Grandpa Gary’s Meatballs

meatballsGary Says: The meatballs may be stored, covered, in the refrigerator until you’re ready to finish cooking. You can also use this mixture to make hamburgers for grilling.

Grandpa Gary's Meatballs
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
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Ingredients
  • 2 lbs. ground beef (80/20 blend)
  • 1 lb. ground pork sausage
  • 2 eggs, gently beaten
  • ½ c. seasoned bread crumbs
  • ½ c. oatmeal (uncooked)
  • ½ c. Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 pkg. onion soup/dip mix
  • 4-8 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¼ c. fresh parsley
  • 1-2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
  • cooking oil of choice
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, combine ground beef with ground pork. Mix thoroughly together to combine. Be sure to wash your hands afterwards if you mix with your hands.
  2. Blend eggs, bread crumbs, oatmeal, Parmesan cheese, onion soup mix, garlic, parsley, & Italian seasoning. Using your hands, thoroughly mix these in with the meat.
  3. Take the mixture & form into balls. Set aside & cover with a towel.
  4. In a large skillet, heat the cooking oil of your choice & butter until the butter starts to foam. Place meatballs one at a time into the skillet & keep rolling around to brown on all sides evenly.
  5. Set aside the browned meatballs on a paper towel lined plate to drain. You can now add the meatballs to your sauce to finish cooking.

 

Nancy’s Hot Dip

Nancy Says: You can use any range of heat level with the salsa, depending on your tastes.

Nancy's Hot Dip
 
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Recipe type: Appetizer
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Ingredients
  • 16 oz. cream cheese, firm
  • 32 oz. salsa
  • 14 oz. black olives, sliced
  • 4 oz. green chilies, diced
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • 4 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 box Wheat Thins
Instructions
  1. Depending on the shape of your serving plate, arrange cream cheese side by side or one on top of the other.
  2. Pour chilies, salsa, olives, avocado, & onions (in that order) over the cream cheese.
  3. Arrange Wheat Thins around outer edge of plate.

Photo Courtesy of Steven Lilley on Flickr

Critter Crunch

Sara Says: Instead of Crispix & Bite-Size Shredded Wheat, use 1 c. each Rice Chex, Corn Chex & Wheat Chex.

Critter Crunch
 
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Recipe type: Snack
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Ingredients
  • 1½ c. Crispix cereal
  • 1½ c. animal crackers
  • 1½ c. Honey bear-shaped crackers or cookies
  • 1 c. Bite-Sized Shredded Wheat
  • 1 c. miniature pretzels
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar, light or dark
  • ½ stick butter, cubed
  • 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 300°F. Grease an edged baking pan with butter or non-stick spray & set aside.
  2. In a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, heat butter, brown sugar & cinnamon until butter is melted. Stir until blended.
  3. In a large bowl combine Crispix, animal crackers, & honey bear-shaped crackers or cookies. Toss to combine.
  4. Pour butter over mixture & toss to coat. Evenly spread mixture on the baking pan.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Remove from heat & allow to cool to room temperature.
  6. Store in an air-tight container.

 

Photo Courtesy of Lenore Edman on Flickr

Funeral Potatoes

Stephanie Says: Frozen potatoes are a necessity for the baking times to be right.  I actually use dry onion flakes reconstituted instead of fresh onion.  You can also substitute the corn flakes for crushed Ritz crackers or potato chips.  This recipe can be doubled for a larger party, but remember to adjust the baking times to suit the larger volume.

Funeral Potatoes
 
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Recipe type: Side Dish
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Ingredients
  • 16 oz. hash brown potatoes, frozen
  • 16 oz. diced potatoes, frozen
  • 10¾ oz. Cream of Chicken soup
  • 1½ oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • ½ c. butter, melted
  • ½ c. onions, chopped
  • ½ tsp garlic salt
  • ½ tsp seasoned salt
  • 2 c. corn flakes, crushed
  • 2 tbsp butter, melted
Instructions
  1. Grease 9"x13" baking dish. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large bowl combine soups, sour cream, cheese, onions, garlic salt, seasoned salt, & the ½ cup melted butter or margarine. Gently fold in hash browns, then gently fold in diced potatoes.
  3. Pour mixture into pan. Combine crushed corn flakes & the 2 tbsp melted butter or margarine. Sprinkle on top of potato mixture in baking dish.
  4. Bake for 30-45 minutes.

 

Photo Courtesy of Andy Melton on Flickr

Marie Edler’s Taco Dip

Marie Says: Green onions are optional.  May be served at once, however, it should be partitioned & refrigerated if not served all at once.  We love serving it with Tostitos Scoops Tortilla Chips

Marie Edler’s Taco Dip
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Appetizer
Ingredients
  • 2 pkg. taco seasoning
  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 pt sour cream
  • 1 medium head iceberg lettuce
  • 4 medium tomatoes
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1 bag Tostitos Scoops Tortilla Chips
Instructions
  1. Mix 1 package of taco seasoning with the sour cream & set aside in the refrigerator. Brown the ground beef with the second package of taco seasoning, drain well & reserve.
  2. Evenly chop iceberg lettuce to a medium chop & reserve. Dice tomatoes to approximately ½" dice, drain & reserve.
  3. Slice green onions to a small slice (approximately ¼") & reserve.
  4. On a large serving platter, evenly spread ground beef mixture. Spread seasoned sour cream evenly on top of ground beef. Top evenly with the chopped lettuce, then diced tomatoes, then the green onions.
  5. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.

Photo Courtesy of midnightcomm on Flickr