Sweet & Sour Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs ground beef or venison
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
5 tbls flour
1 cup oil
3 diced green peppers
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups beef stock
1 1/2 cups pinapple chunks
3 tbls cornstarch
1 tbls soy sauce
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar

Mix together the beef, 1 trbls salt, and the pepper. Shape into 24 balls; flatten them slightly. Mix together eggs, flour and remaining salt. Dip beatballs in batter and brown in oil. Remove balls and pour off all but 2 tbls oil.

Add beef stock, pinapple, and green pepper to the pan. Boil, covered, for ten minutes and return meatballs to cook through. Just before serving add the cornstarch, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar until sauce thickens.

This is great! It feels fancy but it's so easy! My "meat and potatoes" husband loves it!

INGREDIENTS
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup meatless spaghetti sauce, divided
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tube (8 ounces) refrigerated crescent rolls

* In a large bowl, combine the egg, 1/3 cup spaghetti sauce, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well.
* On a piece of heavy-duty foil, pat beef mixture into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Sprinkle 1 cup cheese and parsley to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side and peeling foil away while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Place seam side down in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish.
* Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour; drain.
* Unroll crescent dough; seal seams and perforations. Drape dough over meat loaf to cover the top, sides and ends; seal ends.
* Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 160° and crust is golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes.
* Using two large spatulas, carefully transfer meat loaf to a serving platter. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Serve with remaining spaghetti sauce.

Yield: 8 servings

Taco Soup

1 can fat free refried beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can chili beans
1 envelope taco seasoning or 1 envelope Ranch dressing mix
1 large can tomatoes (vary depending on how chunky you like your soup, I usually buy crushed)
1/2 lb. ground meat, browned

Throw all the ingredients into the crock pot and cook. I'll leave the time up to you, since Crock Pots vary so widely in that area. Mine is pretty old and seems to keep getting stronger, so I find it's done in 4 hours on low. Really you just want enough time for the flavors to meld. The great thing about this recipe is it has the potential to be as healthy as you want it. I try not to eat too much salt, so I rinse all the beans and throw in some cumin, corinader, red pepper, and paprika in place of the taco seasoning. You can use ground beef in this recipe but I've used chicken and turkey and really can't taste a difference. I find this recipe makes enough to feed the two of us, plus maybe one more lunch. If you want to stretch it you could add another type of bean; I've used pinto beans and garbanzo and it worked out well.

Lighter Lasagna Roll-Ups

1 c. low-fat ricotta cheese
1 package (10 oz) thawed spinach OR 10 oz. cooked ground beef, lean
1 large egg white
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. garlic herb seasoning
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese made with 2% milk
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese
6 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 can (15 oz.) spaghetti sauce

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees
* For spinach rolls, squeeze moisture from thawed spinach
* In a bowl, mix together ricotta, egg white, basil, oregano, garlic herb seasoning, nutmeg, salt, pepper, half the mozzarella, and half the parmesan cheese. Add the beef or spinach.
* Lay each noodle on waxed paper. Dividing equally, spread filling down length of noodle. Roll up each noodle.
* Spread one-third of sauce over bottom of a shallow, rectangular baking dish. Place each roll-up, seam-side down, in dish. Spoon remaining sauce over roll-ups.
* Tent dish with aluminum foil
* Bake 35 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle remaining cheese over rolls. Bake uncovered for 5 minutes more.
* Serves 6

I use the same sauce for lasagne.

Good ol' Cottage Pie (Shepherd's Pie using beef instead of lamb). I like the topping to be strips of mashed potato alternating with strips of mashed sweet potato.

I like my Barbecue Meatloaf (and so do many other people!)

Barbecue Meatloaf
500g minced beef
500g sausage mince
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 onions, diced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 garlic clove, crushed (optional)
1/2 cup milk

Combine all meatloaf ingredients and mix until well combined. Shape into a loaf and put into greased baking pan. Bake 30 minutes at 180°C.

Sauce:
1 onion, chopped very fine (optional)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup dry red wine or beef stock
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon instant coffee
1/4 cup brown sugar
30g butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Saute onions until golden and add all other ingredients. Bring slowly to the boil, lower heat and simmer about 5 minutes. After loaf has cooked for 30 minutes, pour the sauce over the meat, return to oven and bake 45 minutes more, basting often. The sauce goes well with ribs or chicken.

Battered Meatballs with Sweet Chilli Sauce
Batter:
1/2 cup plain flour
1 egg
1/2 cup soda water

Sift flour, gradually stir in combined egg and soda water, beat until smooth. Cover, leave for 30 minutes.

Meatballs:
400g minced beef
3 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon plain flour
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
plain flour, extra
oil for deep frying

Combine meat, sugar, sauce, ginger, flour, vinegar and nuts, mix well. Shape 2 teaspoons of the mixture into balls, toss in extra flour, shake off excess flour. Dip in batter and deep fry in hot oil until browned and cooked through. Drain.

Sweet Chilli Sauce:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 small red chilli, finely chopped

Combine soy sauce, vinegar, lemon rind, sugar and water in a saucepan, stir over heat without boiling until sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes. Stir in chilli. Serve with battered meatballs.

Rissoles
BASIC MIXTURE:
600g minced beef
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
seasoning to taste

Mix all ingredients together, shape into small patties, and fry until done.

Basil and Parmesan Rissoles:
Add to Basic Mixture:
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Curry Rissoles:
Add to Basic Mixture:
1/3 cup fruit chutney
2 teaspoons curry powder

Mexican Rissoles:
Add to Basic Mixture
1/3 cup taco sauce
1/3 cup drained red kidney beans
1 teaspoon chilli powder

Roll patties in extra breadcrumbs and fry as usual.

Oriental Rissoles:
Add to Basic Mixture:
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon 5-spice powder

Stroganoff Meatballs
700g beef mince
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
3 teaspoons ground paprika
200g button mushrooms, halved
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/3 cup white wine
1/2 cup beef stock
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
cooked fettucine pasta, to serve

Roll tablespoons of mince into balls. Sprinkle flour on a plate and season with salt and pepper. Roll meatballs in flour to coat, shaking off excess. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large, non-stick frypan over medium heat. Cook meatballs, in batches, turning often, for 2-3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan and heat over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until soft. Add garlic, paprika and mushrooms. Cook for 3 minutes or until mushrooms are tender. Combine tomato paste, mustard, wine and stock in a jug. Stir into mushroom mixture. Return meatballs to pan. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Stir in sour cream and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon stroganoff over pasta and serve.

Meat And Potatoes

Easy meatloaf and potatoes in one dish

4 cups thinly sliced peeled raw potatoes,
1/4 cup chopped onion,
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 lb. ground beef,
5 oz. can evaporated milk,
1/2 cup breadcrumbs,
1/4 cup chili sauce (or catsup),
1/4 cup chopped onion,
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce,
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Mix potato slices, salt and pepper to taste and 1/4 cup chopped onion together and place in greased 2 quart square baking dish.
2. Mix remaining ingredients together and spread over potatoes.
3. Decorate top with more chili sauce or catsup (if desired).
4. Bake at 350* for 1 hour.

MEATLOAF MUFFINS WITH BBQ SAUCE
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 servings

1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
2 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 green bell pepper
1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
1 cup plain bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)

1 cup smoky barbecue sauce
1/2 cup tomato salsa
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put onion and celery into a food processor. Cut the bell pepper in half, rip out the seeds and throw them into your garbage bowl. Cut the pepper into a few pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl.

Next, mix together the smoky barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce.

Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up.

Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Use an ice cream scoop to help you fill meat into a each tin.

Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce. Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.

Meatloaf Patties and Pan Gravy

Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Show: 30 Minute Meals

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Cook's Notes: Buy tomato paste in the tube, rather than a can; it makes storage of leftover product easier. Tomato paste in the tube is often kept with Italian specialty foods, rather than with the canned tomato products.

1 1/3 pounds ground sirloin, 90 percent lean ground beef
1 slice white bread, spread with softened butter, then cut into small cubes
1/8 cup (a splash) milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend, or coarse salt and black pepper combined
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 rounded tablespoon tomato paste
1 medium onion, finely chopped, reserve 1/4 amount

3-Condiment Pan Gravy:
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 medium onion, finely chopped, reserved from meatloaf mixture
2 tablespoons (a handful) all-purpose flour
1 to 1 1/2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 rounded teaspoon spicy brown mustard
1 tablespoon steak sauce

Place meat in a large mixing bowl and create a well in the center of the meat. Fill the well with the bread cubes and dampen them with a splash of milk. Pour 1 beaten egg over bread and add seasoning or salt and pepper, allspice, tomato paste and onion to the bowl.

Combine the meat, bread and grill seasoning or salt and pepper and form mixture into 4 large oval patties 3/4-inch thick. Pan fry meatloaf patties in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat 7 minutes on each side under a loose tin foil tent. The tent will reflect heat and allow the steam to escape the pan.

Remove meat loaf patties to a platter and return pan to heat. Reduce heat to medium and add butter and onion to your skillet. Cook the onion 2 minutes and sprinkle pan with flour. Cook flour 1 minute and whisk in 1 cup beef stock. Bring broth to a bubble. If gravy is too thick, thin with additional stock. Stir in condiments and remove gravy from heat.

Slice meatloaf patties and drizzle with gravy.

1 egg, beaten
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/ 4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/ 4 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/ 2 lbs. ground beef
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 cans (14 ½ oz. each) beef broth
2 cans (10 ¾ oz. each) condensed golden mushroom soup
4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 small onion, cut in half and slivered
1 16. oz package frozen Fordhook lima beans
1/ 4 cup fresh minced parsley

In a bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, chopped onion, salt, marjoram and thyme. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 48 meatballs.

In a Dutch oven, brown meatballs in oil; drain. Add broth, soup, potatoes, carrots and sliced onions; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add beans and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Notes: Cut green beans can be substituted for the lima beans and mushrooms can be added if desired.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Salisbury Steak In Mushroom And Green Peppercorn Sauce
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What I call "Diner" Food. Serve with mashed potatoes and your favourite veggies.

2 Pounds of ground Sirloin
1 onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 Teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Sauce

1/2 small onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 Tablespoon green peppercorns
Fresh Mushrooms sliced
2 Tablespoons Flour
Broth 2 to 3 cups (Beef or chicken)
Pan drippings plus 1 to 2 tablespoons of butter or oil.

Saute onions in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil until tender but not
browned. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. In a bowl combined
ground sirloin, parsley, thyme, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and
salt and pepper. Add onions and garlic and mix well. (I use my hands).
Form into oval shaped patties. (I made 5 nice size ones from the 2
pounds, but you could make smaller if you prefer)

Brown the patties in a heavy skillet in a little olive oil. You can
also brown these in a grill pan.

Remove the meat from the pan. Add a little more oil if needed and saute
the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Sprinkle with a little flour, cook
for a couple of minutes and add the broth and the green peppercorns.
Add the patties to the pan, cover and simmer on low for at least one
hour. Make sure there is enough sauce to almost cover the steaks.

Salisbury steak should be very tender and not have the texture of a
just fried hamburger. Simmering the meat n the gravy also enhances the
flavour of the sauce.