Meatballs with Mushroom Gravy

As promised, more ways to use old bread.

This is one of the meals that I used to cook with my mom growing up.  We ate a lot of hamburger.  There was a rotation that included spaghetti with meat sauce, chili mac, taco's, sloppy joes, and hamburgers for normal weeknight dinners.   Weekends might include pork chops or fried chicken, or occasionally steaks. Once in while a pot of stew, chili, or beans and ham hocks.  Duck and other game birds were also eaten weekly through the fall and winter, and fresh fish when someone caught some trout or bass.  There was always a vegetable to go with, and potatoes if not pasta.  We ate very well, most everything from scratch, with a few helpers like a can of soup (but never ever Hamburger Helper!).  From those days, I still have the habit of cooking dinner, at home, most nights.  And once in a while, I still want one of those hamburger based dinners.

In the path to eating less CRAP, I have cut out most of the shortcuts, like cream of something soup. Generally, the cream, the something, maybe some onions and broth will pretty much replace any of these. But I have done things that do make life a bit easier, like baking the meatballs.

Before and after baking the meatballs

The bread is considered a "stretcher" to make the meat go further, but they are also key to getting the right texture.  I use fresh bread to make this, but you can substitute about a 1/2 cup of dry breadcrumbs, plus an extra tablespoon of milk.  

But the big change is making the mushroom sauce from scratch, not starting with a can of cream of mushroom soup.  It is certainly more work, but not really hard.  And so much better.   

One last note....  If you make this with the full recipe, and plenty of noodles, it will feed 4.  For just the 2 us, I just use half the meatballs (and freeze the other half).  I generally make something green to go with (above with some roasted asparagus).  I make a few less noodles, but all the gravy (I like it saucy).  It feeds both of us and enough left for a lunch.  

You can also freeze all the meatballs for a total do-ahead weeknight dinner.

Meatballs with Mushrooms

Meatballs: 

1 egg1 cup (about 1 slice) fresh bread crumbs or cubes

½ of a small onion, minced

2 tablespoons milk 

½ teaspoon Worcestershire or fish sauce

2 tablespoons fresh parsley (or 2 teaspoons dry)

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 pound ground beef

2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F (convection if you have it).  Prepare a sheet pan with parchment paper. 

In medium sized bowl, lightly beat egg.  Add the bread, onion, milk, and seasonings.  Stir and let bread get mushy.  Add beef and cheese, gently mix together (hands work best).  Make golf ball sized meatballs and place on prepared sheet pan.   Bake for 15 – 20 minutes, turning balls after 10 minutes.  They are done when brown and cooked through. 

Once the meatballs are in the oven, you can start the mushroom gravy and pasta.  Or, the meatballs can be done ahead and refrigerated or frozen.    

NOTE:   for just the two of us, I just use half the meatballs (and freeze the other half).   I make the same amount of pasta and gravy.  

Mushroom gravy:

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

½ of a small onion, diced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup flour

¼ cup white wine (optional)

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup milk (preferably whole milk)

Salt, pepper to taste

Parsley or other herb for garnish

6 – 8 ounces egg noodles  

Heat oil or butter in large skillet, add mushrooms and onions, add salt. Place pot of salted water on to boil for noodles.  Sauté the mushrooms until they have released their moisture.  Sprinkle the flour over the mushrooms, stir and cook until flour is absorbed.  Add white wine, stir and let cook down, then add broth and stir well (if using cold meatballs, add now). Bring to a simmer.  Cook the noodles. Let the gravy simmer until the noodles are almost done, then add milk and warm meatballs.   When the noodles are done, drain and add to the meatballs and gravy.  Stir to mix, then taste, add salt and pepper as needed.  Sprinkle with herbs and serve.

Leftover meatballs, heated with a handful of kale and Bread Crumb Topping.

Cooking lesson: Chicken and Kale Stew

My 80+ year old father-in-law is working on learning to cook.  We have collaborated on one dish (Ken's Chicken Dinner) that I consider a winner.  I'm defining a winner as something that you are willing to make (and eat) every week or so.  I'm hoping we have a second winner.

But I think that an important part of learning to cook is to make the same thing over and over.  To get a feel of how hot, how brown, what is enough (or too much), how to season.taste.   To be able to make it without reading step by step through a recipe.  To know what substitutes work.

I think that I'm also getting a better idea of the ideal type of dish that he likes to make:

1. One pot
2. Tasty but not too spicy
3. Not too much chopping
4. It should not make too much
5. It should have some meat in it, preferably chicken
6. Gluten free

Of course, I then add my constraints, like it should have a lot of vegetables and not have any full-of-crap shortcuts (like condensed mushroom soup).

Chicken and Kale Stew

Olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ onion, chopped
1 lb chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite size (about 1/2 - 1") cubes
8 ounces brown mushrooms, quartered if large
½ cup sun dried tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 bunch kale, stems removed and cut in large pieces
¼ cup pitted Kalamata olives
1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed under cold water
¼ cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
¼ cup (½ stick) cold butter, cut into 6 pieces

Coat a large sauté pan in olive oil (about a tablespoon) and heat over medium high heat.  When hot, add garlic and onions, sauté until onions are starting to brown.

Add chicken and sear until chicken is brown on one side.  Turn cubes, then add mushrooms.  Cook until the mushrooms are starting to release moisture, stirring occasionally.

Add the sundried tomatoes and broth.  Stir to loosen any brown bits in the pan.  Bring to a simmer, then add kale, olives and beans and stir until the kale softens into the liquid. Bring back to a simmer.

Add the lemon juice, then add cold butter one piece at a time stirring constantly until the butter is dissolved and the sauce is thickened.

Ken's Chicken Dinner

Winner winner
Chicken dinner
Winner winner
Simple dinner

My father-in-law is teaching himself to cook. The other day he asked if he could cook chicken, potatoes, and carrots together in the oven. Maybe other vegetables.  I was thinking of course, but things would cook at different rates. Maybe you would need to stagger how you put things in the oven.  But this inspired me to try it out and to keep it simple (I have heard commentary for some people who will be left un-named ...mom... that claim I do everything the hard way).  One of my pet peeves are recipes that are called "simple one-pot meals" that really need 2 saucepans, a baking dish, the food processor, a colander, and a bowl or two.  And don't include a vegetable.  This dish really is a whole meal and really needs just one pan, and one cutting board (although I'm sure my mom would do this using a paring knife against her thumb).  The only caveat is that if you want to make enough for 4 or more people, it will take a really large pan.  Or 2 pans.

It came out good.  My only recommendation was to use bone-in chicken instead of boneless chicken to not over-cook the chicken while giving the potatoes time to get nice and soft.  I used chicken thighs ... to me they have a lot more flavor and are more suited to slower cooking. Legs would be good too.  Feel free to adjust the vegetable quantities and types to your taste or what you happen to have on hand. I really didn't measure anything when I made this, you don't need to either.  Sweet potatoes instead of white ones, winter squash instead of summer, more onions would work. Skip the mushrooms if you don't have any.  Maybe use cabbage. You  could certainly use fresh herbs if they were handy.  I'm sure I will do some more experimenting on this through the winter.   Maybe I will be the one that really learns something!

Ken's Chicken
Serves 2-3

2 - 3 medium potatoes, cubed
3 small zucchini, cut in large chunks
4 medium carrots, cut in large chunks
1 cup or so of mushrooms
1 very small onion (or more.  or not)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning or dry oregano
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 chicken thighs and/or legs (preferably with skin and bones)

Preheat the oven to 375F (use convection if you have it).   As you cut up the vegetables, toss them into an oiled 9 x 13 pan.  Sprinkle with garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper, then add the olive oil (not too much - you will get more fat from the chicken) and give a good toss (hands work best for this).  Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper (and if you are using boneless skinless pieces against my advice, put some oil on them too), and nestle in among the veggies.   Bake for 30 minutes, then stir the veggies around, bake for another 20 minutes (with convection) to 30 minutes or until everything is done.

Just 2 things...

I like to focus on what TO eat, as when you get into what NOT to eat it always seems so judgmental.  Or elitist.  And for the most part if you fill yourself with good stuff, you won’t eat as much bad stuff.   The only problem is that there is an entire industry trying to make bad stuff look good.  Not only to taste good, but even to seem healthy.  

If I had to pick just 2 things to eliminate from the diet of all my friends and family, it would industrial corn and soybeans.  In the US, corn and soy (unless organic) are mostly grown from genetically modified (GMO) seeds which are scary on several fronts (environment and health .. click this link for a long explanation), are subsidized by the government so they are cheap, and can be processed into a wide array of foods, many of which are on my “NOT to eat” list.

If you eliminate corn and soy, it takes out a lot of known junk foods: everything that has high fructose corn syrup (soda, a lot of cookies and breads, some crackers, some chips).  It also takes out one of the widely acknowledged evil foods, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (the source of trans fats), and many of those unpronounceable ingredients in processed food:  Dextrose, maltodextrin, modified starches; sorbitol and xylitol and other artificial sweeteners.  

But it also takes out most meat: chickens, beef, pork are all fed a meal that is primarily made from GMO corn and soy meal (as well as other scary things, like antibiotics and arsenic).   One way around this is to eat organic meat.  Yes, you will pay a premium for this, but at least it is becoming more available.  But I’m willing to pay more (and eat less meat) from the reduced risk of antibiotic resistance bacteria, higher omega-3 fats from a grass based diet, and just some of the nastiness of industrial meat production.  Not to mention the issues from GMO foods.  The other way around this is to eat wild game.  I’m am fortunate to have some hunters in my family, and right now, a nice supply of elk.  

I’m still learning to cook very lean meat like elk. Grass fed beef also tends to be lean and sometimes tough.  Last week (those several days of honest to God freezing cold weather in Phoenix) I made up this mushroom soup, and added the elk at the very end, so it was just barely cooked.  It came out very nice.  This would also work well with grass fed beef.  

Mushroom Soup with Elk

Serves 4

1 package dried mushrooms (optional)

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 onions, halved and sliced (moon shapes)

¼ teaspoon salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ pounds mushrooms, halved or quartered 

½ cup wine

1 quart beef broth

1 – 2 cups of additional broth, mushroom water, or water

½ cup “10 min Barley” ** or other cooked or quick cooking grain

1 teaspoon fresh thyme or other herb

½ pound elk or other lean red meat, thinly sliced

** The barley is a new item from Trader Joes...  its dry, but precooked.

If using dry mushrooms, soak in a cup of boiling water.

Heat the butter and oil in a large pot, add onion slices and salt.  Saute until the onions are a bit browned (can do in 10 minutes over medium heat, but need to watch and stir often so as to not burn, or can do low and slow in 30 – 40 minutes).  Add garlic and mushrooms, cook until the mushrooms start to give up their liquid.  Add wine, scrape any brown bits from the bottom of the pan.  After the wine has reduced a bit, add the beef broth.  If using the dried mushrooms, chop and add, also add the soaking water (make sure to not get any grit).  Add more broth or water to achieve the desired “brothiness” for the soup.  Add barley.  Bring to a boil, cook for about 10 minutes or until the grain is done.  Add thyme and meat, stir to distribute meat.  Let soup heat a bit, but don’t bring back to a boil.  Serve.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Last night at a wonderful party with lots of friends, we were discussing seasonal favorites, and someone mentioned how often she makes "my" stuffed mushrooms and how everyone loves them.  I'm not even sure where I got the recipe, and have not made it myself in a long time.  But a good reminder of something yummy I should make for the next get together  -- especially convenient since you can make them ahead, and bake when you need them.   And maybe a good experiment when I get around to trying to make sausage (being that I can't do anything the easy way). 

Stuffed Mushrooms

3 hot Italian Turkey sausages, casings removed

1 clove garlic chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano

Olive oil

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces) 

6 ounces low fat cream cheese, room temperature

1 large egg yolk

48 small ( or 24 large 2-inch-diameter) mushrooms, stemmed

1/3 cup dry white wine 

Sauté sausage, garlic and oregano in heavy large skillet in small amount of oil over medium-high heat until sausage is cooked through and brown, breaking into small pieces, for about 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer sausage mixture to large bowl and cool. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, then cream cheese. Season filling with salt and pepper; mix in egg yolk. 

Line cookie sheet with parchment. Brush cavity of each mushroom cap with white wine; fill with scant 1 tablespoon filling.  (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)   Arrange mushrooms, filling side up on prepared sheet pan and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake uncovered until mushrooms are tender and filling is brown on top, about 25 minutes.

Bread for stuffing and other Thanksgiving comments

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, with all the traditional fixings   ... but we are slowly losing the tradition of cans and packaged foods. And I think we have started a new tradition of smoked chicken wings for lunch (Lou's new specialty).

 

A big hit was the new version of Green Bean Casserole, using the recipe from Alton Brown.  We did all the parts the night before: blanched the green beans, made the mushroom soup part, and cooked the onions.  (Did you know that the first ingredient of the fried onions that you buy in a can is palm oil... yuck).  The only tricky part is the onions.  Don't cut too thin (go for ~ 3/16 of an inch) and try to cut evenly.  And don't get too brown the first time, as they will get browner on the casserole (especially in the turbo-charged convection oven).  We cooked in a 9x13 casserole dish, for about 20 minutes after the turkey came out of the oven. 

Not so big a hit were the brussels sprouts, even sauted with a bit of bacon (and finished with a little cider vinegar).  Roy, Sharon and I loved them, everyone else, not so much.  At least Bridget had fun slicing them with the Cuisenart!

Also a note on a deconstructed turkey:  You can do a big one this way: we did a 23-pounder.  Using the turbo-convection oven, when started at 400F for 20 minutes, then 325 it was done in about 2 1/2 hours (we dropped the temperature to 300F towards the end so it actually cooked for almost 3 hours).   I started at the higher temperature because I was a little late getting it into the oven, I had figured on 3 1/2 hours (which might be right for a normal 325 oven).  As always, everything cooks evenly.  We just had to use an extra pan because both legs didn't fig into the roaster.

Finally, here is the recipe for the stuffing.  Last year I discovered that Pepperidge Farms stuffing (which is what our family ALWAYS used) had one of my banned ingredients (don't even remember if it was HFCS, hydrogenized oil, or MSG) so I made my own bread using the bread machine (where you don't care there are stupid holes in the bottom from the paddles).   I'm always surprised at how long it takes for the bread to dry, especially considering that if you leave a slice of bread out you are making a sandwich from it is crispy in 15 minutes.  If you don't have a bread machine (I suspect that mine is on its last legs), there should be no problem making like normal bread, would just follow the steps for any whole wheat bread recipe. 

Herb Bread for Stuffing

2lb loaf, make 20 ounces of stuffing (lots)

¾ cup milk 

2 tablespoons butter

¾ cup warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups bread flour

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon rosemary, finely chopped

½ teaspoon sage

Black pepper (a couple of good grinds)

2 teaspoons yeast

Heat the milk and butter together in the microwave until the milk is just a little warm, and butter is soft and starting melt.  Put everything (in order) in the bread machine and start.  When done, let completely cool, preferably overnight.  Slice into cubes, about ½ inch square.  If the crust is particularly heavy, remove some of the crust, but otherwise leave on.  Spread the cubes on a large sheet pan, and let dry for a couple of days.

Stuffing

Bread Cubes 

½ ounce dry mushrooms, reconstituted in ~ 1 cup boiling water. 

8 ounces (1 package)  mushrooms (sliced)

1 large onion (diced)

2 stalked celery (diced small)

½ to 1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter

2 cups turkey broth

¼ cup of chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, sage, etc).

Place the bread cubes in a large mixing bowl.  Stain the dry mushrooms, reserving liquid.  Chop and add to stuffing.  Saute the fresh mushrooms, onion, and celery with salt in the butter, add to the bread cubes.

Add mushroom liquid to bread cubes, careful to not get any grit at bottom.  Mix the cubes, add a cup of turkey broth (slowly pour around the top).  Stir and taste.  Add another ½ to 1 cup broth.  Cubes should be just moist, not soggy.    Ready to go in / under turkey, or in a separate casserole dish to cook (if cooking separately, put a bit of turkey fat and / or skin on top). 

Squash and more squash

We had a great weekend in Colorado Springs, visiting friends who happen to have a garden… and lots of squash (both summer and winter versions).   Plus I have found a great new recipe for a pasta sauce which has lots of possibilities.... seemed I needed to make sure I posted this now for everyone who might have excess squash.

We could not leave without taking some summer squash (side note:  TSA does allow squash in your carry-on bags*), so I made a new variant on “Pasta Whatever” at the beginning of the week: Chop 2 slices of bacon** and cook until crisp, set aside.  Remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat.  Saute ½ an onion, chopped, in the bacon fat.  Add 3 small-medium sized yellow squash, cut in half and sliced thin, sauté a bit more, and deglaze with a bit of white wine.  Add some pasta water if it starts to get too dry.  When the squash is cooked (takes just a few minutes) add a ½ pound of cooked chunky pasta.  Stir, add a couple of ounces of goat cheese, chopped basil,  and reserved bacon.   We ate the entire batch in one sitting (normally, we have at least enough left for one lunch!)

* It’s allowed, but expect they will put your bag back through the x-ray and make comments like “is this zucchini in here?”
**  Look for an upcoming blog just on bacon.  Just a touch of bacon now and then makes life much better.
Next is a winter squash pasta sauce based on a Giada de Laurentiis recipe.  I generally have trouble doing anything the same twice, and have made this 3 times: 2 different ways with sausage, and tonight with mushrooms.  Someday I will do the original version, which calls for Shrimp.   

Squash Sauce

This makes enough for 1 ½ pounds of pasta, and freezes very well.  Since I normally cook a ½ pound of pasta, this makes enough for 3 batches, I use one, and freeze the other 2 in zip-loc baggies. 

¼ cup olive oil
2 pounds butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable or chicken broth

Heat olive oil in a large heavy skillet or wide pot over medium high heat. Add squash, garlic, salt and pepper.  Sauté until the squash is golden and starting to get tender, 5-7 minutes. Add the stock, bring to simmer, cover and cook until the squash is very soft, another 7- 10 minutes.  Transfer to a food processor and puree until smooth.

Pasta with squash sauce

Each of below is based on ½ pound of chunky pasta (like rigatoni), and 1/3 batch of Squash Sauce and makes 2-3 servings.

Shrimp (from original version, which I never have actually done):
Saute ½ pound of shrimp in olive oil with some salt and pepper.
Combine cooked pasta, warmed pureed squash, and ½ cup of milk. Stir to combine.  Add cooked shrimp, ¼ cup chopped basil, and a couple of tablespoons grated parmesan. Stir until warm and serve.

Sausage (v1):
Grill pre-cooked sausage (or warm leftover grilled sausage) and cut into chunks.
Combine cooked pasta, warmed pureed squash, and ½ cup of milk. Stir to combine.  Add sausage, ¼ cup chopped basil, and a ¼ cup grated parmesan. Stir until warm and serve.  Caution: this looks a lot like mac and cheese, but its not.

Sausage (v2):
Saute ½ a chopped onion and a clove of minced garlic in a bit of olive oil until soft.  Add  ½ pound of Italian sausage removed from casing. (I use turkey sausage, but this would be great with venison sausage if I could get more from my brother) and sauté until browned.  Add squash sauce.  Cook for about 5 minutes.   Add cooked pasta and a ¼ cup of light cream (half and half).  Stir, adding a bit of pasta water if needed to thin.  Serve with a good grating of parmesan cheese.

Mushroom:
Saute ½ a chopped onion in a bit of olive oil for a few minutes.  Add a ½ tablespoon of butter, then ¼ - ½ pound of mushrooms (shitake or cremini), cut in half. Saute until starting to brown, then add ½ cup of white wine.  Cook until wine is reduced and almost gone, then add squash puree and a teaspoon of chopped fresh thyme.  Cook for a few minutes.   Add cooked pasta and stir. Remove from the heat and add ¼ cup of plain (preferably Greek) yogurt, stir until mixed.  Serve with a good grating of parmesan cheese.