Cherry Coke Meatballs

It was the typical dilemma ~ I have a pound of ground beef and what am I going to make with it.  It ended up being a toss up making ground beef stroganoff, Swedish meatballs or trying something new meatballs in a Cherry Coke sauce.  Since I had the Coke in my refrigerator for a couple months, I decided to go with that.


Meatballs -

1# ground beef
1/2# ground pork

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/4 cup milk

1 large egg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Roll into balls (or use a scoop) and bake on a non-stick aluminum foil lined pan for 25 minutes at 350°.  

In a dutch oven or crock pot, combine the following -

1 1/2 cups of Cherry Coke
1 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Add meatballs and cook over medium heat until the sauce cooks down.  Serve over rice.

Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Brownies

Cakelike brownies made with buttermilk in the brownie batter and the icing.  I only had the option of a half gallon of buttermilk at the grocery store so there will be lots of recipes made with it this week.  So far I've made these and buttermilk baked chicken.  I made the brownies in a large saucepan - there's no need to dirty up extra dishes if not needed.



Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Brownies

Place in a large saucepan and heat until the butter has melted

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water

Stir in ~

1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 tbsp. dark cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir until smooth.  Pour into an 8 x 8 greased pan (I used non-stick aluminum foil and lined it).  Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees.  Allow to cool before icing.

Icing ~

2 tbsp. melted butter
3 tbsp. buttermilk
2 tbsp. dark cocoa powder
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Ice the brownies and cut into serving sizes.

  

Breakfast Sausage Muffins

These muffins are packed with breakfast sausage and cheese...what a great way to start the day especially if you are on the go.  


Breakfast Sausage Muffins

1 - 9.6 oz package Jimmy Dean Sausage Crumbles, heated and drained
2 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter melted
1 cup milk
1 large egg slightly beaten
3/4 cup cheddar cheese shredded

Heat sausage crumbles in a large frying pan and place on a paper towel to drain off any excess fat.  Mix together dry ingredients.  Gradually add in milk, butter and egg.  Add in cooled sausage and cheese.  Grease a standard muffin pan and fill each cup 2/3 full.   Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown at 350°.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from cups.

Makes 12 regular size muffins.