Millie's Meatballs

I have no idea who Millie is, so don't ask me. It could have been the Millie who cut my hair when I was a little girl. It could have been the Millie who taught Sunday School at my church. I also had a great aunt Mildred, so it could have been her, but I don't honestly know. I'm not sure my mother knows, it's been that long ago. 

What I do remember is seeing and smelling delicious meatballs in Mother's most ornate chafing dish, with blue flames curling underneath. They were only made for special occasions and I was only allowed two before the guests arrived. 

When I began cooking on my own, this was the first recipe I requested. Instead of making the tiny 3/4 inch appetizer-size meatballs of my Mother's cocktail parties, I made them about twice that size and served them over extra wide eggs noodles for dinner. Now I can have them any time I want. And I do!

There are so many good things about this recipe. They are easy,  they can be made ahead, they freeze beautifully, they serve the dual purpose of being both appetizer and dinner, and further, made a bit larger are wonderfully tasty mini burgers when sandwiched between two halves of a little bun. Oh, did I mention that kids love them? That they are equally appropriate at cocktail parties as they are at a tailgate party? The perfect food. Thank you, Millie, whoever you are!

Over the course of years I've made some adjustments on this recipe.  You'll find them in parentheses as I wanted to leave the original recipe in tact.

Millie's Meatballs

1 pound ground beef (I use chuck)

1/2 cup crumbs (I use seasoned Italian bread crumbs)

1 egg

2/3 cup milk 

2 T. grated onion (I used dried minced onion)

1 teaspoon salt (I use Kosher)

1/8 teaspoon pepper (I use freshly ground black pepper)

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I use freshly grated nutmeg)

Mix together, form into small balls.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.  Pour a can of gravy* over the top and bake an additional 40 minutes.

*I use Jameson Beef Stock and make the gravy as directed by the instructions on the side of the jar

This post is linked to:

Delectable Tuesday

Tuesdays Tasty Tidbits

Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays

Tasty Tuesday Party

Tuesday Time Out

Tasty Tuesdays 

It's a good day for chicken soup...

...to warm you up inside and cure what ails you. We have some for now and some to freeze for later.

We're on the cusp of winter, so we have 65 degrees days followed by 45 degree days, in cases like this it's tough to know whether to make a hot soup or a cold one. Today I made both. This is a piping hot bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup. I used Ina Garten's recipe, and trust me when I tell you that woman knows her chicken soup!

These will go into the freezer.  I try to freeze half of every batch of soup I make.

Here is the recipe (though I must confess I add a bit of chopped onion and some Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning). It's from Barefoot Contessa Family Style, a wonderful cookbook (as are all of her books). Buy them! Every one of them, you won't be sorry.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

(Printable Recipe)

"Forget canned soup-this is the real thing. And wouldn't we all feel better after eating a bowl? I love having homemade chicken stock in the freezer so I can make this soup in a hurry."

1 whole (2 split) chicken breast, bone in, skin on

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 quarts homemade Chicken Stock

1 cup medium-diced celery (2 stalks)

1 cup medium-diced carrots (3 carrots)

2 cups wide egg noodles*

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breast on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until cooked through. When cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred or dice the chicken meat.

Bring the chicken stock to a simmer in a large pot and add the celery, carrots, and noodles. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, until the noodles are cooked.

Add the cooked chicken meat and parsley and heat through. Season to taste and serve.

*I use Goodman's wide egg noodles.

Serves 6