Swedish Meatballs

My husband and I always try to make a new recipe every week. This week we picked the Swedish meatball. I myself, am not a big fan of meatballs, or any big chunk of ground beef really, but these looked so amazing, I couldn't help but try the.
Here is the recipe. You wont be disappointed.

Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1/2 cup Panko or Gluten free bread crumbs
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Directions:

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently until onions have become translucent. About 2-3 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, eggs, allspice, nutmeg and cooked onion. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs.
  3. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add meatballs in batches and cook until all sides are browned. About 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
  4. To make the gravy, melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Stir in meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
  6. Serve immediately. Garnished with parsley if desired.

Menu: Week 129

Its the start of another week and also the end of my three week 21 day fix work out. I'm proud to say that I lost four pounds and a total of 6.5 inches. I'm sure it would have been more, but this last week didn't work out well and I missed a lot of my workouts. It happens and as a mom I can't complain. I got to spend some much needed time with my monster boys, making sure they had what they needed to succeed in life. That is the most important job.

My husband and I tried out the Swedish meatballs last night and they were delicious, so check back on Wednesday for my take on the process and the recipe.

Here is the weekly menu for you all to enjoy. Happy Monday!

Monday 
Chessy garlic and brown sugar pork chops and mashed potatoes

Tuesday
- Sloppy Joe's and green beans

Wednesday
- Beef and Broccoli

Thursday
Beef stroganoff

Friday
Nachos

Saturday
- Tuna sandwiches

Sunday
- Dinner with the In-laws

How to Clean a Glass Cooktop

In my last home I cooked on a gas range for the last six years. When we moved into our new home last year, I inherited a glass cooktop that I had never used before. Quickly, it became grimy and lost it's shine. I tried cleaning it with my Method all purpose cleaner which made it shinny and took off most the grease and grime, but it didn't get all the stains off around the burners, so I tried another method using baking soda I would like to share.

What you will need:

  • Baking soda
  • Warm water
  • A clean rag
  • Dish soap
First, soak your rag in warm water with dish soap.

Add a good amount of baking soda to the top of your stove

Place your wet rag over the baking soda and let it sit for 15 minutes (You want to rag damp, not soaked)

Last, scrub down the top gently with the rag, making sure you get all the making soda off the top. You might need to use a second rag to remove all the baking soda.

Your cooktop should be super clean, but I found that it left a film on my top and it took forever to get the baking soda off. I had to clean it multiple times, which was time I didn't need to spend. In the end, the stove top didn't look any cleaner than if I had used my Method cleaner. 

Try it for yourself and let me know if it worked better for you or if you have a better way of cleaning your cooktop, please, I'm dying to know what it is. Send your emails to Shendersonphoto(at)gmail.com so I can try out your way of cleaning your stove top.

Menu: Week 128

We had a great weekend full of lots of things to do around the house and lots of fun with family.

My husband decided to install a new toilet. Of course the minute he took the old one out, the boys needed to go to the bathroom. I warned them, but they never listen. I spent my morning running them down the street to their Grandparents house to relieve them selves. Boys I tell you.

We also went hunting for the new Adele CD and I couldn't find it anywhere. I guess I will be forced to purchase it from Amazon and wait three days for it to arrive. sigh...

I hope you enjoy this weeks menu. My eldest son helped pick out some of the meals because he's been helping me cook. I'm glad for the easy recipes and the break from cooking. Enjoy!

Monday
- English muffin Pizzas

Tuesday
Broccoli stir fry

Wednesday
Stuffed pepper soup

Thursday
- Swedish Meatballs

Friday
- Nachos

Saturday
- Breakfast

Sunday
- Tuna Sandwiches



Menu: Week 127

Well, peeps. Due to the heating people being at our house last Monday and sickness people around us, I didn't have a chance to go grocery shopping last week for my menu, so we ate out of the freezer and didn't touch the menu.

That means you get the same recipes this week as last week. I'm super sorry. I did try the Ranch pork chops and if you want an easy meal, all you have to do is put the ingredients on a tray and sprinkle them all with ranch and place it in the oven. Nothing simpler than that.

On another note, I started another round of 21 day fix last Monday. I took a break over the holiday season (A long break) and am super excited to say that I lost another 2.5 inches this week. I can't wait to see what next week brings. I would love to hear from you if you have some fitness goals this new year. Maybe we can encourage each other through all the ups and downs.

Enjoy this weeks menu! (or should I say last weeks menu)

Monday
Crockpot fiesta chicken

Tuesday
Steak and potato stir fry

Wednesday
Pork schnitzle

Thursday
Philly cheese steak sloppy joes

Friday
Broccoli stir fry

Saturday
- Stuffed pepper soup

Sunday
- Dinner with the In-laws
Ranch pork chops

Worlds Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

We did a lot of baking over the holidays, from cakes to cookies, to deep frying a turkey (Twice). There were so many amazing treats that I just had to take pictures of them and share them all with you.


Today's treat is the worlds best chocolate chip cookies. I make these gluten free for my son who can't have gluten and if I didn't tell you they were gluten free you wouldn't even know. You can also make them regular for those of you who don't have special diet needs.

Here are the cookies that I love to make.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Cup shortening
  • 1/2 Cup butter
  • 1/2 Cup granulated sugar
  • 1 Cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 Tsp baking soda
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 TSP vanilla
  • 1/2 TSP almond extract (Optional)
  • 2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour (Or Gluten free flour)
  • 1 12oz package chocolate chips (Or if you're like me, packages)
Directions:
  1. Pre heat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the shortening and butter.
  3. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar and baking soda and mix well.
  4. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and almond extract.
  5. Mix in the flour and the chocolate chips until everything is well combined.
  6. Drop dough in rounded spoon fulls two inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. 
  7. Bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, until the edges of the cookies are golden brown.
  8. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
  9. Enjoy!
Everyone in my family love these cookies and they are my go too treat when I have the need to bake something sweat. I hope you and your family enjoys them as much as we do.

Menu: Week 126

Happy New Year! I've taken a lot of time the last few days to look back on 2015 an the amazing things we have been blessed with. My husband and I have finally found amazing jobs, we purchased a new home that we love, and our children are growing and learning more than we could have ever imagined. Plus, we are getting down to the reason behind their weird social quirks and learning how to deal with them. I loved 2015 and can't wait to top them in 2016.

On another note, we had a small snow storm over the weekend that brought enough snow and ice to go sledding in our back yard. Our property sits on a hill and the boys spent hours outside yesterday. It made my heart smile.

Some goals that I've set for the new year are probably similar to yours with the exception of maybe a few, but here they are.

  • Lose weight and be healthy
  • Pay off some debt
  • Publish my book
  • Wright a new manuscript
  • Finish my original manuscript
Here is this weeks menu. I hope you Enjoy!


Monday
- Crockpot fiesta chicken

Tuesday
- Steak and potato stir fry

Wednesday
- Pork schnitzle

Thursday
- Philly cheese steak sloppy joes

Friday
- Broccoli stir fry

Saturday
- Ranch pork chops

Sunday
- Dinner with the In-laws