stuffed meatballs Archives - Mamma's Cooking

Guacamole, Dip and more Superbowl Ideas, oh my!

As many of you know I am not the biggest football fan 😉 I enjoy cheering local teams though and since I live less than 20 minutes from Gillette Stadium (and shop at the Trader Joe’s in its shadow!), I am looking forward to next Sunday! I always love a chance to cook, so here are some recipes and ideas for your Superbowl Sunday feast.

This is my favorite Guacamole recipe! Use it on its own to dip your favorite tortilla chips into or add it to a layer dip. You’ll see my idea for a layer dip below.

Guacamole

Ingredients

2 – 3 avocados (depends on size, 2 large or 3 small)

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

4 Tablespoons finely chopped tomatoes

2 Tablespoons of minced red onion

1 handful of cilantro, chopped finely

Directions

Add avocado, lime, salt, cumin and pepper to a medium sized bowl. Mash together with a fork. Add tomatoes, onion and cilantro. Mix together. Add more lime juice if needed on top to keep guacamole from browning.

If you want to make a layered dip, here is an idea:

Take a can of black beans and mash with a fork and place on the bottom of your serving dish. Place a layer of the guacamole. Take 8 ounces of sour cream and mix with 1 teaspoon of chili powder. Add that as the next layer. Top with 1 cup of shredded cheddar, cilantro, chopped olives and chopped tomatoes. Let sit in fridge for 2- 24 hours. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips or add it to a tortilla with some shredded chicken or pork.

Dip, chips, wings, meatballs, ribs, chili, pulled pork, Rainbow pizza or grilled pizza…you name it! There are so many options for your football feast. Desserts? Make these Chex Crispy Bars, Ice cream sundaes, brownies or cupcakes and frost with chocolate frosting and then pipe white frosting to look like laces. Simply having chocolate chip cookies or a bowl of M & Ms or rolos or hershey kisses would be plenty!

What are you having Sunday night for the Superbowl?

Swedish Meatballs

Over the past couple of months I have written about Bahn Mi Meatballs, Taco Meatballs, Sweet and Sour Meatballs, Stuffed Italian Meatballs, Greek Meatballs and even Simple and Plain Meatballs waiting for your own favorite sauce.

One of the favorites in our family is Swedish Meatballs. This is a perfect, stick to your ribs kind of meal perfect comfort food for this weekend while you are watching football, warming up after a day on the slopes or just coming home after a day of carting your kids around to all their different activities.

Swedish meatballs

Ingredients

About 2 pounds of meatballs, thawed (You can use these Plain and Simple Meatballs)

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

½ of a medium sweet onion diced

1 clove of garlic minced

6 Tablespoons of butter

6 Tablespoons of flour (I like to use Gluten Free Cup4Cup)

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon of fresh ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves, optional

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of pepper

3 cups of chicken or beef stock

1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon of lemon juice

½ cup of heavy cream

Directions

In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil and cook onions and garlic until translucent. Add butter, flour and spices. Whisk until butter is melted and flour is cooked through, about 3-4 minutes. Whisk in stock, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice until thickened. Add heavy cream. Stir to combine. Add meatballs and heat them through.

Serve with your favorite noodles or mashed potatoes. I even had the leftovers on top of gluten-free buttermilk biscuits the next morning (a play on biscuits and gravy) to fuel up to shovel the foot of snow we got the night before. I’m testing the biscuit recipes and will share them with you soon!

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Favorite Meatball Recipes from 2016

Meatballs are a great way to feed a crowd as a main meal or as an appetizer. They are kid friendly and can be made as healthy or as decadent as you like. Any of these recipes would be great for tailgating, watching football on tv with friends or ringing in the new year.

You can use ground turkey, chicken, pork, beef or your favorite mixture. Meatballs are a canvas. Make them with Asian flavors, Tex Mex or the classic Italian. Here are some of my favorite meatball recipes from 2016:

Greek Meatballs

Taco Meatballs

Bahn Mi Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Italian Stuffed Meatballs

Meatballs, Plain and Simple

What is your favorite meatball?

Taco Meatballs

Another Thursday in December means another meatball recipe for you to use as an appetizer on game day or part of a holiday buffet or to bring to a potluck! Meatballs are very popular and everyone has their favorite recipe. Here is a little twist that pairs Tex Mex flavors with meatballs.

Taco Meatballs

Ingredients

About 3 lbs ground chicken and pork (I use 2/3 pork and 1/3 chicken, you can use either all pork or all chicken or even turkey)

3 pieces of bacon, chopped finely or pureed in food processor

1 garlic clove, minced

½ Tablespoon minced jalapeño (or more if you want them to be spicy)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 Tablespoon chili powder

½ teaspoon cumin

1 egg

1/4 cup of bread crumbs (use gluten-free breadcrumbs if making this gluten free)

6 to 8 oz of cheddar cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes

2-3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix garlic, jalapeño, salt, pepper, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, egg and bread crumbs. Place meat and bacon (or oil) in a large bowl and add the egg mixture. Get your hands dirty and mix it all together. Cook a small patty of the meat mixture to taste and adjust seasonings if you need before stuffing and cooking the whole batch. Roll meatballs. Take a cube of cheddar and stuff it into the center of the meatball, making sure it is completely encapsulated by the meat mixture. Heat a large not stick-pan to medium-high, add olive oil. Brown meatballs and transfer to a baking rack that sits on top of a cookie sheet. Roast for 20 minutes. Serve or freeze.

Serve with taco shells, salsa and avocado or make a wrap with tortillas or serve as an appetizer dipped into guacamole or salsa. These go very well with my Tomatillo Salsa or Red Salsa.

A couple of new meatball recipes coming up. Only 2 more Thursdays left in 2016! Here are some meatball recipes from the past:

Sweet and Sour Meatball Recipe

Bahn Mi Meatball Recipe

Italian Stuffed Meatball Recipe

Meatballs, Plain and Simple

Italian Stuffed Meatballs

A week later and its time to forget about turkey for a little while and switch up your menu! Try these Italian stuffed meatballs and leave your family and friends asking for seconds and thirds! Thanks to my family and friends who tested this for me 🙂

These meatballs would be great for a weekend dinner or even holiday appetizers meal! If you in the mood for Asian flavors, try these Bahn Mi Meatballs.

Italian Stuffed Meatballs

italian-meatballs-with-sauce

Ingredients

About 3.5 lbs ground beef, chicken or pork (I like to use 2/3 pork and 1/3 chicken thighs or 2/3 beef and 1/3 pork for the best flavor)

3 pieces of bacon, chopped finely (or pulsed in the food processor)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

½ teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons oregano

1 teaspoon garlic paste (or 1 clove of garlic, minced)

2 Tablespoons fresh basil, chopped finely

1 egg

1/4 cup of bread crumbs (use gluten-free breadcrumbs if making this gluten free)

6 to 8 oz of mozzarella, cut into ½ inch cubes

2-3 Tablespoons of olive oil

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl mix salt, pepper, onion powder, oregano, garlic, basil, egg and bread crumbs. Place meat and bacon in a large bowl and add the egg mixture. Get your hands dirty and mix it all together.

italian-meatballs-ready-to-be-cooked

TIP: Cook a small patty of the meat mixture to taste and adjust seasonings if you need before stuffing and cooking the whole batch.

Roll meatballs. Take a cube of mozzarella and stuff it into the center of the meatball, making sure it is completely encapsulated by the meat mixture.

italian-stuffed-meatballs

Heat a large not stick-pan to medium-high, add olive oil. Brown meatballs and transfer to a baking rack that sits on top of a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes. You can skip the browning step if you like and just add about 5-10 minutes of baking time.

italian-meatballs

Serve with your favorite tomato sauce and spaghetti, make meatballs subs, serve as an appetizer or freeze for another night when you need an easy meal.

Now, let’s talk ground meat. I grind my own meat using this attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer. I love it. The meat tastes so much better when freshly ground. You can ask a butcher to do this for you, just make sure if you are keeping gluten free that they are taking necessary precautions to not cross contaminate the meat with marinated meat or spices that contain gluten.

One post down and 30 to go! A post a day until the end of December! Posts filled with gluten-free holiday treats, easy meals and ideas for your holiday gatherings through the new year that everyone will enjoy!

Here are some links to past holiday posts with the regular disclosure that if it was written before April 2014, it may not be gluten free.