I made these meatballs this past weekend and they were so good! Don’t let the long ingredient lists scare you, these came together really quickly. I served mine with mashed potatoes, but rice would be good too! If there are leftovers, I would recommend storing the meatballs and sauce separately. Recipe and photo courtesy of jocooks.com.

For Meatballs:

• 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, I used Panko
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup coarse ground mustard
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (for frying)

For Gravy

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• parsley for garnish

Add all the meatball ingredients (excluding the olive oil) to a large bowl and mix well, use your hands. Shape into 1 inch meatballs. You should get about 40 meatballs. Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium to high heat. Add meatballs and cook. If you’re using a large skillet all meatballs should fit in one batch otherwise, you might have to fry them in a couple batches. Cook the meatballs on all sides, add more oil if needed. Remove meatballs from skillet and set aside. To the same skillet add butter and melt. Add onion and cook until onion is soft and translucent. In a bowl add the cornstarch and beef broth and whisk. Add broth and remaining gravy ingredients to skillet, and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, sauce should thicken. If the sauce is too thick add a bit more beef broth. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. When the gravy is done add the meatballs back to the skillet and toss them around so they’re covered in the gravy. Garnish with parsley. Serve with mashed potatoes or rice.

I found this recipe on Pinterest while looking for roast recipes.  The meat was so good it could easily be served as a stand-alone.  Serve with a really good hoagie roll for the complete experience. Recipe and photo courtesy of carlsbadcravings.com.

• 3 lb chuck roast
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup Coke, (NOT diet)
• 2 10.5 cans beef consomme
• 1/4 cup dry minced onions
• 1 tablespoon beef bouillon
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 French rolls or hoagie buns
• 12 slices provolone cheese

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large nonstick skillet.  Using two forks or tongs to hold roast, sear on all sides until lightly browned.  Add to slow cooker and top with all remaining seasonings and liquids. Cook on LOW for 4 hours, then remove roast to a cutting board.  Thinly slice roast across the grain.  Place sliced meat back in slow cooker and continue to cook on LOW for 1-2 additional hours.  hen ready to serve, remove roast and strain fat from broth for dipping.  Split rolls and line the bottoms of a baking tray. Top each half with beef followed by 2 slices of cheese. Bake at 35o until cheese is melted. Serve with reserved au jus.

We have a pizza night every Friday and a couple of weeks ago I broke the mold and made these muffins.  They were really easy to assemble and were fabulous.  My son ate them for three straight days leftover. You could also experiment with adding different pizza toppings. Recipe and photo courtesy of tiphero.com

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 26 oz frozen dinner rolls, thawed
• 2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
• 6 oz sliced pepperoni, cut into quarters
• marinara sauce for dipping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray two 6-cup muffin tins (or one 12-cup muffin tin) with non-stick spray. Cut the rolls into quarters. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl so that the oil is spread evenly on each piece of dough and the toppings are evenly distributed. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.