Meatballs! Oh and almost homemade spaghetti sauce, too!

Sometimes when I'm cooking, whatever I'm cooking my husband will ask if I'm that ethnicity. I'll take this as a compliment! He regularly asks me if I'm sure I'm not Italian after eating my meatballs. My Mom also complimented me on them and if she likes them they must be good because she is a fabulous cook!

This recipe is similar to my Grandmother's recipe, but I added in the Parmesan cheese.

1 lb ground meat

1 whole sweet yellow onion (diced)

2 cloves of garlic (through a garlic press)

1 1/2 cups regular or italian seasoned bread crumbs

2 eggs

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (shredded)

1 teaspoon of the following:

italian seasoning (unless your bread crumbs are already seasoned and then add some more to taste)

garlic powder

onion powder

generous amount of salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients together and roll into balls. Bake at 400 degrees on a lightly oiled cookie sheet for about 15 minutes, turning once half way through.

Quick almost homemade spaghetti sauce

1 jar of your favorite store bought sauce

1/2 sweet yellow onion

1/2 green pepper

(both of these diced)

1 clove of garlic ( put through a garlic press)

1 can of Italian diced tomatoes

1 small can of mushrooms

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

1 bay leaf

Add a generous amount of olive oil to a sauce pan, saute the onion, green pepper and garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes, add the jar of sauce, add the italian tomatoes, mushrooms, brown sugar and bay leaf. Simmer on low for about 20 minutes (while you are simmering the sauce, bake the meatballs) and there you go sauce that people will rave about (you don't have to tell them you cheated unless they ask!) and in half the time of completely homemade spaghetti sauce! Before you serve the sauce remove the bay leaf and discard.

I use Classico Tomato Basil or Tuscan sauce to start because I have found that of all the spaghetti sauces out there they use the least amount of sugar and no high fructose corn syrup.

I forgot to take pictures during this last one, sorry! But the recipes are still just as good!

Chili!

My grandmother used to make chili every fall for my Grandfather to take to his hunting camp in the mountains to share with his friends. I have fond memories of helping her and my mom in the kitchen making chili. I have tasted a lot of chili and kind of combined recipes in my head to get what I want. The chili that follows is a sweet and spicy chili. If you want to serve it at a party and make it a bit tex mex add the black beans.

Ingredients:

olive oil

1 medium size sweet yellow onion (diced)

1 green pepper (diced)

2 cloves garlic( pressed through a garlic press)

1 lb ground meat ( I used Angus)

or you could substitute turkey to make it healthier

1 can diced tomatoes ( I use no salt added)

1 can light red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)

1 can black beans (optional)

1 can tomato paste

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1/4 of a block of Bakers unsweetened baking chocolate

1/2 teaspoon of the following:

garlic powder

onion powder

chili powder

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

pinch of cinnamon

a couple shakes of red hot/texas pete/etc.

1 good heaping tablespoon of brown sugar

1/2 cup water

In a large stock pot add a decent amount of olive oil, add green pepper, onion, and garlic and sauté until onions and peppers have softened, 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add ground meat and cook over medium-high heat until the meat is cooked through.

Add tomatoes, tomato paste and stir. Add spices, sugar, liquid smoke and water if you feel the chili is too thick ( I like thick chili) Sauté over low-medium heat for about 20 minutes or more if you prefer. Add beans and stir once more.

Top with grated cheese, green onions, and a dollop of sour cream. Delish!

Pumpkin Muffins

Oh one of my favorite things about the fall is baking and baking with pumpkin and spices! As my mom and I were shopping the other day she asked me to get her some pumpkin and I thought I'll get some too and find something to make. I looked up pumpkin muffins online and found a recipe for "Addictive" pumpkin muffins" on allrecipes.com. I changed the recipe up a bit to make it more nutritious and more geared toward what I wanted.

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 small can pumpkin
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
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• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Grease three 12 cup muffin pans, or line with paper muffin liners.
• 2. In a large bowl, combine the two types of flour, two sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, and ground cloves. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir thoroughly to make a smooth batter. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I served these for breakfast, but if you wanted to serve them as dessert you could easily frost them with the following icing (ahem, making them not so nutritious, but quite yummy)

Cream cheese frosting:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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• In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar

These are yummy pumpkin muffins with or without frosting!

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