PW's BBQ Meatballs

I have been eyeing these babies in PW's cookbook for months now.  However, I just got to making them last night.  OH DEAR!  You need to make these and soon.  They were divine!

You can check out PW's step by step recipe on her website, or you can follow the directions I put down below.  I served these with mashed potatoes and roasted asparagus.  Great meal!

FOR MEATBALLS

• 1-½ pound Ground Beef
• ¾ cups Oats
• 1 cup Milk
• 3 Tablespoons Very Finely Minced Onion
• 1-½ teaspoon Salt
• Plenty Of Ground Black Pepper, to taste 

Cooking Meatballs:

• 1 cup All-Purpose Flour (coating For Frozen Meatballs)
• Canola Oil

 FOR SAUCE

• 1 cup Ketchup
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire
• 4 Tablespoons (to 6 Tablespoons) Onion
• 1 dash Tabasco

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.
After 5 minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.
Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.
Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty French bread.

Spaghetti Pie

Spaghetti is one of those meals that just screams comfort to me. It's simple to prepare, and it is always so satisfying and warming. Another reason I love spaghetti is that it's a guarantee that Nora will eat it. She's a girl after her mother's heart in that she, like me, LOVES Italian food. So, if we're in a bind or need to throw together a meal in a hurry, spaghetti is one of my go-to meals.

A few weeks ago, a came across a recipe for Spaghetti Pie from the Easy Meals for Busy Moms Blog. It seemed really simple to make, and the added ingredients that it calls for sounded DIVINE. Cream cheese--chive and onion cream cheese, mind you-- and sour cream. It's like spaghetti only heavenly spaghetti. Cream cheese and hot, melted cheese. Um.

So, I did what any good hostess is NOT supposed to do. I cooked this brand-new recipe for some company without trying it out beforehand. (You are NOT supposed to do that!) But, the company was just my sister-in-law and another good girl friend of ours, so I knew that even if the recipe was a flop (which, seriously, how could it be?), things would be fine.

Lordy me. Was it good! Everyone loved it, so we will DEFINITELY be having this Spaghetti Pie in the near future. Try it out, folks. Comfort Food. To the max.

Spaghetti Pie

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground meat
1 jar prepared spaghetti sauce (or any homemade tomato sauce you like)
1 lb. thin spaghetti, cooked according to directions
1/4 cup chive and onion cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups low far sour cream
1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish or any casserole dish of your choice.
2. Prepare pasta as directed, making sure you don't overcook pasta as it will go into the oven for 20-30 minutes and continue cooking. I left mine a bit al dente, and it was just right after baking.
3. Prepare tomato sauce just as you would for regular spaghetti. I browned the ground beef in a skillet with a small onion, drained the fat, added the spaghetti sauce and some other seasonings (Italian seasoning, garlic, black pepper, etc.)
4. Combine cream cheese and sour cream in a small bowl.
5. Layer: Place cooked spaghetti in bottom of casserole dish. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta. Spread spaghetti sauce/meat mixture over cream cheese layer. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and turning golden brown.

*** Serve with a salad and hot bread!

Our Favorite Snack: Homemade Popcorn

Last night, Jonathan made some homemade popcorn for us to snack on while we watched LOST! (Can you believe this is the last season? I'm so sad and yet still so confused at the same time).

Sigh.

Anyway, I snapped a few pictures as he was cooking, planning to do a step by step tutorial of how to make your very own homemade popcorn. However, I had a pure stroke of genius earlier today because I have decided that I am just going to VIDEO TAPE Jonathan making popcorn so that you can see how simple it is to do this in your own kitchen, using just a simple pot with a lid, and some very simple and predictable ingredients.

I regret to say that I don't have the video yet. I will try to talk the hubs in to making more popcorn tonight, but I WILL give you a few teasers.

First, the ingredients:



Oil and popcorn kernels.
Let me add a must-have: SALT. Make sure you also have salt on hand.


Second, the results:






UMMMMmmm!!! Once you make this, you will never settle for out-of-the-bag popcorn again. We were so blessed to have some friends introduce us to this method of making popcorn and we have never looked back! I'll be back with the video, so stay tuned!

Peggy's Chili

So, my momma's name is Peggy.

But, this isn't her recipe.

When Jonathan and I were first married, we decided to make chili together, so we googled several recipes until he came across this one. He chose it simply because it was named after my mom. Awwww, isn't that sweet! But, seriously, this is such an amazing chili recipe. Since Jonathan has the day off tomorrow for the long weekend, we are going to be making a big ole pot to enjoy for supper tomorrow. This makes a ton, so be prepared.

Peggy's Chili

2 cans red kidney beans (15 oz. each)
2 cans petite diced tomatoes (14.5 oz. each)
1 can baked pork & beans with molasses
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
2 lbs., lean ground beef, browned and drained
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small can mushroom pieces, drained (3-4 oz.)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2-3 tablespoons of chili powder (I use three)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste

Directions:

Combine in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 9-12 hours or on HIGH for 4.5-6 hours.


Couldn't be simpler!
Serve with all of your favorite chili fixins' Ex: cornbread, mexican cornbread, Fritos, cheese, sour cream, green onions, avocado, jalepenos, etc.