MeatBalls and The Simplest Tomato Sauce

I like this recipe because it is so easy to make. Dan memberi nafas baru kepada menu harian. There is not a lot of mess to clear up later either. And the children love the meatballs.

MEATBALLS
2/3 cup fresh milk
1/4 cup fine dried breadcrumbs
600g ground beef
3/4 teaspoons salt
Ground black pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
About 2 tbsps finely chopped fresh sage, from 2 small herb bunches
1/2 cups finely diced or grated yellow onion, from about 1 small yellow onion
2 garlic cloves, finely minced or grated
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten
Olive oil

Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Stir them together and set them aside for at least 10 minutes for the crumbs to soften.

Put the ground beef into a mixing bowl. Stir in the salt and a generous amount of black pepper, then add the cayenne and smoked paprika. Stir in the chopped parsley, sage, onion, garlic and Parmesan. Mix with your hands until these are very thoroughly distributed through the meat.

Stir in the breadcrumbs and milk, as well as the egg, and mix thoroughly.

Shape and cook the meatballs immediately. Cook on a non-stick skillet till brown.

TOMATO SAUCE

2 cans plum tomatoes (other tomatoes will not taste as good)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 small onion, peeled and cut in half
Salt

To serve
Shaved Parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Put the tomatoes, butter, onion halves, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer then lower the heat. Crush the tomatoes lightly with the back of a spoon as they cook, and stir occasionally. Simmer very gently for 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat appear on the surface of the tomatoes. Remove and discard the onion (how much simpler can a recipe get?)

Serve over hot pasta with Parmesan and black pepper, if desired. With the meatballs from above.

You simply have got to try this.

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Lasagna; Any Way You Like It

This is the lasagna recipe you've asked for (I've taken this sort of straight from the recipe book). BUT along the way I have found easier (and cheaper) way to do this..

The sauce :
600g ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1 canned tomatoes
1 canned tomato paste
Sugar
Salt
Oregano
Thyme (Optional)
Bay leaf (Optional)
(easy way : just prepare the usual spaghetti bolognaise sauce you've always make) 

 Lasagna noodles
 (tip : buy "no pre-cook" lasagna sheets; that'll make life easier. But make sure you add extra liquid to your sauce for the lasagna to soften. My rule of thumb : the liquid should cover the noodles)


2 eggs
15oz ricotta cheese
 (Note: ricotta cheese is expensive. Kalau nak senang pakai la ricotta cheese ni. Kalau nak jimat, prepare your own white sauce. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a kuali, add 1-2 tablespoons of flour . When the flour and butter is well mixed, add milk, some water and a bit of salt. Kacau sampai pekat. Tutup api. Exacly like when you make mushroom soup).

16oz shredded mozarella cheese (I add cheddar too to my lasagna)

How to cook:
Cook ground beef and onion until beef is browned. Add tomatoes and the next 6 ingredients. Cook for about 30 minutes. Discard bay leaf (or masaklah macam spaghetti sauce).

Combine eggs and ricotta cheese in a small bowl. In a 13" by 9" baking pan arrange lasagna to cover all the surface. Spoon one third of ricotta cheese (or the white sauce you prepared above) over the lasagna noodles. Top with one-third sauce. Repeat two more layers (making three layers in all).

Bake in oven for about 25 minutes (or longer if you've put too much liquid). Remove from oven. Top with the cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes until cheese is melted and brown. Remove from oven. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Voilà! I like mine with pickled jalapeño or chili flakes. The children prefer theirs with a dash of parmesan. My hubs prefers hot sauce.  Bon appétit!

*****  

Grilled Salmon Steak

This is one of the light meals we have at home and is a favorite with everybody. It is simple and quick. Here's how:

Rub the salmon lightly with olive oil (extra virgin is the best), light soy sauce and honey. You may substitute honey with a bit of brown sugar. This will give the caramelized color on the fish. Allow it to marinate for 5 mins or so (or sometimes we simply use olive oil, salt and some pepper only on the fish).

Dribble olive oil into a non-stick pan and grill the salmon on both sides. A few minutes on each side is enough to cook the fish and still leave it moist.

To serve sprinkle pepper onto the fish. You may dribble extra olive oil on the fish if you wish. Serve with a slice of lemon and steamed vegetables with boiled baby potatoes.

Simple yet so yummy.

*****

Creamy Strawberry Ice Cream

This is the nth time that I am making this. And I must say that it gets better every time. And I think it is the most perfect this time around, so I put up the how-to again here. With a little bit of further tweaking by me.

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoon all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt

2½ cups milk

3 eggs

1. Combine sugar, flour and salt in a small pot.

2. Beat milk and eggs in a bowl until well blended. Add to sugar mixture. Stir.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly for about 15 minutes until mixture thickens (do not boil mixture as it will curdle). Remove pot from heat. Cool.

3-4 cups strawberry (hulled)

1 cup sugar

2 Tablespoon lemon juice

2 cups of heavy / whipping cream

1. Crush strawberries with potato mash. Add sugar & lemon juice. Let stand for about 15 minutes. Then add to pot.

2. Stir in cream into the pot.

3. Pour into a pan. Freeze until frozen but still soft, about 3 - 4 hours.

4. Beat at medium speed until smooth.

5. Re-freeze until firm. Serve.

Easy-peasy.

Enjoy!

*****