Deep Fried Shrimp Balls

Deep Fried Shrimp Balls

 

These are simply delicious.  I make them for appetizers and even for a main dish… no matter when I serve them, they go fast! 

Shrimp Balls

1-1/2 pounds of raw small shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon of canola oil

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of unsalted butter

2 cups of chopped onion

2 green onions, sliced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of dried or fresh chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning

1 egg, beaten 

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs

2-1/2 cups of ready-made microwave mashed potatoes 

Dredge and Coating

1 egg

1 cup of milk

2 cups of self-rising flour

Pinch of kosher salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon of Old Bay seasoning 

1 cup of regular or panko bread crumbs, optional

Canola oil, for frying

Heat oil in a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp in two batches so as not to crowd the skillet. Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning and stir fry, just until lightly pink. Remove and set aside to cool. Once cooled, mince and refrigerate until needed. Don’t mince to a paste; you want the filling to be a little chunky. Meanwhile microwave potatoes and set aside.

 

Melt half a stick of butter in the same skillet over medium heat, add the onions and sauté until they are just beginning to brown. Add the green onion, garlic, and Old Bay seasoning; saute’ for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set skillet aside to allow onions to cool. 

 

Add two eggs to the breadcrumbs along with the parsley. Mix together and then add to the skillet of fried onions, combining well. Stir in the shrimp and the mashed potatoes; mix well.

Shape mixture into balls about the size or a golf ball or at least about 1-1/2 inch in diameter.  Set aside on foil line pan until ready to fry.
  

 

Set up a dredging station. First, beat the egg with the milk and place in small shallow bowl.  Next, in another shallow bowl, mix the flour with the salt, pepper and 1-1/2 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning.  Finally, in the third bowl add the Panko breadcrumbs.  

Preheat the deep fryer or deep skillet to 365 degrees.  Dredge the balls into the flour, then the egg wash, then the panko or bread crumbs. If you don't want to use bread crumbs or panko, simply coat all of the balls in the flour, then the egg wash and toss them back through the flour just before frying. 

Drop into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 4-6 minutes when coated with panko; 6-8 minutes with an all flour coating.  Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt.

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Beef and Mushroom Pot Pie

Beef and Mushroom Pot Pie

This beef and mushroom pot pie is the perfect way to turn a chilly autumn afternoon into warm and cozy.  Serve with a loaf of crusty bread and maybe a nice side salad and you have the ultimate comfort meal! I don’t call this my regular beef pot pie because I left out most of the typical vegetables.  In this recipe my main focus is the tender succulent roast beef, the sweet baby carrots and the earthy deep flavors of the mushrooms all smothered in a rich and decadent gravy.  Save all the veggies for another day! 

Beef and Mushroom Pot Pie

2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch pieces

Salt and pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup Baby Bella or Cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered

1 onion, finely chopped

3 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces

2 tablespoons tomato paste

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup water

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

2 cups beef broth

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided

1 large egg, lightly beaten for egg wash

1 pkg. Pillsbury Pie Crusts or 1 Pkg. Pepperidge Farm Puffed Pastry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Pat beef cubes dry with a paper towel.  Shake meat and 2 tablespoons of flour in a plastic bag with some salt and pepper and coat the meat. Heat 1½ tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook beef in batches until browned.  Transfer each batch of browned meat to a plate using a slotted spoon.  

Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining 1½ tablespoons oil to the empty Dutch oven. Add mushrooms, onion, and carrots and cook until vegetables are lightly browned, about 5 minutes, scraping up any browned bits. Stir in tomato paste and garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

 Add water to the pot and continue to stir until liquid has evaporated. Sprinkle flour over vegetables and cook for another minute.  Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, scraping any bits that have stuck to bottom of the pot and stirring them into the liquid.

Add the cooked beef and bring to a simmer. Cover and transfer to oven. Cook until beef is tender, about 2 hours.  Taste the beef and if it is not tender, add ¼ cup of water and return to the oven for another 30 minutes, repeating this step until the beef is fork tender and no longer chewy.  Once the beef is tender, stir in the thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from oven and increase the heat to 400 degrees. 

NOTE: If you want more liquid at this point, simply remove the filling from the Dutch oven and set aside in a bowl.  Add ¼ cup more water to the Dutch Oven and scrape the interior of the pot to gather up all the leftover bits and pieces.  This will give you thick gravy that you can add to the filling if necessary.

Brush the rim and top half of the pie pan or pans with egg wash and set aside.  Roll out the pie dough or puffed pastry out on a lightly floured surface to about one inch thick. Using the top of your pie plate(s), cut around to make your circles.  Lay the bottom pie crust inside your pie dish.  Spoon in your beef filling to about ¾ full.  Brush the rim of the dough with egg wash.

Lay the second dough round on top of the filling. You can allow it to overhang just slightly or you can crimp the edges. I simply lay my top dough on top of the pie. I find the steam escapes better that way without having to cut a hole or slit in the top. 

Brush the top with remaining egg. Transfer pie or pies to rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown, 20-30 minutes. If the edges of the crust become too brown during baking, protect with some foil.  Transfer pie to cooling rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Serve.

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Hot Roast Beef Sandwich

 Hot Roast Beef Sandwich

When I was little, sometimes we would go out for a Sunday dinner at the local diner. I loved going there. You could get just about anything you wanted and the portions were humongous!  My Mom would always order the pork chops, I would get the Hamburger steak and my Dad would always order the same thing…the Hot Roast Beef Platter. I can still hear him place his order:  “I’ll take the scrumptious open face hot roast beef sandwich with extra roast beef, extra mashed potatoes and gravy….lots of gravy all over it.”   He loves this meal….so once a month, I make it and take it over and we have a diner day!i

Hot Roast Beef Sandwich   

 2-3 lb. chuck roast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14.5 oz.) can beef broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
white bread 

Place roast in a crock pot. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Pour the beef broth around the roast. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until beef is tender and shreds easily with a fork. Remove roast from the crock pot and shred beef.

Pour the broth from the crock pot into a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat until just boiling.  In a separate cup or bowl, make a slush out of the cornstarch and water, whisking until smooth. 

Add to the broth in saucepan and simmer over medium heat whisking constantly.  Bring gravy to a fast boil for 1-2 minutes or until the gravy thickens. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.

Place bread slice on a plate. Top with shredded beef. Spoon gravy over the top. Serve with mashed potatoes.  YUM! 

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Mini Cherry Cheese Cakes

Mini Cherry Cheese Cakes

I could get addicted to these.  I mean the kind of addiction where I would sit around thinking about them all day and craving them to the point where I felt I had to have them right away... you know that feeling,  where you have to have what you are addicted to as fast as possible. The craving gets so bad that you start to shake and drool.  Good thing they are so quick and easy to make!  Not that I am addicted or anything....just sayin'......

Mini Cherry Cheese Cakes

2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 vanilla wafers
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling or other pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place a paper cupcake liner in each cup of a mini muffin pan.

Drop a vanilla wafer in each lined cup.

Beat cream cheese with a handheld electric mixer until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, beating well.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Lay a vanilla wafer, flat side down, in each muffin cup.

Spoon cream cheese mixture over wafers. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow cheesecakes to cool completely.  Serve with cherry filling on top, or pie filling of your choice.

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