BBQ and Meatballs = Recipes

BBQ sauce - Use safe for you ingredients if you have allergies

tomato paste = 2 cups.
water = 4 cups
chili powder = 1 tablespoon
garlic powder = 1 tablespoon
onion powder = 2 tablespoons
honey = 2/3 cup
lemon juice = 2 tablespoons
vinegar = 1/4 cup
paprika = 1 tablespoon
oregano = 2 teaspoons
oil = 1/2 cup
salt = 1/2 tablespoon

All mixed well and dumped into a Crock pot for 24-48 hours on low.  If too thin, turn onto high for about 3 hours.

Meatballs:
2 pounds ground beef
2 jumbo eggs
6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
6 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
4 ounces shredded feta cheese
3 ounces shredded parmesan/romano/asiago cheeses
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix all together.  Form into meatballs.  Layer into glass baking dish.  Cover with BBQ sauce.  Cover and seal with foil.  Bake at 400 for 45 minutes, until meatballs cooked all the way through.

Casserole - beans, taters, chicken, cheese - super easy

Delicious one dish meal -
4 cups baked potatoes (peeled, chunked),
1 cup shredded cooked chicken,
4 ounces mozzarella cheese - cut into small bits
4 ounces mild cheddar cheese - cut into small bits,
1 can (1 1/2 cups) beans (drained of any broth) - any type will do, but I used black beans/kidney beans/pinto beans mixed.

Mix all a glass casserole dish (cake pan sized).  Cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Holiday Cooking Marathon - Pumpkin Mascarpone Pie, Pumpkin Soymilk Pie, Broccoli Casserole with cheese sauce

Holiday Cooking Marathon:

Pumpkin Mascarpone Pies –

3 ½ cups cooked, mashed pumpkin

1 ½ cups honey

6 large eggs

2 cups milk/cream mixture

12 ounces mascarpone cheese

8 ounces apricot preserves/jam

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon sea salt

Mix all until smooth.  Pour into glass or ceramic pie pans (at least 2).  Bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes until dry on top and starting to crack.

Pumpkin Soymilk Pie

8 ounces cooked, mashed pumpkin

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup honey

4 eggs

8 ounces vanilla soymilk

Mix all until smooth.  Pour into metal pie pan.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour until dry on top and starting to crack.

Broccoli Casserole with cheese sauce

Broccoli

3 bunches broccoli cut into bite-sized bits.

3 cups thick chicken broth (chicken broth boiled down to at least ½ original amount to concentrate flavors and to make freezer storage easier)

½ onion, finely minced

3 cloves garlic, minced/crushed

1 cup water

Put all ingredients in large stock pot.  Bring to boil.  Cover.  Boil 4 minutes until broccoli starts to soften and turns bright green.  DRAIN – SAVING THE BROTH!!.  Run cold water over broccoli to stop cooking.  Set aside.

Return broth to stock pan to use in cheese sauce.

Cheese sauce

8 ounces Colby cheese, shredded

8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces feta cheese, shredded/crumbled

4 ounces finely shredded Asiago cheese

4 cups full-flavor broth (ex. Broth from the broccoli, thick chicken broth, chicken broth plus extra bouillon cube, etc.)

1 cup 50/50 bean flour (Besan flour) and starch (I used a blend of tapioca starch and sweet potato starch)

2 cups cold water.

16 ounces sour cream

6 eggs

Bring broth to boil.  While broth comes to boil, mix water and flour/starch until smooth (Important that there are no lumps!!). 

Set cheeses in bowl beside stove.  Set sour cream beside stove. 

Once broth boils, drizzle flour/starch/water mixture into broth STIRRING CONSTANTLY.  It should thicken quickly.  IF too thick add more water.  If too thin add more starch/flour/water mixture.  Target is thick gravy consistency. 

Once thickened, still stirring constantly, start dropping handfuls of cheese into the pot.  Stir until melted.  Add another handful.  Continue until all cheese is added and melted. 

Stir in sour cream.  Bring to simmer.  Remove from heat.

In a large, metal bowl - Whisk eggs until smooth.  Slowly add hot cheese mixture ¼ cup at a time to temper the eggs.  When cheese mixture is completely added, sauce is complete. 

Put cooked broccoli in casserole dish.  Pour over cheese sauce until covered.  Bake in oven at 350 until browned and bubbly on top.

TIPS AND DISCUSSION

I had a ton of extra cheese sauce, so I also cut up a casserole dish worth of baby potatoes and covered those with the cheese sauce.  Still had a quart left, so am going to see if it mixes into mashed potatoes well.

My hands get sore because of fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis – so I did all mixing with a mixer. 

I have allergies, so I used safe for me ingredients.  Because so many of my friends and family have allergies, there are no brands listed here – too much possibility of reactions.

Thick broth – I make my own broth from chickens I stew.  When the bones and skin have had all the wonderful nutrients stewed out, I strain out the solids and then boil the broth down to about 1/6 of what the original volume was.  This creates something like a gel, which has an intense and wonderful flavor.  I use this for my base in lots of things that other people might use bouillon. 

Pies- the pies would probably be more flavorful with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove, and other sweet spices – however I am now reacting to cinnamon and clove.  L  However, if this is not the case for you, go for it!

There are no crusts on the pies because I am cooking for myself and several family members so I am working around multiple food restrictions.  If I were making this just for myself, I would use ground nuts, honey, bean flour, and butter to make a crust.

Still to make – grain-free bread which will then be made into stuffing.  Roast.  Wild Turkey.  Devilled Eggs.  Sweet Tea.  Mashed potatoes. 

I think the cooking is my favorite part of ANY holiday!