Sunny with a chance of meatballs, pasta salad, and molten cake.

My day off from teaching my cooking class... and what do I do? cook. :D

 

Baked meatballs (#33)

Quick, easy, and cheap.

What you need: 
2 lb. lean ground beef
1 pkg. (6 oz) Stuffing mix for chicken
1 cup water
2 eggs


What you do:
- Heat oven to 400.
- Line 2 cookie sheets with foil; spray with cooking spray. Mix meat, stuffing mix, water and eggs until blended. Shape into 50 (1 1/2 inch) meatballs; place into prepared pans.
- Bake 16 minutes or until done.

Optional: 
- Pour one can spaghetti sauce into saucepan and heat on medium heat. Add meatballs and stir until heated and coated.
- Slice Italian sub roll, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, place two meatballs in sub roll and heat in oven until cheese

Ryan's Confetti Pasta Salad 

A family favorite. (#34)

Makes 4-6 servings

Prep: 20 minutes 

8 ounces uncooked small shell pasta 

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach 

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion 

1 Tbs. chopped fresh dill 

Fresh Lemon Vinaigrette 

1 (4 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese 

 

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Toss pasta with tomatoes and remaining ingredients. Serve immediately, or cover and chill up to 8 hours. 

Fresh Lemon Vinaigrette: 

Whisk together 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice; 1/4 cup olive oil; 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar; 2 garlic cloves, pressed; 1 teaspoon salt; and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Not at all comparable to Chili's. Tasty, though. (#35)

Makes 8 single-serving cakes. 

1/4 cup granulated sugar plus additional for dusting

4 squares(4oz) semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup butter or margarine cut into pieces

1/4 cup heavy or whipping cream

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 lrg. eggs

2 lrg. egg yolks 

confectioners' sugar

whipped cream or vanilla ice cream 

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease eight 6 ounce custard cups. Dust with granulated sugar. 

2. In heavy 3 quart saucepan, heat chocolate, butter, and cream over low heat, stirring occasionally, until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove pan from heat. Add vanilla. With wire wisk, stir in flour just until mixture is smooth. 

3. In medium bowl, with mixer at high speed, beat 1/4 cup granulated sugar, eggs, and yolks until thick and lemon colored, about 10 minutes. Fold egg mixture, one third at a time, into chocolate mixture until blended. 

4. Divide batter evenly among prepared custard cups. Place cups in jelly-roll pan and bake cakes until edges are set but centers still jiggle, 8-10 minutes. 

5. Cool in pan on wire rack 3 minutes. Run thin knife around sides of cups to loosen cakes; invert onto plates. dust with confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.