Swedish Meatballs Sauce

I'm from Minnesota. When it comes to meatballs, there are only 2 kinds Italian and Swedish.  My family loves Swedish meatballs.  Family lore goes that when Jon was a toddler we were at a church supper with Swedish meatballs as the main course.  Jon ate his weight in meatballs.  Literally ate 20+.  Anyhow, we love them and make them on a pretty regular basis, especially during the fall and winter.  

Now, I don't actually make the meatballs.  I purchase them in a giant bag from Ikea. But I do make homemade sauce/gravy and I boil the wide egg noodles.

Here's my Swedish meatballs sauce recipe that I follow.  Enjoy!

Swedish Meatball Sauce

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups beef broth (or stock)

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1/3 cup butter in sauce pan. Whisk in the flour until it dissolves and turns brown in color. Whisk in the broth (or stock), cream, soy sauce and dijon. Bring to a to simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix the sauce through well to combine all of the flavors together.

To serve, heat meatballs according to bag.  At the same time, prepare wide eggs noodles according to package.  Plate the noodles first, topped by the meatballs, and finally the gravy.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Dessert

 Found this recipe in my old 1976 Edina Morningside Church Cookbook.  The pastor's wife (and my former music teacher) Marian Clay is the contributor, so it's bound to be good!

3 pkg strawberry jello (small size)

2 cups boiling water

2 pkg frozen strawberries (sweetened in box)

2 pints vanilla ice cream

1 loaf angel food cake

Dissolve 3 packages of strawberry Jello in 2 cups boiling water.  Pour over 2 packages partially thawed frozen strawberries.  Add 2 pints vanilla ice cream.  Stir until ice cream is melted.  When almost set, break up loaf of angel food cake into pieces and fold into Jello mixture.  Pour into 9x13 pan and refrigerate until set.  

Ben's favorite Calico Beans

 Best recipe for classic calico beans.  This is one of Ben's favorite recipes.  The key is the peppered bacon - must use for best sweet/spicy flavor.  Also, you can swap the great northern beans for kidney beans, but don't swap the butter beans.  They're essential.

Ben's Favorite Calico Beans

1 lb ground beef

3/4 lb peppered bacon (I use Nueske's), diced

1 large onion, diced

1 28 oz can Bush's Country Style baked beans 

1 15.5 oz can great northern beans

1 15.5 oz can butter beans

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup ketchup

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 and grease casserole pan.

In large skillet or soup pot, brown together the ground beef, bacon, and onion until the beef is no longer pink and the onion is tender.  Drain off fat. Drain and rinse great northern and butter beans. Add beans and all remaining ingredients to meat and mix thoroughly.  Transfer into casserole pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

I usually serve this with cornbread and a green salad.  

Make Your Own Buffalo Sauce

I keep a lot of hot sauce in the panty, but not Buffalo wings sauce.  When a recipe calls for Buffalo sauce, I can quickly make up this recipe in its place.  Super easy - just make sure the butter doesn't get so hot that it separates. This recipe takes 5 minutes. 

Buffalo Sauce:

1 stick butter (preferably unsalted, but use what you have)

1 heaping tsp garlic powder

2/3 cup hot sauce 

Melt stick of butter on stove.  Remove from heat when 2/3 of the stick is melted and simply stir to melt the rest (this will help make sure butter is the right consistency). Whisk in the garlic powder and the hot sauce.  Whisk continually for 1 - 2 minutes until all is incorporated and there is no separated butter along the edge of the pan.

Use immediately or store in the fridge.

Elote (Mexican Street Corn) Dip

• 2 tablespoons EACH: melted butter (cooled) AND lime juice
•  ½ cup mayonnaise
•  1 teaspoon garlic powder
•  ½ teaspoon EACH: salt AND ancho  chili powder (cayenne works, but use less)
•  1 pound roasted corn, defrosted/drained (regular corn kernels work too!)
•  ¼ cup chopped cilantro
•  1 jalapeno pepper, minced
•  1 cup crumbled Cotija cheese

1. BASE: Whisk together the melted butter, lime juice, and mayonnaise in a medium bowl. Season with garlic powder, salt, and ancho chili powder. 
2. EVERYTHING ELSE: Add the corn, cilantro, jalapeños, Cotija cheese and using a rubber spatula, stir to combine. Taste and adjust with additional seasonings as desired.
3. SERVE: Allow to cool for several hours (it intensifies the flavors even more) or serve immediately along with tortilla chips.

Nextdoor Tomato Caper Dip

Tomato Caper Dip

5 ounces of goat cheese
3 tablespoons of capers (or more)
1 pint of grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 large clove of garlic, grated
2 tablespoons of olive oil
5-6 basil leaves
sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 baguette or bakery type bread or premade crostini

Start with 3 tablespoons of capers, but if you love them as much as I do, go ahead and add to your heart’s content.

Instructions:

Cut the tomatoes in half then heat the olive oil in a skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the tomatoes, grate in the garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook several minutes stirring occasionally. until the tomatoes start to burst and form a little sauce.

Next fold in the capers and cook another minute or so.

Place the goat cheese in the center of a shallow baking dish then pour the tomatoes and capers around it. Make sure you add all the juices from the skillet ~ the flavor is beyond words. 

Add a light drizzle of olive oil over the top of the goat cheese then broil until the cheese is softened and lightly brown on top, watching closely so it doesn’t burn. In my oven it took 3-4 minutes, but please just use this as a guide and go according to your own oven so it doesn’t burn.

Chiffonade the basil, sprinkle it over the top and enjoy with slices of warm toasted baguette or bakery type bread. This Tomato Caper Goat Cheese Appetizer is easy, delicious and makes a great presentation year around.

Enjoy!