Meatball Subs

Quick Note: Very easy, very tasty--definitely a 'guy' recipe. I used extra lean ground beef (in an effort to be a little healthier). I'm sure you could also use lean ground turkey. I used pre-made marinara sauce, but I may try her sauce next time. I made more meatballs from the recipe than she does. They would be HUGE if they were divided as indicated below.

Meatballs

1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup (3 handfuls), Italian bread crumbs
1 medium onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons (several drops) Worcestershire sauce,
1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) grated Parmigiano or Romano
Coarse salt and black pepper

5 Minute Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, (2 turns around the pan)
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
A handful flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, about 2 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (28 ounces) can crushed tomatoes
1 (14 ounces) can chunky style crushed tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Other ingredients

4 semolina crusty sub rolls, with or without sesame seeds 1 (10-ounce) bag
(2 1/2 cups) shredded provolone or Italian 4-cheese blend
Shredded basil (sweet) or shredded arugula (spicy) leaves, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place ground sirloin in a large mixing bowl and punch a well into the center of meat. Fill well with the egg, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire, parsley, cheese, and a little salt and pepper.

Mix up meatball ingredients until well combined, yet not over-mixed. Divide mix into 4 equal parts, roll each part into 4 balls and space equally onto a nonstick baking sheet. Place meatballs in oven and roast about 12 minutes.

Break a meatball open and make sure meat is cooked through before removing from the oven.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add oil and garlic. When garlic starts sizzling, add herbs and crushed pepper. Allow oil to infuse for half a minute, then stir in the tomatoes and season sauce with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer until meatballs are removed from oven.

Combine meatballs and sauce and pile into sub rolls, 4 meatballs per sub. Top with shredded cheese and place under subs under broiler to melt cheese. Top with shredded basil or arugula.

Source: foodnework.com; Rachel Ray

Best Ever Coconut Cream Pie

Quick Note: I made this for Kevin's birthday (he is more of a pie guy than a cake guy). He claims it is the best coconut cream pie he has ever had. And he has had a lot of coconut cream pie. The recipe includes a few terms you may not often use. I have provided a few definitions. Hope that helps. :)

scald: heat until it almost boils
slurry: mixture used as a thickener
temper: adding warm mixture to the egg yolks to bring the eggs closer to the temperature of the mixture they will be added to. This keeps the eggs from immediately cooking and scrambling when they are added to the scalded mixture.

Ingredients

3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup cornstarch
5 egg yolks
1/4 t salt
1 cup flaked, unsweetened coconut
2 t vanilla extract
1 T butter
1 (9-inch) baked pie shell, recipe follows
1/3 cup toasted coconut
Whipped cream for garnish

Preparation
In a nonstick 1-quart saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar, coconut milk and 1 cup milk. Scald mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup milk and cornstarch together to make a slurry. Whisk egg yolks with salt in a medium bowl. Temper yolks by adding 1/2 cup scaled mixture to yolks and whisk well. Add yolk mixture and slurry back into milk mixture and whisk vigorously over medium heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add coconut, vanilla and butter. Whisk until uniformly incorporated.

Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover with pie and plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill the pie completely, about 2 hours.

Pie Shell

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
1 T sugar
1 t salt
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening
6 to 7 T ice cold water

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Mix well. Add the shortening and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water and let sit 1 minute. Either using a fork or your hands, carefully press the mixture to form a soft ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the dough from the fridge and place it in on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1/4 inch thick. Gently fold the circle of dough in half and then in half again so that you can lift it without tearing it, and unfold into a 9-inch by 2-inch deep-dish pie pan. Crimp the edges and chill again for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake pie shell until golden, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before using.

Yield: 1 deep dish pie crust

Source: foodnetwork.com; Emeril Lagasse

Slow Cooker Ribs

Quick Note: Try it. You won't regret it.

Ingredients

4 lbs of ribs (beef or pork)
2 T garlic powder
2 T salt
2 T black pepper
3 lemons, juiced

Preparation

Cut the ribs to fit your slow cooker. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the rack of ribs with the dry mix, covering all sides. If you have extra rub, pour it over the ribs in the slow cooker.

Squeeze the lemons over the ribs.

Cover and cook on low for 7-10 hours or on high for 5 hours. The meat will be more tender if cooked on low heat.

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking Blog

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

Quick Note: This has become a McGill household staple. Kevin requests this just about every time I ask "what would you like for dinner this week"? We have also just done the chicken part of the recipe, minus the pulling or the sauce. Another option (especially nice in non-grilling months) is to cook the chicken in the slow cooker with same rub ingredients. I tried this a few weeks ago and the chicken was very moist and easy to shred.

Ingredients

Chicken:
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
Cooking spray

Sauce:
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon molasses

Remaining ingredients:
8 (2-ounce) sandwich rolls, toasted
16 hamburger dill chips

Preparation

Prepare grill. To prepare chicken, combine first 7 ingredients in a small bowl. Rub spice mixture evenly over chicken. Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; cover and grill 20 minutes or until a thermometer registers 180°, turning occasionally. Let stand for 5 minutes. Shred with 2 forks.

To prepare sauce, heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion; cook for 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 tablespoons sugar and next 5 ingredients (through pepper); cook 30 seconds. Stir in ketchup, vinegar, and molasses; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on bottom halves of sandwich rolls; top each serving with 2 pickle chips and top roll half.

Source: Cooking Light

Chicken and Summer Veggie Tostadas

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons canola oil
12 ounces chicken breast tenders
1 cup chopped red onion (about 1)
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
1 cup chopped zucchini (about 4 ounces)
1/2 cup green salsa
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas
Cooking spray
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation
Preheat broiler.
Combine first 3 ingredients, stirring well. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the spice mixture evenly over chicken. Add chicken to pan; sauté for 3 minutes. Add onion, corn, and zucchini to pan; sauté for 2 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in salsa and 2 tablespoons cilantro. Cook 2 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates, stirring frequently.

Working with 2 tortillas at a time, arrange tortillas in a single layer on a baking sheet; lightly coat tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon about 3/4 cup chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla; sprinkle each serving with 1/4 cup cheese. Broil an additional 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Repeat procedure with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle each serving with about 3/4 teaspoon of remaining cilantro. Serve immediately.

Source: Cooking Light

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Quick Note: I was feeling cheap, so I used ham instead of prosciutto. I also don't know that the butter is necessary. I may try it without to lighten up the recipe a bit.

Ingredients

1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
5 teaspoons butter, melted
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 teaspoon paprika
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.
Place broth in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 15 seconds or until warm. Stir in butter and garlic. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and paprika in a medium shallow bowl; set aside.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound each to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, oregano, and pepper. Top each breast half with 1 slice of prosciutto and 1 tablespoon mozzarella. Roll up each breast half jelly-roll fashion. Dip each roll in chicken broth mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place rolls, seam side down, in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour remaining broth mixture over chicken. Bake at 350° for 28 minutes or until juices run clear and tops are golden.

Source: Cooking Light

Lean Hamburgers

Kevin and I buy very lean meat, but without a little help, this makes for some dry burgers. This is our go-to hamburger recipe. We love it! We never go 'out' for burgers.

1 lb 94% lean ground beef (or for the adventurous, ground buffalo)

1/3 of an onion, diced

3-4 T Worcestershire sauce

Mix ground meat with onion and sauce. Form into patties (3 or 4) and grill about 4 minutes on each side, or until meat is medium to medium-well. Wrap the patties in foil until you are ready to serve.

I usually buy fresh whole wheat buns from sprouts. Our favorite toppings include jalapeños, pepper jack cheese, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and your traditional, ketchup, light mayo, and mustard.