Kid Friendly Party or Dinner Swedish Meatball Recipe

Here's another one of my favorite recipes that kids can help make, Swedish Meatballs. I have been making these meatballs for many years for the holidays. Friends and family always enjoy them. When the meatballs are gone from the bowl, they even take bread to sop up the remaining sauce....:-)
This is also a great dinner recipe. Serve the meatballs over noodles, and with a salad or a green vegetable.
Kids can help mix the meatballs and then roll them.  This recipe can also be made ahead of time. Enjoy!
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Swedish Meatballs

3 slices white bread, dried and crumbled

1 tablespoon instant minced onions 

1 ½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ cup milk

2 pounds meat loaf mixture

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 can condensed beef broth

1 cup light cream (or half & half)

Combine bread, onions, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and milk. Let stand 10 minutes.

Add meat loaf mixture to bread mixture and blend together well. Make small meatballs.

Melt butter in a frying pan. Brown meatballs on all sides and place in a baking dish.

Whisk flour in the drippings in the frying pan, stirring until bubbly.

Stir in broth and cream and continue cooking until sauce thickens and boils about 1 minute.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake in a slow oven (325 degrees) for 30 minutes.

(Source: Tricia’s Home Plate, http://www.triciashomeplate.com/)

Rosemary Pecans...a Holiday Hit!

I've been making this Rosemary Pecans recipe for several years now. Everyone loves them! It's another great way to get the kids involved in the kitchen. When I use fresh herbs with my girls at Girls Inc., I teach them how to use their hands to make small pieces of the herbs for a recipe. This way I can keep knives away from the little hands. I do eventually teach them proper knife skills and the safety of using a knife, but they do enjoy "cutting" the herds with their hands. This recipe is great for parties or gifts. I can't make enough of them for everyone because they disappear quickly from the serving dish. They also give your house a nice holiday, herbal fragrance.  I recently gave this recipe to a group of adult students at a cooking class. I just received a nice e-mail from one of the students who made the pecans for Christmas Eve, "We did your Rosemary Pecans, they were a HUGE hit!" Enjoy!

ROSEMARY PECANS

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

½ teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt

3 cups pecans

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Melt butter.
3. Add rosemary and cayenne to melted butter. Stir and cook about 1 minute to release the rosemary fragrance.
4. Place nuts in a bowl and add butter mixture. Toss to coat evenly.
5. Spread nuts out onto an ungreased baking sheet.
6. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
7. Bake about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

-         You can use other nuts, or a mix of nuts.

-         You can use other types of salt, i.e., flavored sea salts; fleur de sel.

-         You can make a day in advance, and store at room temperature in a tight fitted container for several days.

-         Always freeze nuts once you open a package to avoid them from getting rancid. If you are using frozen nuts, thaw nuts and bring to room temperature before using them in a recipe.

Eggplant Parmesan Christmas Day

I spent Christmas day at my nephew's house along with many family members, a total of 15.  My son and daughter-in-law live in the Atlanta area and we could not get together this year, but with gifts sent and a few telephone calls, they were with us in spirit. That goes for my brother, his wife and his daughter too, always with us in spirit as they live in New York. To me, it's all about family!
The table was full with an antipasto platter, roasted red peppers, stuffed chili peppers with prosciutto, stuffed artichokes, and more, and that was just the appetizers. my nephew prepared the whole dinner. I get such pride in his ability to cook. I believe that my nephew learned how to cook from my Mother, my Dad, and me, as my sister did not like to cook back then. My nephew made a fabulous Eggplant Parmesan. So I have to tell you this story. When my nephew was young I was taking care of him one night. I made eggplant parmesan and told him it was lasagna. He never questioned me about the "lasagna" and he loved it! I guess that is why I take some credit (mainly pride) for my nephew's Christmas day eggplant parmesan. Recipe to follow soon!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! When I was child we spent Christmas day at my Grandma's house on the farm. There was Grandma, Grandpa, Great Uncle Frank, and at least five families with lots of kids. We always had lots of snow so we were all bundled up in our snowsuits and played a lot in the snow and having snow ball fights. My older brother, John, was so sneaky and would attack us with tons of snow balls. We didn't have computers, so we spent many hours outside, and always had fun. I had many cousins, two brothers and a sister. All of the kids ate dinner in the kitchen and the adults ate in the dining room. We all got involved in preparing and serving dinner. I believe that was the beginning of my culinary passion.
So get your children involved in your holiday dinner. No matter what age, even the youngest child can put rolls in a basket and carry the basket to the table. Life should be all about family and belonging. Getting together and rejoicing about the good things in life. When you get a child involved in helping in the kitchen you "pay it forward" because it will be something that stays with them for life, a fond memory and special, warm moment. Happy Holidays!

Chocolate Coconut Balls

Today I will make about 10 pounds of candy for family and friends. I will make peanut butter cups, coconut balls, peppermint crunch bark, and chocolate nut clusters. I've been making candy for 28 years and I have taught many candy classes. Yum! I want to share my chocolate coconut balls with you. Enjoy!

CHOCOLATE COCONUT BALLS

Tricia’s Home Plate, LLC

Tools:

Mixing Bowl

Rubber Spatula or Wooden Spoon

½ Sheet Pan (Jelly Roll Pan)

Parchment or Wax Paper

Melon Baller

Plastic Gloves

 Ingredients:

1 bag of sweetened coconut, 14 ounces

1 can sweetened condensed milk, 14 ounces

1 ½ pounds of chocolate, milk, dark, or white

Coconut flakes

Mix coconut and all but 2-3 tablespoons of milk together until all of the coconut is well coated.

Cover the pan with parchment/wax paper. Make small balls, can use a melon baller or spoon, and place on pan.

Chill coconut balls for at least 30 minutes. You can chill for longer or even over night, but cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let balls set in room temperature to get some of the chill off before dipping into chocolate.

Dip balls into melted chocolate. If the coconut balls are a little sticky, before dipping in the chocolate, pat with confectioners sugar to absorb any moisture. You may want to use disposable gloves.

If you would like, you can roll each chocolate covered ball in flaked coconut, or just top each ball with some coconut flakes.

Please each coconut ball in paper cups (optional).

Makes about 40 balls.

Note:  Do not use all of the condensed milk with only 14 ounces of coconut, they will be too moist. You can add more coconut if you desire to use the whole can of milk. This will make approximately 50 coconut balls.

Italian Christmas Cookies (Esquela/Scaweli)

My Mother made her fabulous Italian Christmas cookies every year. So I started that tradition with my son. I called them "scawelis", as I always thought that's the way they were pronounced. Well, a few year years ago before my Mom went to Heaven, I went over all of her wonderful recipeswith her. When I asked her about her deep-fried Christmas cookies, "scawelis" she laughed so hard that she had tears in her eyes. She said, "You mean "esquela?" Oh well, mispronounced, maybe? We both got a good laugh out of it. I was only a child when I started calling them "scawelis" and I guess that is what I will always call them. So I share this wonderful Christmas tradition recipe with you. Enjoy!

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Esquela (Scaweli)

1 ½ cups cake flour

1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons butter, cold

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Oil for deep-frying

½ cup honey

Colored sugar sprinkles

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar into bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients until well blended. Stir in eggs; mix thoroughly. Knead on a floured board until dough is elastic. Cover dough and let rest 1 hour. Divide dough into 4 parts. Roll each part to an 8” x 10” x 1/8” rectangle. Cut into strips 8” long and ¾” wide. Tie each strip into a loose knot. Fry in hot (375º) oil 3 to 4 at a time, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Heat honey in a small saucepan. Dip each fried knot into honey. Place on a serving platter. Sprinkle with colored sprinkles.

From: Precocious Patti (http://www.triciashomeplate.com/)

Winter at Grandma's Farm

I grew up on my grandma’s fruit and vegetable farm in upstate New York. We had a large kitchen where all of the family would gather and share stories and prepare fruit and vegetables for dinner. There was always a big pot of coffee and hot chocolate on the stove. It was a warm environment as we were snowed in many days. The farm was out of town and the one-way stone road would be tough to get down when covered with snow. We didn’t have television on all day, nor did we have computers. We bundled up and played outside in the snow. My big brother, John, would always start the snowball fights. Once we were all wet from the snow and exhausted from playing, we would end up in the kitchen enjoying some hot chocolate and mom’s Italian cookies. Yum!

Making Candy and "Brownie Points"

When my son was four years old I started making chocolate candies for his classmates and teachers. Every holiday the teachers looked forward to my chocolates. I believe it gave my son a few extra "brownie points" as he was also a very precocious child...:-).. My family and friends, to this day, 28 years later, still love my chocolates. I make peanut butter cups, coconut balls, truffles, turtles, candy cane cups, peppermints, nut clusters, chocolate covered raisins, bark, etc. It's another great way to get the kids in the kitchen all year round. Just melt some chocolate candy, throw in your favorite nut or dried fruit, let it harden and there you go! Have fun and enjoy!

It's that time of year....get the gingerbread baking!

This is a fantastic way to get kids excited about the holidays and baking.  I created this with girls ages 5-14 and everyone had a role in decorating.  They were able to use their creativity and imagination.  It makes a child realize just how creative they can be.  Be sure to go through your kitchen cabinets to look for decorations.  Let your imagination inspire kids to use their imagination.

Cutest Little Turkey You Have Ever Seen

I made this with kids ages 5-8 years and they had a blast.  Not only were they fun to make the girls were able to take them home and share with their families!  Of course the girls thought they were great to eat also!