Swedish Meatballs & Gravy

What is heartier for your hungry brood than Swedish meatballs with gravy, potatoes (of any variety), and a steamed fresh vegetable? Nothing. At least for tonight's dinner.

Grandma had a lot of Scandinavian friends and they all had a different recipe for this comfort food.  Some used a mixture of pork, beef, and veal. Some used only beef. But the best one came from Grandma's friend and neighbor Jennie--remember that amazing Carrot Cake from a few weeks back? Yes, that one. Need I say more?

Try these and remember as you're going through the process of lovingly preparing all these recipes from Grandma's collection that the extra steps--and, perhaps, extra trouble--to make these from scratch, your family will remember sitting at the table and enjoying a delicious dinner together. It's part of that discussion about family companionship and sharing food. It equals love, comfort, and memories in the making!

Swedish Meatballs (Köttbullar)

2-3 Tbsp butter
½ lb ground beef
½ lb ground pork
½ cup bread crumbs
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 egg
3 Tbsp onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

Gravy:
1 Tbsp flour
¾-1 cup cream or milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in skillet and sauté onions until golden brown. Soak bread crumbs in milk. Add meat, egg, onion, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly until smooth. Shape into balls. Fry in butter until browned evenly. Remove each batch to saucepan and clear skillet with a little water, before starting next batch, saving pan juices each time. 

When all meatballs are fried, mix flour and cream add to pan juices, stirring constantly, and simmer 10 minutes. Add more milk or cream if too thick and season to taste. Place meatballs in deep serving dish and pour gravy over. 

These freeze beautifully! Make the meatballs and put in freezer bag to freeze until you're ready to cook them!

Easy and Delicious Stovetop Chili

This recipe flies in the face of yesterday's post touting Grandma's lack of dependence upon the almighty prepared-item-in-the-can.  However, even Grandma used the canned varieties of tomatoes and beans without guilt. Sometimes she even opened up a can of corn or peas! As much as she would have loved to be the consummate farm girl that she was and go out to the garden and pick and prepare her veggies fresh, she lived in the city and urban farms had not quite taken off at that time. 

She didn't make this dish often, because Grandpa didn't care for foods that were too spicy, but when she did the wonderful smell was unmistakable. It can be made with or without the beef and still be amazing too.  This is also a great freezable item or a great dish to take to potlucks. Be sure to break out the cast iron skillet or muffin tin and make some cornbread to serve with it! Your family will sing your praises, I promise.

Easy and Delicious Stovetop Chili

1½ lbs natural lean ground beef (optional)
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans (do not drain)
1 (15 oz) can small red beans (do not drain)
1 (15 oz) can pork and beans
2 (14.5 oz) cans petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Brown ground beef; pour off grease or liquid. Set aside. 

In Dutch oven or heavy pan, melt butter and saute onion until golden. Add bell pepper, celery, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and chili powder. Add in browned beef and combine. Stir in canned beans, pork and beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce, stirring until combined. Add sugar, salt and pepper. Heat to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours. 8 servings.

 

Serve with cornbread and salad for a filling and delicious meal!

NOTE: This freezes beautifully. Let cool after cooking and pour into your desired container.

Layered Spaghetti Casserole

This Layered Spaghetti Casserole is good on so many levels! Here's why:

1. It's a great use for leftovers of spaghetti sauce (like Grandma's Famous Spaghetti Sauce).

2. It's great for meal planning at least once a month, which is so important for working parents trying to live within their means but still provide meaningful meals.

3. It can be cooked with or without meat...aka cheaper and healthier.

4. It can be prepared in advance and frozen.

5. It's so easy Grandpa could put it together and feel mighty proud of himself. 

6. It's absolutely delicious and even your picky eaters will love it.

It's all about meal strategy, planning and coordination. Sounds very scientific, doesn't it? Really it's not rocket science. Just good common sense.

This casserole is delicious with a salad of greens and some great bread or rolls or better yet, how about those Parmesan Breadsticks?

Layered Spaghetti Casserole

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb natural, lean ground beef, optional
2 cups good spaghetti sauce (like Grandma's)
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small can mushrooms
Italian seasoning
Parsley
¾ pound Spaghetti noodles
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Preheat oven to 375F.  Begin heating the water to cook spaghetti.

Grease a deep baking dish and sprinkle 1/3 cup of the Parmesan cheese on the bottom. 

Meanwhile, cook onion in olive oil until translucent then add in minced garlic and mushrooms.  Add in ground beef, if desired, and cook until no longer pink, then drain off any grease. Stir in sauce and simmer.   Add spaghetti noodles to boiling water and cook until almost done (don't over boil because the spaghetti will cook further in the oven). Drain off all water then begin layering as follows:

½ of spaghetti noodles on top of Parmesan cheese already in casserole dish.
½ of the sauce mixture over the spaghetti noodles (don't mix in)
Sprinkle on Italian seasoning and parsley
1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese
 
Other ½ of spaghetti  noodles
Other ½ of sauce mixture
Sprinkle more Italian seasoning and parsley

Sprinkle remaining Parmesan cheese on the top and cook 25 minutes in 375F oven or until cheese on top is melted.

Grandma's Famous Spaghetti Sauce

Meal planning isn't always easy, particularly for moms working outside the home (as well as in) and especially during the holidays with so many other things going on. 

Grandma considered herself very fortunate to have a vocation she loved. She loved people, had a servant's heart, and was gifted with patience and kindness.  Perfect character qualities for nursing, which was her calling.  But even doing something she loved, it was still hard work. She was on her feet nearly all day and when she got home she probably would have preferred relaxing instead of cooking. 

That's where planning came in. Grandma would create a menu plan for the week ahead and try to "coordinate" the recipes so leftovers could be used in another meal. We've already done that with the Herb Roasted Chicken & Vegetables and the leftovers from that were used the following day in Chicken Pot Pies with Flaky Crust. You get the idea. 

Planning is half the battle. Actually, it IS the battle, but much easier to win when you're rested, relaxed, and putting it all together on your own terms. Not stressed after a hard day's work.

So here's another favorite--Grandma's Famous (at least in our family) Spaghetti Sauce. Homemade is best, more flavorful, and not difficult to make. She always added a little sugar to offset the acidity of the tomatoes and Bay leaf for seasoning (be sure to remove it before serving though).  Try this sauce with Grandma's Basic Meatballs. Delicious!

A large batch of this sauce yields leftovers that can be used in another meal or frozen.



Grandma's Famous Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 small can mushrooms, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 large can tomato sauce
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp parsley
Italian Seasoning
Pepper
1 bay leaf (remove before serving)


Heat oil in Dutch oven or saucepan and sauté onion, mushrooms, pepper, celery and garlic. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, paste, sugar and parsley. Season to taste and add bay leaf. Simmer for an hour, remove bay leaf, and serve over noodles or use in your favorite pasta dish.

NOTE: Can be prepared in advance and frozen easily.

Beefy Macaroni

Ooooh baby, it’s cold outside and this is the perfect quick hot dish for a cold Saturday (or any) night during the winter. I think our clocks fall back this weekend, so you’ll have an extra hour to prepare this.

Grandma was always big on quick fixes on a weekend and this was a favorite of hers. It also freezes very well and makes a delicious meal in a pinch served with a salad of greens and maybe some of that Roman Meal Bread from a couple days ago!

Beefy Macaroni

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

1 lb lean ground beef

1 cup onion, chopped

2 8 oz cans tomato sauce

1 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 cup beef broth

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes less than shortest time recommended on package. Drain. Brown ground beef with onion. Remove from heat.  Add macaroni, tomato sauce, celery salt, pepper and broth. In a separate bowl, beat together cream cheese, cottage cheese and sour cream. In a greased foil baking pan, make two layers each of beef and pasta mixture, then cheese mixture. Cover and bake for 1 hour at 350F. 8 servings.

NOTE: Once this is assembled, you can cover it with heavy duty foil and freeze it. When you're ready to use it for a meal, thaw and bake as noted.

Basic Meatballs

Grandma always said that cooking didn’t need to be complicated! Just a little planning, some good ingredients, and you've got the makings of a great meal. Planning is the key word here. When meat went on sale, Grandma stocked up. When she brought it home she set out to prepare a few good basics in advance to combine with other ingredients and create something delicious. Whatever wasn't used right away was put in the freezer.

This meatball recipe was one of her basics and they are truly delicious, simple to make, and freeze beautifully. You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator already. Grandma always made her own bread crumbs in her food processor using the bread she had on hand. She didn't think buying them was necessary--cost wise or health wise. There would have to be preservatives to keep those prepackaged crumbs from going bad and she didn't like that in her cooking! Instead of the ground beef and pork, you could substitute ground chicken or turkey, Italian sausage, or whatever you like. This recipe is so versatile! 

Basic Meatballs

1/2 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

2 Tbsp onion, minced

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine ground beef and pork. Mix in egg, garlic salt, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, onion and Worcestershire sauce. Shape into 1-inch balls and use in desired recipe.

If you wish to freeze them for later use, arrange close together in a single layer on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350F for 7 minutes. No need to cook all the way as they will continue cooking when prepared later. Freeze meatballs in single layer then transfer to freezer bag. When ready to use, just thaw! 6 servings.

Meal suggestions: Besides the typical pasta dish, you could use these alone as a meatball appetizer with fondue or try Swedish meatballs. Delicious!