Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sweet and Sour Chicken Balls

Can one really claim to be responsible for a recipe that was given to them by someone else? Can a recipe possibly come from someone who doesn’t cook?  If you ask my husband, he will tell you this recipe is his.  The technicality doesn’t really matter, what matters is that I have an awesome and incredibly easy recipe for sweet and sour chicken balls.  Add that to my own braised cabbage, and you've got a great dinner.
The cabbage:
1 large onion - diced
1 large carrot - shredded
1/2 head of cabbage, thinly shredded
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in either a large skillet or pan, add onion and carrot, sauté until golden, add cabbage and 1 can of tomato sauce or paste, mix, cover and cook on low heat for about 30 minutes, the longer you cook the better.  note - you can add a little bit of water while this is cooking to make sure this is moist.
Sweet and Sour chicken balls
1 lb of ground chicken
1 egg
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
Mix everything together and shape into balls, place on a cookie sheet and cook for 15 minutes at 375 degrees
While that’s cooking, heat up 1 Tablespoon olive oil and add crushed garlic, or powdered garlic, whatever you have.  Immediately add 1 large can of crushed tomatoes, dash of salt and pepper and dried basil, stir and let cook for 5 minutes, add 1/3 cup of grape jelly and simmer for another 5-10- minutes on low heat.  Add Chicken balls and cook for another 15 minutes.  If you have extra time, you can cook longer, as the flavor will enhance the longer you cook. If not, remove and serve.  These are also great in miniature size as appetizer. Enjoy

Monday, May 16, 2011

Okra....

I'm always looking for a new ingredient and Okra was my inspiration for tonight.  Although you can hardly call okra something new, for me it was, as I have never cooked with it before.  My entire meal today was built around the okra.  Here was my thinking, okra in some kind of a red sauce,  I started with a chopped onion and garlic, sauteed that in olive oil, added a can of crushed tomato.  At that point I knew I needed a starch so I added 3 diced potatoes and a diced yellow squash.  I let this cook for about 30 minutes, then added a can of vegetarian baked beans, salt, pepper and paprika to taste and a few dashed of Tabasco sauce.  I served this over some chicken meat loaf , recipe right off the Lipton soup mix. ( I cooked the meat loaf on a sheet tray to make it extra thin.)   I have to admit, half way through cooking, I really wasn't sure how this will taste, but it really came together and was delicious.
chicken loaf baked on a cookie sheet

Something Different...with an Indian twist!

I love the variety of shortcuts that are available in the supermarket.  Take for instance a package of Kashmir Spinach thats already prepared, all you have to do is heat it up.  One could ofcourse just heat it up and eat right out of the microwaveable bag, I however like to use it as a tool for creating something different. I made a dish that has a hint of the indian spices, yet mainstream enough to serve to an anti-indian food eating husband.
If you have never tried this line of Indian inspired ready to eat dishes from the brand Tasty Bite, I suggest you give it a try, they are simply delicious, and when combined with simple ingredients like rice or pasta, it really makes for a great meal. 
I Combined the kasimir spinach mix with some cooked orzo pasta and cannellini beans.  Topped with some chicken stir fried with onions, zuccinni and red pepper, this was a dish with huge flavor through every bite.