Perfect mini-meatballs

Those versatile, delicious little balls of meat perfection are my favorite!

They are so easy to make, freeze beautifully and never get dry. You can use them in hearty soups and stews or on top of pasta lathered in tomato sauce. The mix can also be used in a meatloaf format.

I tell you: versatile and perfect.

Here's how I make them.


INGREDIENTS (for ~100 mini-meatballs):
- 1 lb ground beef (I used 80-20 mix)
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp granulated onions
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- some flour to dredge
- 1/2 cup chopped blanched kale (you can use 1/4 cup chopped parsley instead, I just happened to have this leftover frozen blanched kale and wanted to use it).



RECIPE:
- in a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except the flour and mix until well combined

- form into small balls (this batch yielded about 100 mini-meatballs for me)

- dredge in the flour and either use immediately or freeze.

Note: freeze the meatballs in a single layer, and transfer in a ziploc bag once they are frozen. This way they will not stick together.
- enjoy!

Sour cream pie crust

The idea behind this recipe came from the fact that I needed to make pie crust for my apple-cheddar pie and I had leftover sour cream I needed to use.

After doing research on google, I found a recipe on Serena Bakes Simply from Scratch and decided to use her recipe as a base for mine. Check out her wonderful blog for the original recipe and other delicious treats!

Here's how I made mine.


INGREDIENTS (for a double crust):
- 2 1/2 cups of AP flour
- 1 stick of butter, very (very!) cold, diced
- 1/2 cup of sour cream, cold
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup ice-cold water
- a large pinch of salt


RECIPE:
- in a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, the butter and incorporate the butter quickly with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the flour looks like fresh bread crumbs and the butter is the size of a green pea

Note: you want to work really quickly here, with very cold butter. The butter should stay solid as much as possible so that those little nuggets can melt when the crust bakes. That will ensure a flaky crust!
- add the cold sour cream and mix with a spatula

- add ice-cold water by the spoonful (not all at once!) until the dough can hold when pressed together
Note: the dough should not be sticky here. You just want enough water so you can form a ball.

- shape the dough into two discs, wrap them in plastic and refrigerate at least one hour or until ready to use

Note: you can absolutely freeze the dough at this point
Note 2: if you will use this batch for a double-crusted pie, make one of the two discs slightly larger than the other one (the top disc should be a bit bigger)
- after the dough has rested, roll out on a floured surface and make your favorite pie!

Apple cheddar pie

I went apple picking a couple of weeks ago. I bought cheddar at the farm store.

'Nuff said.



INGREDIENTS:
- a double pie crust (recipe coming soon)
- 3 lbs of apples
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 2 tbsp of corn starch
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- a pinch of ground cloves
- a pinch of salt
- 4 oz sharp cheddar
- not pictured: 1 egg, whisked with a tbsp of water
- optionnal: a pinch of granulated sugar


RECIPE:
- preheat your oven at 425F
- peel, core and slice the apples thinly (I used a mandolin for perfect uniform slices)

Note: if you want, you can sprinkle a little lemon juice on the apples here to keep them from browning too much
- add the sliced apples, sugar, starch and spices to a large bowl and mix until the apple slices are well coated with the spice mixture

- roll out the first crust, place in a buttered pie dish and grate the cheddar

- pour the apple filling into the dish, sprinkle a healthy dose of grated cheddar on top and cover with the second rolled crust

- trim the excess dough (leave about 1 inch of dough around the dish), press the top and bottom dough together so they seal, tuck the dough under and crimp away!

- with a sharp knife, make a few slits on top the the pie crust to allow steam to escape during baking, brush over with a little egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar

- bake at 425F for 25 minutes, then lower the heat to 350F and bake for an additional 30 minutes
- ta-da!!!

Steamed eggplant pasta salad

At last!! A new recipe!! My apologies to all of you for being such a slacker on the blog for the past month. September has been crazy busy. I've had visitors at home for weeks at a time, and had absolutely zero time to edit any posts.

But this is over now, and I have TONS of recipes in my head for you!

Here is the first recipe of the fall: my steamed eggplant and pasta salad.


INGREDIENTS (4 people):
- 2 cups of dry short pasta (I used orecchiette)
- 2 medium eggplants
- a large handful of cherry tomatoes
- 1/4 cup black olives, pitted
- basil leaves, to taste
- juice of 1 lemon
- 10-15 baby mozzarella balls, in oil
- a pinch of salt


RECIPE:
- rinse and dice the eggplants in bite-sized pieces and salt them lightly while you wait for a huge pot of water to boil
- when the water boils hard, start steaming the eggplants for 10-15 minutes, then pour the pasta in the boiling water underneath the basket and cook until the pasta is al dente and the eggplant is tender

Note: I used my new pasta cooker-steamer combo, but you can absolutely do this in different pots!
- when the pasta is al dente, strain and rinse quickly with cold water, sprinkle a little olive oil and toss around so the pasta does not stick together

- reserve the cooked eggplant on the side until just warm, then add to the cold pasta and toss all the remaining ingredients together, sprinkle with a little lemon juice and shredded basil leaves

- enjoy your super healthy eggplant-pasta salad!