Since sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic I haven't had to pull out the crock pot! I have plenty of time to spend in the kitchen since we're not running here, there and all over the place. In fact, lately I look forward to dinner so much more than usual because it's the big event of the day! :) Last night we were all happy with our Swedish chicken meatballs. They were delicious!!! I made two loaves of fresh bread to go with it and dinner was worth the work and the wait. Really, it wasn't that much work.
swedish chicken meatballs (adapted from awickedwhisk.com)
1 pound ground chicken
1 large egg
1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 tablespoons olive oil (I cut down to 1)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh parsley
sour cream sauce (you can see I tried to skinny it down the best I could and it was still great!)
5 tablespoons butter (I used 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used 2 tablespoons)
4 cups beef stock (I used 2 cups)
3/4 cup sour cream (I used 1/2 cup light sour cream)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon salt (I used 1/4)
1/2 teaspoon pepper (I used 1/4)
mushrooms, optional
12 ounces large egg noodles (I used whole wheat rotini)
Start with your chicken meatballs. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray a baking pan with nonstick spray. Once done, add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl. Combine well. Use a small cookie scoop to make 20 meatballs and place onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
While your meatballs are baking, make your sauce. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat and once melted whisk in flour. Continue to cook flour while whisking it for the next minute before pouring in beef stock. Whisk to remove any flour lumps. Add seasonings, soy sauce, mustard, cheese, sour cream and bring gravy sauce to a low boil before reducing heat to low to simmer.
Once your sauce is simmering, set a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook your noodles according to package directions.
When your chicken meatballs are cooked, move them from the baking pan into the gravy sauce (you can add mushrooms if you wish) and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Serve the meatballs over the hot noodles.
I anticipated a good meal but it was soooooo good! The roasted veggies were caramelized and the rub on the pork was super flavorful. My husband said this meal was better than meals at his favorite restaurant downtown!!
roasted pork tenderloin with oven roasted veggies (slightly adapted from theblackpeppercorn.com)
1 pork tenderloin
1 red onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Spread vegetables evenly across the bottom of the pan. Drizzle with oil. Roast vegetables for 30-35 minutes.
Trim the pork tenderloin of excess fat.
Make the seasoning rub by mixing together the garlic, salt, black pepper, oregano and paprika. Rub all over the pork tenderloin.
Remove the vegetables from the oven. Move the vegetables in the middle of the pan to make room for the pork tenderloin. Place the pork in the center.
Place back into the oven and roast until the pork is cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees, about 25 minutes.
The best gumbo I've ever eaten. Delicious! I made the roux differently than I've ever made it before- by toasting the flour as suggested in the recipe. It was so rich and smooth...
shrimp and sausage gumbo (adapted from The New Essentials Cookbook from America's Test Kitchen)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup vegetable oil (1/3 cup is just fine)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 (10 ounce) can ro-tel tomatoes
3 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup fish sauce
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, skin and excess fat removed and sliced
salt and pepper
2 cups frozen okra, thawed (I used fresh asparagus and it was wonderful!)
2 pounds extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used frozen shrimp)
Toast 3/4 cup flour in a soup pot on the stovetop over medium heat stirring constantly, until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in oil until smooth.
Back on the heat, add the onion, bell pepper and celery and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until softened about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in broth and fish sauce until smooth. Season chicken with pepper. Add chicken and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered until chicken is tender, 30 minutes. Stir in sausage and asparagus and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add shrimp and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over rice.
