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June 26, 2012

That's One Tasty Meatball!

Isn't that a line from the Disney movie, Lady and the Tramp? Anyway, I've heard it somewhere.

I'm slowly gaining experience on how to feed Malcolm when we're home. The problem isn't my culinary skills, or his picky taste, though that does throw a curve ball at me frequently.

The challenge it's never a "dinner's at 6:00" type day. There is no set schedule, and I don't know when he'll get in from whatever he's been working on. But I do know three things:

1. he'll be starving.
2. he'll want something substantial that will give him energy and hold him over till the next meal.
3. he'll want it in a hurry.

And so the challenge is:

what to feed him that will be good, fill him up, and doesn't take an hour to cook once I know he's available to eat!  Harder than it sounds, because everything substantial has to cook.

Good thing I like to cook and don't mind experimenting. Malcolm's not too big on experimentation meals, but he's become a fairly good sport, though he doesn't hesitate to say "don't cook this again."

I'm slowly gaining skill at calculating how much can be done ahead in an effort to have things ready to throw in the oven, on the stove, or even to reheat. (which reheating is not easy because it's hard to escape that "leftovers" feeling when you reheat and neither of us are big on leftovers....which is a whole other challenge when your cooking for two....but that's another topic for another post someday).

I hit the jackpot this past week! Last summer I bought this magazine/book and during haying we grilled out of it a number of times.
We don't have the grill out yet this year. Malcolm's been so busy working on the truck getting it ready, and it's more of a job for him to get it out than me. But the lack of a grill doesn't mean I can't use the recipes in this book. And the one I tried last week was so good that Malcolm asked to have it again!

It was so good, that I decided to share. It's the perfect combination for us summer grillers who love Italian food!

Grilled Italian Meatball Burgers
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 c seasoned bread crumbs
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 lb Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
8 kaiser rolls, split
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add meat and mix well. Pat into 8 burgers and grill 5-7 minutes on each side. Sprinkle with cheese (I used slices instead of grated) and grill a couple minutes longer to melt cheese. You can grill the rolls too or just warm in the oven like I did. Serve the burgers with spaghetti sauce.
 So yummy and so easy! I didn't have the Italian turkey sausage, so I just used ground beef. I bet they are even more yummy with the right stuff though! Oh...I could go for one now!

And to quench your thirst.....
I was making some iced tea, and got to wondering.....
what would happen if I poured the juice from that can of peaches I opened the other day into my tea?
I'll tell you what happens. Add a little more sugar for extra sweetening, and you have a nice glass of iced tea with a hint of peach to it!
I think maybe this two quart pitcher of tea could use two cans worth of juice. The flavor was just hinted at mixed one can to 2 quarts. But it was definitely tasty and refreshing, and now I have a use for that juice instead of pouring it down the drain!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds delicious!
May be what's for supper!

Shirley said...

A perfect summer meal! Add a little salad and it'a a balanced meal too.

The Village Queen said...

That sounds really yummy. For good man food reciepes head to the Pioneer Womans site. She feeds hungry cowboys everyday.