Beef & Rice Albondigas

This dish is a perfect example of what to do with your leftovers! Leftover ground beef after making meatloaf became Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup)!
I also make Albondigas with Chicken and cormeal. That recipe coming soon!

Brownining forms a nice tasty crust

Balls are slightly flattend so you only have to brown two sides
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 Lb ground beef
1/2 cup cooked rice (measure after it's cooked)
1 egg, beaten
1 carrot, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion - divided
3/4 cup chopped cilantro - divided
3 chopped garlic cloves - divided
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 16-on can tamatoes
Oil (I use olive oil)
salt & pepper to taste
Lemon or lime (optional)

Mix the beef with rice and add the carrots, the egg, half the cilantro, garlic, and oninos. Add salt & pepper to taste. (put smidget of the mixture on the tip of your toungue). The mixture will a bit sticky, just wet enough to form golf-size (or smaller) balls. Form the balls.

Heat some oil (about 1/4) on a shallow pan and brown meatballs. When you put the balls in the pan, press lightly with your spoon to make them more "2-sided", as supposed to round. It's easier to brown them.

Remove them on to a plate and add the remaining onions, garlic, and cilantro to the oil. Saltee for about 5 mins and add your tomatoes. Any tomatoes you have will work.

Simmer about 3 mins and add the cumin, oregano, and 4 cups of water or broth. You could also use a cube or two of any bouillon you have. Bring to a soft boil add the meatballs. Let simmer for about 10 mins. Taste the broth and season as needed.

SERVE in a bowl with freshly chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime or lemon and maybe a sprinkle of dried red papper flakes. DELISH!!!

My New Friend....CRAIG'S LIST!

So a few days ago I got a desk & chair for $5 on CL , brought it home and "staged" it...and resold it for $40!

Wow, I'm thinking that at this rate of return I might do this more often. Here are the pics.

Giving New Life to Old Things

So I just HATE getting rid of old clothes that are perfectly good!

Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of the skirt this dress cam from, but it was super cute, eccept it "shrunk" on me!

So, ta da!! My darling
granddaugther, Maggie, now has a handmade dress made by me!
Never just throw away things. They can usually go on to serve a new purpose with little effort!




I used to love these brown drawstring pants, but then they "shrunk" on me! Luckly for me, I have a sewing machine AND a beautiful 8-month old granddaughter!



So, of the sew I went and the result is this cute dress, inspired by http://www.sarahclemensclothing.com/index.html





I love her clothing style and I thought it would be a great way for me to give new life to something that still had life left in it...and who to make a dress for? Maggie of course! I think she's gonna look like Tuesday, from The Addams Family in it!! :)

These light grey pants ALSO "shrunk" on me! Must be the water I'm using, LOL!! So I decided to use part of them to give a facelift to a tired old pillow that no longer went with anything.

Here you see the (middle) pillow that now coordinates lovely with our guest bedroom's color theme. I only used part of one leg for the pillow, so who knows where the rest will show up!

Green Chicken Enchiladas - Simple Delicious!

These are SO easy to make, yet SO delicious! I want to be on a home-cook version of CHOPPED some day!!

You can served them as shown, with a simple "salsa" made with Radishes, Cilantro, Lemon, and Salt - or with Sour Cream and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.

2 lbs (aprx) boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bit-size pcs

1 yellow onion, sliced
5 Garlic cloves, chopped

1 28-oz Green Enchilada Sauce

2-cups shreded Monterey Pepper Jack cheese

Corn Tortillas about 16-20 (I love having leftovers!)

Cooking oil - I use extra virgin olive

Cook chicken with onions, salt and garlic. Drain broth (save for another use), and add enough green sauce to coat and moisten. Heat another five minutes.

Heat tortillas in a pan with a bit of oil. Put some sauce on a plate and get tortiall wet on it. Roll some chicken and cheese in the center and roll closed. Arrange in oven-safe pan,with some sauce on bottom. Do as many as you need to use all the chicken & cheese or just as much as you want, saving any chicken for another use. Like tacos! Top enchidas with extra sauce, sprinkle some cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins.

Cooking is easy! Recipe writing is not!

Visiting Kids in PA

This trip was the absolute BEST! Visited for the first time, and we went to Palmyra, made Mexican Tamales with my daugheter for the first time, and she made Indian Garam Masala Chicken....DELISH!

Here are some pics.

Actually this is the last one taken on our way back to the airport.

He's so handsome!!!

The Magster and her beautiful smile.


Here we are in the Sacrad Grove at the Joseph Smith farm.



Moroni statue at Hill Cumorah


Mags & West in the Sacrad Grove


Here goes my posterity



West picked a flower adn gave it to Sister Beckman. What a charmer!

This was Emma Smith's kitchen sink, made out of poured cement.

I want to make one just like it!

This is a beautiful lantern at the front door of the large house.
I'm going to try to replicate this light for our patio!

This is the house the Smiths moved to from their original farm house. The fence is called a "worm" fence, you do not need any nails to build it.

I like the herbs being dried over the kitchen table. This is so old yet still so lovely.

This the small farm house (replica with some original materials) where Joseph Smith grow up. It is actually 2 stories! I need some inside puctures.

Here we are inside the small farm house.

It's in front of the living/dining room.

This is at the hotel where West practially just wrestles Mags all the time!

More Maggie torturing! She's constantly trying to get away!

The Graduate: 05/27/2011

Okay, so I don't own a great camera, but I was far away and the room was dark! Here is Derek, my son-in-law walking across the stage as he graduates from Samuel Marrit with a degree in Podiatric Medicine.

Way to go, Dr. Derek!!!

Here we are outside with Derek's dad, brother, and West

Here he is with sis Lindsay and daughter Maggie

Here sis Jodi hold Maggie, again....that Maggie's everywhere!

With the wife and kids! Proud mom and dad!

The two grandmas and their treasures!

We're so lucky!

Couldn't ask for a better son-in -law!

Visiting CA

This visit with the kids was oh so wonderful for us! Days of cooking with West, swimming at my mom's and having West help me in the garden with everything from watering, raking, and even picking up after Tommy...he wants to do it all with grandma! Loved every second and was sad to take them back to Oakland on the last day.

Grandma's bundle of cuteness!

The honey and West watching 1950s cartoons!
My sister visited with her kids...what a good time we had hanging out all day!

We had so much fun visiting my mom and splashing around in her pool!

This guy melts my heart!

Everyone likes wearing grandma's hats!
Margaret with her great grandma!

West loves to "drive"! That faces spells speeding ticket!

Sensibly Delicious Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Pan-Roasted Veggies

This dish is both delicious & quick to prepare...not to mention, very impresive!

Ingredients: Shrimp, Lemon, Veggy (you choose!), Garlic, veg oil, s&p

Shrimp Prep: To about 1lb of raw shrimp, add some cooking oil (I only cook with EVOO), but use whatever you have. Add some lemon slices, minced garlic, and s&p (sald & pepper) to taste. Let sit for a few minutes...WHILE you cut your green beans and/or any other veggie you have/like and add them to a hot pan with about 2tbs EVOO and minced garlic. Keep tossing until cook through and charred marks appear. Add s&p to taste and cover and let steam until tender, about 10 mins.

Back to the shrimp: Toss them into a hot pan with about 1-2 tbsp EVOO and stir and toss until charred on both sides, about 5-7 mins.

Serve hot over Couscous (or your choise of grain or starch), with the roasted veggies. ENJOY!