Meatball Sandwiches & Homemade Fries

Dinner tonight was SO good! I can't wait for tomorrow so I can have the leftovers for lunch.

I've got 3 recipes to share in this post: the bread, the meatballs, and the fries.

French Bread Rolls
I got this recipe from My Kitchen Cafe - great recipe blog. This bread was SO good. I made it this morning and when it came out of the oven I was starving so I ate one. YUM.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

*Can freeze the rolls after baking - microwave on high for 2 minutes before serving.

*I made 6 bigger ones so they were more like hoagie roll size.

Meatballs

I actually had some frozen, pre-packaged meatballs (Armour brand) for the sandwiches, but this is a meatball recipe that I usually use.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 egg
1 tsp. worchestershire sauce
¼ cup chopped onion
1/3 - 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, plain
2 Tbl. grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. beef boullion
1 tsp. minced garlic
½ tsp. oregano
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
dash of Texas Champagne (Tabasco)
½ tsp. Emerill’s original seasoning

Mix all ingredients together. Shape mixture by tablespoonfuls into 1 1/2” balls.

To cook in a skillet: Heat 1 tbl. oil in a large skillet. Cook the meatballs over medium heat until brown, about 20 minutes. Drain off excess fat.

To cook in the oven: Place the meatballs in a foil lined cookie sheet with sides. Bake uncovered in a 400 degree oven until light brown and cooked through; about 15 min. They are done when you touch them and they spring back.

*You can freeze these on a pan and then put in a freezer bag.

For the sauce I just combined two cans of tomato sauce and one can of crushed tomatoes and added oregano, basil and garlic salt.

Fries

This week Fresh Market has 10 lb bags of potatoes on sale for 88 cents! We'll probably be eating a lot of these fries.

Ingredients:

3-4 potatoes, scrubbed
olive oil or vegetable oil
garlic salt
cajun pepper

Cut potatoes lengthwise into wedges. Place on a greased cookie sheet and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle garlic salt and cajun pepper on. Bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes, turning potatoes over halfway through.

Homemade Oreos

I got this recipe from my friend Yvonne's cooking blog. Yum! Word of warning though: they're super fattening.

Ingredients:

1 pkg devils food cake mix
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 can frosting

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together all ingredients (except frosting) with a fork first, then knead like bread to completely mix. Roll into small balls and press down a little. Bake 8 minutes. When cooled, frost one cookie and top with another to make the "Oreo".

Macaroni Grill Bread

I've only been to Macaroni Grill a couple of times, but I love their bread! When I found this recipe I knew I had to try it. The great thing about it is there are so few ingredients and they are ones that I always have on hand.

Ingredients:

1 T yeast
1 T sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 T rosemary
2 T butter

Place yeast, sugar, and water in large bowl. Let sit until bubbly.

Mix in 1 T butter, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Add 1 T rosemary.

Knead for 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary. Let dough rise in oiled bowl for one hour.

Punch down and divide in half. Let rest 5 minutes.

Spray baking pan and shape dough into 2 small rounded loaves. Sprinkle rosemary on top and press into surface.

Let the dough rise 45 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 and bake 15-20 minutes. Brush with melted butter (and salt if desired) when it is done.

Taco Soup

I love taco soup, and it's one of the few soups that Derek will eat - he is, unfortunately, not a soup fan. I decided to look at a recipe this time when I made it and was surprised to see ranch dressing mix as one of the ingredients. I think it added a pretty good flavor! (I forgot to take a picture until I was almost done eating, so sorry about the messy pic.)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 pkg Ranch dressing mix
1 can diced tomatoes (mine had chipotle peppers in it, added a nice kick)
1 can corn, drained
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans

Brown meat and onion. Drain. Add seasonings. Add beans, tomatoes and corn to meat and simmer until well blended and hot. Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos, cheese, and sour cream.

Rosemary Red Potatoes

Derek made these for our Valentine's dinner (the steaks were elk, didn't have any fat on them, and were super tender. They were so good!) Thanks again for a great dinner babe!

Ingredients:

2 T butter, melted
1 T vegetable oil
8 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into pieces
1 T rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together melted butter and oil; pour into a 9×13 baking dish. Place the potatoes into the dish and stir until coated. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir potatoes to ensure even cooking. Yields four servings.

BBQ Beef

Gosh, sorry it has been so long. I promise I'm still cooking, I just haven't made a whole lot that's blog-worthy. And it's been a little busy.

For Gage's blessing I made a bunch of bbq beef for all the people that came over after church. I made it a couple of days in advance and just kept it in the crockpot in the fridge and then plugged it back in the morning of the blessing.

Ingredients:

Rump roast (I think chuck roast would work fine too)
1 or 2 onion soup mixes (depending on personal preference)
Montreal Steak seasoning
Hamburger buns
Sliced cheese (optional)

Put the roast, soup mix and seasoning in the crock pot on low all day. When it is done and pulls apart easily, shred with two forks (I actually ended up cutting most of it with a fork and knife - it probably wasn't done enough to shred but it still tasted great). Mix in your favorite bbq sauce (I used the Great Value brand, hickory flavored. So good.). Make sure you leave in all the juices from the roast - it gives a great flavor.

Elk Burgers

We were lucky enough to get some elk meat from Derek's friend the other day so we decided to make hamburgers with the ground elk last night. I realize most people probably don't have ground elk in their freezer, but this would work just fine with ground beef.

Ingredients:

ground elk or beef
steak seasoning
cheese
lettuce
tomato
bbq sauce or mustard or ketchup or a combo

During the winter I like to use our George Foreman grill to cook meat that we would normally put on the grill outside. I love it because it cooks so fast!

Verdict on the elk burgers: so good! The meat was so lean, but still tender. It was nice to not feel like I was eating a grease ball. I decided last minute to put bbq sauce on mine instead of my usual mustard/ketchup combo and I really liked it.

Homemade Hot Pockets

My mom used to make these and keep them in the freezer so we could cook one whenever we wanted. They're great for snacks or a light lunch.

Ingredients:

Rhodes rolls, thawed (2 for each hot pocket)
Filling ideas
- chicken, cream cheese, green onion, garlic salt (pictured above)
- ham and cheese
- pepperoni, sauce, cheese
- whatever you want!

Take 2 rolls and squish them together. Flatten the dough out so you have a good-sized circle. Place filling in the center and fold over, pinching the edges with your fingers.

Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Like I said, you can freeze these - freeze first on a cookie sheet and then when frozen put in freezer bag - bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Orange Chicken

This recipe is from my mother-in-law. I didn't have a lot of the ingredients, so I have been collecting them the last few weeks so I wouldn't have to break my grocery budget. The sweet chili sauce and sesame oil can be found in the Asian food aisle at the store, and I found them cheapest at Wal-Mart.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c strong chicken broth
1 orange – zest & juice
1 c orange juice
1 clove garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 c vinegar
2 T brown sugar (more if desired for sweeter taste)
1 T honey
1/3 c sweet chili sauce (this might be a little too much for some people. If you don't like a lot of spice, use 1/2 cup instead.)
1/2 c soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 ½ tsp fresh ginger root, grated (I used ginger in the spice jar)
2 small cans or 1 large can mandarin oranges, drained, reserve juice
½ c cornstarch
4 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into strips (I cooked a whole chicken in the crockpot all day and used what I got off of that)

Combine chicken stock, orange zest and juice, orange juice, garlic, green onion, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, ginger root and soy sauce in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then add in the sweet chili sauce; adjust to taste.

Make a slurry with the reserved mandarin orange juice and cornstarch; add slowly to the boiling orange sauce until it is the desired consistency. Add in the sesame oil, then chicken. Simmer for 15 minutes. Serve over cooked rice.

Yum!

Crescent Rolls

I got this recipe from my sister. They're soooo good. I like to make a double batch and when I roll the dough up into crescents I stick them on a cookie sheet in the freezer. When they're frozen I put them in a freezer bag. Then when I want some for dinner, I take some out about 5 hours before cooking time to let them thaw and rise.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp yeast
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cup warm milk
1/3 cup butter flavored Crisco
2 tsp salt
2 eggs
5-6 cups flour

Combine yeast, 1 T. sugar and 1/2 cup warm milk. Mix together and let stand 1-2 minutes.

Add remaining sugar and milk, shortening, salt, eggs, and 2 cups flour. Mix all together.

Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough lightly sticks to the bottom of the bowl, or until you can handle it well. Knead by hand for about a minute, then place in a large, oiled bowl. Let it rise to twice it's size (about 1 1/2 hours).

Roll out onto floured surface until it is 1/3 - 1/2 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter or knife cut into long triangles. Roll into crescent shape and place on a greased baking sheet. Let them rise another 1/2 hour and bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes.