Stephanie Ashcraft - 101 Things to Do with Meatballs

Welcome to the wonderful world of meatballs! Now, more than ever, families are faced with a common problem: our hectic lives leave very little time for preparing nutritious, well-balanced meals. As a mom of four, I had the challenge of fitting my love for cooking and my desire to feed my family nutritiously into my busy schedule. I applied my knowledge and experience with food preparation and eventually developed the 101 cookbook concept.

This book provides you with 101 delicious recipes, all made with a comfort food favoritemeatballs! I hope youll find that with so many simple, delicious, and nutritious recipes, everyones appetite will be appeased.

Meatballs are such a versatile food and so easy to prepare. As a mom, I put love into every meal I make. That means I make sure to serve high--quality meatballs to my family and guests. I dont have time to make meatballs from scratch, so I buy frozen, fully cooked meatballs in a big bag from the store. There are lots of brands that you can choose from. Unfortunately, some of them are not so tasty. To help with your shopping, Ive listed several hints to let you know which brands have worked the best for me, as well as my tips on thawing and cooking.

1. Choose a brand you recognize. For some large manufacturers, meatballs are simply a by-product of their other meat businesses. Make sure to pick a brand that specializes in meatballs, such as Casa Di Bertacchi and Farm Rich, to ensure you always have a high-quality selection.

2. Choose the flavor you crave. The most common flavors of meatballs are original (also known as home-style), Italian-style, and Swedish. My favorite is the Casa Di Bertacchi Italian-style meatballs as well as Farm Rich Original and Italian-Style meatballs. Their seasonings dont overpower the other flavors in the recipes. Plus, both of those brands make meatballs the same way Italians have been making them for generationsseared, and then steamed until fully cooked.

3. Choose the right size meatball. I used Casa Di Bertacchi 5/8-ounce meatballs in every recipe. Farm Rich also makes a great 1/2-ounce size. A conversion chart has been included for your convenience. Most recipes in this book are better suited for an appetizer-size meatball, such as 1/2 ounce (as Farm Rich makes) or 5/8 ounce (as Casa Di Bertacchi makes).

Meatball Conversion ChartNumber of Meatballs by Weight

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place the meatballs in a 9 x 9-inch pan with 1/2 inch water. Bake for 30 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

In a small bowl, combine ketchup and mustard. Place a heaping teaspoon of the mixture on the bottom of a roll and then top with a meatball. Add a teaspoon of pickle relish and cover with top half of roll. Repeat with remaining ingredients and serve immediately on a large platter. Makes 26 appetizers.

Variation: Place a small slice of cheddar cheese over each meatball to make cheeseburgers.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Slice each pepper in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and rinse out. Spread cream cheese in each jalapeo half. Cut the meatballs in half. Place each meatball half, cut side down, over cream cheese. Wrap a half slice of bacon around each stuffed jalapeo and secure with a toothpick. Place on a baking sheet and bake 2530 minutes, or until bacon is browned. Serve immediately on a platter. Makes 26 appetizers.