipes from ladies (and a gentleman or two) who I'm related to on my Mother's side.

This one is my most used.  Sweet and Sour meatballs.

I make the meatballs a few different ways, depending on how I feel and if I'm using up some frozen ones from the last pasta night I had.  Grandma's recipe is much simpler.  Bread crumbs, milk, salt and pepper.  Delicious!

I do a couple of things differently than Grandma, I hope she won't take offense (the chances of her ever finding out by Blog are seriously slim.)

The recipe calls for the vegetables to be stir-fried or sauted first, then simmered again with the liquid and meatballs for 20 minutes.  I like my peppers to have more of a crunch to them, so I will saute them, and then set aside and only add them back into the mixture in the last five minutes, when I add the cornstarch and water.  That and sometimes using a different meatball are my only real changes.

This is great served over white rice with a side of spring rolls or egg rolls.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs - by Grandma Wade (pg. 67 of the Watson Family Recipes)

1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef

2 slices day old bread

1/2 c. milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 medium can pineapple chunks, cut each in half (or use tidbits) RESERVE JUICE

3 medium carrots, sliced

1 medium onion (or 1 tsp. onion powder)
1 medium green bell pepper, cut into chunks

1/4 c. vinegar (I use Apple Cider vinegar)

1 c. pineapple juice (which you saved from earlier)

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/4 c. granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. cold water

Soak bread in milk.  Mix well with ground meat, egg, salt, and pepper.  Roll into one inch balls.  Brown meatballs in 1 tablespoon oil or butter in large pan.  Remove from pan and keep warm.  (I usually use breadcrumbs, and just toss them in with the milk and meat mixture.  I use a potato masher to mix it all together without touching it, because touching raw meat is gross.  Then a melon baller with a release lever - like an ice cream scoop - to shape the meatballs.)

*Side note:  If you double or triple the recipe, you can cook all the meatballs and then freeze them in Ziploc freezer bags for up to a month.  The meatballs reheat well in the microwave or on the stovetop and make a nice addition to pasta or for when you make this recipe again.*

In same pan, saute pineapple, green pepper, onion and carrots for 5-10 minutes.  Return meatballs to pan and add all remaining ingredients except cornstarch and water.  Simmer 20 minutes. (At this point I start my rice cooking in my rice cooker, or I'll forget and wait an extra twenty minutes after the meatball dish is cooked.)  Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons cold water.  Stir into meatball mixture.  Simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes.  Serve with rice.  If seasonings warrant, adjust to your taste. 

 Printable Recipe

Enjoy!  I always do.

Some days, I just can't do it all

This was my breakfast.  Sue me.  I got up at 5:45 and worked out.  I took a handful of vitamins on an empty stomach, and then in the process of getting three kids fully dressed and off to school, I forgot to eat breakfast.  Empty stomach, vitamins and water.  Not a good combo.  I pulled over once on the way to the preschool thinking I was going to lose those vitamins.  My purse held my last stashed Snickers.  It was barely delicious.

EAT. BREAKFAST.

Steel Cut Oats

I love oatmeal for breakfast!  When I discovered Steel Cut oats about a year ago, I decided to try it.

If you like oatmeal, this one's for you.  If not, give it a shot, it might change your mind.

Steel cut oats are whole oats, cut, with steel :-) Instead of rolled or instant oats.  They have more vitamins and fiber and are better for your heart than rolled oats.  They keep a "pop" or crunch even after they are cooked and have a much more pleasant texture I think.

Steel Cut Oats with Dried Cranberries and Cinnamon

Here's how:

1 part steel cut oats
2 parts water, milk, or soymilk
a pinch of salt (for 1 cup of oats)
a palm full of dried fruit (again, for 1 cup of oats) (I like raisins and cranberries the best)

Method 1:
Toss it all in a rice cooker, wait for it to signal that it's done (about 20 minutes)

Method 2:
Double the liquid.  Toss it all in a slow-cooker.  Cook overnight (8 hours) and wake up to a warm breakfast.

For both methods, I like to add a little bit of milk in my bowl to make it the right consistency.  I will also add a sprinkling of brown sugar or sliced bananas on top.  If you like this for an every morning breakfast, it actually reheats well if kept sealed in the fridge for several days.  (You can seal it and keep it on the countertop if you don't add fruit or cook with milk.  Keeping oatmeal out on my counter grosses me out though so I opt for the fridge.)

Very healthy, very warm, very easy clean-up in your crock pot if you use a liner.

Resolutions for this part of my life

I have a list of resolutions for the rest of my life, but as far as Tasty Messes, here goes:

1. Remember the Salt!
2. Branch out from my usual fare.  Find a new website, or cookbook and actually use it.
3. Make stuff ahead of time, and save some of the stress that starts around 3:30pm.
4. Blog more.
5. Find somewhere local to take a class or two in breadmaking or something else related to culinary arts.

There you go.  What are your culinary resolutions this year?

Ugh! I resolve to pay better attention, dang it!

I found a french bread recipe a while back that I love.  I swear, at least fifty percent of the time I have made it, I forget about adding the oil and salt at the end.  What you end up with is a barely edible, and then only when dipped in salty something, piece of disappointment.  It makes me so mad!  Why, why do I keep doing this same thing.  Two nights ago I threw a pretty little slice of it across the table when my daughter lovingly teased me "Mom, did you remember the salt?"  I laughed, and then remembered that I had in fact forgotten it.  So much for a nice meal...

It's like I fool myself into thinking I've made it enough times that I can remember what comes next.  The sponging part is still fascinating to me, so I pay attention to that, keep in mind that I have only three cups of flour left, and that's it.  THAT IS NOT IT!  I have three cups of flour to add, and oil, and a full TBSP of salt.

Tonight, I will rally.  I will make the bread, and it will have salt.

The end.

A breakfast of Champions!

This morning I woke up to my cute little daughters' faces, excitedly telling me there was a party downstairs waiting for me.  Well once I finally rolled out of bed I went down to see a lovely breakfast spread.

I'll explain, in case the picture is unclear.  A tall glass of milk, perfect for an empty stomach.  A bowl of candy, because they know I have a sweet tooth.  One whole bagel with cream cheese, one half blueberry bagel with garden vegetable hummus, and a few neatly sliced banana bits.  Mmm, mmm, yum!

They are so sweet, and offered to make breakfast for me every morning!

Sweet White Bread

I love this bread!  It reminds me of something an old-fashioned grandma might make.  Sweet, warm, soft and perfect with jam and butter.  It is my husband's favorite choice for bread, and my kids prefer it to whole wheat.  It's like a treat for us.

I found the original recipe several years ago, and since then I've made it my own.

Sweet White Bread


2 c. warm water (really warm!)
2/3 cup white sugar or honey
5 Tbsp. yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil (olive oil works great)
6 cups all purpose flour

Dissolve sugar or honey in water.

Add yeast, give it a quick stir with a whisk to get all the yeast wet.  Let that sit for 5-7 minutes until the yeast is foamy.

Add salt and vegetable oil.  Stir just enough to mix.

Gradually add flour.  I start with three cups.  Mix that with a spatula, and then add my dough hook and stir on low speed adding one more cup at a time.

Knead dough about 5-7 minutes, or until it is smooth, elastic and cleans the sides of the bowl.

Remove dough hook, and gently form dough into a ball.  Add 1 tsp. oil to the bowl and roll the dough ball in it to very lightly coat it all around.

Allow dough to rise, covered with plastic wrap or a warm kitchen towel until doubled in size.

Once the dough is risen, remove it onto a floured surface.  Cut the dough in half for two loaves (I did one full sized loaf and two half sized loaves baked in an 8x8 cassarole dish.)  It is important to cut the dough rather than to tear it.  Tearing it can make the finished dough tough.

Shape your loaves by gently kneading into a tube shape, or rolling flat and then rolling it up like you would a jelly roll.  Place seam side down into a greased bread pan.  (I always use parchment paper to prevent the middle from sticking.)

Let the dough rise again until doubled.  Covering once more with plastic wrap or a cloth.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  Let the top get to a medium brown, and tap on the top crust to make sure it sounds hollow before taking it out.

I sometimes like to spread honey butter over the top as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Immediately remove from pans to a cooling rack.  Let sit at least five minutes before serving, as it's best to let some of the moisture evaporate before cutting. 

Enjoy!