Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Adapted from a recipe by Janet Stocks. It's easy to substitute Meatball Mix meatballs if you prefer the meatballs from that recipe. If you use Ultra-Gel, this is an easy dish to freeze and reheat.

Yield: 4-6 servings

For sauce:

1/2 c. sugar
2 T. corn starch (3 T. Ultra-Gel)
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. vinegar
1 c. water
1 c. pineapple juice (reserved)
1-2 green peppers, cut into chunks (green, red, or yellow)
1 can pineapple chunks (about 1 1/4 c.)
1 can sliced water chestnuts, if desired
Meatballs, cooked. (Recipe below)

If using Ultra-Gel, this is easy. Mix the Ultra-Gel and sugar in a bowl, then add the liquids and whisk everything together; let rest and thicken for five minutes. Pour the sauce and meatballs into a 9x9 baking dish with the pineapple, peppers, and water chestnuts and bake or cook in the microwave until hot through and until peppers are cooked. Or just mix the sauce up in a large saucepan, add the meatballs, peppers, pineapple, and water chestnuts and simmer 15-20 minutes until everything is cooked through.

If using corn starch, mix the corn starch and sugar in a saucepan and add the liquids. Cook until thick and bubbly and add the meatballs, peppers, pineapple, and water chestnuts. Simmer 15-20 minutes until everything is cooked through. (Corn starch is not necessarily freezer stable and may break down if the sauce is frozen.)

Serve over rice.

For meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. breadcrumbs
2 T. finely chopped onion
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Combine and brown under a broiler or in 1 T. oil in a frying pan.

Meatball Mix

Courtesy of the Make-A-Mix Cookery recipe book, which has lots of great ideas beyond this particular recipe. Make some of these meatballs ahead of time and freeze them; they freeze well and sweet and sour meatballs, spaghetti and meatballs, and other recipes will be a snap! Halving this recipe has worked fine for me.

Yield: About 144 meatballs.

4 lb. lean ground beef (a higher fat content may not be bad)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 c. dry breadcrumbs
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1 T. salt.
2 T. corn starch (or 3 T. Ultra-Gel)
1/4 t. pepper
2 t. Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl; blend well. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. (One strategy for ease and uniform size is to press out the mix one inch thick, then score one-inch squares in the meat, cut out the squares, and roll them into balls.) Place meatballs on ungreased baking sheets and bake for 10-15 minutes, until browned. Remove immediately and drain on paper tools. When cool, place meatballs on a tray in the freezer until frozen through. (No need to cover them.) Move the meatballs to freezer-safe plastic bags and store them in the freezer. (The recipe suggests using them within 3 months, which shouldn't be hard if they're on hand.)

Lentil Soup

Adapted from a recipe from Ronda Hillam.

1/2-1 lb. Italian sausage
1-2 medium onions, chopped
3 carrots, grated
3/4 t. thyme
28 oz. can diced tomatoes
10 c. or more of beef broth (depending on preferred consistency)
Beef bouillon concentrate (like Better Than Bouillon)
1 1/2 c. dried lentils
1/2 t. rosemary
1/2 t. celery seed
Salt and pepper

1. Brown Italian sausage with salt, and pepper and set aside.
2. Add onion and carrot and saute them in the remaining sausage drippings until the onions are translucent.
3. Add diced tomatoes, beef broth, lentils, thyme, rosemary, and celery seed.
   
4. Add beef bouillon concentrate, salt, and pepper to taste.
5. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer for at least an hour until the lentils are tender.

Serving suggestions:

• Top with Parmesan cheese.
• Serve with whole wheat bread or rolls.
  

Taco Soup

1 30-oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5-oz. can kidney beans, drained.
1/2 lb.-3/4 lb. ground beef, browned with minced onion, salt, and pepper
1 package taco seasoning mix (or as much of it as is to taste)
1 2.25 oz. can sliced olives (if desired)
1/2 c.-1 c. frozen corn (if desired)

1. Mix all ingredients and let the soup simmer over medium high heat until hot.
2. Serve over tortilla chips if possible and garnish with sour cream, cheese, and perhaps green onion and/or fresh tomato.
   

Ice Cream Truc

This is courtesy of an old roommate, Rebecca Otton.

1/2 gallon sherbert ice cream (pineapple or mixed citrus flavors or some combination thereof work well)
Fresh or frozen fruit such as:

• Raspberries
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Boysenberries
  
• Canned pineapple
  
• Canned mandarin oranges, cut into pieces
• Canned peaches, cut into pieces
  

1. When soft (not melted), put the sherbert in a large bowl and stir in the fruit.
2. Cover the ice cream mixture and put in freezer until hard before serving.

Experiment; add in some pomegranate sauce or such!

Hot Fudge Topping

Recipe courtesy of Brad Stocks; adapted slightly by Carma Christensen

Makes about 3 cups.

2 c. sugar
4 T. cocoa
4 T. all-purpose flour (rounded)
1 13-oz. can evaporated milk or 1 2/3 c. light cream
2 T. butter or margarine
1-2 t. vanilla

Thoroughly combine sugar, cocoa, and flour in a sauce pan. Add evaporated milk and mix. Heat on high, stirring constantly, until the mixture boils and begins to thicken. Boil 3-5 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add the butter and vanilla. Stir until the butter is melted. Serve immediately over ice cream. If the hot fudge is too thick, reheat carefully over low heat with whole milk.

Thanksgiving Cream Pie

Adapted from the Lionhouse Recipes Cookbook

Servings: 6-8 (1-9" pie)

5 T. corn starch
I use 2 1/2 T. corn starch + 2 1/2 T. Thick-Gel (3 3/4 T. Ultra-Gel)
1 c. sugar
1 t. salt
2 1/2 c. milk and 3/4 c. half-and-half
I use 2 3/4 c. milk + 1/2 c. heavy whipping cream; extra whipping cream is easier to use.
3 egg yolks (Reserve the whites for an omelet or such)
2 T. butter (Could use margarine, but it really needs the butter for best results.)
1 t. vanilla
1 baked 9" pie shell

1. Beat the egg yolks together in a small bowl with a fork until smooth, removing any lumps or white strings or fatty globules. Set aside.
2. Combine corn starch, Thick-Gel, salt, and sugar in a heavy, 3-quart pan and mix together well with a whisk. Add the milk and cream or half-and-half and set the pan on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixtures is thick and smooth.
3. Tempering the egg yolks: Spoon small amounts of the hot cream mixture by degrees into the egg yolks and and blend together thoroughly. This should gradually bring the eggs up to a heat close to the mixture without cooking them.
4. Add the egg mixture gradually back into the cream mixture and cook 2-3 minutes longer, until the mixture becomes very thick.
5. Remove the filling from the heat and add butter and vanilla, stirring until everything is mixed in.
6. Pour the filling into the pie shell and let the pie chill 3-4 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream.
   

Chocolate Cream: Stir in 1/2 c.-1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips with the butter and vanilla. (I like it dark and rich, so I go closer to 1 cup. For two pies I use pretty much a whole package of chocolate chips.)

Banana Cream: Give the hot filling a minute or two to cool after stirring in the butter and vanilla. Add bananas as desired; I usually add 3-4 bananas, cut into chunks. There's usually a little more than will fill the pie shell.

Tips:

• When separating the whites from the yolks, avoid as much as possible getting any white in with the yolks, as it may cook and cause little white lumps in the finished pie filling.
• The smoother the yolks are to begin with, the better chances your filling won't get lumps.
• It will take some time for the mixture to thicken; don't hurry it too much by turning up the heat or you're likely to burn the filling.
• This recipe really has to be stirred virtually constantly once it goes on the heat, but especially once it starts to thicken. Make sure everything is in place so you don't have to leave the stove while the cream mixture is thickening. Be sure to scrape the entire bottom of the pan regularly, so certain areas don't burn or lump.
  
• If there are lumps, a hand-blender may do a good deal to mix them in.