Quick Fix: Hawaiian Meatballs (Again)

If you saw my weekly menu for this week, then you would know that last night we had Hawaiian Meatballs with Rice. 

Except we didn't... when put my scooper in to the rice bag it came back almost empty.  No rice for my meatballs-with-rice.  And I had already put the meatballs, pineapple chunks, and sauce on the stove. 

I started rummaging around in my cupboards, but I could find any rice of any kind.  No arborio (which I usually have on account of being a fan of risotto), no long grain, no wild, no instant.  Not even Uncle Ben's.  (But I never have that.  I don't even know how to cook minute rice... but apparently it isn't that hard.)  However, I did have orzo.  So, no rice, but small pasta instead. 

All in all, it turned out good.  The texture was different than we are used to, but the flavor remained the same. 

You know what this means?  I did something completely different than the recipe called for, but I made it work.  I did not send my husband out to get more rice, nor did that thought even cross my mind.  I just found something that would work. 

A year ago I didn't even know what orzo was.  No joke -- the first time I used it was last Spring Break, and if my memory serves me correctly, I had to ask the Trader Joe's dude to help me find it.  Now I am whipping it out of the cupboard and throwing it into a dish that in noway calls for pasta, but sounds like it could be just the thing to get me out of that pickle I am in...

I also discovered that for some strange, odd reason, I find wooden spoons to be beautiful.  Very earthy.  So I took pictures of my spoon.

Yes, I am a little odd like that. 

(But you must admit, the color of the spoon with the pineapple can is quite nice, isn't it?)

Anyway... back to the meatballs.  They turned out nicely.  You should make up a batch yourself.  They really bring a little summer flavor into this cold month of January.

INGREDIENTS
Frozen meatballs (I use turkey)
can of pineapple chunks
jar of Soyaki (or soy sauce with minced garlic)
side of rice OR orzo ;)


RECIPE
Make the rice/orzo/whatever.  Meanwhile, the meatballs, drained pineapple chunks, and 1/2 jar of Soyaki together.  Cook 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Set on top of rice. 

COST: $6.68                  PER SERVING (4): $1.67

Throw a little salad on the plate to go with it, and you are just slightly above $2.
Sweet.

Almost English Toffee

Yes, you read that right.  English Toffee  FUDGE.  Except it's not really fudge.  Nor is it really English Toffee.  Actually, it is an accident.

An amazing accident.

Two days I go I was cruising food blogs and I found out that English Toffee is incredibly easy (sounding) to make.  I wanted to make sure if I was going to make some I was going to make the best possible, so I googled recipes for it and compared them.  Finding the one that sounded the best, I set out to make some of my own.  I already had all of the ingredients on hand except almonds, but I don't like almonds, so I grabbed some walnuts down and was set.

There were tons of suggestions how to make it work correctly, and I read them all -- I promise.  I guess I just didn't fully understand them all, because what I wound up with was not English Toffee.  It was softer, melty-in-your-mouth, and oh-so-good.  So I did another google search for undercooked English Toffee.  According to everyone there, it should have been really sticky and get all stuck on your teeth, which mine did not.  So then I googled fudge.  Wouldn't you know it, fudge and English Toffee are almost the same concept, but one main difference (among the smaller ones): the temperature.  I guess my thermometer reading skills need a little improvement.  Oh well.  This was the best kitchen accident I have ever had.  I showed my husband a picture of what I supposed to be making and he told me to keep making this accident again and again, because he has had English toffee, but this is better. 

The best part?  It tastes like English toffee still.  So I have flavor of something delicious with the texture of (slightly grainy) fudge.  Score!

I am going to give you the real recipe for English toffee, but note my mistakes changes in italics.  Follow either version to have something delicious.

Ingredients

(Yields two pounds/ 32 servings)

• 2 cups butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup finely chopped almonds

Directions

1. In a large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the butter is melted. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until the mixture becomes a dark amber color, and the temperature has reached 285 degrees F (137 degrees C). Stir occasionally. OR cook until it reaches about 110C or 230F. 
2. While the toffee is cooking, cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
3. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it out onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate over the top, and let it set for a minute or two to soften. Spread the chocolate into a thin even layer once it is melted. Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate, and press in slightly. Putting a plastic bag over your hand will minimize the mess.
4. Place the toffee in the refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.               

SOME VERY IMPORTANT TIPS I found included stir continuously with a whisk (which I did), use a casserole dish instead of a baking sheet (which you should do if you are making it my way), and keep in an airtight container in the fridge.  Use Bing or Google to find out more, but good luck!  And if you happen to recreate my accident, well, good for you :)

COST: $8.00                     COST PER SERVING (32): $0.25

And from our family to yours, we hope you had a wonderfully beautiful Christmas. 

A Week of New Recipes -- Day 2: Creamy Asparagus-and-Sausage Soup

Look at these ingredients!  I knew I would like this meal just from looking at what was going to into it.  It seems so little, really, but it all works together and adds up to something...

...green & healthy

...home cooked
(If only I could take pictures of the amazing smells that occurred during this process!)

...MESSY!

The directions said, "Working in batches, put soup in the blender and set aside."  What it should have said is, "Working in very small batches..." and then they should have reiterated that point.  Several times.  My batches clearly were not small enough, and even though I would be able to puree a smoothie with that much in the blender, I think the heat made this a very different process.  The moment I hit the "Puree" button hot, green, goopy liquid went flying all over my kitchen... and me.  My husband, being the one to protect me at all costs, came to the rescue -- or so he thought.  "Babe, you need to really push the cover down, like this..."  And then he pressed the button and the whole thing happened on repeat.  Green slime, everywhere.  HOT green slime. 

We just looked at each for a few seconds, and then we laughed.

Really, what else could we do?  (And to think, I had just scrubbed the entire kitchen earlier that day...)

But in the end, we also had something...

...delicious

Notice the soup on the side of the bowl?  We were finding it EVERYWHERE.  However, I was more concerned with the soup in between my toes than the soup that got on the dishes.

We LOVED this soup!  Even the hater-of-soup loved it.  He gave it a ten.  I, of course, gave it a ten as well.  But with my super love of soup that should come as no surprise to you.  It was hearty, creamy, a little tangy (thanks to the yogurt), and just down-right scrumptious.  I will make it again, I will just be a tad bit more careful ;)

Once again, this recipe came originally from Rachael Ray as Creamy Asparagus-and-Ham Soup, but I made one small adjustment:  chicken sausage instead of ham.  CLICK HERE to see the original recipe.  Also, I do not have a Dutch oven (actually, I had to look it up to see what it is... remember, I am learning to cook still!), so I just used a normal pot.  It worked out just fine.

INGREDIENTS:  (My changes are italicized.)

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 pack of chicken sausage, cut into 1/2 inch cubes    
• 1 leek, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed well   (I had frozen leeks, so I defrosted some and used those) 
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 small red-skinned potatoes (4 to 5 ounces total), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 cups chicken broth
• Salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 bunches asparagus (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1/2-inch
• One 6-ounce container plain yogurt
• 1/4 whole wheat country loaf, for serving

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat; add the sausage and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a plate. Add the leek and garlic to the pot and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in the potatoes and chicken broth and bring to a simmer; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the asparagus and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
2. Scoop out 1/2 cup asparagus pieces and set aside for garnish. Using a blender and working in VERY SMALL batches, puree the soup. Return the soup to the pot, whisk in the yogurt and season with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, sprinkle the sausage and asparagus pieces on top and serve with the bread.

COST = $10.30        PER SERVING (4) = $2.58

(Adapted from rachaelray.com)