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I Made 77 Meatballs During Naptime…

March 23, 2011 in Frugal Living, Recipes with 0 Comments

I posted earlier today how I use up bulk amounts of ground beef to get the best bang for my buck AND to save time in preparing it later. See my post here. I mentioned that I was going to be making meatballs with 2.5 pounds of the ground beef along with some italian sausage.

I used 2.5 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of sweet italian sausage, italian seasoning, garlic powder, grated parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and 4 eggs beaten to create 77 meatballs (ok, 78, but I had to try one just to make sure they were done). That translates to 7 batches of meatballs which is the equivalent of 7 Spaghetti and Meatball nights at our house. I don’t know about your family but my family LOVES Spaghetti and Meatball night. I’m surprised the smell of the meatballs haven’t woken them up from their naps. :-) Ella begs for this meal.

My meatballs need to cool and then I can transfer them to freezer bags. So in the weeks to come all I have to do is pull a bag out, defrost and add to my favorite pasta sauce to heat through. Pick your favorite pasta and make some garlic bread and you will be nominated for Wife/Mom of the Year. Trust me. :-)

*By the way, the total of meals I prepped ahead for today comes to a whopping 15 meals using 12 lbs of meat.

Want to know how I’ll use all of my meat? Tune in for my next post. In the meantime, how do YOU use ground beef to it’s fullest potential? Or any meat, for that matter?

The BEST Pumpkin recipe

November 15, 2009 in General, Recipes with 5 Comments

I keep making these Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes from Paula Deen. This time, instead of a yellow cake mix, I used a Spice cake mix. I’ll let you know how it turns out! It’s in the oven now!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 50 min

Ingredients
Cake:

* 1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
* 1 egg
* 8 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

* 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 8 tablespoons butter, melted
* 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.

Serve with fresh whipped cream.

Variations: For a Pineapple Gooey Cake: Instead of the pumpkin, add a drained 20-ounce can of crushed pineapple to the cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed above.

For a Banana Gooey Cake: Prepare cream cheese filling as directed, beating in 2 ripe bananas instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

For a Peanut Butter Gooey Cake: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter to the cream cheese filling instead of the pumpkin. Proceed as directed above.

The Verdict: Though the spice cake mix had a nice spicy flavor, it seemed more dry and less sweet than the yellow cake mix. I am sticking with the yellow cake mix from now on. I’m trying the Peanut Butter variation next. Or maybe this one!