Irish-Italian Meatballs, Peas, and Rice

For a more French-Style Meatball

There is really nothing Irish about the meatballs, other than the cook. Yesterday when my husband called to tell me he was headed home, I ran into the kitchen with the intention of making spaghetti, however, there were no noodles in the cupboard. Re-think the meal, “Ah, all the ingredients we need for meatballs except Panko bread crumbs, no worry, we have flour.”

Anytime you make a meat-patty that combines egg, flour will work, generally not as tasty, but it works. There are alternatives, such as potato chips, Cheese Nips (especially the white cheese style), corn chips, anything that will help to bind the ingredients.

It was not until almost 6, that I remembered my husband was in Stringtown when he called. The meatballs were the perfect choice as they reheat well.

1 lb. ground meat or chuck

½ small onion (diced)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp cilantro

1 egg (beaten)

4 to 5 tbsp flour

Preheat oven to 350-degrees

In medium mixing bowl, add ground meat, small onion, and spices, mixing well with hand. Add egg, mix to coat all the meat; then add flour, mixing well. Roll into 3-inch balls and place on greased/cooking spray cookie sheet. Cook 20 to 25 minutes. If using NuWave oven, as I did, 10-minutes on level 10.

Meatball peas and gravy

3 tbsp olive oil

2 cups frozen peas

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp tarragon

1/3 cup Worcestershire

½ cup water

2 beef bouillon cubes

In 3 oz. sauté pan, over-medium heat, add olive oil. When pan and oil are thoroughly heated, drop meatballs into oil; add frozen peas, nutmeg, and tarragon. Heat all ingredients until peas have begun to soften, add Worcestershire, cup water, and beef bouillon cubes. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until liquid has reduced by half. Serve over 1 package Success Boil-n-Bag Rice.

Note: Mixed vegetables or stir fry work well with meatballs. Instead of rice, you could choose noodles, or potatoes. Tarragon might be replace by herb de Provence for that French-lover in the family.

Chicken Pie Budget Stretcher

When I was pregnant with my second child and working for 7-11, they had a frozen pie that warmed in the microwave; it was delicious. I ate my weight, literally, in those pies. My daughter came out holding one in her hand and has loved chicken pie ever since. Mine are as good, just not frozen with the ability to last until years after the last person is only a memory under the ground. They make great “take-out” lunches or a filling meal on a cool night.

Pie Filling

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion (diced

2 chicken breast (cooked and shredded)

3 tbsp flour

¼ cup milk

2  chicken bouillon cubes

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp parsley or cilantro

In 3 oz. sauté pan, over medium heat, add oil, bring up to temperature. Add onion and cook fully—becoming transparent. Add chicken, sprinkle with flour and stir thoroughly to cover ingredients. Add milk, bouillon, vegetables and spices, allow mixture to thicken and become soup like.

Preheat oven to 350-degrees

Pie Crust

2 ½ cup flour

10 tbsp Crisco

6 to 8 tbsp very cold water

2 sheets wax paper

In mixing bowl, add flour and Crisco cutting together until fine balls are made, add very cold water and knead into dough. Roll into ball and place between sheets of wax paper. With rolling pen, work dough from side to side and across until dough is approximately 1/8-inch thick. With pastry press,  place bottom on the dough and cut, remove from wax paper and place in pastry press, making a well in the center, place 2 to 3 tbsp of chicken mixture in well and close, pressing hard to cut the dough.

Bake 15 to 20-minutes. Baking time will vary for different thickness of dough or size of pastry press. Remove and allow to cool approximately 5-minutes, serve with potatoes or alone. They make a great treat for lunches. 

Note: The Pastry Press is made by Progressive, they come in a set of 4.

Simple and Quick Sausage and Broccoli Soup

Sometimes you just don’t have enough meat  to fill the plates for dinner, such was the case last night. The children—ha, they’re adults with children, but our children none-the-less—stayed for supper and I had only put out the one package of sausage; what to do? Simple, cut into quarters and dice it, add broccoli, and soup base and it’s a meal. My daughter complained that she ate too much, but that’s a given with soup…easy to over-eat a good soup.

3 tbsp olive oil

1 pckg Eckrich Mesquite Sausage (diced)

1 cup broccoli floweret’s and stems

3 to 4 tbsp Adam’s diced onions

4 tbsp flour

1/3 cup Worcestershire

2 cups water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 tsp cilantro

2 tsp garlic

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 cup milk

In a 3-oz. sauté pan, over medium-heat, add olive oil and allow to come “up too” temperature. Add the sausage, onions, and broccoli, allowing them to heat through. When the vegetables have softened, sprinkle with flour and stir together; coating the vegetables and meat. Add Worcestershire, water, and bouillon cubes, allowing them the pan to reheat the mixture. Reduce heat to medium, and add cilantro, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Add 1 cup milk and cook approximately 20 to25 minutes, reducing the heat to low and allowing the flavors to mingle properly.

Note: I did have to add a little more flour because I had underestimated the heat. You may need to add an extra tablespoon of flour before introducing the liquids. The flavor is similar to sausage and cabbage soup. Mediterranean Oregano might be substituted for the Italian Seasoning.