Easy Swedish Meatball Sauce

Photo By Karl Baron - CC-BY 2.0 Deed

If you’ve ever visited IKEA, they have a whole section with food from their restaurant. For this recipe you will need some frozen, pre-cooked meatballs like they sell (they also have veggie options too). Combine the meatballs with this sauce and serve with egg noodles, fries, or mashed potatoes for a delicious, filling meal.

Ingredients

• 1 cup beef stock

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste

• ½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed, or more to taste

• 10 ounces frozen cooked meatballs, thawed

Directions

1. Gather all ingredients.

2. Whisk together stock, cream, flour, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon rosemary in a large saucepan over low heat until smooth.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes.

4. Stir in thawed meatballs, and continue cooking until meatballs are heated through, about 5 more minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the meatballs should read at least 160 degrees F (71 degrees C).

5. Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.

Butternut Squash Soup

Indulge in the heartwarming flavors of fall with luscious Butternut Squash Soup. Crafted with love using nature's bounty, this seasonal delight captures the essence of autumn in a single spoonful.

Image via pxHere - CC0 Public Domain

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 stalk celery, chopped

• 1 medium carrot, chopped

• 2 medium potatoes, cubed

• 1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed

• 1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Gather all ingredients.

2. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat, and cook onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Pour in enough chicken stock to cover vegetables.

3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer until all vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.

4. Transfer soup to a blender and process until smooth. Return to the pot and mix in any remaining stock to reach desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Serve hot and enjoy!

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

OK. We might be pushing the season, but the time of pumpkin spice will soon be upon us. Give this delicious twist on a pumpkin pie a try!

Ingredients

Cheesecake Layer:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

• ½ cup white sugar

• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 large eggs

• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Pumpkin Layer:

• ½ cup pumpkin puree

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 pinch ground cloves, or more to taste

• 1 pinch ground nutmeg, or more to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. Make cheesecake layer: Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, blending well after each addition.

3. Spread 1 cup batter in the graham cracker crust.

4. Make pumpkin layer: Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg to the remaining batter; stir gently until well blended.

5. Carefully spread on top of plain cheesecake batter in the crust.

6. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges are puffed and the surface is firm except for a small spot in the center that jiggled when the pan is gently shaken, 35 to 40 minutes.

7. Remove from the oven, set on a wire rack, and cool to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.

8. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

Creamy Roasted Parsnip Soup

This parsnip soup is rich, creamy, and seasoned with aromatic spices to make a flavorsome autumn soup.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 large onion, diced

• 3 stalks celery, diced

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

• ½ teaspoon ground allspice

• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 4 cups chicken stock

• 1 cup whole milk

• ½ cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

2. Place parsnips and carrots in a mixing bowl; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat the vegetables with oil, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread vegetables evenly over a baking sheet.

3. Roast in the preheated oven until parsnips are tender and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

4. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion and celery; cook and stir until the vegetables have softened and onion is beginning to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low; stir in butter, garlic, brown sugar, and roasted parsnips and carrots. Continue to cook and stir until the vegetables are very soft and beginning to brown, about 5 to 10 minutes.

5. Season with ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper; stir for 1 minute. Pour in chicken stock; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes.

6. Pour soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Blend in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot.

7. Stir in milk and cream. Return to a simmer over medium-low heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Fully Loaded Carbonara

Chicken carbonara is a classic Italian dish that never fails to satisfy the palate. This indulgent pasta dish combines tender pieces of chicken with rich and creamy carbonara sauce.

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, chopped

• 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

• salt and ground black pepper to taste

• 3 cloves garlic

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• ½ cup white wine

• 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese

• 3 large eggs

• 1 gallon water

• 1 pound spaghetti

• 2 cups frozen peas

Directions

1. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Drain fat from skillet, reserving 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings.

2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon bacon drippings in the skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken breast halves in the bacon drippings until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Transfer to cutting board and tent with foil. Rest chicken for 5 minutes before slicing; set aside.

3. Heat remaining tablespoon bacon drippings in skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Cook and stir garlic and ground black pepper in skillet until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour wine into skillet; cook at a simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Whisk Parmesan cheese and eggs together in a bowl. Slowly stream wine mixture into the Parmesan mixture while whisking continually.

5. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook spaghetti in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 12 minutes. Remove 1/2 cup of the water from the pot for later use.

6. Put the peas in a large colander. Drain the pasta in the colander with the peas. Return drained pasta and peas to the pot. Stir bacon, chicken, and wine mixture into the spaghetti. Thin sauce with reserved pasta water as desired.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

This is a quick, throw together slow cooker soup packed with all the flavors you'd expect in a Tex-Mex chili.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1 onion, chopped

• 1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, with liquid

• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid

• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid

• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

• 2 cups water

• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes

• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers

• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

Directions

1. Gather all ingredients.

2. In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside.

3. Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker.

4. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours.