BBQ GLAZED HOMEMADE MEATBALLS

I made these meatballs a few nights ago. PJ called and asked what was for dinner and I told him "some sort of meatballs, rice and a vegetable". He sounded so sad. I asked him what he'd rather have, even though I already knew what he was going to say, and he said spagetti. He needs comfort food in other words! So I ended up baking these in the oven until they were a little golden in color. I put 1/2 aside to add to spagetti sauce and then made the sause for the BBQ ones. These were so good. They reminded us of the Cocktail Meatballs in Dunky Sauce that my mother used to make for parties some 35 or so years ago! These were bigger and used as part of the main meal though. Scott and PJ gobbled these up and even put them with the spagetti and mixed the sauce in too. I made a lot (I used 3 lbs of chop meat so I doubled everything) and we had leftovers for another meal. The next morning I noticed that there weren't ANY left for another meal! Scott and Chris ate them during the night! I guess I should be glad that the family enjoys leftovers!

BBQ Glazed Homemade Meatballs

PREP TIME
15 Min
COOK TIME
1 Hr
READY IN
1 Hr 15 Min
Original recipe yield 25 meatballs
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup quick cooking oats
6 1/2 ounces evaporated milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon liquid smoke flavoring
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
In a bowl, mix beef, egg, oats, evaporated milk, salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, and 1/2 cup onion. Form into 1 1/2 inch balls and arrange in a single layer in the baking dish.
In a separate bowl, mix ketchup, garlic, sugar, 1/4 cup onion, and liquid smoke. Pour evenly over the meatballs.
Bake uncovered 1 hour in the preheated oven, until the minimum internal temperature of a meatball reaches 160 degrees F (72 degrees C).

Lynn's Version of CRAB AND CORN SOUP... SURPRISINGLY PRETTY GOOD!!!

Today is the 31st anniversary of PJ and my first date!!! (9-9-77) Normally he says Happy Anniversary first but this time I remembered first! I called him at work and he was very surprised that it was already the 9th! He was taking 1/2 a day today to take care of legal things with his mother so I decided to surprise him with a nice lunch. He brought tomatoes home from Saratoga the other day that need to be used so I made BLT sandwiches with them. BUT to make it extra special, I made my version of Crab & Corn Soup, one of our favorites. I had the ingredient list from Maxie's Supper Club in Ithaca (they won't give you the actual recipe). So I decided to wing it. We had 3 ears of corn left over from last nights dinner that I roasted on the grill so they had a nice smokey flavor. They would be perfect for this. I don't have a recipe for this soup. It's a little of this and a little of that all thrown together.

I started by cooking some bacon for the sandwiches and saving a little for the soup, including a few TBS of the grease to add to the oil and butter. Then I diced 2 ribs of celery and 2 shallots. I put 1/2 of a stick of butter in the pan, with a little veg oil so the butter doesn't burn on medium heat. I threw in the celery and onions and cooked them for about 10 minutes, making sure not to burn them. This brings out the sweetness in the onions. I added the leaves (chopped up) of about 3 sprigs of Thyme from my garden. Then, and I think this is what made it taste so good, I added about 1/4 of a cup of JOE'S SEASONINGS. This is from the New Orleans Cooking School. http://shopping.nosoc.com/

It's a low salt, no MSG, no preservatives all purpose seasoning, so really I guess any will do, but low salt would be best.

I stirred this through and cooked for a couple of minutes more. I added some flour, probably about 1/3 of a cup, and kept stirring for a few minutes more. I had about a quart of water that I froze from when I made corn in a pan so it has that delicious corn flavor. I dumped that in and kept stirring. I then added about 2 cups of 2% milk and kept cooking and stirring occasionally for about 10 more minutes. I then went to the fridge to get the 3 ears of corn. They were no where to be found! Chris must have eaten them in the middle of the night! I ended up finding some frozen corn, throwing that in and I even added a can of creamed corn! I cooked it for about 10 more minutes and it was basically finished. I spooned it into bowls and added chopped scallions and a little more Thyme to the top. DELICIOUS!

PJ was so impressed! He had the sandwich and soup and went back for a second bowl of soup!

"It ain't da seafood dat makes ya fat anyway -- it's da batta!"

New Orleans is the most interesting city if you're into different cultures and foods. There are so many cultures from so many different countries and it's all blended together to create some really GREAT food!

"it is an indisputable fact that no place loves its food quite as sincerely – or as indulgently – as New Orleans. Some people eat to live, but New Orleanians live to eat. As a result, the city offers one of the most incredible – and incredibly diverse – concentrations of exceptional dining and unforgettable cuisine in the world. "

We make sure we try different things and Scott seems to be the better one for doing that!

We learned to cook Gumbo, Jambalya, Bread Pudding and Pralines at the New Orleans School of Cooking. Note: When you cook Onions, Peppers and Celery together, it's called Trinity. See pic at top!

My pictures make everything look they are the same color but believe me, they weren't!

GUMBO

Jambalya

Bread Pudding

PRALINES

Scott had some Alligator Sausage made into a Po Boy

We had great smokey Ribs...

The Gumbo Shop was recomended to us as a place that the 'locals' love. It's not a chain and a little out of the way. It was good! http://www.gumboshop.com/

PJ and I both had the
CRAWFISH AND PASTA IN TASSO CREAM Penne pasta, crawfish tails and tasso, tossed in a reduced cream sauce

Scott had a BLACKENED CATFISH PO-BOY

All you want after the 3rd day after eating N.O.'s food is a nice bowl of

LIGHT SALAD!!!