I mentioned in my last post Emily had wanted to make a recipe that called for frozen, cooked meatballs. Sunday afternoon, while she was off with her dad, I prepared meatballs; nothing fancy - a couple of pounds of ground bison, an egg, some oatmeal, salt and pepper. I also stirred in the last of a bottle of ketchup and a few tablespoons of mashed avocado that were taking up space in the fridge. I baked the meatballs for about an hour at 325F then froze them, once they had cooled. Monday before I left for the day I put the frozen meatballs in the fridge to thaw.
Emily's recipe called for a red & green pepper cut into 1" chunks, but neither of us like peppers much. She had suggested carrots as a substitute, I thought the would take too long to cook. Instead I had her slice a couple small zucchinis into 1" chunks. I had boiled a pot of baby potatoes until they were just tender, and she threaded the meatballs onto skewers with the zucchini and potatoes.
When the skewers were ready she put them on a pan and stirred together the sauce; apricot jam and barbecue sauce. Once the sauce was brushed over the skewers she took them out to the grill.
It was a simple enough recipe, that tasted wonderful....but anything on a stick is good, right?
My one caveat would be to advise cooking the skewers on a griddle place onto the grill. Several of the meatballs stuck to the grill & broke when Emily tried to turn them or remove them for serving.
Despite the less than perfect results this would make a nice summer barbecue change from burgers and hot dogs....especially for those picnickers who prefer to forego the buns.
Sweet & Sour Meatball Skewers
32 frozen, cooked meatballs, thawed (I made my own, but you can purchase them at the grocery store too)
1 green pepper & 1 red pepper, cut into 1" chunks (or any veg you prefer, zucchini, mushroom caps, etc.)
1/4 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup barbecue sauce.
Thread the meatballs & vegetables alternately onto wooden or metal skewers.
Combine the apricot jam & barbecue sauce, brush over the skewers, place on a preheated grill, cook until heated through, baste with remaining sauce.
Extra sauce also makes a lovely condiment to serve at table.
The following Sunday Emily decided she wanted cheese stuffed burgers. I've attempted this idea before, and found myself with a gooey mess on my hands, and I know it's not quite as simple as "You just stuff some cheese into a hamburger" as Emily insisted. I went online and checked out a few of my favourite sites and found this recipe. I also found one with bacon, but surprisingly Emily wasn't interested.
When I got home from work Monday I tossed together a fruit salad, deciding it would be a nice change of pace. While I did that Emily stirred together cream cheese, shredded Cheddar, and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Next she combined ground bison with two more teaspoons of Dijon, two green onions, ketchup and some oatmeal (I was out of dried bread crumbs) The recipe called for dried rosemary and sage, but I have neither in my pantry. Instead I chopped a few fresh sage leaves and some fresh thyme for her. She shaped this into thin patties (the recipe said 8, we only got 6 out of a pound of meat) onto half the patties she spooned a portion of the cheese mixture and topped it with another patty, pressing the edges together to seal them. We had extra cheese so I quickly mixed up another pound of meat and we repeated the process. Once the burgers were ready to go Emily put them on the barbecue to cook.
The burgers were juicy and creamy, and taste of the fresh herbs was apparent. I don't like much on my burgers besides ketchup, good Dijon mustard & cheese, so we skipped the usual burger toppings, but that's just my preference, which is why my burger looks under dressed.
Herb & Cheese Stuffed Burgers
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons cream cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary*
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard, divided 1/4 teaspoon dried sage*
2 green onions, thinly sliced 1 lb ground beef, lean
3 tablespoons dry bread crumbs
In a small bowl stir together Cheddar, cream cheese, 1 teaspoon mustard & parsley. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients. Shape in 8 thin patties. Top four patties with a portion (1-2 tablespoons). Top with remaining patties, seal edges gently.
Grill until cooked through (4-5 minutes/side, 160F)
*I used about 6 fresh sage leaves, chopped, and about 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme.
I also used quick cooking oats in place of the bread crumbs. As well, we had extra cheese, so we doubled the meat recipe.
Serve on rolls with your favourite burger toppings; lettuce, tomatoes, onions, etc.
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