My fascination with foreign food continues tonight as I whip up some Asian meatballs. I found this on Recipezaar a few months back and knew I had to try it, but there was just one little problem, I couldn’t find rice stix anywhere. At the time I didn’t even know what they were nor did anyone at any grocery store where I looked. Finally last week I stumbled across the Asian section at Wal-Mart and right in front of my eyes there they were, rice stix! I quickly grabbed two bags and at last it was time for me to try this recipe for Asian Meatballs. Now normally I only post recipes on here that I feel are the best of the best, but tonight I’m going to make an exception. This was more of a test than anything and id say it had its up and downs. I thought the meatballs were excellent but I found the flavor of the noodles to be a little bland. If I made this again I would definitely add some more of my favorite vegetables to the mix. We definitely had some mixed reviews. Hit or miss, you decide.
 
Ingredients:
Meatballs-
1lb lean ground beef
½ cup white onion (minced)
1 egg
3 fresh garlic cloves (minced)
1 tablespoon fresh ginger (grated)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1 tablespoon soy sauce
3 tablespoons flour
Noodles-
1 (6 oz) Package rice stix (also called vermicelli rice noodles)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 fresh carrots (peeled into strips)
1 bunch of green onions (sliced into strips)
1 (14 oz) can of beef broth
soy sauce (to serve)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Combine meatballs ingredients in a bowl, mix well and form 1 to 1-1/2 inch meatballs.    
Step 2: Place the meatballs in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until fully cooked.

Step 3: Rinse the rice noodles until they go slightly soft and set aside. Slice the green onions into 1” strips. Peel the carrots and then use your peeler to peel all the way down the carrot making long thin strips.
Step 4: Heat sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat and stir fry vegetables for 3 minutes until the carrots go limp.
Step 5: Add beef broth and rice noodles to the skillet and bring to a boil. Cook while stirring until the beef broth is absorbed and the noodles are soft. Put meatballs on top of noodles or mix them together and serve with soy sauce if desired.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe

If you’re a fan of Italian cuisine then chances are you’re familiar with chicken parmesan. My love for it began last spring when I cooked it for my family for the fist time. Everyone began raving about the great flavor and it’s been getting cooked on a regular basis ever since. Chicken parmesan consists of boneless-skinless chicken breasts rolled in flour and a seasoned bread crumb mixture that is topped with Marinara sauce and Mozzarella cheese. The chicken is first sautéed and then baked in the oven making it very succulent and juicy. This recipe takes a little time and effort to make but trust me, its well worth it! If by some chance your feeling a little creative you can even make your own Marinara sauce. Garlic bread would go great with this and serving with linguini is a must.  

Ingredients:
2 boneless-skinless chicken breasts
1 jar marinara sauce
1 cup flour
1 egg (beaten)
¾ tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ tablespoons dried oregano
1 ½ tablespoons dried basil
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 sheets wax paper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
linguini

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Place chicken breasts between sheets of wax paper and pound the chicken until its about ½ inch thick throughout. In a pie plate combine breadcrumbs, oregano, basil, cayenne pepper, and parmesan cheese. Crack an egg into a bowl and slightly beat. Take a separate plate and pour flour on it. Dredge your chicken breasts first in flour, then in egg and then in the breadcrumb mixture.

Step 2: Put your chicken breasts in a pan and sauté until browned on both sides. (only cook until browned, do not cook all the way through)
Step 3: Place chicken into an oven safe dish and top chicken with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese.   

Step 4: Place chicken into the oven and bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Serve on linguini topped with the remaining marinara sauce.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe

I don’t know about you but I love the taste of grilled fish, which brings us to tonight’s recipe of grilled salmon with Maitre D’ Hotel sauce. This is actually a combination of two recipes I came across last summer. With your typical Maitre D’ Hotel sauce the fillets would be breaded and then dipped in the sauce, but instead we are brushing the fillets in the sauce and putting them on the grill. The best part is there’s a good chance you have all the ingredients in your home to make the sauce. This recipe could be made with many different types of fish such as Bass or trout. This is a fast and easy fish recipe that everyone is sure to enjoy.  
Ingredients:
4 1-lb bass fillets (dressed and skinned)
Maitre D’ Hotel Sauce-
1 garlic clove (smashed)
½ cup butter (melted)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¼ teaspoon pepper
fresh parsley (for garnish)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: combine melted butter, garlic clove, lemon juice, salt and pepper to make the sauce. (In the picture I just fluffed the butter with a fork and mixed the ingredients in before melting it)
Step 2: Brush your salmon fillets on both sides with the sauce.
Step 3: Put fillets on the grill and cook until done (when the fillets flake easily). Garnish with minced fresh parsley.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe

Burger fans, this could be a dream come true. I came across this recipe on the internet awhile back, tried it once and have been making it ever since. It’s a copy-cat recipe of Hardee’s Mushroom and Swiss Burger, and if you’ve ever tried it at Hardee’s this is about as close as you can get to the real thing. A juicy, seasoned beef patty topped with delicious Swiss cheese and a scrumptious mushroom sauce. Oh man, what more could you want? You can either cook these bad boys on your stove top or throw them on the grill. Normally I despise the average copy-cat recipe, because from past experiences most of them taste nothing like the ones at the actual restaurant, but this in my opinion some what lives up to the name. If your curious, try it and you decide.

 
Ingredients:
1 can Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
4 slices Swiss cheese
¼ lbs hamburger patties
½ teaspoon Accent seasoning
½ teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Combine Golden Mushroom soup, mushrooms, and Worcestershire sauce in a pan. Put on the stove and let simmer.
Step 2: Combine Accent seasoning, seasoned salt, and pepper in a shaker.

Step 3: Season your patties with the seasoning mixture and pan fry or grill until done.
Step 4: Place patty on a bun, top with Swiss cheese and the mushroom sauce.
Tags: cooking, recipes, food and drink, recipe
 

For every holiday in recent years I’ve been cooking cheesecakes. Every holiday a different cheesecake recipe, but that’s until I found this one. When I first found this recipe it was labeled as a ‘New York Cheesecake’. Now I’m not from NY (though I am a huge Giants fan) so I don’t know if this stays accurate to how they make cheesecakes in New York or not. One thing I do know is that this recipe is a definite keeper and will remain on the top of my favorite deserts list for years to come. It’s extremely easy to make, and the almond extract and macadamia nut crust give it a delicious and unique flavor. It goes great topped with cherry or blueberry pie filling, but you could use any fruit filling or none at all.

 Ingredients:
1 ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs (crushed)
¼ cup macadamia nuts (crushed)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon  ½ cup butter
5 (8 oz) Packages of softened cream cheese
1 ¾ cup sugar
3 tablespoons of flour
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ heavy whipping cream
1 ½ teaspoons almond extract

Cooking Instructions:
 
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Crush graham crackers and macadamia nuts and mix them together with ground cinnamon and melted butter in a bowl.
Step 2: Press onto the bottom and sides of a 9 inch springform pan.
Step 3: Place it into the oven and bake for 7 minutes, then remove and let it cool.

Step 4: Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees. Combine cream cheese, 1 ¾ cup sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour, 5 eggs and 2 egg yolks, and mix thoroughly. Next, add almond extract and heavy whipping cream and mix just enough to blend.  
Step 5: Pour filling mixture over your crust. Place back in the oven and bake on 475 for 10 minutes.
Step 6: Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees and let your cheesecake bake for 1 hour. After an hour turn off your oven, but leave the cake in there for another hour before taking out.
Step 7: Remove the cheesecake from your oven, cool slightly and then place it overnight in your refrigerator.

If you’ve been searching the net for the perfect recipe for Italian meatballs, your search has officially come to an end. Look no further because today I have for you the best Italian meatball recipe on the face of this earth. Now before I continue I already know what your thinking, “but Bobby everyone claims to have the best meatball recipe,” and as true as that may be, these meatballs really are the best! With their amazing flavor they are sure to impress anyone, and they are great for eating for a casual dinner or to make on any special occasion. If you’re feeding a large crowd, make sure to make a lot because these are going to disappear. I usually bake these in the oven, but you can also simmer them in pasta sauce for about 40 minutes and you will be amazed with the perfect texture it gives them. These meatballs can also be pre-made and then frozen, so you can just pull them out of the freezer and cook them whenever you like. They go great with noodles and pasta sauce topped with mozzarella or parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds of lean beef or pork (or use a mixture of both)
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 large slightly beaten egg
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
2 teaspoons of salt (can use less)
1 teaspoon of black pepper
½ cup of milk
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons of dried parsley

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Mix all of the ingredients into a large bowl.
Step 2: Shape the mixture into small-medium sized meatballs. At this point if you don’t want to cook these right now you could put them in the freezer for later.

Step 3: Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees, and place the meatballs on a baking sheet. As you can see, I had to use pizza pans.
Step 4: Put your meatballs in the oven and bake for 25 minutes.Another cooking method is to simmer the meatballs in pasta sauce for about 40 minutes. This will give them great flavor and texture.

Unless you’re a vegetarian you probably love to eat bacon. With good reason it has become one of the most popular foods on the planet. After all, what would breakfast be like without some delicious, crispy bacon? That brings us to a commonly asked question, how do I cook crispy bacon? Because of its thin cut and high fat content, making your bacon perfectly crispy can be a little bit tricky at times. In this article I will give you three easy methods of cooking bacon. I will explain how to successfully crisp bacon on your stove top, and in your microwave or conventional oven.
 
One thing you may be wondering before we get started, which of these methods would I consider the best? Well, let’s see… the frying pan is by far the hardest and it’s extremely messy. The microwave is by far the easiest but at times the bacon will stick horribly to the paper towel. That leaves us with the oven, the o-so glorious oven. The oven brings the total package by giving the bacon both great flavor and texture. With all that being said, if you want to impress someone with your cooking skills, use the fry pan. If you’re in a hurry, use the microwave but if you want the best results go with the oven! Alright then, let’s begin. 

 Method 1: Cooking Bacon in a Frying Pan

Step 1: Add 3-4 slices of bacon to a cold large frying pan and turn the heat to medium-low. What you want to do here is cook as much fat off the bacon as you can without it burning. In other words you want to use high enough heat that it cooks the bacon, but low enough that it doesn’t burn.
Step 2: As your bacon is cooking constantly turn it over so that it cooks evenly on both sides. If too much fat collects in the pan you’re going to want to drain it. During this process there shouldn’t be any black on the edges of the bacon at all. If there is that means it’s burning and you need to turn down the heat. Depending on how thick your slices are or how many are in the pan, your bacon should be done in about 10-15 minutes. You will know it’s done when it turns a deep brown color. When finished drain on paper towels. The bacon should not be fully crisp while it’s still in the pan. It will crisp after the paper towels soak up the fat.

Method 2: Cooking Bacon in the Microwave 
 
Step 1: Place 2 plain white paper towels on a plate, and place 3-4 strips of bacon on top without overlapping them. Now place a paper towel on top of the bacon or else it will splatter all over your microwave! Just gently place the paper towel over the bacon without pressing down on it. If you do the bacon will stick to it badly while it cooks.
Step 2: Put your bacon into the microwave and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Check and see if your bacon is done. If it isn’t, microwave for an additional 30 seconds or until it’s crispy.  

Method 3: Cooking Bacon in the Oven

Step 1: With your oven rack in the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Step 2: Line your baking pan with aluminum foil. The one I use is about 1 ½ inches deep but you could use one that is about ¾ of an inch deep. Now separate your slices of bacon and place them side by side on the baking sheet.
Step 3: Place your baking pan into the oven. During the cooking process if fat becomes excessive you should take your pan out of the oven and drain it off.
Step 4: The bacon should be crisp into about 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer bacon onto paper towels to soak up the fat.