Pasta Alfredo

Posted by: Annie

In six days, I am heading to sunny Florida to visit Harry Potter World (woo!) and Disney World. The weather forecast looks beautiful and hotel pool-worthy. Obviously tonight I was thinking of being in a bathing suit when I decided to make Alfredo sauce for dinner. (Hello health food for the upcoming week!)

 
Alfredo sauce and I go way back. I still remember being a little girl celebrating my 11th birthday in The Olive Garden, and ordering a big adult sized portion of fettuccine alfredo. And I still remember wanting to punch our waitress when she commented "You ate all that? Most adults can't even finish this dish." Ha! I showed her with my alfredo eating skills.

Today, my stomach is older and is a little more sensitive to heavy sauces, but alfredo remains a favorite. I served this sauce over whole wheat linguine.

What you will need:

 
3 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups fresh Parmesan
Salt and pepper
1 pound of your favorite pasta

Cook pasta according to directions on package.

 
In a medium saute pan, melt butter. When the butter has melted, add in garlic and heavy cream and bring to a simmer.  Cook an additional five minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Add in cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the cooked pasta and enjoy!

Source: Annie's Eats

Carrot Cake Balls

Posted by: Maggie

I'm probably the only food blogger in the universe who hasn't ever made cake balls. I haven't even tried cake balls (well, until now,) despite the fact that they're so popular even Starbucks has them now. I usually hate using cake mixes and canned frosting, but for my first time making these I just wanted to go the easy route, and I must say that they are delicious! Annie posted a recipe for carrot cupcakes a while back that you could probably use if you wanted to make these from scratch.

I made these over the course of two days since there is a lot of chilling and inactive time involved. The super cute carrot decorations are from my favorite baking supply store, Bake It Pretty.

I don't really know how carrot cake came to be associated with Easter, but since it is, these would make a great treat to have around two weeks from tomorrow!

Here's what you'll need:

1 box of carrot cake mix (and eggs and oil called for on the box)
1 can cream cheese frosting
1 package white almond bark

Bake carrot cake as directed on package, following directions for a 13x9 pan. Let cake cool completely (a few hours,) and crumble into a large bowl. Mix the entire can of cream cheese frosting into the crumbled cake mix to form a dough. I used my very clean hands for this - it was really messy, but much easier than using a spoon.

Chill the "dough" for a few hours (I chilled it overnight.)  Roll the dough into golf ball sized balls, place on a baking sheet, and put in the freezer for one hour.  Remove from freezer, and melt the almond bark per directions on package. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each ball in the melted almond bark, place on baking sheet, and garnish as desired.

Random cake ball tips:

I use two forks to carefully lift the balls out of the almond bark, and let the excess drip down the side before placing on the baking sheet.

Almond bark firms up very quickly, so garnish each cake ball immediately after dipping, rather than waiting until you've dipped the whole batch. 

Makes about 30 cake balls.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Posted by: Maggie

I am so happy to be home again after back to back trips to New Jersey and Rhode Island. I was in New Jersey to visit family and see the Broadway tour of Spring Awakening with my sisters (amazing show by the way, it was my second time seeing it and Annie's FOURTH.) Being home is always great, but combined with a work trip to Rhode Island it just left me homesick for for my own apartment, and in particular my kitchen.

For someone who didn't even develop an interest in cooking until I moved into my own place with no roommates back in March 2008, I sure missed my kitchen a lot. Usually I miss my comfy bed, or my closet (I hate living out of a suitcase,) but my time away this time really just left me wanting to cook. Oftentimes I don't share stuff I make for dinner on here because I eat late, and ever since I got my baby* I've been making an effort to only take food photos in daylight in an effort to take the best pics possible. BUT, the lack of blogging and cooking I've done lately, and the fact that these meatballs were absolutely delicious and worthy of sharing meant I had to break my rule tonight, and take a picture in my fluorescent lit kitchen. 

If you enjoy meatloaf you will absolutely love these. The sweet and sour ketchup based sauce tastes very similar to what is slathered on a lot of meatloaves. I slightly adapted the recipe from my blogging idol, the fabulous Pioneer Woman. I went by the version in her cookbook (thanks Annie!) but an almost identical version is available on her website. And now here, duh.

I got 26 meatballs out of this recipe. I did not decide that a serving was 13 meatballs and stuff them in my face while watching Sex and the City reruns. Nope, wasn't me.

Here's what you'll need:

Meatballs: 

1 pound ground beef (I believe mine was 93% lean, but I don't think it really matters for this recipe)
1/2 cup quick oats
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons finely minced onions
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper, a few shakes

For frying:

4 tablespoons canola oil
Flour

Sauce:

1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4-6 tablespoons minced onion
Dash of Tabasco sauce

In a bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients, and thoroughly combine with your hands. A spoon won't do the job here, get in there with grubby little hands. Roll the mixture into tablespoon sized balls, and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes to firm.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and mix together all of the ingredients for the sauce.

After the meatballs have had a chance to firm up, remove from the fridge. Heat the canola oil in a large frying pan, and dredge the meatballs in the flour, carefully shaking off the excess. Fry the meatballs in batches, just until light brown on all sides.

Place browned meatballs in a baking dish, pour the sauce on top, and bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 45 minutes.

*His name is Otis. Don't ask.