Spaghetti & Meatballs

1 lb. ground turkey (Packaged ground turkey is rarely exactly a pound. I just use whatever it is.)
1/2 c. - 1 c. bread crumbs (More bread crumbs make a firmer meatball. Fewer bread crumbs make a more tender meatball.)
1 egg
onion powder (I never measure this. I just keep adding until it smells right. Sorry.)

Combine everything. Shape the meatballs, put them in a pan and cover them with spaghetti sauce. Put the lid on the pan and cook on medium-high heat until the sauce boils. (About five minutes.) Stir. Turn heat to low and simmer (covered again) for about ten minutes.

Good luck!

Brussel Sprouts ala Thanksgiving Dinner

I am not the best recipe follower, but I usually read a lot of recipes and then mash them altogether and guess...which is what I did with the brussel sprouts.

2 lbs loose brussel sprouts - BTW, if the grocer suggests the ones in the freezer, leave the store immediately!

1/2 pound of pancetta (this was not the easiest thing to find in GA, but we ended up finding it at the deli counter - my markets have it near the bacon/pork/pig products)

1-2 Tbs olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1-2 Tbs chicken broth

Cut pancetta in small cubes, brown (really brown) pancetta in olive oil.

You can choose to keep your sprouts whole, diced, sliced, cubed, etc. The world is your playground. For Thanksgiving dinner, with brussel beginners, I sliced. Eating a WHOLE brussel sprout on bite one is a bit intimidating.

Once pancetta is cooked through, add sprouts to the mix. You'll want to start stirring, but refrain from doing so! They're like a good burger...flip once. Let them sit in the yumminess of bacon grease and olive oil and get crusty. You can salt and pepper at this point. Go easy on the salt, pancetta is moi salty.

Once there is a crust on the sprouts, flip over and wait. If they are feeling a little tight, you can loosen them up with chicken broth.

Enjoy!

Twisted Texas Chicken Diablos

I thought these looked like they might appeal to some members of our group. If you decide to try them, let me know how they turn out.

2 pounds chicken tenders

2/3 cup orange juice

1 1/2 tablespoons dry steak seasoning

8 ounces cream cheese

2/3 cup chopped Texas pecans

12 whole fresh jalapeños

2 pounds thin-sliced bacon

2 cups barbecue sauce

Place chicken tenders in bowl, add orange juice and 1 tablespoon steak seasoning, stir, cover and set in refrigerator to marinate 1 or more hours, but not overnight. In separate bowl, mix cream cheese, pecans and 1/2 tablespoon steak seasoning, blend well by hand, and set aside. When ready to assemble, wash and slice jalapeños in half lengthwise, remove seeds, then rinse again. Fill jalapeño half with cream cheese mixture, place chicken tender on top of filling, wrap with 1 slice of bacon, and secure with large grilling skewer so that bacon stays wrapped around jalapeño. Place three stuffed jalapeños on each skewer. When finished, brush all finished jalapeños generously with barbecue sauce. Bake or grill until chicken is thoroughly cooked, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees, turning halfway through cooking time and basting with more sauce. Baste one last time about 5 minutes before finishing cooking or use remaining sauce to serve.

Posole & Cornbread

You don't always need to have posole with cornbread, but they do go really well together. Of course the best way to have posole is on top of your Christmas tamales.

Posole

32 oz frozen posole or large can of hominy
2 onions
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 pounds pork steak or pork roast, cubed
6 medium red chile pods (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin seed, crushed
12 oz chopped mild green chile
#2 can whole tomatoes, chopped with juice
1 1/2 T sugar

Cook all ingredients together, except hominy, until meat is tender and starting to shred. Add hominy long enough to warm. This tastes even better the next day!

Cornbread

3 eggs

2 1/4 sticks margarine

1 1/2 c. milk

3/4 tsp. baking powder

3 c. Bisquick

1 1/4 c. sugar

3 heaping T. cornmeal

Beat eggs and add milk. Melt margarine and add to mixture.

Mix all dry ingredients and add to liquid ingredients, folding

until just mixed. Pour into ungreased 9 X 13 pan. Bake

at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Habanero Salsa

Here's the recipe for the habanero salsa that I made. It's from Rick Bayless. Here's a copy:

Ingredients

• 5 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 medium carrot, roughly chopped
• half of a small onion (about 1/2 cup), roughly chopped
• 12 medium (about 5 ounces) orange habanero chiles, stemmed
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• About 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Roast the garlic in a skillet over medium heat, turning regularly until soft and blackened in spots, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool and peel.

In a small saucepan, combine the carrot, onion and habanero chiles with the vinegar and 1 cup water. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat until the carrots are thoroughly tender, about 10 minutes. Pour into a blender and add the roasted garlic, salt and sugar. Blend until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, thin with a little additional water. Taste and season with additional salt if necessary.

Pour into jars or bottles and store in the refrigerator.

Pasta Carbonara

I found this recipe on Gojee and made it tonight. I made the pasta from scratch using the Italian flour I got from Amazon.com. It was awesome: the best pasta recipe I've made. It would be great even without homemade pasta.

I used bacon (finely chopped, fat removed) and a yellow onion (couldn't find a shallot). I did top it with a slow cooked egg, but I would consider that optional.

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz freshly grated pecorino romano
• 1 large raw egg
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1/4 lbs guanciale, pancetta or bacon
• 1 small shallot minced
• 2 slow cooked eggs (optional)
• chopped chives
• 6 oz pasta (spaghetti, linguine, fettuccine)

Directions

Put the pecorino and black pepper in a large bowl and set aside.

Boil the pasta according to the package directions and drain.

Add olive oil to a pan and fry the guanciale (or pancetta or bacon) and shallots until it is cooked and the shallots are fragrant. Add the drained pasta to the pot and toss to coat.

Dump the pasta into the bowl with the cheese and pepper then break the raw egg on top. Toss to distribute the egg and cheese evenly then plate the pasta. Top each bowl of pasta with a slow cooked egg and sprinkle with chives.

Pad Thai

Pad Thai

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package dried flat rice noodles
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Asian chile pepper sauce, divided
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 8 ounces medium shrimp - peeled and deveined
• 8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 6 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons chopped unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 cups bean sprouts

Directions

1. Fill a large bowl with hot tap water and place the noodles in it to soak for 20 minutes.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, oyster sauce, 2 teaspoons of the chile sauce and chicken stock. Set aside.
3. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat and add vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, stir in garlic and cook for about 10 seconds. Add shrimp and chicken; cook, stirring constantly until shrimp is opaque and chicken is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Move everything in the wok out to the sides and pour the eggs in the center. Cook and stir the eggs until firm. Add the noodles to the wok and pour in the sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, until the noodles are tender. Add a bit more water if needed to finish cooking the noodles. Stir in 3 cups of bean sprouts and green onions. Remove from the heat and garnish with chopped peanuts. Taste for seasoning, adjusting the spice or lime juice if needed.
5. Serve garnished with fresh cilantro, chopped peanuts sugar and remaining bean sprouts and lime wedges on the side.