Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Sweet and Sour Meatballs, they go well with lots of different things. Normally I'd make these with rice, but we've had rice so much lately, I was just not in the mood for it again. Also I normally would add pineapple pieces and green peppers, but the fridge was out of those. So today it was mashed potatoes, meatballs and corn and peas.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 pound ground beef/pork
1/2 onion chopped fine
2 garlic cloves
Salt
Pepper
1/2 - 1 tsp ginger
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg

Mix all the ingredients together and form into meatballs

Set those to the side and get your sauce started

Sauce:

1/2 cup water (the recipe called for 1 cup water and no pineapple juice...do as you please)
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar (the recipe calls for 1 cup brown sugar...I said "no way!!!")
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I put in 3-4)

* I also added some garlic powder and some onion salt...and as I said earlier, normally I'd put chopped green bell peppers and pineapple pieces in as well....none of these are in the original recipe. Experiment!

Combine all together and warm up in a pan on the stove

While that is warming up start frying up the meatballs. Use about 2-3 Tbsp oil. Brown them in batches, so you have enough space for turning, then set them aside on a plate.

Keep the pan on, but turn down your heat to avoid some serious spritzing. Pour some of the sauce into the pan that the meatballs cooked in, in order to deglaze. Stir until all the goodness comes off the bottom of the pan, then add the rest of the sauce and the meatballs.

Let simmer for about 20 minutes. If the sauce doesn't thicken up on it's own, add some cornstarch or flour mixed with a little water. I doubled the sauce recipe ...it was a tad TOO much sauce...I think doing 1 and 1/2 of the recipe is probably your best bet.

Once nicely cooked through, serve over rice or mashed potatoes or noodles...or....whatever else you think sounds good.

Enjoy!

Wienerschnitzel

Weinerschnitzel...the equivelant of the hamburger in America. Eaten at least once a week by ...well a LOT of Austrians, I won't say "all" because that's just never true. You can eat Weinerschnitzel with fries and ketchup or with rice and a mayonaise sauce...or both, the way my hubby likes it. Schnitzel goes great with a cranberry compote to dip it in, think of it as dipping your ham in applesauce (never heard of that?!? Then you've never had a Christmas Ham with the Cowles family!)

Ingredients:

2 pieces chicken, turkey, pork filets or veal
1/2 cup flour
Salt
Pepper
Garlic salt
Paprika
1 egg
Breadcrumbs
Oil for frying

I used Chicken breast, because, well...it will NEVER by chewy...pork on the other hand, could be. I prefer the taste of chicken, turkey or veal over pork.
Pounding a whole chicken breast is not the way to do it, unless you want a HUGE schnitzel, or one that's not very thin. Section the chicken breast into small, thinner pieces.

Then cover with plastic...

Then take the meat tenderizer to it.

Put the flour and spices in a bowl and mix together

Take each piece of chicken and coat well in the flour mixture

Mix an egg in a bowl and put bread crumbs on a plate and get ready to coat the meat.

Dip meat in the egg, then let the egg drip off a little bit and then dip into the breadcrumbs. *You can be heating your oil at this point. You'll need enough in a pan to cover a piece of chicken.

Once the oil is hot, start frying the schnitzel pieces.

Fry until golden brown. You can turn the oven on to about 300°-350° and put them in the oven to keep warm while you fry the others. The downside: They tend to not be AS crispy. I find that if you are just frying enough for 2-4 people...they stay hot enough on a plate with papertowels, as long as you serve them immediately after all of them are fried.

Serve with whatever sides your heart desires.

Schweinsbraten, Gemüse und Semmelknödel - a.k.a Roast Pork, Vegetables and Stuffing Balls.

Schweinsbraten, in Austria, is somewhat of the equivelant of Roast Beef in the U.S. It’s not hard to make, but is oooooh sooooo good! You’ll probably need to locate a butcher to get the right cut of meat (if you live in the u.s). You’ll want a pork butt, with the skin on! That’s the cruchy delishousness on top and oh so bad for you! If possible ask the butcher to cut a crisscross pattern into the skin, just going down to the fat layer. Otherwise, do it at home, but you’ll need a really good sharp knife.

Season the schweinsbraten by spreading fennel seeds, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and whatever else you think sounds good, into the cuts made in the skin.

 You can let it sit over night, or put it right in the oven. Which should be at a nice warm 400°-420°. Pour some pork boullion broth around the meat and leave it uncovered.

Let your meat cook for about an hour, then add your vegetables. I used potatoes, onions and carrots. Pour some more pork broth over the vegetables.

Now the trick to getting the skin to crisp up, is to keep the oven hot. Don't OVER fill the cracks in the skin with seasoning, or it won't get hot enough to bubble up and crisp.

Let it cook for about 2 - 2.5 hours, basting every 20 minutes or so. Then take it out and let it rest for about 10 minutes, before cutting into it.

Semmelknödel:

About 4 cups of cubed bread

1 onion chopped

3 Tbsp butter

Salt

Pepper

1 beaten egg

Seasonings of your choice

i.e - Parsley, sage, nutmeg, basil, garlic etc.

Put the bread cubes in a mixing bowl and get a big pot full of heavily salted water boiling.

Melt the butter in a pot and then add the chopped onion and sautee lightly

Then pour the butter mixture over the bread crumbs

Then mix well and then pour the beaten egg over and mix well - if it's too dry add a little milk.

You don't want it to be too wet, or the balls will fall apart once in the boiling water, Also you don't want it too dry, a stuffing texture it about right. Then take about a soup spoon full of the mix into your hands (wet your hands a little with water before) and form into a ball



Then once the water is boiling go head and put the semmelknödel in gently and cover with a lid. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let them boil for about 15-20 minutes

Once they are done, take them out and put them in a dish and stab with a fork to let the steam out. Serve them with schweinsbraten, vegetables and rice and top off with roast pork gravy. yum yum yum!