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Orange Cream Gelatin Dessert

Orange Cream Gelatin Dessert is an easy dessert that you can make from a few items in the pantry and freezer at any time of the year. It works well for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day, bridal or baby showers, etc. It is sweet and rich, yet somehow also seems light and refreshing. It is a rather nostalgic dessert as it reminds me a little of an orange push-up ice cream treat from my childhood. Plus, it is a molded gelatin dessert, which always reminds me of the past. As with other gelatin and fruit dishes, someone might call this a "Jello salad" in the United States. However, this recipe uses an entire quart of orange sherbert in addition to gelatin, so I can not bring myself … Continue Reading about Orange Cream Gelatin Dessert

You are here: Home / Recipes / Main Dish / Meat, Poultry, and Fish / My Best Meatball Sandwich
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My Best Meatball Sandwich

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My husband used to joke that I was a great cook as long as I did not try to used a recipe. Unfortunately, he was right to some extent. I have made a few errors reading a recipe and do much better cooking (not baking or candy making) when I do not use a recipe and rely on instinct (after all, that is how my mother and grandmothers cooked).

Thus, it was not unusual that I set out to make spaghetti and meatballs for the first time with out consulting any type of recipe. The result was another mistake, but this mistake was (like many mistakes are) a great discovery. My “mistake” resulted in the best meatball sandwiches I had ever eaten.

So, what was my “mistake?” I made too many meatballs for too little sauce.

The recipes do make great spaghetti and meatballs. However, the meatball recipe either needs reduced by half or the sauce recipe need multiplied to have enough sauce to coat the spaghetti.

Recipe: Meatballs

Ingredients

  1. 1 lb. ground beef
  2. 1 lb. ground pork
  3. 3/4 c. quick cook oatmeal, crushed
  4. 1 – 2 tsp. Italian seasoning blend
  5. 1 – 2 tsp. seasoned salt
  6. 2 med. or 1 1/2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  7. Olive, canola, or grape seed oil

Instructions

  1. Combine beef,  pork, oatmeal, seasonings and eggs. Form into balls of desired size, 2-3 inches in diameter works well.
  2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
  3. Coat bottom of large skillet with oil.
  4. Place meatballs in hot skillet being sure not to overcrowd it.
  5. Cook of med/med. high heat until browned on all sides and generally cooked through.
  6. Place on baking sheet and put in oven to keep warm and/or finish cooking.
  7. Repeat cooking process until all meatballs are in the oven.
  8. When all the meatballs are cooked, add them to the sauce.

Copyright © 2012.
Recipe by Paula, A Simple Home Cook.


Recipe: Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

  1. 1 Tbsp. oil
  2. 1 Tbsp. butter
  3. 1/2 red sweet pepper, chopped
  4. 1 small onion, diced
  5. 15 oz. tomato sauce, no salt added
  6. 15 oz. can diced fire-roasted tomatoes*, no salt added
  7. 1 tsp. Italian seasoning blend
  8. 1 tsp. salt
  9. 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  10. Sugar, to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat oil and butter in a skillet.
  2. Add pepper and onion and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent.
  3. Add tomatoes, sauce, seasoning blend, salt and Worcestershire sauce.
  4. Cook for several minutes before tasting to check seasonings.
  5. Add sugar to taste.
  6. Add meat balls, if desired.
  7. Serve as a meatball sandwich or over pasta.**

Notes

*Tomatoes do not have to be fire-roasted. A second can of sauce may be used instead of diced tomatoes, if preferred.

**Multiply recipe if going to serve it with full meatball recipe over pasta.

Copyright © 2012.
Recipe by Paula, A Simple Home Cook.


To make the meatball sandwiches, I saute sliced mushrooms in the butter and oil mixture in one half of the skillet when the onions and peppers are almost done. I remove the mushrooms and set aside.

After the meatballs and sauce are combined, I let the meatballs soak in the sauce for a while over very low heat. Then, I split a hoagie or sub roll, add meatballs, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. Place on a baking sheet under broiler (on low) for just a couple of minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Yum!

Enjoy!