Spaghetti and Meatballs

My husband claims this is the best meatball recipe in the world! Also, I love any good spaghetti recipe, it is my favorite dinner! It looks complicated, but it's really easy:

Meatballs:
1 egg
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baby barn seasoning
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

Baby Barn Seasoning:
3 tablesppons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon celery salt

Spaghetti:
Angel Hair pasta, or your choice of noodle
1 teaspoon olive oil
couple teaspoons salt
Okay, make the baby barn seasoning. This can be used in basically any Italian recipe or for anything you want! After you seasoning mixture is done, combine all the ingredients for your meatballs. Mix and form into meatballs. Gently place the meatballs into the sauce 1 at a time. Simmer in the sauce uncovered for 10 minutes with out stirring. After ten minutes stir sauce frequently and allow to cook for 20 more minutes. Start your water for your noodles. When it boils add your olive oil, salt and noodles. Voila! Yummy spaghetti and meatballs!

Soft Pretzels

1 package of yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp Sugar
1 egg
Kosher Salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add flour and sugar. Knead until smooth. Make into pretzels. Spread egg white on top and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes 18. We actually cut the dough into small pieces (about 1 inch) to make pretzel bites and baked them for twelve minutes.

Zucchini Bread

We've had our first reader submission! This zucchini bread recipe looks delicious:

3 c flour

1 Tbs cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp baking powder
3 eggs
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1 c vegetable oil
1 Tbs vanilla
2 c zucchini, grated
½ c chopped nuts (optional)
I like to add chocolate chips to this recipe even though it doesn’t actually call for it!

Sift flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside In a large bowl, thoroughly beat eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla. Stir in sifted ingredients. (Mixture will be pretty thick until you mix in the zucchini) Blend in grated zucchini and nuts. Pour into 2 greased and lightly floured 4 ½ x 8 ½ inch loaf pans. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at 325 for 60-70 minutes.
Note: When zucchini is “plentiful,” I like to grate the zucchini and freeze in 2 cup quantities to be used all year long.

Waffles

This is my favorite waffle recipe, the vanilla makes it extra delicious!

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cooking oil or melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and make a well. In a separate container, beat the eggs slightly and add the rest of the wet ingredients to eggs. Mix wet ingredients together and pour into the well in middle of dry ingredients. Stir together until batter is moistened, it should be slightly lumpy. On a hot waffle iron pour correct amount of batter for your waffle iron and bake to manufactures instructions. Enjoy with your favorite waffle toppings!

Southern Tacos

1 can kidney beans (drained)
1 can sliced olives (drained)
1 can corn (drained)
1 can chopped tomatoes (un-drained)
1 cup uncooked rice
Tortillas
Sour cream (optional)
Shredded cheese (optional)
Salsa (optional)

Make rice according to directions. While rice cooks, open and drain all the canned ingredients (don’t drain tomatoes). I also usually buy whole olives and just slice them myself. When rice is done mix all ingredients together and warm on stove. You can also add shredded beef or pork, ground beef or turkey, or chopped chicken.

While taco mix is warming up - heat up the tortillas (microwave works fine, but I like to fry them on the stove). When tortillas are warm put down a layer of sour cream, then taco mix, then shredded cheese. Roll up and eat!
Tips:

This is a quick (but tasty) meal to make as long as you get the rice cooked first. It is a vegetarian dish, and I never add the meat, but you could of course if you wanted to. It is a strange type of taco but very yummy. Sometimes when it is warming up it tends to get sticky or dry, so when I drain the olives, beans, and corn I don’t drain them strictly all the way so there is a little extra moisture. Using tomatoes with a Mexican spice or tomatoes with jalapeño peppers can add a different flavor and spice. This is pretty big dish so most of the time I half the recipe. I use half cans of everything and then use the other half of the canned ingredients to make a taco soup later on in the week.

Tiny Spicy Chicken

This is my MIL's recipe and it is the best tiny spicy chicken. I love Mandarin Garden's tiny spicy chicken, but I think this is even better!

Chicken:
2 1/2 lbs Chicken, cut into small chunks
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 beaten eggs
1 cup corn starch
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup water

Mix water and eggs together, in separate dish mix garlic powder and corn starch. Dip chicken pieces in the egg mixture and then into the corn starch mixture. Brown chicken in oil until browned on both sides and move to cookie sheet.

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 pineapple juice
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons tabasco sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix together and pour over browned chicken. Bake the chicken at 350 for 45 minutes. Half way through baking turn the chicken over and enjoy!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

enough chicken breasts to feed family

same amount sliced ham as chicken

same amount sliced Swiss cheese as chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup

^2/₃ cup Milk

½ cup Butter

1 pkg. Stuffing

Directions:

Layer in casserole dish: chicken, then ham, then cheese. Mix soup with milk and pour soup mixture over all. Melt butter and mix with stuffing; Sprinkle mixture over top. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hrs. (Cover with tin foil last 45 minutes so stuffing doesn't burn.)

Tips:

The recipe seems odd because it doesn’t call for specific amounts of the meats and cheese, but I’ve found it to be really useful that way. Just choose your size of casserole dish, and then fill it with enough chicken to coat the bottom, then layer on the sliced ham (I usually use turkey ham), and then the cheese. I usually have pretty thick layers of ham and cheese. If you make a larger casserole you can always double the stuffing and use two packages (the opposite is also true – you can just use half a package of stuffing and half the butter).