Meatball Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ho hum...yes, it's almost officially fall...Ok, that's not fair. I actually LOVE fall. Not as much as I love summer but I do love fall. I love romantic colorful walks at Holmes Lake, I love lunchtime picnics at Pioneers Park, I love all things pumpkin including muffins and bread, I love warm steamy drinks on the front pork in the morning, I love layers with cute boots and jeans, I love chili and hearty soups and oh how do I love football! So, as you can see, I so love many things fall...I'm just not a fan of what comes quickly quickly after fall. Nebraska's Harsh Winters! *shiver*

When I was single my big brother and I were roomies. We had a lot of fun cooking. He actually came up with this recipe but I didn't want to bug him for the official recipe, so I made up my own. And I will have to say, it turned out perfect. This has become one of my families favorite fall recipes. I hope it becomes one of yours too!

Meatball Stuffed Acorn Squash
Ingredients
3 acorn squash, halved and seeds scooped out
1 lb ground beef or pork
1 pkg dried onion soup and dip mix
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
3 Tbls butter
1/2 cup ketchup
couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce

Heat oven to 350. Place squash halves, cut-side down in a large baking dish.  fill with about 1/2 in deep of water. Bake for 20 minutes.
While the squash is baking, melt butter and add 1/4 cup of brown sugar, mix well.
In a medium mixing bowl add meat, soup packet, red pepper, and parsley. Combine well and divide into 6 equal meatballs.
Combine remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.
After baking the squash for 20 minutes, remove them from the oven. Carefully turn them over so that they are cut-side up. Divide butter drown sugar mixture between them evening, brushing the exposed yellow meat of the squash. Set a meat-ball into the center of each squash. Brush half of the ketchup glaze over top. Over with a lid or foil and bake for 40 - 50 minutes. When they are done, brush the remaining glaze and serve.

I hope you ENJOY this as much as we do!

warmly,
mary

Hungry Man Italian Sub with Olive Tepanade

I love a good sandwich. Ok, I will even go for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich most of the time. Or a peanut butter pickle sandwich (thanks to the Green Girls), yummy! Hey don't knock it until you've tried it. *focus* Anyway, so I am happy to make a sandwich and call it a meal. But the men in my life scoff when I mention making a sandwich, especially if I try to pass it off as dinner. I guess I can't blame 'em. I mean Superman runs miles and miles everyday and has a vigorous weight training schedule...I guess that he has a reason to be hungry man. That is why I had to make the Hungry Man Italian Sub.

This very substantial flavorful sandwich will satisfy the hungriest of appetites! It's full of meats and cheeses, oh ya and veggies. If you haven't tried a Tepanade on a sammy, you will be hooked after this one! A tepanade is a spread generally used on bread. More commonly used in France and the Mediterranean. It is sooo good!

Warning...feeding hungry men this sandwich will cause them to kiss the ground that you walk on! Watch your step!

layer it on...

don't be shy

ready for the grill

oohh la la...I mean *grunt, grunt, grunt* (Tim Taylor style)

Hungry Man Italian Sub


Ingredients
Olive Tepanade
6oz can black olives
7oz jar green olives
4oz capers
1 Tbl Hot Sauce (optional, but man can totally handle it!)
1 tsp dried Oregano
1/3 cup olive oil

Drain olives and capers. Dump all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until it is almost a paste consistency, but still small chunks.

Subs
6 large sub rolls
1 lb deli ham, sliced
1 lb hard salami, sliced
1/2 lb sliced mozzarella
1/2 lb sliced provolone
Red onion slices
Romain lettuce leaves
Sliced tomato

Slice the sub rolls in half length-wise and smear 1/6 of the olive Tempanade on each of the bottom half of the rolls. Ok, now that you've got that out of the way, start layering the meat on. Add 1/6 of the ham, salami, mozzarella and provolone to each of the rolls. Top with a few slices of red onion, tomato and romain lettuce. Add the top of the roll, cut in half and serve to a group of hungry men! We put ours in the panini grill! Even yummier with warm meat and melted cheese!

I dare you to try to eat a whole one. I have to cut one in thirds for myself! Serve, eat and enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Naturally, I'm a Cornhusker. So, I husked some Tamales!

So, if you read my post about Carnitas (which I'm sure you have because you follow my blog religiously and you haven't missed a post yet, but if for some weird reason you haven't, then you can totally check it out now) anyway, you'd know that I love me some Mexican food! Especially tamales! And in my travels I have had some amazing ethnic foods...have I mentioned the Cuban food from Miami...HELLO! But that's for another time. So, I have always wanted to experiment with tamales but have been too intimidated by failure. Then I realized that was silly because I'm not intimidated by much and I can really cook my butt off, so I'm going to try it. And seriously it wasn't hard. Very time consuming but not hard at all. And a lot of the time was just waiting. I finally finished them at about 9:30 last night and it was killing me because I couldn't try one that late, I have a girlish figure that I have to think about...so guess what we had for breakfast this morning. Yes, Tamales with Green Chile Sauce! They turned out perfect! I can't wait to make another batch, next time with cream cheese and jalapenos! Oh ya! The corn dough on the outside and the meat on the inside and the flavorful sauce over top! Yum!

Note: Since I have never made tamales before and didn't have any idea where to start for creating my own recipe, my resource was www.sonofthesouth.net. My recipe is adapted from theirs.

Read the entire process before you begin, it will help! I promise!

Perfect Tamales with Green Chili Sauce

There are 3 basic parts to this dish...so don't get overwhelmed...

Meat Filling

Ingredients

3 c (less than 1 lb) slow roasted shredded pork, beef or chicken  

***see below note for roasting suggestion                            
2 Tbl chili powder
1 Tbl garlic powder (next time I will use 6 fresh garlic cloves, minced)
1 Tbl cumin

After roasting the meat, shred the meat into small pieces, add the spices and mix well. Cover and place in the refrigerator.

RESERVE THE JUICE FROM THE MEAT FOR MASA DOUGH!!

*** Either the day before or first thing in the morning I would take a roast or whole chicken and place in a crockpot on low. Add a sliced onion and a few cloves of garlic. Roast for several hours depending on how much meat you're cooking. With the left over meat, you can save for another meal or freeze it for later.

Masa Dough

Ingredients
3 c masa flour
1 Tbl chili powder

1 Tbl garlic powder
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp salt (I didn't, but I know you will)
3/4 c corn oil
2 c reserved broth from the meat (or canned, if you didn't save the good juices or didn't roast your own meat)

Warm up the broth in the microwave for about a minute...it doesn't have to be hot hot (I don't think, mine wasn't).

Mix masa flour and all the seasonings. Add the oil and 1/2 c of meat broth at a time until you get to a peanut butter consistency. Stir as you add the broth. I used 1 1/2 c of the broth and then halfway through added another 1/2 c because the dough seemed to be getting dry.

Assembling the Tamales (sorry I just realized I didn't get any pictures of this process)

1 pkg Corn Husks (I found these in the produce section of the store)

Soak the corn husks for 2 hours. This recipe made about 15 tamales, so you won't need the whole package, but soak more than 15 in case you rip some or some are too small.

After soaking the husks and all the other ingredients are ready, it's time to roll 'em up! Lay one corn husk down at a time on your working surface, with the wider end closer to you. Measure just shy of 1/3 c of the dough onto the husk and with your fingers spread the dough out onto the edge of the left side going a little more than halfway towards the right side of the husk and about 2/3 of the way up. Lay a heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture in the center of the spread out dough. Beginning on the left, roll all the way to the right. I lifted the husk off the dough a little bit as I rolled tightly so that it didn't get tucked into the dough. Now fold the short end piece of the husk, over to close it up. You will have one narrow end closed and one wider end open.

After you get all the tamales stuffed and rolled, you will need too cook them in a medium saucepan, with a steamer on the bottom, so that the tamales will not touch the water on the bottom. If you have a large pan with metal colander, that would work too. Pour a couple inches deep of water in the pan and then set the tamales in standing up, folded end down, onto the steamer separating them from the water. Once all the Tamales are in, put the lid on and turn stove on medium heat. Once the water begins to boil, turn on medium low and cook for a full 2 hours. Check the water every 30 minutes or so to make sure it doesn't go dry. Add water if it gets low, don't burn yourself on the steam. After 2 hours your little tamales are done. Remove them from the pot. You can choose to eat them or freeze them. 

before

after

Green Chili Sauce

Ingredients

2 Tbl butter
2 Tbl flour
1 c milk
1 c sour cream
2 - 7oz cans chopped green chilies

In a saucepan on medium heat cook butter and flour until it turns a light golden brown, just a couple of minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk so that there are no lumps. Whisk in the sour cream and finally stir in the chilies.

Serve with the cooked tamales. You did it! See it wasn't that bad. It probably took me longer to write up the directions than it did to actually make them! Be super proud of yourself and enjoy a plate of the fruits of your labor!

Warmly,
Mary

Sweet Potato Hash

Happy Father's Day!

I am so thankful for a dad that taught me the importance of perseverance and hard work. I don't think I know many people who work as hard as he does. He gave me my love for sports, particularity for the Yankees and the Huskers! I get my strong opinions and desire to share them from him. He taught me the importance of education and that to continue to learn for the entirety of your lifetime. This man raised me in a good Christian home and taught me that it's about a relationship with our creator not about religious actions. And he showed me so significantly his respect for my mother. Happy Father's Day Dad...I know you don't care all that much about food, so here's my tribute to you! 

Ok, now for the reason why you all came here, FOOD...

I don't know why I didn't think of this recipe before! It is a total win in our home. It comes from the love of the traditional greasy crispy fried corned beef hash that the family loves to eat on a regular basis. But it's so greasy and salty and we don't generally eat white potatoes either. I a so happy to share this Sweet Potato Hash with you! I wish you could all come over for breakfast to try it! It is ooohh, so yummy, you won't believe that is a "better for you" recipe! Now I'm not going to act like my new version of Hash is all healthy, but it is tons healthier than the version we used to eat.

I made mine on a whim a few days ago, and it was perfect! So just for fun, I searched for a recipe on-line to compare. I have no desire to try any of the recipes that I came across...this one is perfect, it tasted perfect, the warrior and the princess cleaned their plates and wanted more! I don't blame them...it is really good and super easy!

Anyway, I better get going. This one is on the menu this morning for a little warrior and princess to bring their superman dad for breakfast in bed! I am so extremely thankful that my children have a loving and dedicated dad to celebrate today! Happy Father's Day Superman! Happy Father's Day to all you dads! 

Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients

1lb breakfast sausage

1 sweet potatoe

1/2 onion

4 garlic cloves

4 eggs (optional)

Wash and dice the sweet potatoes into small pieces. I kept the peeling on, there's nutrition in there! Boil the potatoes in a medium pot of hot water until they are fork tender...not mushy. Brown the breakfast sausage over medium heat in a large skillet. Dice the onion and mince the garlic while the the sausage is browning. When the the sausage is just about done, drain the grease, do not rise it under water, you don't want to rinse off that great flavor! Just drain it. When the potatoes are done, drain the water and add them to the cooked sausage and turn the heat on the skillet to med-high. It needs to be HOT! Add the onion and garlic. Press down the meat mixture and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Stir and press down again and cook for another 2- 3  minutes. If it looks crispy, then it's done. If not, press down again and cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. The goal is for nice crispy crunchy potatoes...not burned! I topped mine with a fried egg for each serving.  

Oh, yummy! Go make some now! You'll start keeping sweet potatoes and sausage on hand after this one!

Enjoy!

Warmly,
Mary

Holy Cow Good Beans

Have you ever smelled bacon and sweet molasses cooking. Oh heaven! Just wait!

Even if you are not much of a cook in the kitchen, you can make this! I promise! My momma taught me how to cook and so I thought everyone knew how, until I was an adult and learned that many of my friends grew up on take-out and hamburger helper. The one time I made food from a box, warrior boy was 3 and he told me that it looked like poo, smelled like poo, tastes like poo and he didn't want to eat poo. Seriously! And it took just as long to make it as if I had made dinner from scratch, so I decided to stick with what I know.

What does this have to do with beans? Absolutely nothing! But the point is, I am so thankful that my busy mom took the time to teach each of my siblings (I have 3 brothers) and myself to cook. In fact my brothers cook much like I do, creatively without specific directions from a  recipe. I hope to have them each guest cook with me on here. But this brother lives about 600 miles away so I'll have to cook this one on my own. The recipe comes from my older brother. These are the best beans I have ever had in my entire life! They are now a staple at every BBQ we host and they get rave reviews every time. These beans are hearty enough to eat as a main dish. Eric has also mastered the art of making sushi (yum-o), bacon fried rice, he grills meat and veggies like it's nobody's business and has a melon salsa that leaves you with an empty tortilla chip bag every time!

Plus these are so easy, how can you not make them homemade?                           

Oh how I wish you could smell them cooking right now!

My big brother holding the princess almost 3 years ago!

Bacon and onions getting happy.

As is bacon wasn't enough...more meat please!

No picture can do these justice, so just give them a try.

Eric’s Perfect Beans

Ingredients

½ onion

5 thick sliced bacon (uncooked)

1/2 lb ground beef

2 Tbl mustard

1 c BBQ sauce

2 tsp liquid smoke

1Tbl molasses or brown sugar (we prefer molasses)

2 cans baked beans

Chop the onion and cut the bacon slices into pieces and put them into a medium saucepan on medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes then add the ground beef, break up the meat as you cook it. Cook for another 5ish minutes, until the beef is pretty much browned. Add all of the remaining ingredients and set the stove to low and simmer on the stove for 1 hr, let all the flavors marry and get happy! It's that simple and oh so good! These will be the tastiest beans you have ever eaten in your whole life!

Isn't he handsome!

Thanks big brother for letting me share one of your recipes! Come visit soon! Love you!

Warmly, 

Mary

Slap 'yo momma good! (sorry mom)

A couple years ago two girlfriends of mine and I took a long weekend trip to Nashville. It was one of the most memorable trips I've been on. We went for a  Mother's Of PreSchoolers convention. I learned a lot and my heart was changed in so many ways. But it wasn't all business. There was tons of girl time too! And to make it even better, we stayed at the beautiful Gaylord Opryland, one of the most amazing hotels in the south! What are three moms without their kids to do on a Friday night in Nashville! Head out for some BBQ and Line Dancing (don't kid yourself, the other 2, not me!)! Anyway, on our way downtown to the Wildhorse Saloon, the bus driver said that we had to try the ribs, they were so good they'd "make you wanna slap 'yo momma"! I know! If I even thought something like that, you'd better watch out! Whoa! But with a statement like that, I had to try them! And they were ok. But you just have to try mine...cause they are so good they'll make you wanna...eat the whole rack! :)

Plus, mine are much healthier than most recipes you find that are loaded with sugar and salt.

Preparing the meat with 2 rubs

With and without BBQ Sauce

Just getting started

Lickn' them bones clean!

Superman tearing them up too (without BBQ sauce)

Perfectly Delicious RIBS

Ingredients

1 rack baby back ribs

2 tsp liquid smoke

3 Tbl Dijon mustard

1 Tbl brown sugar

2 Tbl paprika

1 tsp Cheyenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce, we like KC Masterpiece Original and Famous Dave’s Rich and Sassy

Preheat the oven to 250. Lay a very large piece of foil over a baking sheet. Set the ribs on the foil. Let them hang out while you prepare the rubs. In a small bowl mix together the liquid smoke and Dijon mustard. In another small bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. Brush, spoon or use your fingers to generously rub the mustard mixture all over each side of the ribs. Next sprinkle the seasoning rub over the entire set of ribs too. Fold the foil over the ribs, completely sealing all ends of the foil pouch. Bake in the oven for 2 hours. Remove from the oven and get your grill fired up, set on High.

Cut the rack into portions of 2 or 3 bones. For the healthiest choice, omit BBQ but for the tastiest choice, lather up with BBQ sauce, and don’t be shy! Lay the ribs on the hot hot grill racks and reduce the heat to low. Close the lid and let them hang out for about 5 minutes. Coat with more BBQ sauce and turn. Cook for another 5 minutes. As long as you keep an eye on the ribs and the flame isn’t too high, you will be fine, but the BBQ sauce does have sugar and there is a fine line between delicious caramelizing and nasty burning! 10 minutes is good enough for us but you are welcome to continue to cook longer. Just a warning though…the meat will literally fall off the bones into the grill if it sits on there too long! MMM…they are so tender! Once they have met their perfection, remove from the grill and load up on your plate with other summer favorites! We enjoyed these on Memorial Day with a summer salad and Eric’s Best Beans, which you will get to see later this week! The beans and the ribs pair perfectly together!

Enjoy!

Warmly, 

Mary

A Happy Couple

I love summer! I love being outside and the heat. I love cooking outside. I LOVE grilling...love it! Have you ever had peppers and onions on brats? When Superman introduced me to it several years ago I thought it sounded awful....until I tried it...the bursting sweetness of the caramelized veggies paired with the salty savory meat, is a beautiful match-up. Another great thing about it is that you can choose healthy options of it too. Choose a good brat...low fat, low sodium and no added junk. I have found these amazing buffalo brats. Buffalo or bison meat is an extremely lean and very flavorful meat. An intense version of beef, but not "gamey" like some meats.

Peppers and Brats

Ingredients

1 pkg brats

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1/2 onion

Turn the grill on medium. Slice peppers and onion. Place inside a large piece of foil and wrap tightly. Set on the grill. Cook your brats on the grill too. Follow the directions for the brats according to their package, it can vary so much. The peppers and onions will need to cook for 10 - 15 minutes, depending on if you like the peppers a little crunchy or not.

Remove brats and veggies from the grill. If you're eating it on a bun, place your brat in the bun and top with the veggies. If you're going for the low-carb option, slice the brat and top with the veggies. Either way, you will be happy for this food marriage!

Warmly, 

Mary

Famous McCoy Pizza

I can cook and I guess I take for granted that I come from a home in which my mother made all of our meals, every day, even a hot breakfast. I have friends that rave over the simplest of foods that I make. Like homemade pizza! Ever since I was a little girl, my family made homemade pizza. It was one of our favorite treats. Everyone pitches in to make it. My mom, my dad and even my three brothers will make it. You can guarantee that when we are lucky to have us all together, pizza will be made!

This one is mine and the kid’s favorite toppings, but next I’ll do our second fave and the story behind it…buffalo chicken pizza.

For all of you who have been waiting years for this recipe (Monica, have you been waiting 7 or 8 years for this?), here it is…in all of its simplistic wonderfulness!

Oh and one more thing. I do use a package mix for the crust. I am on a mission though for the best recipe for homemade crust, I will keep you updated!

Look at that sweet little Princess hand meticulously placing each pepperoni...just like her momma!

Famous McCoy Pizza

Ingredients

 1 Pkg pizza dough (I use Betty Crocker. Yes, I really do!)

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 T olive oil

Toppings (whatever you choose)

½ lb ground beef

¼ cup diced onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ c tomato sauce

1 pkg Pepperoni

½ cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a small bowl or measuring cup add pizza dough pkg and mix in Italian seasoning. Add the water as directed on the package. Follow the directions on the package. I usually mix well, but not too much, pour the oil over the dough ball, cover with a kitchen towel, place on the stove and turn the oven on to 450. Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes.

Brown the beef on a skillet add the onion and the garlic the last few minutes of the beef cooking. 

Oil the pizza pan with olive oil and spread the pizza dough on the pan. Drizzle or brush more olive oil around the edge of the crust. Place the crust in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and start topping. Add the sauce, I usually sprinkle a little more Italian seasoning on the sauce, sometimes I sprinkle caraway seed over the sauce too. Next the pepperoni, topped with the beef and mushrooms. I add the mozzarella cheese first then the cheddar because I like the way the cheddar looks golden on the cooked pizza. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

Slice and love!

Warmly, 

Mary