Happy New Year!!!!! Do you make resolutions? Do you need to drop a few pounds? Read more books? Stop swearing? (Damn, I should have thought of that one earlier.)
Or are you already perfect? (I am always trying to live up to this standard….note…I said trying.) Alas, I know I am deeply flawed so I have taken about four days to come up a realistic list of things to accomplish in 2015 that would make me (and the world) better.
First, I think I need to incorporate more gesticulation in my life. I am a fan of hand gestures like the air quote, the point and the occasional middle finger. (Maybe that no swearing should have made the list?) But I know conversations would be much more exciting if I added some jazz hands or an expressive wave when I’m talking.
Think about it. If I say “I can’t wait to eat some ice cream.” You would probably smile and nod at me and maybe think, “Why is she telling me this?” BUT if I said, “I want to eat some ice cream” WHILE pretending to scoop ice cream up with a spoon and feed myself. You would be like “Dang, now I WANT ice cream too because she made that so much more interesting.”
Next, I want to have some more Ha-Ha moments. No you didn’t misread that. I didn’t mean Aha moments where I have a moment of insight. I meant Ha-Ha where I have a moment where I just laugh no matter what the situation.
I really try to make light of bad situations but I think I will feel much better if I actually label those moments as Ha-Ha and get a good giggle.
Finally, I guess I need to do some things very specific for the blog. I’ve given this resolution the most thought (Seriously, do those other two sound like I was thinking at all?) I wanted to set a goal that would push me into doing an activity that is outside of my comfort zone.
I gave some thought to doing a monthly video but I am so uncomfortable in front of a camera with my clothes on. I get very stiff and make super bad jokes. Wait…I do that without a camera. But still no one wants to see me babble about food when you can just read my babble about food.
So after a few more minutes of pondering this part of my resolution (imagine me tapping my temple with my index finger…gotta love my new gesticulations), a few things came to me.
First, tapping you finger to your temple REALLY does help you think well. Next, I am going to bake something every month. I’m not a huge fan of baking but I do know that it is an area of the kitchen that could use some improvements. And finally, I am going to revisit some of my “standard” recipes and try to reinvent my favorites.
With that said and in honor of the ball dropping down for a new year….I thought I’d start with my meatballs. There are certain things I have made the same way ever since I learned to cook….meatballs are one of them.
So this week when I made spaghetti, I decided to switch it up. I was going to make my meatballs with an ingredient that I just can’t get enough of these days….salami! Don’t worry….I’m haven’t gone completely crazy (are you picturing me twirling my finger by the side of my head and making a zany face?). I just decided to add some salami to a version of my favorite recipe and go from there.
What came out of this resolution deserved a pat on the back? (Pat, pat, pat.)
Ball Dropping Meatballs
Ingredients
1 pound of ground veal
1 pound of ground pork
½ cup of chopped up salami (it was about 6 big slices)
2 Tbsp Parmesan
2 Tbsp Romano Cheese
1 egg
¼ finely chopped breadcrumbs
1 tsp garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
Your favorite batch of uncooked spaghetti sauce
Directions (REALLY EASY)
In a large bowl, GENTLY mix all the ingredients together. You want to get things incorporated BUT don’t over mix.
Roll into balls. Mine our usually about the size of a golf ball…or maybe smidge smaller.
Heat a skillet with a healthy drizzle of olive oil. In batches, brown your balls. At this point, don’t worry about cooking them all the way because they are going to cook in your sauce.
In your slowcooker, add your sauce ingredients and your meatballs. Set on low and let it cook for about 6 hours.
Your meatballs should be perfectly cooked and just moist as moist can be.
The interesting thing to me is that I expected to have some yummy chewy pits of salami in each ball. The salami broke down during cooking so I got the flavor but not necessarily the texture. They were absolutely delicious.
I am glad that we have a new year together. I am hoping that 2015 is as exciting as last year but no matter how it turns out I will be able to laugh about it, have a Ha-Ha moment and be okay. (I am making the okay gesture with my hand!)
