Happy New Year!!

Ok so as I have already said I love to cook and bake, so for New Years I went a little crazy. I Made homemade meatballs, mushroom turnovers, stuffed mushrooms, and roasted potatoes! Since there were only 4 of us at home I think I did a bit too much...oh well it was fun!
So this was my first time making meatballs, and it was fun and they turned out really well, if I do say so myself!
 

Turkey & Sausage Meatballs
1 LB ground turkey
1/2 LB ground Italian sausage
2 eggs
1/2 cup Panko, or other bread crumbs
1/2 red onion, finely minced
1 T thyme dried
4 cloves garlic, minced
S&P
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup Pecorino (or Parmesan)
optional: 2-3 T special sauce (I used Tabasco sauce)

 

Mix turkey and sausage in large mixing bowl. Toss in 2 eggs, the bread crumbs and baking soda and give a good few twists of salt and pepper. Mix to combine, even toss the meat in a mixer for 1-2 minutes, so it gets really sticky. 

In skillet over medium/low, pour in 1-2 olive oil and butter. When sizzling, add onion, garlic and sauté to caramelize, 6-8 minutes. Let cool slightly, add to meat mix. Add grated cheese and any ’special sauce.’ Mix all, form into balls. Sauté meatballs until browned on all sides. Place in oven-proof dish and finish cooking the meatballs by popping them in the oven for 10-12 minutes at 350. Remove, and serve while warm!! They were pretty good for a first attempt!

 Mushroom Turnovers

(8 ounce)1 package cream cheese

½ cup butter

1 ½  cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter

2 cans of mushrooms stems and pieces, drained and finely chopped

1 large onion, chopped

¼ teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

¼ cup sour cream

In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese and 1/2 cup of butter until well blended. Mix in the flour until fully incorporated. Pat into a ball, and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and onion. Season with thyme, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over everything so it won't get lumpy, then reduce the heat to low, and stir in the sour cream. Heat just until thickened, and then remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 450. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch rounds. Place a small amount of the mushroom mixture on one side of each circle, then fold the dough over and press to seal, I used an egg wash to help it seal, and on top to create a nice golden color. Prick the tops with a fork to vent steam, and place the pastries on a baking sheet.

Bake for 12 -15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. 

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Potatoes (sliced into 1 inch pieces, I kept the skin on but you can take it off...)

Rosemary

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Coat desired amount of potatoes in olive oil, season with salt, pepper and rosemary. heat oven to 450 and roast for 30-40 minutes! I had never roasted anything before, so this recipe looks really stupid and like common sense but I had no idea how to do it, so here it is!! they were pretty good!

Happy 2011 !!!