Greek Meatballs

These meatballs are delicious and great served in homemade pita!
-House of Nash Eats

Meatballs
1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 lb. ground lamb or pork
1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
3 tablespoons grated onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese

Sandwiches
4-5 pita bread
2 Roma tomato, sliced
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
Greek Tzatziki sauce

Meatball preparation
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, gently using your hands to mix everything together until the meat is uniformly seasoned.
3. Divide the mixture in half, then in half again so you have 4 equal parts. From there, divide each portion of the meatball mixture into 5 meatballs so you end up with 20 equal-sized meatballs. Roll each meatball between your hands to shape it and then arrange them on the prepared baking sheet.
4. Bake in the preheated oven from 10-14 minutes, until they are nicely brown and cooked through.

Gyro assembly
1. To assemble gyros, warm the pitas on a grill or in the oven, just until soft.
2. Place a few slices of tomato and some of the red onions onto each pita bread, then top with 4 or 5 meatballs. Add a couple dollops of tzatziki sauce and serve with Greek feta fries.

Italian Meatballs

My family loves nothing more than a good plate of spaghetti and meatballs. This meatball recipe is the one we enjoy!

-Ina Garten - slightly modified

1 lb. ground pork

1 lb. ground beef

1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (1 hot dog bun works well :)

1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley, or 1/2 tsp. dried parsley

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 extra-large egg, beaten

Vegetable oil

Olive oil

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg and egg in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs. (Or about 30 1-inch meatballs)

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. (Less for smaller meatballs) Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

Add meatballs to your sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

This recipe has been in the 'to-try' file for some time now. I thought that anything stuffed with cream cheese and bacon must be good. This one is definitely a winner - the pork stayed moist and the flavors were nice and balanced. Not the healthiest of dishes, but really yummy!

The picture for this one is not too great - please ignore the stray pea on the pork. :)

-Favorite Family Recipes

1 pork tenderloin (1/2 loin - Tyson brand was great)

1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese

1 jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped

1/2 pkg. bacon, cooked and crumbled

1 pkg. Knorr dried pesto seasoning

Spinach leaves - about 1 large handful

olive oil

salt & pepper

paprika

Prepare the pork (I found this very helpful), by cutting to unroll, and then pound to flatten.

Spread with cream cheese, sprinkle with red peppers and bacon, then the pesto seasoning. Lay spinach leaves over the top, and then roll as you would cinnamon rolls, securing with kitchen twine. Next, rub with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika. Place on a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for 60-90 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160-165.

*I found the rolls looked much better after the pork had rested about 10 minutes - use a electric knife for easy slicing.

Marinated Pork Chops

We thought these were great - tender and flavorful! They grill up quickly and made an easy summer meal with baked potatoes (crock pot or microwaved) and watermelon.

-Taste of Home

1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup lime juice
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
6 boneless pork loin chops (4 oz. each)  * look for ones with more brown meat - they will be more tender and flavorful

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the first eight ingredients; add the pork chops. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and discard marinade. Grill pork chops, covered, over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

Costa Vida Pork

This is easily one of our most favorite recipes. The meat is tender, flavorful, and versatile - it can be used in burritos, tacos, or included in a salad with tomatillo dressing (our favorite).


-Julie Whiting Nelson

Pork butt roast (Roughly 5 lbs)
2 cans jalapeno El Pato (green can)
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 Tbs. cumin
Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper

Cook in the Crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. For larger roasts, i.e. 9 lbs, double the other ingredients and cook the whole time on 'high'. Shred the pork and allow to sit in the juices for the last 1 hour of cooking.