Try This Tuesday

Pregnancy has been known to give women weird cravings and it would seem that I am no different. Yesterday afternoon, I was hit with a desire for two things 1) brussel sprouts and 2) balsamic vinegar. I was lucky enough to discover this recipe that incorporates both....

Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients:
1 pound petite frozen brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size red or supersweet onion, such as Walla Walla, Texas Sweet or Vidalia,
thinly sliced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Steam the brussels sprouts until fork-tender -- do not overcook. Set aside.

Heat a medium (8- to 10-inch) pan until hot but not smoking. Add the olive oil and onion, then reduce the heat to medium. When the onion is starting to get soft and translucent, add the balsamic vinegar. Continue cooking until the vinegar is nearly evaporated and coats the onion. Toss the onion mixture with the warm brussels sprouts.


Notes: I doubled the recipe by using 2 14 ounce packages of frozen brussels sprouts, 1 large onion, and half a cup of balsamic vinegar. It was delish and made enough to serve 5 adults, 2 kids, and had leftovers.

Try This Tuesday

For several weeks now I have been promising my readers that M and I would be trying various receipes on Tuesday's and posting pics and our thoughts. And each week, I find myself apologizing and offerring explainations as why it just did not happen. I hate that I am letting my readers down but with both of us working 10-12 hours a day and then volunteering at our church afterwards, we are just too tired to cook. I thought about postponing in TTRT until things settled down, but decided against it. Instead, I am going to search out the best receipes from the blogging world - things that I want to prepare, share the receipes here, and then ask my readers to try them out. Sound like a plan?

The first receipe is for Sweet and Tangy Meatballs and comes from Annie Jones at Real Life Living

Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup fine graham cracker crumbs (yes, graham cracker crumbs)
1 teaspoon smoke-flavored salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons dehydrated minced onion
2 pounds ground beef
2 cups ketchup
2 cups ginger ale
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (the kind from a jar) (adjust to suit your taste)

Heat oven to 450°F.

Combine egg, milk, graham cracker crumbs, salt, pepper and dehydrated onion. Crumble ground beef over egg mixture, then mix well using a wooden spoon or your hands.

Form into meatballs of desired size. (Annie used a small ice cream scoop and was able to make 50.) Place meatballs in glass or metal baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.

Combine ketchup, ginger ale and garlic.

Transfer meatballs to Crock Pot. Pour ketchup mixture over all. Cook on High for about 3 hours. If desired, thicken sauce by adding 1 T. cornstarch combined with a little cold water, then letting sauce continue to cook for about 30 minutes. Spoon meatballs and sauce over hot cooked rice.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Try This Receipe Tuesday

TTRT had to be postponed this week due to conflicting work schedules between M and I. My company has auditors in every day this week which is translating into longer hours for me. And M got caught up in a meeting at his office and then tied up with farm related business once he arrived home. Factor in that our lawn was beginning to look like a jungle, and we reached this decision to use the remaining evening hours to mow the grass. Afterwards, we just ate pizza at his parents house. Not the best meal nutrition wise, but sometimes life just goes that way.

Not to worry though, he and I have a few fabulous meals in the works. Keep checking back!

Try This Recipe Tuesday

M and I love to eat - we take great joy in our food. Perhaps it is the fact that we come from families where family gathering often centered around food. M's family always shares Sunday lunch together (although we call dinner down here in the South)at his Meme's. My family has a tradition of getting together at my Aunt Gail's every Thanksgiving. At that meal, I know to look for certain dishes - Aunt Cheryl's Bannana Split Cake, Mema's Apple Salad, Aunt Joy's Shrimp and Rice, Aunt Gail's "dressing" (aka stuffing). Food is a huge part of our heritage, but unforutnately the food that we grew up eating (and loving) is not necessarily the healthiest. M and I have committed to try and live a healthier lifestyle and the largest component of that will be eating better.

In the 2 months since our wedding, we have eaten healthier, but I find we are eating the same things over and over again. Chicken salads, turkey burgers, stir-fry dishes - all healthy, all delicious - but my tastebuds are getting a bit bored. So in order to spice up our kitchen (and the blog), I have deemed Tuesdays "Try This Receipe" Tuesday. M and I will comb thru the myriad of food blogs, receipes sites and cookbooks we own to find a "new to us" receipe. We will then preare that meal, and I'll showcase the experience with pics and our thoughts right here.

If you my readers, have any contributions to make to "Try This Receipe Tuesday" you can either e-mail me or leave it as a comment.