Thursday, April 12, 2012

Szechuan Teriyaki Meatballs

1 - 1.5 pound ground beef
1 - 1.5 pound ground pork Don't sweat the amounts... 
2 eggs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs, or more if it's wet
S&P

Teriyaki sauce
Red pepper paste -Asian store or grocery store aisle
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Mix the meatballs from the first set of ingredients. Make meatballs and fry in skillet until browned. Don't worry if they aren't cooked all the way through, just turn them often to brown. Add pepper paste and teriyaki sauce and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 15-60 minutes. In the meantime, make some noodles or rice. Loosen the lid if you need to thicken the gravy. 

Simple, simple. Ready is well under an hour. :)



If you go searching for a red pepper paste, don't worry about the brand. You just want a pepper paste that's mostly red peppers, and thick.



Beef and pork and eggs. Now, the messy part... Mix with your hands, add the breadcrumbs and S&P.



I use this little ice cream scoop kind of thing to get my meatballs the same size. You can do it any way you like.



Can you tell I LOVE my 12 inch skillet? Perfect fit! If you can't fit them all in at once, rotate out the browned ones and add the raw ones. Once you get the sauce started, you can out them all back in together.



Turn them every few minutes to brown on all sides.



When they are all browned nicely, put them to the edges to make a lace to work on the sauce.



Nice big glob of pepper paste. This is all by taste, but this is about 1/4 cup. This will not be overly spicy, just a little zing.



1/2 bottle of teriyaki glaze. If you are using the second half of the bottle and not the first half, like I am here, fill the bottle with your water and shake it good to rinse the bottle out well. This stuff is too good to waste!



Cup of water...



Mix it all up until it is smooth.



Gently fold in the meatballs. Not too rough, they aren't cooked all the way through and they'll break up. Bring to boil.



Lower heat to simmer after it boils. Put the lid on and simmer while you work on noodles, rice or other side dishes.



Enjoy! :)

Garlicky Baked Asparagus

A great side dish for a holiday meal. 

Asparagus
Butter
Pepper
Garlic
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Wash and trim your asparagus. Lay into a double thick layer of foil. Add pats of butter on top, wipe on your fresh garlic. Sprinkle with pepper and seal tight. At this point, you can put this into the fridge and hold for baking later. You could even do this the night before, if you know that your time will be tight during the rush of the meal preparation. 

Put the package, on a baking dish, into the oven at 325 - 350 degrees for about an hour. 

Simple.


 
Nice fresh garlic should look crisp and fresh. Make sure they aren't dry looking. They should be firm and not limp.



Cut the ends off. You can also peel them with a vegetable peeler if they aren't very long. Always trim the very end, though. Don't cook the dry, woody stems.



All trimmed up. Laid into the doubled foil.



Half a stick of butter, softened. I spread it around with a butter knife.



Ready the garlic. I used a few large cloves.



I love my garlic press. :)



Sprinkle with pepper.



Seal tightly. Otherwise, you'll have butter running all over. The foil packet should be held in a small baking dish. This will allow you to carry the packet easily and it will catch any leaking garlicky butter.



Ready to go into the oven.



 have about an hour till dinner. Turkey comes out in 30 minutes. Crescents go in after the turkey comes out. Asparagus will stay in till everything is done.



Doesn't THAT look good?! Smells delish.