Granny's Meatballs

Oh yes, here it is, the holy grail of recipes. And I'm sharing it with you. These meatballs are swoonworthy, drool inducing, crave causing little pockets of wonder. Try them for yourself.

First, heat some marinara sauce in a large pot on the stove.

1. Put equal parts ground beef, pork and veal in the biggest bowl you can find. I suggest using 1 lb of each for about 30 meatballs.

2. Smash two bags of store bought seasoned stuffing (in the bags) with a mallet. (Okay, I will admit, Granny did not use stuffing. She used day old bread. But my day old bread meatballs never taste as good as hers, so I've twisted the recipe a bit.) Pour them over the meat.

3. Add one egg per lb of meat.

4. Chop a bunch of fresh parsley and add it. I mean the whole bunch. Parsley is the secret fresh zing in these meatballs.

5. Add about a half a cup of shredded parmesan cheese.

6. Chop eight garlic cloves. Toss 'em in.

7. Finely chop one onion. Throw it in the mix.

8. Add salt, pepper and dried Italian seasonings.

9. Moosh it all together with your hands. Then form the mixture into balls.

10. Heat oil in a pan on medium high on the stove top and brown meatballs.

11. Plop them in the sauce.

12. Let them cook about an hour and a half.

13. Enjoy!

How is this recipe different from how you make meatballs?

Suzie

PS - For other yummy recipes check out Simply Delicious Sunday.

Tasty Tomato Sauce

My Granny was an amazing cook. And I had the pleasure of spending lots of time in the kitchen with her. She taught me how to mix and match flavors and confidently toss ingredients in a pot, as if measuring tools didn't exist.

Today I'm making tomato sauce. She, like a lot of Italians, called it "gravy." I'm not making her recipe. It's more like a combo of both of ours. The savory scents from my kitchen are bringing back great memories, so I thought I'd share:

1. Finely chop a large onion, four garlic cloves and two carrots.

2. Heat olive oil in a big heavy bottomed pot on the stove on medium heat.

3. When the oil is hot, toss in the carrots and onion. Let them soften about five minutes. Make sure they don't brown.

NOTE: Some people put sugar in their "gravy." I don't. It's bad for you and those extra calories are a serious waste. Carrots do a great job of naturally sweetening the sauce and balancing the acidity of the tomatoes.

4. Add the garlic. Let it soften a few minutes. Be sure it doesn't brown. (It will taste awful.)

5. Salt and pepper your veggies. Then add dried Italian seasonings and some red pepper flakes.

6. Add four 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes. Or you can use whole tomatoes and smoosh them up with your hands.

7. Stir it up. Season to taste.

8. Simmer on low heat with the lid cracked for about an hour. Stir occasionally.

9. Pour over pasta.

10. Top with a chopped fresh herb like parsley or basil. (This gives it such a fresh zing!)

Enjoy!

Suzie

Granny's (Super Cheap and Yummy) Chili

All right. You should know by the "Granny" that this one will be good. I catered a party last night and all the guests were gushing about how good the chili was. I giggled to myself knowing that it was ridiculously cheap and easy to make. Let's do the math:


3 lbs ground beef = $11.77
2 28 oz cans red kidney beans = $3.78
2 28 oz cans organic diced tomatoes = $5.78
Total to feed 20 people chili = $21.33

I already had the garlic, onion, olive oil and spices. If you don't have them, it could cost you a few dollars more, but seriously, 20-something bucks is nothing to kickstart a fiesta.

So here's what you do:

1. Cover the bottom of a heavy bottomed pot with olive oil. Heat it at medium.

2. Dice an onion. Toss it in.

3. After onion softens a bit, add three chopped garlic cloves. Let them soften, but be careful that they don't brown.

4. Meanwhile, in another pan, brown your ground beef on high.

5. When it's browned, toss it in with the veggies.

6. Add your diced tomatoes.

7. Slip a couple bay leaves in the mix. Then add cayenne pepper, paprika, chili powder and cumin to taste. If you like extra spice, spike it with some tobasco.

8. Cover it and simmer on low for about an hour.

9. Drain the beans and add them to the chili.

10. Simmer for another 20 minutes or so.

11. Serve and enjoy your guests "Mmming" like crazy.

What do you serve at parties that gives you huge "Mmms" for minimal cost?

Suzie

Granny's Stew

When it comes to my cooking, my friend Rob says, "If it's got 'Granny' in the name I'm eating it!"

My Granny was an amazing cook. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her, watching, washing and cutting. She'd tell me stories as she casually tossed foods together and created amazing dishes.

She never measured and I don't either. So be prepared for that when you see a header with "Granny" in it. But try her recipes. They're easy and they're sooo good.

It's been raining here. So I've been braising meat. When it rains I make pot roasts, soups, stews. Anything I can cook low and slow until the meat falls apart. Braising warms the house and transforms an ugly storm outside into a cozy day inside. And yesterday, I made Granny's Stew.

1. Buy a tough cut of beef. Chuck roast or a seven blade roast. Or purchase stew meat. Sometimes markets will cube it up and sell it in packs. These cuts are inexpensive and the longer you let them cook, the more they fall apart.

2. Cube up your meat. If it's already cubed, liberally apply kosher salt and pepper.

3. Pour olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Heat it medium high on the stove.

4. Drop in the meat.

5. Brown it on all sides.

6. Meanwhile dice an onion. They can be big chunks, like the size of the meat.

7. Take the meat out and set it aside.

8. Add a little more olive oil if necessary. Drop the onions in the pot. Scrape the meaty bits off the bottom.

9. When onions start to get soft, add two chopped garlic cloves, salt, pepper and oregano.

10. Make sure garlic does not brown. Just let it soften.

11. Put the meat back in the pot.

12. Add enough diced canned tomatoes to cover the meat.

13. Drop in a bay leaf and some red pepper flakes.

14. Cover and cook on low heat for two hours. Stir once in a while.

15. After two hours, dice up potatoes and carrots. Drop them in the pot. Cover the pot. Let it cook on low for another 45 minutes or until potatoes and carrots slide off a fork when pricked.

16. Turn off heat. Add a can of peas with liquid. Stir and let stew sit for 10 minutes.

17. Serve with crusty bread.

Mmm. Just like Granny's. Next time it rains, give it a try.

NOTE: One pot meals are an excellent way to make a lot of food without spending much money. For example, I made enough stew to feed four people. Roughly, I used $6 worth of stew meat, 3 carrots - maybe $1, one potato - add another buck, one can organic peas - $1.19 and one can organic diced tomatoes - $1.49. So, for $10.68 you could not only warm up your house with the delicious aroma of stew, but feed your family dinner too.

What do you like to cook when it rains?

Suzie