Baked Meatballs

Meatballs. Meat. Balls. Balls of Meat.
Meatballs are definitely man food.
You know, food that men eat.
Food that is not all dressed up.
Food that does not include the words, low-carb or fat-free.
Food with one syllable.

I have never been much on meatballs, especially spaghetti with meatballs...
I think it stems from watching one of those Kidsongs ( remember those movies?) movies, and the song "On Top of Spaghetti" comes on and this GIGANTIC meatball is rolling all around the set, from the campground table all through the dirt. I think it even rolls up on the dock where a man happens to be fishing, and somehow lands back on the kid's plate by the end of the song. Umm.. ew?

I will say, that I have actually come around, must be from being forced to make them, ya know, the man food. I will occasionally be spotted topping my spaghetti with a ball or 2.  But... these meatballs are not for spaghetti. I mean, they could be. But we ate them a la carte, along side some Rosemary Mashed Potatoes. Feel free to sub the tomato sauce for a gravy. That was my intention, but I figured jarred tomato sauce was so much easier at that point in the day.


Baked Meatballs
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 Egg
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp Dried Basil
1 tsp Dried Parsley
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/4 cup Panko Bread Crumbs
2 cups of your favorite pasta sauce OR gravy

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, except the sauce. Mix until combined, careful not to over mix. This will result in tough meatballs!
Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray. Pour in the 2 cups of sauce.
Form the meatballs to desired size; mini for sandwiches or just to be cute or large if you want to eat them a la carte.
Place meatballs in sauce, top with additional cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25min or until cooked through. Yum!

Strawberry Cheescake Pancakes

So let's talk about...cheesecake.

I just love cheesecake. I want it any day, every day. 

Scratch that! 

I need cheesecake. I adore cheesecake. 

I also adore pancakes.

Pancakes + Cheesecake= Love. 

So I have an early childhood memory. Ya know, one of those ones where you actually don't remember anything except that one clip that remains solid in the back of your mind? One of those where the picture is sort of hazed, and the sounds are muted. Yes, it's one of those. And this memory is about cheesecake. 

We were on like our one and only family vacation road trip ( it is hard to take vacations when you have a 12 person family), across country and we stopped to visit my Grandma, and it happened to be around my brother's birthday. I remember her serving cheesecake. Ew! Cheesecake?! Like cake made of actual cheese? Like that stuff wrapped in plastic served on a sandwich? No thanks! 

So there it was. I was repulsed by cheesecake from that time on. Well, that is until the moment we (by we, I mean cheesecake and I ) stumbled upon each other while dining out one afternoon. White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake. Sigh. To this day I still swoon. My heart skips a beat and my knees shake. See? Sometimes it is a good thing to revisit an old fling!

Strawberry Cheesecake Pancakes

Serves: 2

Ingredients

 Pancakes:

1 cup Flour

2 tbsp Sugar

1 heaping tsp Baking Powder

Dash Cinnamon

2 tbsp Canola Oil, or melted butter

1/2 cup Milk

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1 Egg

Strawberry Jam

Sliced Strawberries for  Garnish

Cheesecake Filling:

4 oz Cream Cheese

2 tbsp Powdered Sugar

1 tbsp Honey

Directions:

In a small bowl squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon. Add the 1/2 cup of milk. Allow to sit for 5 min.

Heat a skilet or small frying pan over low-medium heat. (I usually go for a 4 setting)

In a bowl of a mixer, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar and honey. Beat about 2-3 min.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Add the oil and egg. Begin adding the the milk and stir to combine. You want the batter to be lumpy, but not too thick.

Throw some butter on the skillet. Have the cheesecake filling handy. Once butter is melted pour on some batter. Throw on 2-3 spoonfuls of cheesecake. Allow to cook until bubbles form on top. Flip the pancake. Cook for another 45 sec to 1 min. Continue with rest of batter. 

Slather with strawberry jam and diced strawberries. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs, and enjoy!  I like reunions! ;)

Greek Pasta Salad

  

I have had my "vacation." I'll let you guess to where...

Need a hint?

It was not tropical.

It was not filled with white sand and swarthy Hispanic servers.

I did not get to relax.

In fact, I hardly slept. I  was even more tired than before I "vacationed."

Answer: I went to St. George. Ask, me why. I have no clue. Traveling anywhere with an 11 month old is a joke. She didn't sleep. I didn't sleep. She was full of energy. I had no energy. I even got a taste of what those parents feel that have to drive around in the car to get the baby to sleep. And, I am here to say, I'm sorry. I'm glad Swayze is usually a very good sleeper when she is in the comfort of her own crib.

So, next time I decide to "go away for the weekend"... please tell me NO!

Time to get back to business. Well, actually this dish is not really a back to business dish. This one was born in an "I really don't feel like cooking anything... today, tomorrow, or for a week type of attitude." This is so simple, and definitely perfect for a hot summer day, or to bring to your next BBQ.

Greek Pasta Salad

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 lb Bow Tie Pasta, cooked and drained 

Juice from 1/2 Lemon

Cardini's Greek Dressing ( or Greek dressing of choice)

Salt, to taste

Coarse Ground Pepper, to taste

1 large Cucumber, diced

10 oz Grape Tomatoes, halved lengthwise

Chopped Parsley, to taste

4-6 oz Crumbled Feta

Directions:

Cook and drain pasta as directed on packaging.

Meanwhile, chop up all veggies.

Pour cooked pasta into a serving dish, or mixing bowl and transfer to a serving dish later. Squeeze the lemon half over the pasta. Add in the Greek dressing, start with about 1/2 cup. Throw in the cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and feta. Combine. Season with salt and pepper. Add more dressing as needed. Allow to chill, if time permits. ( I hope that it does.) 

Grill up some chicken or steak and serve over cold pasta for a main dish serving. Have a great Monday!