July 2013 Daring Bakers' Challenge: Eenie Meenie Miney Moe!

Potato Rösti

In a "celebration" of past Daring Baker and Daring Cook challenges, Lisa challenged all of us to search through the Daring Kitchen archives and pick any one we'd like! The REAL challenge was picking which delicious recipe(s) to try!

And that truly was the challenge!  If you do not believe me, go to the recipe archives on The Daring Kitchen website (just click here) and try to decide for yourself!

In my case, my choices were severely limited, so it made the decision a ton easier.  My doctor has me on an restrictive diet to see if we can figure out if it is a food that has been making me sick - well, another food in addition to dairy.  So, no dairy, no gluten, no soy, no honey, no onions, no garlic, no beans, no fruits with pits; well, the list goes on, but you get the picture.

Here were our only guidelines for the challenge:

Mandatory Items: You must choose at least 1 past Daring Baker or Daring Cook challenge and recreate it by the reveal date.

Variations: Only variations are allowed are those specified in the challenges.
That's it.. all other rules/regulations/tips/tricks/notes/etc. will be found in each challenge - as will each printable file.
Have fun kids! xoxo

Flipping Frying Patties!!!

My choice became a no-brainer when I stumbled across a recipe for Potato Rösti in the February 2012 Daring Cooks' Challenge: Flipping Frying Patties!!!   Click here to find the challenge and the recipe.

Not only could I eat all of the ingredients, but my husband and I had not eaten rösti since we left Switzerland in 1997.  We had always purchased it in a pouch and cooked it up.  I had never made it from scratch.  And, I had already added gluten-free schnitzel to our menu for the week.  Rösti was the PERFECT addition.  It was also a wonderful surprise for my husband.  The boys had never tried it, and I am happy to say, even the pickiest eater enjoyed it.  Success. Yes!

Potato Rösti

Lisa, I loved the challenge - thank you so much!

If you would like to see the other wonderful creations, just click here.  Or, do a google search using the first paragraph of this post to find other bloggers describing their adventures with this delicious challenge!

The Daring Cooks' July 2013 Challenge: Get Your Yogurt On!

The lovely Cher of The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler was our July Daring Cooks’ hostess and she asked us to create homemade yogurt in our own kitchens! No incubators needed, no expensive equipment or ingredients, just a few items and we had delicious yogurt for a fraction of the cost and a whole lot healthier than what you buy in the stores!

Coconut Yogurt with honey, blueberries, and homemade granola

I encourage you to stop by Cher's website to see more options for making yogurt from milk or milk substitutes using other thickening agents and cultures.  CLICK HERE for the full challenge and a lot more helpful information.

As I have to completely cut dairy out of my diet, this challenge arrived at the perfect time.  I miss yogurt and hate spending nearly $2.00 on 6 oz. of coconut yogurt.  This method took some time, but was not horribly difficult.  And the coconut flavor and creamy smooth texture of this yogurt far surpassed the expensive coconut yogurts I bought at the store.

Coconut Milk Yogurt

My Ingredient Choices:
1. "Milk": 2 13.5-oz. cans organic coconut milk (not to be mistaken with the beverage in a carton)

2. Culture:  PB8 Pro-biotic Acidophilus for Life Vegetarian Capsules.  I used 6 capsules but should have used 4 (I overestimated the amount of yogurt this would make.)

3. Thickening Agent: 1 packet Knox Unflavored Gelatin  (I wanted to use Agar-Agar Flakes, as I read they thicken the yogurt a bit better; however, the stores I went to did not carry this product and I had the gelatin on-hand.)

4. Sweetener: None (although non-dairy milks will turn out thicker with a sweetener for the pro-biotics to feed on.)

Equipment You Will Need:
• A double boiler or a bowl that can be nested in a pot without touching the bottom or a microwavable glass bowl*
• A whisk, for stirring together ingredients*
• Food thermometer
• A large bowl (or other container) for an ice bath (2-4 cups of ice and 1-2 cups of water – depending on the size of your bowl. You want to be able to cool the bottom and sides of the bowl you cooked your milk in)
• A smaller bowl non-glass bowl that will hold at least one quart if you do not want to put the hot glass bowl into the ice cold water.* 
• A heat source for incubating yogurt - I used my crock-pot
• Glass jars (five to six ½-pint (400 ml) jars) or a glass bowl for culturing yogurt*
• Liquid measuring cup*
• Measuring spoons*
• Pot holders

*IMPORTANT NOTE:  All equipment that will come in direct contact with the yogurt should be thoroughly washed before using, to mitigate the potential of any non-beneficial bacteria entering the equation. I run my equipment through the dishwasher and use the heated dry cycle. Some sources recommend sterilizing in boiling water.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 13.5-oz cans organic coconut milk (not the beverage in a carton)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 Tbsp Sweetener (if using)
• 4 PB* Pro-biotic Acidophilus for Life Vegetarian Capsules (or read the label of your pro-biotic capsules and use enough to have about 25-30 billion pro-biotics for this quart-sized batch of yogurt.)
• 1 packet Knox Unflavored Gelatin

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the coconut milk, ½ cup (120ml) of water and sweetener in a bowl and stir until well blended.
2. Combine 2 Tbsp boiling water with 2 teaspoons (1 packet is a smidge over this) Unflavored Gelatin.  Stir until gelatin has dissolved.
3. Prepare the ice bath - combine 2-4 cups of ice in 1-2 cups of water, depending upon the size of your bowl.
4.  BE CAUTIOUS USING THIS STEP!  Using the microwave to boil liquid can be tricky.  The liquid may not appear to be boiling until it moves around, when it may bubble and splatter up and out.  I used a larger bowl than I needed and carefully placed it on the counter after each minute to stir it with a rubber spatula.  When it was done, the liquid erupted into bubbles as the spatula entered the liquid.  Place the bowl in the microwave and heat in one minute intervals until the mixture comes to a boil. (After each minute, remove bowl from microwave and stir). Depending on the strength of your microwave, this may take 4-7 minutes. (Alternately, you can heat the mixture using the double boiler method).
5. Once the mixture reaches a boil, remove from the microwave and place the bowl in an ice bath. (NOTE: I poured the mixture into a clean non-glass bowl and then set it into the ice bath, as I recently had a coffee cup sitting on a cool tile counter crack in half when I added hot water for tea...) Stir until the temperature of the mixture drops 90°F/32°C if you are using a pro-biotic starter. 
6. When the liquid cools to 110°F/43°C, stir in the starter. (If you are using a freeze-dried culture or pro-biotic capsules, make sure the liquid has cooled to the temperature recommended for that particular culture).  NOTE: my culture did not specify, so I cooled to 110 degrees.
7. Ladle the yogurt mixture into ½ pint glass jars (should be ~5-6 jars depending on how full you fill them), secure the cover.  
8. Incubation:  I chose to use the crockpot method.  Our directions read: Slow cooker – This is the method that I use the most. To use a slow cooker, place the cooker on its “warm” setting and pour in enough hot water to come half way off the jars. Place the cover on the cooker and check the temperature of the water every ½ hour to hour to make sure it isn’t getting too hot (actual temperature range will depend on the starter type you chose). If the water starts to get too hot, unplug the machine and wrap the crock pot in a large towel to hold the temperature for the rest of the incubation period. However, my hot water was WAY too hot, so I removed the jars and cooled the with cold water until it reached 105.  Then, I returned the jars to the crockpot, making sure the water level was about mid-way up the jars.  My crockpot's warm setting was too warm, so I turned it off, unplugged it and wrapped it with a towel.  I checked the temperature every half hour and turned it on warm briefly if it began to drop.
9. Incubate the yogurt for about 5-8 hours. Longer incubating times will result in a tangier yogurt. The optimal incubating temperature is ~122°F/50°C for yogurt starters (if you are using a freeze-dried starter or pro-biotic capsules, follow the recommended temperatures for those starters). Ideally, you want to keep the temperature as close to that as possible for the incubating period. Realizing that may not be possible – I try to target keeping the mixture between 115°F/46°C and 125°F/52°C (95°F/35°C to 105°F/41°C if using pro-biotic capsules).
10. Once the yogurt is done incubating, carefully transfer the containers to the refrigerator and chill for at least 8 hours. This step helps to thicken the yogurt and lulls those ravenous friendly bacteria back to their sluggish state.  Note: To avoid putting the hot jars onto the cold glass shelf in my refrigerator, I folded a kitchen towel in half and put on the shelf first. 
11. After the cooling period, the yogurt is ready to be enjoyed.  
    
    Storage & Freezing Instructions/Tips:
    Once processed & tightly sealed, most yogurts will keep, refrigerated for one to two weeks. I have had success with some yogurts keeping for longer, but it usually doesn’t last long enough for me to test that theory.

This is how my yogurt looked after the incubation stage, I panicked until I read on another site that this can sometimes happen.  So, I stirred each jar prior to refrigerating, and they turned out fine!

Even without a sweetener, I loved the smooth texture and amazing coconut flavor!

It was even better with about a Tbsp. honey and 1/4 cup frozen blueberries blended in.

Homemade granola made the perfect addition!

Yummy!

As for my pickiest eater?  He is not a huge coconut fan, and felt the coconut flavor was a bit too much for him; however, with the addition of blueberries, honey and granola, he said he would eat it anyway.

Just for my picky eater, I attempted making yogurt with regular milk, but my warm setting on my crockpot took the temperature over 150 degrees within a half hour.  It must have killed the culture.  It ended up as a liquid with a tad of thickness at the bottom.  I plan to try it again with Lactaid for the non-coconut lovers in my home and with almond milk as another dairy-free option for myself.  (Hmmm... maybe I will make that today...)

Cher, thank you for this amazing challenge!  I was absolutely giddy with excitement about how yummy and relatively easy (thanks to your amazing information) this was to make.

All other readers, I strongly encourage you to use the Daring Cooks July '13 Challenge: Yogurt! post at The Not So Exciting Adventures of a Dabbler if you plan to make your own yogurt.  Cher has oodles of information, links to other resources and options to choose from!

To see more fun yogurt creations, visit The Daring Kitchen.  I was amazed at the creativity.

Thank you for visiting!
-Renee

June 2013 Daring Bakers' Challenge: Life of Pie

Crostata di Marmellata - dairy free crust & blueberry honey jam filling

Rachael from pizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie!


Of our four choices, I chose the Crostata di Marmellata; although I am very late in posting!  Better late than never?  My boys certainly thought so!  It was devoured.


To read the full challenge and see all four yummy choices and their recipes, please CLICK HERE and visit Rachael at pizzarossa. 

I faced several challenges with this recipe (and found myself very thankful for the Internet and blogs!)

First, I needed a dairy-free crust (preferably without resorting to shortening.)
Second, I wanted to avoid using white flour.
Third, I wanted to avoid using refined sugar.

I was so happy to stumble upon Rosalie's Never Fail (Dairy-Free) Pie Crust recipe at The Joyful Baker!  The recipe uses coconut oil instead of butter - brilliant!

I made a couple of modifications to the crust (one of which likely made my work more challenging than it should have been.)  I substituted King Arthur Unbleached White Whole Wheat Flour for the unbleached all-purpose flour.  Bad idea.  Substituting 1/3 cup would have worked better.  I learned my something new!  Whole wheat flour absorbs more liquid than all-purpose flour.  I also substituted 1/4 tsp vanilla for 1/4 tsp of the water.  Yum!  Next time, I will try Rosalie's way of making this crust.  Although I had to put a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough to prevent it from falling apart (likely due to my flour exchange), the dough turned out and tasted really great!

As for the filling... Lisa at 100 Days of Real Food was awesome enough to share a recipe from Ashley Eller (of Sweetie Pie Bakery) for Strawberry Honey Jam.  This jam is pectin free and does not use refined sugar.  I made some and it was delicious!  However, my eldest (Monkey) glared daggers at me for even considering the use of his favorite toast topper.   So, I picked up some blueberries at a local berry farm and made the Blueberry Honey Jam by substituting blueberries for the strawberries.  YUM!

I wanted to make my own apricot jam for the glaze, to completely avoid the use of refined sugar.  However, the only apricots I could find were expensive and not local.  So, I bought a tiny jar of apricot jam and used that for the glaze.

To create this delicious treat I made the jam the day before.

Crostata di Marmellata
1.  I made and canned Blueberry Honey Jam following the recipe at 100 Days of Real Food.
2.  I made the pie crust (mostly - see comments above) following the Never Fail (Dairy-Free) Pie Crust recipe at The Joyful Pantry.

3. Using 2/3 of the pie dough, I baked a single crust as directed in the original recipe.

Shh... pretend I did a better job with my foil and part of the edge is not too dark...

4.  I added two cups of Blueberry Honey Jam.

5. Using the last of the pie dough, I created the lattice topping.  (And cut out a few stars for the 4th of July!)

6. I baked the pie as directed in the original recipe.
7. I made the apricot glaze.
8. After removing the pie, I brushed the glaze onto the pie crust.

Did I forget to mention that my picky eater even ate the edge of the crust?!  It was not secretly disposed of in the garbage.  The magic of glaze?!

Now, to see some real works of art, check out the Life of Pie Challenge in the recipe archive at The Daring Kitchen.  And, don't forget to visit pizzarossa!

Rachael, thank you for this amazing challenge!

Strawberry-Apple Granola Cooked on the Traeger

Strawberry Apple Granola cooked on the Traeger

I have been trying to pull my family away from store-bought cereals by making and freezing pancakes (2 recipes will be posted soon!)  However, cereal is the breakfast of choice in my home.

During the winter months, I like to make homemade granola.  However, as we only have a window air conditioner, I generally avoid using our oven during the summer - unless it's a nice, cool, rainy day.

While cooking our meatballs for the June Daring Cooks' Challenge, I wondered if the Traeger would work to bake my granola.  The answer is YES!

I found my favorite granola recipe at fatfree.com quite some time ago.  It is listed as "Granola-4 Recipe" and was submitted by Tammy Kimbler.  Click HERE for the original recipe.  Ordinarily, I make it using pure maple syrup as the sugar and dried figs as the fruit.

This time, I wanted to make granola without the ginger.  So, I changed things up a bit.

Strawberry-Apple Granola

INGREDIENTS:
6 cups rolled oats (I buy them organinc in the bulk-food section for about $1.49/lb.)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup maple syrup (Costco usually has great prices.)
3 egg whites
1/4 - 1/2 cup sliced almonds - optional
1/2 cup freeze-dried apples, chopped
1/2 cup freeze-dried strawberries, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. If using an oven, preheat to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  If using a Traeger (I used Cherry pellets), open lid and set on smoke for about 5 minutes.  Then close the lid and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Combine oats and cinnamon in a large bowl. Mix well.

Oats and cinnamon.

 3. In a smaller bowl, lightly whip egg whites.  Stir in maple syrup and vanilla.  Then, add to oats and cinnamon and mix well.

Oats, cinnamon, maple syrup, egg whites, and vanilla.

Dry and wet ingredients combined.

4.  Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Arrange oat mixture in a single layer.

5. Place cookie sheet in Traeger.  (Or in oven.)

Granola going onto the Traeger.  See the smoke from the cherry pellets?!

6. Cook for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring after 20 minutes.  (I like my granola crunchier, so mine cooked about 40 minutes.  However, I always check it 30 minutes in to make sure it is not too dark.)

7. If you want to add almonds, they taste best toasted.  (Like how I decided that for you?!)  Place sliced almonds in a single layer in an oven-safe dish.  Place on Traeger for 5-7 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes.  Watch closely, so they do not burn.  (Or broil in oven, still watching closely so they do not burn - they will probably brown faster.)

Slivered almonds before and after toasting.

8. When cooked to your liking, remove granola from the grill and turn the Traeger off.

9. Allow granola to cool completely.  (I set the pan on a wire rack and clean up as it cools.)

10. Stir in apples, strawberries and almonds (if using).

Recipe used about 1/3 of the bag of strawberries and the full bag of apples.

11. Store in an airtight container.  (As you can see, I folded the long edges of my aluminum foil in toward the center, rolled one short end closed, and used the open end to funnel the granola into the jar.)

Easy-pour lining!

Strawberry Apple Granola cooked on the Traeger

 12. Enjoy!

We love our granola with almond milk or coconut milk for breakfast.  How do you like yours?

A Successful First Attempt of Canning Jam

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I journeyed to the Lake Oswego Farmers' Market. 

My hubby discovered Chocolate Habaneros a couple of years ago.  They have an amazing flavor and are a perfect addition to salsas, guacamole, and chili.  Unfortunately, this year we were late in our arrival at the annual Master Gardener's Spring Garden Fair (held at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds the weekend before Mother's Day) where we have purchased these plants in the past.   However, the gentleman that sells the pepper plants planned to be at the Lake Oswego Farmers' Market on June 8th.  Thus, our fun Saturday excursion. (I will have to find out the name of the pepper man's business from my hubby and add that to a later post...)

Unfortunately, Chocolate Habaneros do not germinate well.  So, we were unable to purchase any to grow them this year.  However, we purchased a Chocolate Ghost Pepper plant instead.  (Even my hubby is a little nervous about the heat these may generate!)  He also found several other pepper plants he wanted to try, which made him a happy camper.

As for me?  Well, I knew I wanted to make a homemade jam for this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge.  So, I picked up half a flat of fresh, organic strawberries at the Farmers' Market.  My wonderful mom gave me her canner, as she no longer uses it, and I set about searching the internet for a good recipe.

When I stumbled across How to Can Some Jam: A Simple Method Without Pectin or (Refined) Sugar on the 100 Days of Real Food Blog, I knew I found my recipe.  This Strawberry Honey Jam recipe is from Ashley Eller with Sweetie Pie Bakery.

Click HERE for the recipe.

I only had 3 pounds of strawberries, so I cut the ingredients in half.

There was only one problem with this jam.  Monkey (my 16-year-old) likes it so much that he REALLY did not want me to use it in my Daring Bakers' Challenge.  *sigh*  His favorite snack is toast with jam, honey or cinnamon and sugar.  The fact that this jam is made with honey makes it absolutely perfect for him.  I know.  How? He a point of telling me.  He actually glared at me when I mentioned using some of his precious jam for my challenge, which is very unlike him!

Luckily, a blueberry farm we like to visit opened last weekend.  They were closed Monday through Wednesday.  And Thursday, simply did not work for me - I had plans.  My hubby and I went to see The Steve Miller Band perform at the McMenamins Edgefield Concert on the Lawn with friends of ours.  I may be dating myself, but it was fun to hear "Abracadabra," "Fly Like an Eagle" and "The Joker" performed live!

So, today, I am off to the Morning Shade Farms to pick up 10 pounds of blueberries and honey.  (We normally pick our own, and I still hope to this summer, but feeling the way I have recently, this was the perfect way to have enough fresh blueberries to freeze for the winter and make more jam!)

I hope to have my June Challenge posted by the end of the weekend...

Striving to Eat Real Food

Well, the bad news is that I am still running behind on my Daring Bakers' and Daring Cooks' Challenges.

The truth is, I have been sick since the end of April.  Well, not ALL of that time.  I have had little breaks (the longest being 3 full days over Father's Day weekend - and trust me, I was excited about that!) where my body has not hated me for eating.  What's up?  No clue, but we're still looking into that.  I'm not worrying about it or wanting sympathy; I'm just explaining why I am so far behind...

On a positive note two good things have come out of this.  First, I am striving to eat real food and avoid processed foods.  (Alas, dairy is also out of my diet forever... Cheese is the toughie, but once I am feeling better, I will experiment with goat cheeses.)  Second, I have made a lot of progress with my newest passion - crazy quilting.  Unlike this blog, my first blog, Living My Dream, has been incredibly active the past few months! *grins*

June Daring Cooks' Challenge: Meatballs Around the World

The June Daring Cooks’ challenge sure kept us rolling – meatballs, that is! Shelley from C Mom Cook and Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to try meatballs from around the world and to create our own meatball meal celebrating a culture or cuisine of our own choice.

I encourage you to click on the links above and check out their blogs!

My family LOVES meatballs with their spaghetti.  So, at least once a year, we have made Make-Ahead Meatballs from a recipe submitted to the Freezer Pleasers section of Taste of Home's Quick Cooking, which was submitted by Ruth Andrewson (my magazine states she is from Idaho, but the link above says Washington.)

Note:  For this meal, I broke it down into two days.  Making the meatballs on Day 1 and the spaghetti sauce on Day 2.

We do not have central air conditioning in our home, so our meatball making has all taken place during the cooler months.  The timing of this challenge encouraged me to try something new.  I made some changes to the recipe we have used in the past to add more flavor.  And, I tried cooking some of them on our Traeger.  (It turned out to be quite cool on the day I made these, so I cut my baking time in half by doing a batch in the oven while cooking another batch on the Traeger.)

Make-Ahead Meatballs on the Traeger
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time:  1.5 hours
Yield: roughly 12 dozen meatballs

Equipment required:
2 Large mixing bowls
Measuring tools
Spoon(s) for mixing/shaping, if desired (I used a Pampered Chef small scoop)
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper (optional)
Food processor (optional)
Metal Spatula
Grater
Cutting board
Kitchen knife
Paper towels
Freezer bags or Freezer containers
Traeger grill and pellets OR oven

Ingredients:
2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 lbs. sausage (I used 1 lb. mild Italian and 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage)
4 eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup grated carrot, optional
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsps. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. white pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped (or 2 tsp. dried)
2 cups fine bread crumbs (or 6 cups soft bread crumbs)

Traeger Directions:
1. Make sure you have enough chips in your Traeger!  (I used Hickory.) 
2. With lid open, set Traeger to smoke until hot (about 5 minutes)
3. Set Traeger on High (400 degrees Fahrenheit.)
4.  If using fresh bread crumbs, pulse bread (6-12 slices depending on the size for soft bread crumbs) in a food processor.  I had dried bread cubes on hand from homemade wheat bread, and pulsed them in the food processor until I had 2 cups worth.  Set aside.
5. In large mixing bowl, whip eggs.
6.  Add onion, carrot (if using), salt, Worcestershire sauce, white pepper, and oregano to eggs and mix well.
7.  Mix bread crumbs into egg mixture.  Mix well.
8. In a very large bowl, combine the ground beef and sausage (I alternate adding beef and then sausage to be sure the flavors mixed evenly.)
9. Work the bread mixture into the meat.  I take care mixing this part very, very well.  (No one wants a meatball that is mostly breadcrumbs and eggs.)
10. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper (if using - this makes clean up much easier!)
11. Shape meatballs.  Scoop meat with a small spoon (or Pampered Chef small scoop), roll into ball, and place on cookie sheet.  (I fill the cookie sheet and then continue shaping the balls and placing them into the bowl I used to mix the eggs and breadcrumbs, so they are ready to cook when the first batch is done.)
12. Bake on Traeger for 10-15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until no pink remains.  (I cooked all of mine for 15 minutes.  To keep the Traeger hot, I removed the pan from the Traeger and turned the meatballs, then put them back on the grill for another 5 minutes, and repeated the process.)
13. Drain cooked meatballs on a plate lined with paper towels.  Continue cooking remaining meatballs on the parchment lined cookie sheet.

Meatballs cooked on the Traeger

Meatballs baked in the oven.

As you can see, the meatballs cooked on the Traeger browned beautifully.  (For the record, my picky eater thought the meatballs I cooked in the oven tasted too much like my meatloaf, but he loved the ones I grilled on the Traeger!)

Oven Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Follow steps 4 through 11 above.
3. Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes, until no pink remains.  (I cooked mine for 15 minutes.  And, I removed them from the oven to turn them, to keep the oven hot, then returned them to the oven for another 5 minutes, and repeated the process.)
4. Drain cooked meatballs on a paper-towel lined plate.

Serve:
There are so many ways to enjoy meatballs, feel free to substitute these with your favorite recipe.  We enjoyed ours with homemade spaghetti sauce (recipe below) and homemade Rosemary Flax Baguettes from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoe Francois. (Out of curiosity, I even baked one loaf on the Traeger!  I think I preferred the rosemary flavor from the oven-baked loaf, but it was fun and tasty anyway!) 

Oops!  I forgot to slice the tops.  They were tasty, though!

To Freeze:
Line a clean cookie sheet with plastic wrap.  Place cooked meatballs this cookie sheet, so they are not touching.  Place in freezer for a couple of hours.  (This keeps the meatballs from freezing together in a large clump.)  Remove from tray and put in freezer bag or freezer container and freeze.  The recipe I adapted this from recommends storing 30 meatballs per bag.  However, my family uses about 16 meatballs per batch of spaghetti, so I freeze about that many per bag.  Meatballs may be frozen up to 3 months.


Homemade Mushroom, Basil and Oregano Spaghetti Sauce

Homemade Mushroom, Basil and Oregano Spaghetti Sauce cooked with fresh tomatoes

This was my first attempt at making spaghetti sauce from scratch.  We always have a lot of tomatoes at the end of summer, and I thought it would be fun (and healthy) to can spaghetti sauce this year.  (I have never canned anything, so this will be new!)  And, before making a huge batch, I wanted to be sure I could make a sauce we liked.

I found this recipe I thought sounded good at Food.com, and made a few changes I thought my family might like.  It turned out a little sweet.  Next time, I will cut the sugar in half and add a lot more garlic.  (I already doubled the garlic from the original recipe I found, but 8 small cloves simply was not enough!)  I had no idea when to add mushrooms, so Google became my handy friend.  I found this recipe on Pham Fatale and added my mushrooms the way she added them to her ravioli sauce.

Preparation time: ???  I was SLOW peeling my tomatoes, so this took me quite a while.
Cooking time:  2 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 8 servings

Equipment required:
Large non-reactive pot
Small skillet
Large spoon
Cutting Board
Kitchen Knife
Kitchen Shears (optional - I use them to "chop" my herbs)
Slotted spoon
Large bowl of ice water
Bowl to hold freshly chopped tomatoes
Measuring tools
Immersion blender (or a blender could work)

Ingredients:
4 lbs. fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced (I will add more next time, but my cloves were small.)
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or 4 tsp. dried)
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped (or 2 tsp. dried)
2 1/2 cups (8 oz) button mushrooms - finely chop 1 1/2 cups mushrooms.  Slice the rest & set aside
1 tsp. salt
4 sprigs parsley
1 Tbsp sugar (I will use less next time)
Meatballs - optional
Favorite pasta, cooked as directed
grated Parmesan cheese - optional (I am eating dairy free, but for those cheese lovers in my house we had this available.)

Directions:
1.  Prep all ingredients.  To peel the tomatoes, I found great tips at The Shiksa in the Kitchen, and used the Boiling Water Method.  I filled a large pot with water and brought it to a boil.  While it came to a boil, I washed my tomatoes and cut a small "X" onto the bottom of each one.  Next, I boiled 3 tomatoes at a time for 25 seconds.  Using a slotted spoon, I removed the tomatoes from the boiling water and put them in a bowl of ice water (to prevent them from cooking more from the hot water.)  When they were all done, I peeled them - most peeled quite easily, but I was slow at this.  Next, I cut the tomatoes, scraped the seeds out, chopped them, and set aside in a bowl.
2. In a large non-reactive pan, heat the olive oil.
3. Add onion, basil, oregano, garlic and salt.  Saute until onion is almost tender (5 - 8 minutes).
4. Add 1 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms and saute 2 minutes.
5. Add tomatoes, parsley and sugar to the pot.  Heat to a boil.  Reduce and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.
6. While sauce is cooking, add remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to a skillet.  Heat oil.  Add remaining sliced mushrooms and saute 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.
7. Remove parsley after sauce has simmered 2 hours.
8. Use the immersion blender, being careful not to hit the bottom of the pan.  (Alternatively, you could allow the sauce to cool, scoop batches of it into a blender and blend until desired consistency.  Once blended, return it to the pot to continue cooking.)
9. Add sliced mushrooms and meatballs (if desired).  If using fresh meatballs, heat sauce an additional 5 minutes.  If adding frozen meatballs, heat an additional 10-15 minutes - until meatballs are heated through.
10.  Serve warm sauce over warm pasta.  (And sprinkle with Parmesan, if desired.)

I would LOVE to thank Shelly and Ruth for this challenge!  I learned a yummier (is that a word?!) way to make amazing meatballs for my family and was inspired to create spaghetti sauce from scratch.  We had my husband's 95-year-old grandfather over for dinner and  he loved it as much as my family did.

To see more amazing meatball ideas (some are even vegan!) visit The Daring Kitchen or copy this sentence and paste it into your search bar:
The June Daring Cooks’ challenge sure kept us rolling – meatballs, that is!