These aren’t your average meatball.

Stuffed with bits of red pepper, sundried tomato and fresh parsley, these really don’t need anything more than a toothpick (or a fork, if you must). But, when you take a bit of fresh mozzarella and tomato and top them with half a meatball, it’s awesome. breathtaking. orgasmic. indescribably delicious. Total party in my mouth sensation.

How cute would these be to pass at a party? Seriously. It takes caprese salad to a whole new level. You could even add in a basil leaf, if you wanted.

So, how are these made? The process is simple, you start by mixing up all the dry ingredients. Then you add the egg and stir that in, so it’s well combined. Then you mix in the meat. I am a big proponent of kneading seasonings into meat by hand (don’t forget to wash first!). I think it works best to really get them combined in a full and absolute way.

Then you roll the meatballs into one-inch balls. No need to get the ruler out or anything, just do it by feel and site, making all the little balls about the same size. And no worries about crowding them onto the baking sheet–unlike cookies, it’s totally okay if you put them all really close together.

Finally you bake. That’s it. The best part? All in all, these can be ready in about 45 minutes — chopping included. That’s nothing, right? And while they are cooking, you could cut the cheese and tomato, make something else, whatever … easy peasy.

And guess what? Will and Paige couldn’t get enough of these. Then again, neither could I. They were really that good.

Now, before I give you the recipe and send you off to bake up these delightful little meatballs, I want to introduce you all to someone. Earlier this year, I was partnered with The Teacher Cooks for the latest round of Adopt-a-Blogger. Once or twice a year, veteran bloggers take a newbie blogger under their wing and offer guidance and advice on how to improve their blogging and reach their goals.

Now, I have to admit, when I looked at the The Teacher Cooks’ site, I wondered why she needs any help at all. She has beautiful photos, fantastic recipes and a great concept: she shares things she actually makes with her students — including photos of their creations. It’s genius. We’ve been trading emails for awhile, and I hope I have been (and might continue to be) a help to her. But right now, I wish you would just head over to her site and say hello. She’s a great gal and a fab blogger.

Now, onto the recipe. Read the rest of this entry…

What makes a go-to recipe for you? It’s something personal, something that really depends on how you cook and how much you really enjoy cooking. For me, go-to recipes have to produce dishes that make you crave seconds and eye leftovers. But they also need to be low-fuss.

This recipe fits the bill for me. It takes some planning — the flank steak needs to marinate for a few hours (minimum) and needs to be room temperature when you go to cook it. But ultimately between making the marinade and cooking, this takes less than 20 minutes to make. Easy peasy? Definitely.

The flavor of this is remarkably like our favorite beef with broccoli. The difference? It’s not drowning in sauce — the flavor permeates the meat and the sauce adds a nice boost, but it’s not a gravy-heavy dish. So yes, it looks a little different but the taste is spot-on.

We adore it.

This isn’t the first time that I’ve mentioned this dish – I actually wrote about it two years ago. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had this since then, but I can tell you that it’s not often enough. As Shawn said last night, we really need to make this more often.

More Flank Steak Recipes:

• Grilled Maple Soy Glazed Flank Steak
• Marinated Flank Steak
• Honey Garlic Chipotle Flank Steak Read the rest of this entry…

Tacos hold a very special place in my heart. Serious. Ever since I was little, something about the crunchy little shells filled with spicy meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato and hot taco sauce just made my mouth so darn happy. I mean sure, you can have better, more authentic tacos — and I enjoy those too — but it’s the totally Americanized version that I adore. No food snobbery here.

My kids really like tacos too, but for a two-year-old and a four-year-old, they can be a challenge to eat. Plus, I always worry if they are actually eating enough on taco nights. Paige usually doesn’t eat the shell (and gets tired of the spiced meat pretty fast) and Will stops after one, maybe two, tacos. How could their bellies be full? It’s with that thought that I usually whip up a side salad and yellow rice too.

There has to be a better way, right? A way that I can have the flavor of tacos that I love but in a form that is more kid friendly. Enter the Taco Burger.

Burgers have been on my mind lately. A friend mentioned them a few weeks back and I said that I usually don’t cook them in the winter. No sooner did those words exit my mouth then I developed a hankering for a good, homemade burger. Go figure.

Anyway, the other day while I was trying to figure out dinner, I got the idea to take the seasonings of a taco and use them in burger patties. It was a simple thought (and one that took advantage of ingredients we had on hand!) but it seemed like worth a shot. So, I mixed, we cooked and we ate. The result? A lip-licking good burger that everyone in the family enjoyed. It was everything that I was hoping for.

These juicy burgers are perfect topped with taco-inspired toppings like salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Delish! And if your kids want in on the salsa action without the spice of your favorite hot blend, try spooning on a little jarred bruschetta — it looks very similar without any of the spice.

Are you a taco fanatic too? Read the rest of this entry…

When the air hits that certain cold temperature and you can see puffs of breath whenever you go outside, you know it’s time for hearty meals. You know, ones that will warm you from the inside out like stews, roasts, chowders … and also chili.

I love chili. It reminds me of ski lodges, chair lifts and snow covered mountains. When I was younger, I was an avid skier and loved to fold into the lodge between runs for a hot lunch. Among my favorite bits? You guessed it – Chili. I haven’t skied in years, though I would love to.

Anyway, back to the chili. For me, it has to be topped with cheddar cheese and, if it’s spicy, it needs some avocado too.  Shawn likes his with a dollop of sour cream and a big sprinkle of cheddar. Paige isn’t yet a big fan of spiciness, but Will loves it, so he gobbles chili right up. Gosh, I hope Paige discovers a love of spiciness soon.

This chili is beanfree and ultra meaty. It has the glorious smokiness of the chipotle peppers, with the slight sweetness of the red onion. When you take a bite, you are hit with those flavors first, and then a hearty sting of spiciness. It’s divine. If you like chili, that is.

What’s your favorite cold-day meal? Share! Read the rest of this entry…

Making food from scratch is one of those things that I take pride in. Pancakes? We have ‘em at least once a week, always from scratch. Biscuits? When I get the hankering I turn to a great recipe that I found on The Perfect Pantry. Cookies? Always from scratch. Macaroni and cheese? Usually from scratch.

But that said, I have a strong aversion to any recipe that strikes me as being fussy. Making puff pastry from scratch? Too fussy – I am happy to purchase the Artisan Puff Pastry from Trader Joe’s instead. Croissants? I would love to know how to make them, but I’ve read recipes for them dozens of times and it’s just too time consuming.

So, when it comes to the rare occasion when I pull out the trusty Crock-Pot, I expect that whatever I make will be easy and fast to pull together. Isn’t that the whole point of using it? I thought so.

This is all a very long lead in to saying that I really find the recipes in Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook to be way too fussy. I’ve tried several recipes from this book over the years. Every time, I find that they have too many steps. Brown in a frying pan, cook this, mix that … it’s stealing the ‘quick and easy’ from the whole Crock-Pot idea.

So, it was with great reluctance that I decided to make the Tangy Tomato Brisket recipe from this book (worst name ever — it’s more like a BBQ joint brisket). As usual, I prepped my mise en place and reread the recipe to find that there were way more steps than I wanted. That meant the brisket got into the pan later than I wanted and I had to adjust the heat and time to accommodate it …

But I wouldn’t be telling you about this recipe if it wasn’t good. And good it was. I loved it. The sauce was rich and spicy-sweet, like my favorite BBQ joint’s brisket. It was fork tender and tasted delightful with the onions …

It’s not for a busy mom on a work day – it cooks too fast (5-7 hours on low) and takes too much to pull together (prep time is roughly 30 minutes, maybe 40). But for a lazy Sunday? Perfect. And if you cook it just a little longer than you can shred it with two forks and serve it up on rolls … I bet a little cheddar would be good too.

Read the rest of this entry…

Some days, I just don’t know what to make for dinner. Don’t you have days like that? You know, where it’s all just too much and urge to order takeout becomes too hard to fend off. And sometimes, you bend under the pressure and just order something.

But, I have found that when I am feeling like that, the best defense is to at least try – take something out, even if you don’t know what you’re making with it. That was the case with this ground beef. I knew I was going to use it for dinner … I just didn’t know what.

As dinnertime approached, I still didn’t have a plan. I leafed through a few cookbooks and then turned to the internet. Actually, I turned to Twitter and instant messaging. And the funny thing? When I asked, almost everyone came back with the same answer: Sloppy Joes.

Well, when something like that slaps you in the face, you just have to go with it. So I did.

How do you combat the “I don’t feel like cooking” feeling? Read the rest of this entry…

It was a steamy, hot day today. It was one of those days where you just don’t know what to do with yourself. The kids and I ran errands, took a walk (what was I thinking?!?) and ran through the sprinkler. Because I wanted to. Finally, we gave in and collapsed onto the couch with the air conditioner on (remember how I was boycotting the a/c this year? I still am … but we did install one unit in an unused window).

When it came to dinnertime, I didn’t want to cook. Who would? But that’s exactly why I plan our meals for the week. When the plan is laid out for you, it makes it way easier to just give in and go for it … so I did. And really, when I realized what I had planned for tonight, I couldn’t say no.

That delicious burger above was worth every bit of heat and torment to create it. It’s just that good.

Inside this juicy burger is an oozing center of juicy, savory deliciousness. You bite into it and it spills warm juices down your chin, leaving you to lap them up wipe it away with your napkin. I first made these about two weeks ago and feel instantly in love. Since then, we’ve had them several times … they are rather addicting.

I have to give the credit for this one to Shawn, who wanted “something, some cheese to stuff the burgers with,” one day when I was heading to the store.

Coincidentally, the hamburger is a total New England food. The hamburger – a ground beef patty stuck between two slices of bread- was created right here in a little restaurant in Connecticut. The first burger was created by Louis Lassen, who ran a small lunch cart in New Haven that he called (so creatively) Louis’ Lunch.

Today, Louis’ is still run by the Lassen family and is now located in a small building on Crown Street. It’s a favorite for Michael and Jane Stern, who have written about it on their website Roadfood as well as naming it one of their picks for “20 Burgers to Eat Before It’s Too Late,” in the June issue of Gourmet. I daresay, I will be trying that little hamburger joint quite soon …

Back to my delectable burger, it’s worth every single second and bite. Try it.

Read the rest of this entry…

Mmm. That is a locally grown and butchered Delmonico steak, hot off the grill. The cow is from a farm run by a family with a young child and I buy it directly from the mom at the farmers market. I. Love. That.

Frankly, I don’t write about eating locally raised and grown food nearly as often as I should. It’s something that I am pretty passionate about and really take to heart. Each week, I shop at at least one, often two, farmers markets. In the summertime, I rarely buy anything at the grocery store.

There are so many reasons I support eating locally. For one, the food just tastes better. Produce in the grocery store is often grown thousands of miles away, picked before it’s peak and flown in. That’s why you will see rows of green bananas and piles of hard plums. You aren’t supposed to pick these things before they naturally ripen, but that is what happens. As a result, we pay for it in taste. Read the rest of this entry…

Sometimes I fear that my posts are starting to be too much of the same. I certainly hope that isn’t the case, but each time I sit down to write, I come from the same happy, joyous place that is grounded in the onset of spring and hopeful for the start of summer.

It was a dark winter here, too long and closed off. Between locked up windows, early nightfalls and the frigid cold that scolded our skin whenever we attempted to venture beyond the confines of our house, it was just hard. But ever since spring struck not long ago (has it been two months already?), everything has felt more open and inviting. As I write this, I can hear the laughter of my children drifting in from our little playground area and everything just seems peaceful. They are happily playing outside while Shawn grills the burgers I made. I am just so happy these days.

Let me tell you a bit about these burgers. They are juicy, with an unexpected pop of flavor. And they grill up to a perfect, round patty. Topped with a little Swiss cheese, they scream “Summer is here!” And it almost is. Read the rest of this entry…

Until a few years ago, I had never even heard of flank steak. Chuck, cube, sirloin, strip, porterhouse, filet, T-bone . . . those were all fine and recognizable. But flank steak? No clue whatsoever. And it’s certainly not the sexiest of names so I didn’ t have high hopes.

Finally, after reading about it again and again and again, I gave in and tried it. As it turned out, when cooked just right, this lean meat is quite tasty. I’ve since marinated and stuffed my way through many flank steaks.

Earlier this week I pulled a flank steak from our freezer, intent on making my Guiltless Beef with Broccoli. As fate (and a bit of sickness-fueled disorganization) would have it, we’d already eaten the broccoli so that idea was nixed. Instead, I went with a nuanced rub that gave a burst of zing and a hint of sweetness. Just a tiny hint. It was tender, juicy and packed with flavor. Ooh, just so good.

The kids devoured it. Shawn loved it and commented on how close it is to a skewered beef dish that he likes at a local restaurant. And me? Well, we will be having this again very soon. Loved. It. Read the rest of this entry…