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Trey’s Recipe: Meatballs Over Creamy Polenta

meatballs with polenta

Trey’s Recipe: Meatballs Over Creamy Polenta

creamy polenta with meatballs

meatballs with polenta

meatballs with polenta

We had our first snow in Nashville the other day and while the fireplace was crackling and we were warm inside we decided to make a super “cozy meal.” Trey came up with this meatballs over creamy polenta and we topped it with pesto and mozzarella. It was absolutely delicious and looked super festive!

I love cooking in our Mackenzie-Childs cookware because they can go straight from stovetop to dining table. They are as functional as they are beautiful. For this we used the Courtly Check 3qt. Pan.

Trey’s Creamy Polenta With Meatballs

Creamy Polenta

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons salted butter

1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups coarse-ground cornmeal

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup ricotta

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat the butter on medium-high heat. Add the oregano, garlic and onions. Cook until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Pour in the chicken stock along with 1 cup of water and bring to a boil. Add the cornmeal while whisking and avoid it clumping up. Cook, stirring frequently, until thick, (about 20 minutes)  Stir in the cream, ricotta and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and set aside off the heat.

Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds 80% lean ground beef

1 cup ricotta cheese

2 large eggs

1 cup breadcrumbs

1/4 cup chopped parsley

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions:

Heat the oven to 450℉.  Drizzle the oil into a 9 x 13″ baking dish and rub to coat the entire surface.
Combine the ground beef, ricotta, eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and fennel in a large bowl and mix with your hands until everything is entirely incorporated.
Roll the mixture into round 1 1/2 – 2″ round, golf-ball sized meatballs (a #24 cookie scoop works perfectly for measuring this amount if you happen to have one handy).  Place the balls in the prepared baking dish, being careful to line them up snugly and in even rows to form a grid.  The meatballs should be touching one another.
Roast for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are firm and cooked through.  When they are fully cooked remove them from the oven and drain any excess grease from the dish.

Mix meatballs in with your favorite marinara sauce and put back in over for 15 minutes.

Add meatballs over the polenta. Top meatball/polenta combo with a bit of pesto, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil. Cook on low until mozzarella has melted, serve! Enjoy.

Lifestyle

Fall Dessert Charcuterie Board

fall dessert charcuterie board

Fall Dessert Charcuterie Board

fall dessert charcuterie board

fall dessert charcuterie board

fall dessert charcuterie board

fall dessert charcuterie board

I was listening to Brene Brown’s podcast and she posed the question, “Are you doing more contributing than criticizing?” Lately, I have been in a funk and not contributing in the way I want to be.

SO… we decided to do a fun activity as a family and make treat boards and some balloons and go drop them on friends doorsteps. When you are down the best way to get back up is by spreading joy to others.

We really loved doing this and how fun is it for a treat board to show up on your doorstep?!

If you want to re-create this to gift to a friend, host with, or have for upcoming holiday parties I’ve gathered up all of the things that I used below.

P.S. I didn’t bake anything…ha! These things were all pre-made and purchased. Items not tagged were purchased from our local Whole Foods. You can make this using anything you love.

FALL DESSERT CHARCUTERIE INGREDIENT IDEAS:

* Grapes
* Apple Slices
* Caramel Dip
* Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies
* Trail Mix
* Caramel Popcorn
* Macaroons
* Candle Apple Covered Pretzels
* Mini Cinnamon Rolls
* Apple Chips
* Mums & Pumpkins For Decoration

Lifestyle

The Ultimate Summer B.L.T. Board

blt board

This BLT Board is simple to put together and sure to please a crowd. Summer recipes are meant to be bright and colorful! Heirloom tomatoes are the star of this board and you can add as many varieties as you can get your hands on! Your local Farmer’s Market is usually the best place to find some great options.

You can be as creative as you like with your BLT board, but I like to include the following:

INGREDIENTS:

  • Several Variations of Heirloom Tomatoes (You can also do some roasted tomatoes)
  • Salt & Pepper
  • Mayo
  • Basil Pesto Aioli (Just mix in your favorite pesto with mayo and add splash of lemon juice)
  • Avocado
  • Bacon
  • Peppered Bacon
  • Bib Lettuce
  • Fried Eggs (We put this one on a separate dish)
  • Toasted Sourdough Bread (I used a rosemary sourdough and it was delicious!)
  • Basil For Garnish

SERVE WITH:

We like to serve this with a summer vegetable salad. (Martha’s Stewart’s Recipe is great!) It’s also great with grilled corn on the cob or roasted potatoes.

If you love boards, check out my other posts with a taco version and a sweet treats version.

Lifestyle

Cinco De Mayo – Family Night At Home

cinco de mayo recipes

Cinco De Mayo – Family Night At Home

cinco de mayo recipes

cinco de mayo recipes

cinco de mayo recipes

spicy margarita

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

While we are all spending time at home, it’s great to switch it up every now and again and celebrate the small things!

I’m a sucker for a theme night and it makes it feel special for the kids as well! This year we are doing a fun taco platter and a spicy margarita (simple/skinny version) for mom and dad!

Cinco De Mayo is a fun time to have a Mexican inspired evening as a family. The kids love being able to build the tacos themselves and choose their toppings.

Moms, you deserve this margarita now more than ever!

TACO PLATTER

You can choose items you have on hand or whatever you normally use as taco toppings.

If you’d like to keep it vegetarian, Trader Joe’s has a great “soy chorizo.” Cook with a chopped yellow onion as a great meat substitute!

Toppings:

Shredded Cheese
Olives
Tomatoes
Green Onion
Red Onion
Avocado
Limes
Salsa
Guacamole
Pico De Gallo
Sour Cream

I used cilantro and Chile Lime seasoning as garnish throughout the taco platter.

Serve with your favorite type of taco shell or over a bed of butter lettuce.

Skinny Spicy Margarita

1. Wet the rim of your glass and roll in choice of salt. We like to do Trader Joe’s Chili Lime Seasoning mixed with course sea salt. Tajin mixed with coarse sea salt is great as well.

2. Remove seeds from your jalapeños and muddle. We like to do half of a large jalapeño to muddle and the other half sliced inside or as garnish on the rim.

3. Combine 4 ounces of silver tequila with 4 tablespoons of blue agave and mix well until the agave dissolves into the tequila.

4. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice pour the tequila/agave mixture and add in 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice. (I’ve done the concentrate before and it was a fail…) Shake well.

5. Pour your mixture into the glasses with the salted rims. Garnish with limes, jalapeños and a bit of cilantro.

Enjoy!

** If you are looking for more entertainment inspiration for staying at home, be sure to check out this post HERE with backyard entertainment ideas. There’s also a spring inspired charcuterie board that you can check out HERE.

Lifestyle

Recipes: Summer Salad That’s Sure To Impress

summer salad

Recipes: Summer Salad That’s Sure To Impress

summer salad

summer salad

summer salad

summer salad

Even though it is back to school time, the days are still hot here in Tennessee! I’ve got the perfect grilled peach summer salad that is SUPER simple to throw together on a whim, but also sophisticated and sure to be a hit with your guests.

This can be tossed together in less than ten minutes. (No joke!) I can hardly consider this a “recipe” because it is truly chopping a few things and tossing them together.  It’s all about the presentation with this one too. My new Mackenzie Childs serving pieces work perfectly for this bright summer salad.

I like mixing classic serving pieces that you can use for any occasion like this pitcher and serving platter with more fun pieces. The bright blue check always looks so fun paired with bold colored summer foods.

If you do not own one of these stovetop grills, I highly recommend. It is so much easier for simple things like this, and great for when the temperatures are cold and you don’t want to grill outside.

Grilled Peach Summer Salad

Ingredients:

  • One Large Peach
  • Small Red Onion
  • Handful of Pecans
  • Feta Cheese
  • Handful of Blueberries
  • One Avocado
  • Three Cups Arugula
  • One Lemon

Dressing Ingredients:

Ok, this is how you can tell I’m not a real chef. Anyone can make these recipes! If you have “Garlic Expressions” salad dressing at your grocery store… pick it up and cheat! HA! It tastes sooo good with this salad and very sophisticated/homemade!

Or you can make your own:

Equal parts olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey and greek yogurt.

Directions:

  1. Slice your peach and toss in a little bit of EVOO. Place on your grill for a few minutes on each side and set to the side.
  2. Thinly slice half a small onion. Slice an avocado.
  3. Line your platter with the arugula. Toss on a handful of blueberries and a handful of pecans.
  4. Add your feta cheese to your liking.
  5. Add on your onion and avocado.
  6. Top with ground pepper and a bit of salt.
  7.  Add your peaches down the middle of the platter.
  8.  Top with just a bit of fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Serve with dressing to the side so it can be tossed fresh!

 

Tablescape: