Ingredients
1-8 oz. Pkg. Cream Cheese (softened)
1/3 Lb. Gorgonzola Cheese (crumbled)
3 Lbs. Ground Beef
Salt and Pepper
Method
1. Combine cream cheese and gorgonzola. Season beef with salt and pepper.
2. Form patties very thin. Top with cheese mixture, then another thin patty. Grill to desired doneness.
Ingredients
Ground Beef, Pork Shoulder Roast or Chicken Breasts
1-2 Cans Pinto Beans and Liquid
1-2 Cans Diced Green Chilies
Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Onion and Cumin
Method
1. Combine all in a crock pot and cook on low all day or high 4-5 hours.
2. Serve over nachos, in bowl like chile, dress like tacos or burritos, etc.
Notes: This recipe comes from Laura who was adopting from Ethiopia at the same time as us. We were all trying to find new recipes that would make a bunch of food for freezing so we’d have meals ready to go when we came home from Ethiopia with our kids. Laura said she catered her own wedding using this recipe and that everyone loved it, so I had to give it a try. It’s amazing!! Don’t let the simplicity fool you–this makes the meat taste exactly like it does in your favorite Mexican restaurant. We usually make it with Pork, then turn it into burritos, enchiladas, tortilla soup, etc.
Ingredients
2 T. Dried Porchini Mushrooms
2/3 C. Warm Water
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
2 Cloves Garlic (Finely Chopped)
4 T. Fresh Parsley
3 T. Fresh Basil
1 Egg
6 T. Plain Bread Crumbs
2 T. Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
4 T. Olive Oil
1 Medium Onion (Finely Chopped)
1/4 C. Dry White Wine
Chopped Fresh Parsley (Garnish)
Method
1. Soak the dried mushrooms in the warm water for 15 minutes. Lift them out of the water and chop finely. Filter the soaking water through paper towels and reserve.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine meat with chopped mushrooms, garlic and herbs. Stir in the egg. Add the breadcrumbs and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Form into balls.
3. In a large heavy frying pan, heat the oil, add the onion and cook over low heat until soft. Raise the heat and add the meatballs, rolling often so they brown evenly. After about 5 minutes, add the filtered mushroom water and cook 5-8 minutes.
4. Remove meatballs from pan and deglaze pan with wine. Pour over meatballs and garnish with parsley
We really like meatballs and I think they are a pain in the butt to make just one dinner of, so I make a zillion at once on a Sunday afternoon. I multiply this recipe by 5! Instead of using all ground beef, I use 1lb each of ground lean buffalo, ground lean pork, ground chorizo sausage, ground lean turkey and lean ground beef. I also use a big KitchenAide stand mixer to mix everything because it’s too much to do well by hand. Instead of frying all zillion meatballs, I bake them at 350 degrees for 1 hour. It’s healthier and much easier when you’re making a whole bunch. I then freeze them and we always have them in the fridge for quick spaghetti and meatball dinners, rosemary and meatball pizzas, meatball subs, etc. When I am ready to use them, I thaw them first in the microwave, then cook onions in olive oil as the recipe states. I then reheat the meatballs on the cooking onions until heated through, then deglaze with wine as the recipe states. I then pour in a can of Hunts Tomato Sauce and some fresh basil and whatever other herbs I have. It makes a very yummy sauce. Cooking the meatballs on the onions is a very key step, as is the deglazing!! I don’t know why, but they just taste yummy this way. These meatballs can also be made small and used as an appetizer. This recipe comes from a book I mentioned I like, “Italian” by Carla Capalbo.
