Two great tastes that taste great together!

Well, not really. I tried two recipes for dinner tonight; one appetizer and one entree. I made toasted ravioli and Swedish meatballs, which may seem like an odd combination. One's Italian and one is Swedish. However, the oven temps matched, so I went for it. So without further ado, my latest attempts at cooking.

Toasted Ravioli

1 c. milk
1 lg. egg, lightly beaten
2 c. dry Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 pkg. meat ravioli
2 qt. vegetable oil for frying
grated Parmesan cheese
fresh tomato sauce

Combine milk and egg in a bowl, making an egg wash. Place bread crumbs in separate bowl. Dip frozen ravioli in milk wash and coat with bread crumbs. Place in hot oil Fry ravioli until golden brown. Place on drain board. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately with tomato sauce.

I followed the recipe except that I baked my ravs, not fried them. I am really, really afraid of frying things in oil and I have never done it. So, I attempted to bake them. I baked them for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. I think I am going to lower the oven temp and let them bake more slowly next time, so they won't be puffed up and slightly dry. I did serve them with sauce, so that hid the dryness, but I ate some w/out sauce and it was noticeable. If you have any suggestions on baking or you want to laugh at me for being afraid of hot oil, leave me a comment. (Recipe source: Just Like A Bun in the Oven - Recipes for Bringing William Home)


Easy Swedish Meatballs


1-1/2 lb. ground beef
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Pork
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small onion, finely chopped
1-1/4 cups water
1 jar (12 oz.) beef gravy
1/2 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream


PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Mix meat, stuffing mix, eggs, onion and water until well blended. Shape into 32 meatballs, each about 1 inch in diameter. Place half of the meatballs in single layer in each of 2 foil-lined 13x9-inch baking pans.
BAKE 20 min. or until cooked through.
MIX beef gravy and sour cream in large saucepan. Add meatballs; mix lightly. Cook on low heat 5 min. or until sauce is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Sorry for the product placement, but I got this recipe from Kraft Foods and I C&P'd it from their site. The meatballs were really moist and delicious. I'd never put stuffing in them before, but I liked it. The only thing I didn't like was that I had enough gravy for the meatballs, but hardly any for the noodles. I think if I double the gravy and sour cream, it will be a perfect amount. Not enough to be swimming in gravy, but enough to lightly cover the noodles.

Happy 2008!

Happy New Year, everyone! What an exciting year this is going to be! Tax season is approaching, so I will get to see what working for a CPA is really like, hubster and I are planning a jaunt to Chicago over the summer, and I am planning on actually trying some of these recipes that I collect. I keep envisioning passing on my collection to a son or daughter some day, but "Mom's cookbooks" will hold more appeal if "Mom" actually used them!

Anyhoo, I've been asked if I plan to include pictures of my dishes. The answer is: I'll try to remember! We have a great digital camera that sits in its box unless the family gets together so I should get our money's worth from it.

So onto the food! Being New Year's Day, I'm sure you'll guess my theme: pork and sauerkraut! Well, you'd be wrong. I'm not a kraut fan; in fact I dislike most German food. I'm a shame to my heritage. No, my theme today is appetizers. We're heading to a friend's home to finally exchange gifts and I want to take something along. These recipes come from a wonderful cookbook I received as a shower gift. Kitchen Comforts: Recipes to Feed Body and Soul by Gay T. Boassy is right up my alley. She says that she's "not a chef, but I am a cook." The recipes are from her days cooking for her family of 8 (!!) children and one husband. They are all home cooking-type recipes and that is my "cuisine." Enough rambling, time for recipes!


Crescent Marshmallow Puffs

¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 8-oz cans crescent rolls
16 large marshmallows
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
¼ cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Glaze:
½ cup powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2-3 tsp milk

Combine sugar with cinnamon. Separate crescent dough into 16 triangles. Dip a marshmallow in melted butter; roll in sugar and cinnamon mixture. Wrap a dough triangle around each marshmallow and squeeze edges of dough tightly to seal. Sip in melted butter and place buttered-side down in deep muffin cups. Repeat with remaining marshmallows. Place pan on layer of foil in case of spill over. Bake at 375°F for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients. Drizzle over puffs before serving. Makes 16 puffs.

*This doesn't seem like an appetizer, but it's where I found it in the book. I included it because it seemed like a fun, easy recipe. Especially if you want to make something with kids.


Sausage and Cheese Balls

2 cups Bisquick
1 lb ground sausage
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Roll into bite-size balls. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes approx. 30 balls.

*I think this is what I am going to take with us tonight. I wanted more of a dip, but there's no law that says I can't make both! I have a more detailed (and expensive) version of this recipe from BettyCrocker.com (I think), but I like this one for its simplicity. I'm going to serve them with barbecue sauce for dipping.


Dill Dip

1 c mayonnaise
2 tsp seasoned salt
1 c sour cream
1 ½ Tbsp grated cheese
1 ½ Tbsp dried parsley
1 ½ Tbsp dill weed

Blend all ingredients together. Serve with cut raw vegetables. Makes approx. 2 cups.

*I submitted this with some recipes for a cookbook to help a friend bring her son home from Guatemala. If you are interested, I think Annie still has some for sale: http://gkline.com/cookbook.html Sorry, forgot my html!


Mexican Dip

2 cans refried beans
1 ½ lbs ground beef
8 oz bottle hot salsa
1 large onion, chopped
16 oz carton sour cream
green onions and black olives, chopped

Spread refried beans in a large casserole dish. Brown ground beef in skillet; drain well and spread over beans. Pour salsa over ground beef. Add chopped onions. Cover all with sour cream. Add chopped green onions and black olives on top, if desired. Serve with tortilla chips. Makes about 6 cups.

*This is something I'm also considering for tonight. I will use medium salsa, though and leave off the black olives. Jim hates them.

I'm going to look through my other cookbooks and online, so with the thousands of recipes out there, who know what I'll end up making!