Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

What to do with all of those garden fresh tomatoes?  Since I made a double batch of fresh marinara sauce, I decided to make meatballs stuffed with mozzarella to serve over whole grain thin spaghetti.  This will forever be on our menu rotation!  It was so yummy!  Your favorite jarred pasta sauce will accompany these meatballs perfectly for a truly convenient meal.  I served this with a simple Greek style salad with fresh chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, a tiny bit of Romaine lettuce, & feta cheese served with a Greek vinaigrette.

Ingredients:
Olive oil or cooking spray for greasing pan
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large egg (I used egg beaters equivalent, 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup milk
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
Twelve 1-inch mozzarella balls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 9 x 13 baking dish with oil or cooking spray.

Put beef and remaining ingredients (except for mozzarella balls!) into large mixing bowl and mix with your hands until combined.  Measure 1/4 cup of the beef mixture and roll into a ball.  Press into the center with your thumb to make indentation for a mozzarella ball.  Place cheese in this indentation and press the mixture around the cheese to completely cover.  You should end up with 10 to 12 meatballs.  Arrange the meatballs on prepared baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cooked through.

Serve with your favorite marinara sauce and pasta!

Fresh Marinara Sauce in the Slow Cooker

As I've said before, I just love fresh tomatoes!  I made this marinara sauce in the slow cooker and the aroma as it cooked all day was tantalizing!  This is a good stand alone sauce or it would be great with the addition of shrimp or meat balls.

Yields about 4 cups of sauce

4 pounds tomatoes
1 small onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 small cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus  more to taste
1/2 teaspoon Splenda (or 1 teaspoon sugar)
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Peel, seed, and coarsely chop the tomatoes, retaining as much juice as possible.  I quartered the tomatoes and squeezed the seeds out over a strainer placed over a bowl to catch the juice.  You can then either coarsely chop the tomatoes or use a potato masher to do this in your slow cooker.  Dice the onion.  Mix all together in slow cooker.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  If your sauce seems too thin, then mix together 1 Tablespoon corn starch and 1 Tablespoon water and stir into the sauce to thicken it.  If  you want a less chunky sauce, use an immersion blender & blend it to your desired "chunkiness".

Before serving sprinkle with fresh basil and shaved parmesan cheese.

You're now ready to be employed by the best Italian restaurant as the marinara chef!

You can tweak your sauce with the addition of carrots, celery, a pinch or two of red pepper flakes and a dash of red or white wine!  Experimenting is fun so make it your own!

Fresh Marinara Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

Yield: About 4 cups sauce

4 pounds tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Small onion
2 to 3 small cloves of garlic
1 Tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste 

1/2 teaspoon Splenda

Peel, seed, and coarsely chop the tomatoes, retaining as much juice as possible.  I quartered the tomatoes and squeezed the seeds out over a strainer placed over a bowl to catch the juices.  You can then either coarsely chop the tomatoes or use a potato masher to do this in your pot.  Finely dice the onion.  Mix all together in slow cooker.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  If your sauce seems too thin, then mix together 1 Tablespoon corn starch and 1 Tablespoon water and stir into the sauce to thicken it.  If you want a less chunky sauce, then  use an immersion blender to your desired “chunkiness”!

Before serving sprinkle with fresh basil and shaved parmesan cheese.

You’re now ready to be employed by the best Italian restaurant as the marinara chef!

*You can tweak your tomato sauce with the addition of carrots, celery, and/or a pinch of red pepper flakes.  A dash of red or white wine also complements the sauce.

Summertime Individual Tomato Pies

Yippee!  I just purchased a giant basket of farm grown tomatoes from our local farm market!  They are beautiful and they are  yummy!  I just made two versions of this pie:  I made 6 individual pies in a regular muffin pan and I made 24 appetizer pies in a mini muffin pan.  I am smiling with delight as I polished off an individual pie a few minutes ago!



INGREDIENTS
6 tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
2 cups light mayonnaise
3 cups shredded Colby Jack/Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Pie crust for two 12-inch piees

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. You can make this recipe as two regular-sized pies, individual pies or mini muffin pan appetizer pies. Divide the pie crust into 24 balls and roll them out so they’re thin and about the size of a small tortilla. Don’t worry if the edges are rough and messy. Drape and tuck these into two muffin tins to make two dozen mini pie crusts. Prick the bottoms three times with a fork, and put them in the oven until they’re golden brown.

Meanwhile, peel and very coarsely chop the tomatoes.  To remove some of the moisture from the tomatoes for a less watery pie, place tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon table salt. Allow to drain for ten minutes.(You can skip this step if you like). Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and basil to taste.

Divide the tomato mixture between the baked pie crusts.  Combine the mayonnaise and cheese and spread on top of each pie (it should be level with the top of the muffin tin).  Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes for regular pie, 25 minutes for individual pies, and 15-20 minutes for mini appetizer pies.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly to set. Run a knife around the outsides and gently lift out. Serve immediately or refrigerate and serve chilled.

Summer Squash Gratin

I just love summer time vegetables that I pick up fresh from our local farmer's market!  I've made many squash casseroles, but this may be my new favorite!

  This is so yummy… it’s my take on a recipe from Southern Living

   Serves 8-10 (can easily be halved)

• 4 pounds yellow squash, washed & sliced
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 cup  freshly shredded  cheese (I used Mexican blend)
• 1 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup bread crumbs (I used Italian Panko)
• 1 cup  freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• ¾  cup crushed French fried onions

Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Cook yellow squash and sweet onion in boiling water to cover in a Dutch oven 8 minutes or just until vegetables are tender; drain squash mixture well.
2. Combine squash mixture, shredded cheddar cheese, next 7 ingredients. Spoon into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.
3. 3. Stir together melted butter and French fried onions. Sprinkle over squash mixture.
4. 4. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until set.

Fresh Tomato Corn Pie

Being a tomato lover, I'm really enjoying the home grown tomatoes from our local produce stand!  Tomato sandwiches, tomatoes stuffed with tuna salad, roasted tomatoes, tomatoes and basil on pasta, caprese salad and the list goes on.  One of my favorite lunch dishes is tomato pie... but of course, it can be served for breakfast, brunch, or supper for that matter!  Here's my take on it:

1 pie crust (I used Pillsbury refrigerated crust)

Filling:

3 large eggs (or ¾ cup Egg Beaters)

1 cup milk (or ½ cup half & half and ½ cup milk)

½ cup shredded Mexican cheese, divided

2 medium tomatoes, peeled & sliced – cut each slice into quarters (or 1 large tomato)

1 cup fresh corn kernels (or you can use frozen corn kernels)

Salt and pepper to taste (about ¼ teaspoon of each)

1 Tablespoon basil (optional)

¼ cup Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Place the pie crust in a 9-inch pie or quiche pan.  Prick with fork and bake for about 15 minutes… this will avoid the dreaded soggy crust!  Once it’s out of the oven, sprinkle the Panko bread crumbs lightly over the crust… this also helps avoid sogginess.

Whisk the eggs, milk, salt, pepper & basil in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle half of the cheese over the crust.  Then layer the tomatoes evenly over the cheese. Top this with the   corn and then the remaining ¼ cup cheese.  Pour the egg mixture over the top.

Bake the pie until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.  Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Fresh Baked Creamed Corn

Now I have to admit that my Mom and Grandmother made the BEST creamed corn ever!  Though I have attempted this many times over the years, I just can't do it as well as they could.  Here's a recipe that I tried this week that turns out to be very similar and it's super easy and quite tasty.

Servings: about 6

Ingredients

• 8 ears of fresh corn
• ⅔ cups Heavy Cream
• 3 Tablespoons Butter (salted)
• ½ teaspoons Salt To Taste
• Ground Pepper To Taste

Remove the corn from the husks. In a large, deep bowl, slice off the kernels of corn. With the dull side of the knife (or a regular dinner knife), press and scrape the cob all the way down to remove all the bits of kernel and creamy milk inside.
Add heavy cream, salt to taste, a generous amount of ground pepper and butter; mix well. Pour mixture into a baking dish. Bake at 350Fº for 30 to 45 minutes or until thoroughly warmed through & the corn is tender.