Sunday, March 22, 2009

Random Thoughts and Dill Meatballs

Blog Hiatus: sorry about that. Haven't been cooking much because I had pneumonia the end of February and have been sleeping a lot, sometimes through supper.

***Lecithin in tea: Look out for tea bags that include lemon flavor. This week I came across two different lemon-flavored teas, from two different brands, that had soy lecithin in them! Who would be looking for soy in tea?!?!

Fish Tacos: recommend that you check out the New York Times site this week because there is a great-looking recipe in the Magazine today (Sunday) for fish tacos. I intend to try it this week.

Kosher for Passover: scored some kosher-for-Passover chocolate chips this week at our local Giant grocery store, so we made Congo Bars to celebrate.

Saint Patrick's Day: of course required Corned Beef and Cabbage (and carrots and potatoes) which is inherently soy-free.

Each of my kids has a favorite meal, and this one is Younger Daughter's:

Dill Meatballs with Noodles

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 cups fresh bread crumbs (from 4 or 5 slices), whole wheat preferred but not mandatory
1 Tbsp dried onion flakes *
3/4 cup water
2 Tbsp grainy mustard
2 tsp fresh dill or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups reduced-sodium soy-free beef broth
1 Tbsp grainy mustard
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill or 1 tsp dried
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup fat-free or light sour cream

Hot cooked noodles or bow ties

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Greast a rimmed baking sheet.

2. Put the bread crumbs and dried onions in a bowl and let soak for a few minutes in the water. Add the mustard, dill, and salt, and combine. Add the meat and combine. Shape into meatballs about 1" in diameter. Arrange 1/2" apart on the baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes.

3. Near the end of the meatballs' cooking time, heat 1 3/4 cup of the beef broth in a large saucepan or dutch oven. Add the mustard, dill, and pepper and bring to a simmer. Mix the flour and the remaining beef broth in a cup until you have a slurry. Slowly add slurry to the hot beef broth, stirring constantly. Heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the sour cream. Add meatballs to sauce. Serve over noodles.

*Note: you can use a finely chopped onion, but this is tedious and sometimes the onion doesn't cook all the way, so I used to end up sauteeing the onion first, which adds some extra oil to the recipe and makes this recipe take W-A-Y too long for a weeknight.

SOY-FREE CONSIDERATIONS:
Make sure the beef broth is soy-free.
Otherwise, none.