Farm Fresh Kitchen

These meatballs were delicious! I'm craving them right now as I write this. There are some extras in my freezer so I may have to thaw them out this week and use them. Meatballs turn out better when you use two or three different meats, usually beef, pork and veal. In these I used beef and pork. You can usually find ground pork at specialty grocery stores like Whole Foods or Fresh Market. This recipe can be easily doubled. Another hint...when I mix up the meat with the other ingredients I use latex kitchen gloves. The thick yellow ones work best. The meat is so cold that it will freeze your hands and be very uncomfortable to work with. The more thoroughly you mix them the better they taste. I usually mix everything up in the morning, let it sit all day and form the meatballs right before I cook them. This allows the flavors to combine for better taste. I'm on the hunt for a recipe for authentic marinara sauce with lots of fresh herbs that simmers on the stove all day, but until then I just use sauce from a jar. If I want to splurge I buy Rao's which is expensive but very good.

1 large egg
3 Tbsp fresh basil, finely chopped
3 Tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup water
3/4 lb. ground beef
3/4 lb. ground pork
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl whisk together egg, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and water. Add meat, breadcrumbs and cheese and mix thoroughly with your hands. Form mixture into balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 until meat is browned all the way through. To use in spaghetti sauce, place meatballs in sauce and simmer on the stove until heated through.

Here's another great dish I made recently. I get tired of traditional chili so this is just a little different, and delicious! The amounts here make a lot of soup. I always like to have enough for 2 or 3 days.

2 Tbsp oil
2 small onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, finely diced
3 large garlic cloves, minced
8 cups chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
3 cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2  4oz. cans chopped green chilies
4 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
1 cup half & half
1/2 cup sour cream
8 oz. pepper jack cheese, grated

Saute onion, jalapeno and garlic in oil until tender. Add broth and seasonings. Bring to a simmer. Add beans, chilis, chicken, half & half and sour cream. Bring back to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Add about half of cheese and stir to combine. Reserve the rest of the cheese as a garnish when serving.

Life has been very busy around here but I finally found the time to post some more recipes. This recipe is adapted from the Pioneer Woman - Ree Drummond. She is my hero! I would love to have her life! Her cookbook is so much fun to read and her recipes look sooo good. She lives on a ranch out west with her family She works hard all day and then cooks enormous amounts of delicious food for her family. They all chow down and work off the calories on the ranch. I have to drive to the gym or power walk the surrounding neighborhoods to work off calories....boring!!! Anyway, here's the recipe. It's a little different from hers but I usually change things to my liking when I post here to avoid plagiarism. Oh...and the best part...I made my own homemade cream of chicken soup! I have included that recipe too. The Pioneer Woman's recipe calls for cream of mushroom but I didn't try making that. I refuse to cook with those "cream of" whatever soups.  I don't even consider them real food! Have you read the label on them lately? Yuck!!! Okay, here it is....

6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, boiled and diced into bite-size pieces
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into 2 inch pieces
3 cups (or 2 cans) cream of chicken soup (homemade recipe below)
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 medium red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp. Lawry's seasoned salt
 Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste


Boil spaghetti until done and drain. In a large bowl combine spaghetti with diced chicken and cream of chicken soup. Add all remaining ingredients, reserving one cup of grated cheddar cheese. Stir until mixed well. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until bubbly. If the cheese on top cooks too fast, spray a piece of foil with cooking spray and cover (sprayed side down) and continue to cook until done.

Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
dash of paprika
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup flour

In medium saucepan, bring chicken broth, 1/2 cup of milk and seasonings to a boil over medium heat and boil for 2 minutes. In a bowl, whisk the remaining 1 cup milk and flour. Add to boiling mixture and continue whisking briskly until mixture boils and thickens. This is really easy and thickens up quickly.