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Ice Tray Meatballs

TheresaLeave a comment

My coworker’s husband posted a video of him making meatballs using an ice cube tray a little while back. Interesting right? I knew I had to make it when he said he lined the trays with BACON before adding the meat mixture. My son loves bacon but I rarely make it as it’s highly processed.

In this recipe though it is not all bacon but every single meatball is covered with bacon. The whole thing is baked, so the bacon gets crispy and the grease drains off too – a win-win if you ask me!

Serve with dipping sauce of your choice as an appetizer or snack, or add rice pilaf with some salad and you’ve got an easy lunch or dinner done!

This will be perfect to serve as an appetizer for your holiday spread too!

Makes 28 meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef, chicken, or turkey
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 8 – 10 slices bacon
  • Barbecue sauce, Ranch, sweet chili sauce, etc. for dipping
  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the ground meat, onion, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, milk, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until combined. Set aside.
  3. Line two empty ice trays with bacon, (my trays took 2 strips per row, total of 4 per tray) overlapping each piece to cover the tray completely. Fill with ground meat mixture, pressing down to fill each cube completely.
  4. Flip the ice tray over onto a baking sheet, gently squeeze cubes to release meatballs, and carefully lift the ice cube tray off.
  5. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and browned, and meatball is cooked through.
  6. Transfer the meatball sheets to a cutting board and cut the bacon to create individual meatballs.
  7. Serve with your choice of dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Meat mixture
Lining the ice cube trays with bacon and filling with meat mixture.
Ready for the oven.
Yummy!

Ice Tray Meatballs

  • Servings: 6-8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Bacon wrapped meatball made in ice cube trays, need I say more?

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef, chicken, or turkey
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 3/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 8 – 10 slices bacon
  • Barbecue sauce, Ranch, sweet chili sauce, etc. for dipping

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. In a large bowl, mix the ground meat, onion, garlic, parsley, bread crumbs, milk, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper until combined. Set aside.
  3. Line two empty ice trays with bacon, (my trays took 2 strips per row, total of 4 per tray) overlapping each piece to cover the tray completely. Fill with ground meat mixture, pressing down to fill each cube completely.
  4. Flip the ice tray over onto a baking sheet, gently squeeze cubes to release meatballs, and carefully lift the ice cube tray off.
  5. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes, or until bacon is crisp and browned, and meatball is cooked through.
  6. Transfer the meatball sheets to a cutting board and cut the bacon to create individual meatballs.
  7. Enjoy!

Thermomix Sourdough Pizza Crust

TheresaLeave a comment

10.11.19

I have been using my sourdough starter more than usual lately but often for tried and true recipes, like bread or waffles.
Today before dropping my son off at soccer, I realized I forgot to prepare dinner. I was thinking of what I have in the pantry and refrigerator when I remembered that I have not made pizza in a while.

So a few minutes before leaving, I mixed this dough in the Thermomix, drove the to practice, stayed a little to walk our dog around the park, then drove back home to prep our pizza dinner. The dough has risen perfectly by then so all I did was roll and stretch it to fit the pizza pans and then top with sauce, cheese, sausages, and pepperoni and baked. My husband and son came home right as I was topping the dough with cheese. Perfect Friday dinner with a salad!

*I did not let the dough rest after shaping, adding the toppings right away and I had a thin, crisp, cracker like crust. If you prefer it more bread like, let rest for 30 minutes after shaping, but before topping.*

  • 1 cup sourdough discard starter
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 1/2 cups “00” flour or unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast, optional

Place all ingredients in the thermomix bowl and set to 3 minutes/Knead.

*to make without the Thermomix: place starter and water in a large bowl. Mix well. Add oil, flour, salt, and yeast if using. Mix well until a ball forms then knead in the bowl for 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. Continue with the recipe.*

Let rise until double, 2 to 5 hours, depending on how strong your starter is, and if you used the additional yeast.

Remove dough from bowl onto a floured surface. Pour some olive oil in your palm and divide dough in half to make 2 14-inch pizzas. Pat the oil all around the dough as you shape it into balls. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.

Grease pans with olive oil. Roll or stretch dough balls to the size of the pizza pans. Transfer to pans and stretch to fit.

Brush edges of the dough with olive oil, top with whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you like and bake at 550F for 8-15 minutes until bubbly, browned, and toppings are cooked through.

Enjoy it hot!

Thermomix Pizza Crust

  • Servings: 3-5
  • Difficulty: easy
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An easy to make pizza crust using the Thermomix.

Ingredients

1 cup sourdough discard starter

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 cups “00” flour or unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon instant yeast, optional

Directions


Place all ingredients in the thermomix bowl and set to 3 minutes/Knead.

Let rise until double, 2 to 5 hours, depending on how strong your starter is, and if you used the additional yeast.

Remove dough from bowl onto a floured surface. Pour some olive oil in your palm and divide dough in half to make 2 14-inch pizzas. Pat the oil all around the dough as you shape it into balls. Cover and rest for 10 minutes.

Grease pans with olive oil. Roll or stretch dough balls to the size of the pizza pans. Transfer to pans and stretch to fit.

Brush edges of the dough with olive oil, top with whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you like and bake at 550F for 8-15 minutes until bubbly, browned, and toppings are cooked through.

Enjoy it hot!

Here are the links to the 14 inch pizza pans that I use in the home oven.

Cuisinart Chef’s Classic Nonstick Bakeware 14 inch Pizza Pan:

Wilton Perfect Results Nonstick Pizza Crisper Pan 14 inch Pizza Pan:

Korean Style Pork Ribs

TheresaLeave a comment

My son loves ribs and my go to recipe was always the braised ribs that I featured here https://athomewiththeresa.com/2019/07/06/braised-pork-ribs/.

Today I wanted to branch out a little since we had dinner at Shik Do Rak (Korean bbq) a couple of weeks ago, and Enzo loved the Korean barbecue beef. This has some similar ingredients to the other recipe so I think it will be yummy. I only have pork ribs on hand so I am using pork ribs and since it is drizzling outside I’m going to try to braise it instead of marinating overnight and grilling it. Hoping it will turn out good!

It did turn out really good! Top with chopped green onions then serve.

Ingredients:

3/4 soysauce

1 cup water

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 – 1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

3 pounds pork ribs, cut into individual bones

Chopped green onions, for serving

Procedure:

This is the easy part if you’re braising! Place everything in a dutch oven and simmer until almost dry, about an hour. Sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.

*If you want to grill it instead, place everything in a ziplock and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Drain and grill until done. Sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.

Place everything in the dutch oven.
Done!

Korean Style Pork Ribs

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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An easy, braise recipe that uses pantry ingredients and is so delicious. .

Ingredients

3/4 soysauce

1 cup water

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 – 1 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

3 pounds pork ribs, cut into individual bones

Chopped green onions, for serving

Directions

This is the easy part if you’re braising! Place everything in a dutch oven and simmer until almost dry, about an hour. Sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.

*If you want to grill it instead, place everything in a ziplock and marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Drain and grill until done. Sprinkle with chopped green onions before serving.

Sauteed Green Beans with Beef, Tofu, and Rice Noodles

TheresaLeave a comment

I grew up in the Philippines where breakfast, lunch, and dinner consisted of multiple dishes prepared by the household cook/s. Meats, veggies, fruits, sweets, and always, rice. Meat or fish is the main dish, then there would be 1-3 sides of veggies, some fruits and desserts. Usually vegetables were “ginisa” (sautéed) with garlic, onions, and tomatoes. They were always delicious specially with fried main dishes.

Nowadays, with no live in help, a full time job and a kid with a lot of extra curricular activities, I only get to serve one side and one main, usually with some salad or some sort of cooked veggies. Most of the time I would make an all in one dish, meat and vegetables together in the main dish.

This is one of my favorite, although slicing the green beans at an angle is work, it’s worth it as it tastes yummy! You could use ground or cubed beef or pork, even chicken, add cubes of fried tofu, chayote, whatever you feel like. It adapts to whatever you have on hand easily although I always have the green beans, meat, and the noodles. Take the amounts stated in the recipe only as a guideline, add more or less to adjust to your taste.

This is my version for today’s recipe. I added tofu because I had some on hand.

Slice the beans at an angle

Ingredients:

1 pound green beans, ends removed and sliced at an angle

1 block extra firm tofu, cubed

2 tablespoons oil

1 pound ground beef

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

4-6 cups water

1/2 package of dried rice noodles, soaked in water

1-2 tablespoons Beef bouillon, adjust to taste

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce, optional

Procedure:

Rinse and slice the green beans. You’ll have to do this one by one as i never did a good job with even 2 at a time. Place in a large bowl with water and set aside.

Heat the oil in a fry pan and fry the tofu until browned on both sides. Set aside.

Fry the tofu until browned and crispy.

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and add the ground beef. Let it cook and brown, breaking up big pieces with a spatula.

Move the meat to one side of the pan and add garlic to the empty side. Brown lightly then add onions. Cook until onions are softened and lightly browned. Add tomatoes and cook a few more minutes until tomatoes are soft. Stir in the ground beef and mix well.

Add the fried tofu, 4 cups of water (adding more later as necessary), drained noodles, bouillon powder, soy sauce and fish sauce, if using. Make sure noodles are submerged. Simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes, until noodles are cooked. Add water if necessary.

Add the sliced green beans and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Sauteed Green Beans with Beef, Tofu, and Rice Noodles

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: easy
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A refreshing, light veggie side with beef, tofu, and noodles.

Ingredients

1 pound green beans, ends removed and sliced at an angle

1 block extra firm tofu, cubed

2 tablespoons oil

1 pound ground beef

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

4-6 cups water

1/2 package of dried rice noodles, soaked in water

1-2 tablespoons Beef bouillon, adjust to taste

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce, optional

Directions

Rinse and slice the green beans. You’ll have to do this one by one as i never did a good job with even 2 at a time. Place in a large bowl with water and set aside.

Heat the oil in a fry pan and fry the tofu until browned on both sides. Set aside.

Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat and add the ground beef. Let it cook and brown, breaking up big pieces with a spatula.

Move the meat to one side of the pan and add garlic to the empty side. Brown lightly then add onions. Cook until onions are softened and lightly browned. Add tomatoes and cook a few more minutes until tomatoes are soft. Stir in the ground beef and mix well.

Add the fried tofu, 4 cups of water (adding more later as necessary), drained noodles, bouillon powder, soy sauce and fish sauce, if using. Make sure noodles are submerged. Simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes, until noodles are cooked. Add water if necessary.

Add the sliced green beans and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Serve hot.


Lomo Saltado (Peruvian Stir Fried Beef with French Fries)

TheresaLeave a comment

This is one of those recipes that every family in Peru makes a little different from the others, so I encourage you to try all if you can!

When I was in Lima at my in law’s home, the cook said that no one likes onions in the household so she is adding thinly sliced celery instead. I’m all for adding veggies so I picked that up and have been adding it since. I usually add a handful of chopped cilantro but somehow I did not have it right now. I was going to go get some tomorrow but my dish was gone before then. Try it with cilantro if you can as it adds another layer of flavor that goes really well with this dish.

For the french fries, I usually use the ones available in the freezer section of the grocery stores to make this dish come together that much faster. I air fry the whole bag of fries while I am cooking the meat on the stove. If you have the time and inclination, feel free to substitute home made fries!

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 2 lb sirloin steak, cut into strips
  • salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 medium tomato, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 stalks celery, sliced thinly into matchstick sizes
  • 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lb french fries, fried
  • white rice, cooked with some oil and salt

Procedure:

  1. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a large pan over high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, 5-10 minutes. Move to one side of the pan.
  2. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan, then add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, until browned. Add the onion and cook until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomato, and aji amarillo paste, and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the tomatoes have released some of their juices, but are still intact.
  3. Add the soy sauce and vinegar and stir to combine, let boil for about 1 minute.
  4. Add the fries, and cilantro. Toss gently to coat the fries in the sauce.
  5. Serve with rice on the side.

Lomo Saltado(Peruvian Stir Fried Beef with French Fries)

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: moderate
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A very tasty Peruvian main dish that is served with rice and topped with french fries.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 2 lb sirloin steak, cut into strips
  • salt, to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 medium tomato, sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 stalks celery, sliced thinly into matchstick sizes
  • 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lb french fries, fried
  • white rice, cooked with some oil and salt

Directions

  1. Heat 2 tablespoon of oil in a large pan over high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper, and cook until browned, 5-10 minutes. Move to one side of the pan.
  2. Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the same pan, then add the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes, until browned. Add the onion and cook until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. Add tomato, and aji amarillo paste, and cook for another 5-7 minutes, until the tomatoes have released some of their juices, but are still intact.
  3. Add the soy sauce and vinegar and stir to combine, let boil for about 1 minute.
  4. Add the fries, and cilantro. Toss gently to coat the fries in the sauce.
  5. Serve with rice on the side.

Yaki Soba (Japanese Stir Fried Noodles)

TheresaLeave a comment

I went to Mitsuwa last week with my mom and one of the items I got was this bag of Yaki Soba (of course I forgot the cabbage!). This is the short cut version for busy weekday lunch/dinner. Of course you can prepare the sauce from scratch but sometimes, we just do not have time to do everything we want to do. For those days, I am more than grateful for semi-prepared foods. This allows you to get something on the table pretty fast, yet still good for you, with all the veggies, protein and carbs that your body needs.

Everything needed to flavor the dish is in the bag together with the noodles, so all you need to add is protein and a ton of veggies. You can definitely tailor this to your taste, adding veggies, or substituting more of the ones you like. Water chestnuts, cabbage, carrots, scallions, leeks, shiitake mushrooms, chicken, pork, shrimps, etc. would all taste great in this dish.

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 – 1 lbs meat or sea food, sliced thinly 

1 onion, sliced thinly

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 bag bean sprouts

1 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup water

ground black pepper

1 package Yakisoba Noodles (comes with 3 servings, 16-17 oz or 454-480 g)

Procedure:

  1. Heat oil in a saucepan and brown the meat. Add onions and cook until soft.
  2. Add mushrooms, beansprouts, and celery and cook for about a minute.
  3. Mix well and transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  4. In the same saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of oil and 3/4 cup water. Add all 3 packages of noodles and loosen a bit while mixing gently. Cook until the water is absorbed and the noodles are not stuck together anymore.
  5. Add the seasoning packets and mix well. Add back the reserved meat and vegetable mixture, sprinkle with ground pepper and mix well.
  6. Serve hot.

Yaki Soba ( Japanese Stir Fried Noodles)

  • Servings: 3-4
  • Difficulty: easy
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A quick and easy Japanese stir fried noodles with meat and vegetables.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/2 – 1 lbs meat or sea food, sliced thinly 

1 onion, sliced thinly

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 bag bean sprouts

1 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup water

ground black pepper

1 package Yakisoba Noodles (comes with 3 servings, 16-17 oz or 454-480 g)

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a saucepan and brown the meat. Add onions and cook until soft.
  2. Add mushrooms, beansprouts, and celery and cook for about a minute.
  3. Mix well and transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  4. In the same saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of oil and 3/4 cup water. Add all 3 packages of noodles and loosen a bit while mixing gently. Cook until the water is absorbed and the noodles are not stuck together anymore.
  5. Add the seasoning packets and mix well. Add back the reserved meat and vegetable mixture, sprinkle with ground pepper and mix well.
  6. Serve hot.

Tinga de Pollo (Chicken Tinga)

Theresa4 Comments

Thermomixing again! I had to share this very easy to make yet so tasty Mexican chicken recipe. I have made this many times over, and served it as taco filling, in sandwiches, and what little left over mixed in with scrambled eggs.

The instruction is for making this using the Thermomix. However, I have included a stove top version below. Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

10.5 oz onions, quartered

1 oz vegetable oil

10 oz tomatoes, quartered

2 heaping teaspoons chicken stock paste

36 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, in pieces (1.5 inch)

1 oz piloncillo, in pieces, or dark brown sugar

1-3 oz canned chipotle chillies (in adobo sauce)

2 bay leaves

18 Mexican tostadas

7 oz panela cheese (I used Feta cheese), crumbled

8 oz sour cream, to serve

Preparation:

  1. Place onions an oil into mixing bowl and cover with the measuring cup or splash guard and set to 5 seconds/speed 5. Then saute 5 minutes/250F/speed 1.
  2. Add tomatoes, and chop 5 sec/speed 5. Scrape down the sides.
  3. Add stock paste, chicken, piloncillo, chiopotle chilies, and bay leaves and cook 18 minutes/212F/reverse blade/speed 1. Remove bay leaves and shred 4 sec/reverse blade/speed 4.5.
  4. Spoon shredded chicken onto tostadas, top with cheese, and serve with sour cream.
Cilantro and radish makes it like a crunchy taco!

Chicken Tinga (Tinga de Pollo)

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Quick and easy to make, this Mexican shredded chicken is very versatile. Serve left overs in a taco or stirred into scrambled eggs.

Ingredients


1 oz vegetable oil

10 oz tomatoes, quartered

2 heaping teaspoons chicken stock paste

36 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, in pieces (1.5 inch)

1 oz piloncillo, in pieces, or dark brown sugar

1-3 oz canned chipotle chillies (in adobo sauce)

2 bay leaves

18 Mexican tostadas

7 oz panela cheese (I used Feta cheese), crumbled

8 oz sour cream, to serve

Directions

  1. Place onions an oil into mixing bowl and cover with the measuring cup or splash guard and set to 5 seconds/speed 5. Then saute 5 minutes/250F/speed 1.
  2. Add tomatoes, and chop 5 sec/speed 5. Scrape down the sides.
  3. Add stock paste, chicken, piloncillo, chiopotle chilies, and bay leaves and cook 18 minutes/212F/reverse blade/speed 1. Remove bay leaves and shred 4 sec/reverse blade/speed 4.5.
  4. Spoon shredded chicken onto tostadas, top with cheese, and serve with sour cream.

TO MAKE WITHOUT A THERMOMIX:

Heat a saucepan with the oil over medium high heat. Saute the chopped onions and tomatoes until soft. Add the chicken stock paste, chicken pieces, piloncillo, chilies, and bay leaves and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Shred the meat using 2 forks. Serve as above.