Meatball Sub. . .

Made my amazing meatballs the other night and I make amazing meatballs, if I do say so myself.  I added a new trick to preparing the meatball sub.  If you already know this trick kudos to you, if not you should try it.   I use sub rolls and slice them open and put them in the oven at about 275 until they are a little crispy.  I peel a clove of garlic and after the sub roll comes out of the oven I rub the garlic over the bread.  Sounds simple, right?  It makes the sub so yummy though.  After the garlic rub down add a little sauce to the bread and then your meatballs.  I slice my meatballs in half, it just makes the sub easier to eat.  I add cheese, sometimes Swiss and sometimes mozzarella I will leave that choice up to you.  I then put the sub back in the oven just to melt the cheese.  These are amazing subs and amazing meatballs.  I think I have given the meatball recipe recently but I will share it again because they are that doggone good.

Meat Balls
2lbs. ground beef
1 cup of bread crumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp milk
2 eggs beaten
1 tsp garlic powder

Mix together and make into balls

Sauce
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
2 cups beef broth
2-3 Tbsp tomato paste (I like the kind that comes in the tube)
1 Tbsp ground dry mustard
2 tsp thyme

Place the meatballs gently into the sauce try not to stack them on top of each other.  I use the crock pot because I think the slow cooking makes a big difference.  I cook them on low for at least eight hours.

I cook when I feel stressed so I may share that salsa recipe this week too.  We are on our third batch of fresh salsa.

Amazing Meatballs. . .

The meatballs were wonderful!   Everyone liked  them except Big T, no big surprise there, he does not  like sauces.  You could say, he is not a saucy kinda boy.  He does not like spaghetti sauce, he will eat my Alfredo every now and then but he would rather not. 
Of course I tweaked this recipe to make it my own and I encourage you to do the same.  If a recipe calls for something you do not have or you do not particularly care for  swap it out for something else.
This is how my recipe goes:

Almost 2 lbs of ground beef
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup grated fresh Parmesan
2 eggs beaten
1 Tbsp milk
2tsp garlic powder
Mix the above together to make your balls.

Sauce: 
1 jar favorite marinara sauce (I use Prego)
2 Tbsp garlic powder
2Tbsp onion powder
2tsp dried oregano
2 cups beef broth
1 can tomato paste

If you like your sauce a little sweeter you can add some sugar.

This is the meatballs just placed in the sauce

Meatballs ready to go in the sauce.

I cooked these on low in the crock pot for about 7 hours.   We made sandwiches but you could serve over pasta too.  Enjoy. . . 

What's Cooking Wednesday???

You know I do not normally cook on Wednesdays because at our house it is "Whacky Wednesday."  The kids get pizza because of the special our pizza place runs every Wednesday.  They eat for two days for $15, you just cannot beat that.  The hubbs and I usually fix something for us that the kids do not like, tuna or soup.
For our Valentines meal we had roast, baked beans, and fresh (frozen from our garden) black eyed peas and tater tots (for the boys).   I cooked the peas in a little beef broth with a little fatback and they were wonderful.   The hubbs loves his garden fresh veggies, thank goodness his peas are easy to freeze.
The balsamic roast recipe, I found on Pinterest and it is the one I shared on "What to Cook if it Snows????"  This was a great recipe, usually I have leftovers to use in soup the next day or so.  I had no leftovers with this one.  Very moist and very tasty the kids even liked it.
 I love my crock pot and I use it a great deal, especially during the winter months, it is so easy and economical.   My father-in-law gave me my first crock pot, I am not sure why I did not get one as a Wedding gift or why I did not buy one for myself.   I was so excited to have this new gadget and was not quite sure what to fix in it.  I think the first thing I fixed was a chili, the hubbs and I loved chili that was one of the first things I made for him when we were dating.  I had always just used a big stove top pot to cook my chili in.  The crock pot made it so convenient and I did not have to worry about babysitting it all day.   I still have that pot that my father-in-law gave me but I also have a larger pot that I use most of the time since I am trying to feed four.
When the hubbs and I were first married I traveled a good bit with my job so I got to go to some neat places.  On one of my trips I visited Cincinnati, the company took us to the Montgomery Inn to have dinner.   I had the Cincinnati chili and I loved it.  It was very different than any other chili I had eaten.  While going through the airport on my way home I stopped in the gift shop and found a little magnet with a Cincinnati chili recipe on it and that is what I will share with you today.  I hope you like it, it is different.

Cincinnati Chili

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2oz) can peeled whole tomatoes
small onion chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 clove of garlic
3 bay leaves

Brown meat with onions and drain grease.   Add to crock pot then add all the other ingredients  cook for 4-5 hours covered on low.   Remove garlic and bay leaves before serving.  In Cincinnati they server their chili over spaghetti and topped with cheese, onions, and sour cream.  You can fix it any way you like but all the way is the best.
Until we eat again . . .

What to Cook if it Snows?????

With predictions of snow in our immediate future I am thinking what can I fix in the crock pot.  Shocker!   Right?   I do love my crock pot.  I was skimming Pinterst last night to see what yummy things I could put in the Pot.   My hubby picked up a roast early this week and I put it in the freezer for just such a case.   I found a very interesting recipe for a balsamic roast.   There are many crock pot recipes out there for roast, but this one sounded very good to me.  I think the twang of vinegar and the little bit of sweet from the honey will be great.  I have a whole board on Pinterst dedicated to slow cooker recipes and that is where I found this one.  I had pinned it a long time ago.  This recipe is from Robyn Stone at Add a Pinch.  I will let you know how it turns out later this week.  

Here we go . . .

3-4 lb. boneless roast beef (chuck or round)

1 cup of beef broth

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1tbsp Worcestershire

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

4 cloves of garlic

Place your roast in the pot.  Mix your other ingredients together and pour over your roast.   Cook on high for 4 hours or low 6-8 hours.   When you are ready to eat, remove your roast to a serving dish and shred with two forks.  Then pour  the juice over your roast.  

In past posts I have left things out of my recipes but, I am pretty sure this one is correct.   Check out 

www.addapinch.com    to see other recipes.  

Until we eat again. . .

BBQ in the Crock Pot. . .

Ok, send everyone out of the room while you read this post.  I am going to share with you a super secret recipe for the best ever BBQ.  Ok, it is not that big of a secret, it is actually very simple and easy.  This is my hubbys' recipe and I am not sure where he got it but, it is scratched on the back of an envelope and hangs on our fridge for easy access when we need it.   This makes the best BBQ in the world.  It is easy, no fuss, no muss and requires almost no work.
Here we go:

3-4 lbs. boneless pork ribs
1 cup of cider vinegar
3 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp salt
3-4 cranks of black pepper
2-3 dashes of Texas Pete

Lay your ribs in the pot then cover with vinegar and then sprinkle with remaining ingredients.

Cover and cook in your crock pot on high for 5-6 hours then low for 3 hours
An hour before you are ready to eat, take out the Ribs and chop them up.  Return them to the pot for another hour or so on low.  Serve on a bun with slaw or how ever you like your BBQ.

As our temperatures drop I will probably be sharing more crock pot recipes because that is what I like to fix when it is cold outside.   This kids are having pizza tonight and the hubbs and I are having the best ever BBQ.   We never pass up on 2 large pizzas for $15.
Until we eat again. . .

Ooops!!!!
I forgot to add after you chop up the bbq you pour off the juice.  Take a 1/4 to a 1/2  a cup of ketchup add to 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of the juice and 1 Tbsp of Worcestershire and mix.  Throw this on top of the chopped meat and cook low for about another hour. 
Sorry, I always forget something don't ya know.