German Meatballs

Today was the second time making this. Both times I made them slightly different so maybe someday I'll get it perfect. The first time I didn't have pork so it was made with just beef -1.5 pounds - just to be fair. The second time I substituted the pork for German sausage from the butcher. Yum. (I also may or may not have the lemon juice and peel on hand when I cook these things.) And for the life of me I can't remember if I added the eggs to the meatballs this time. Oh my goodness, I need help. It still tasted really good!

1 1 inch slice bread
1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon butter or margarine


2 beaten eggs
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork or German sausage
3 tablespoons snipped parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon paprika
 - I use 1/2 tsp to add more flavor
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


 - again 1/2 tsp
3 cups beef broth



1 cup cold water

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Hot cooked noodles, rice or spaetzle

In a large mixing bowl, soak bread in enough milk to cover it.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, cook onion in butter until onion is tender, but not brown. Press milk from bread, discarding milk.
In large bowl, combine bread, eggs, beef, pork, parsley, salt, Worcestershire sauce, peel, juice, paprika, nutmeg, and onion mixture. Mix lightly with your hands. Form into meatballs.
In large skillet, bring broth to boiling. Add meatballs. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until meatballs are done (160 degree F).
With a slotted spoon, transfer meatballs to a serving bowl and keep warm.
Skim fat from cooking liquid. Reserve 2-1/2 cups cooking liquid, adding water, if necessary.
Mix cold water and flour. Stir into reserved cooking liquid. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook 1 minute. Pour over meatballs. Serve with hot noodles, rice or spaetzle. Top with additional snipped parsley. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Next time I will be adding mushrooms to the sauce and per my hubby's suggestion a scoop of sour cream. The ultimate German thing.

Blackberry Pie explosion.

This is my first attempt at any sort of berry pie... I'm rather partial to my Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie, so I don't stray far. I did use my flaky buttery pie crust. I'm partial to that one as well, or maybe I'm just picky.
I borrowed the recipe from Sweet Anna's... And made a few adjustments.

Blackberry Pie
6 cups fresh or frozen wild blackberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

1 teaspoon sugar

tidbits of butter

Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil and place that in the oven to preheat also, on a rack on the top 1/3 of the oven (this is to help catch drips!).

Grab a 9" deep-dish pie plate and set it aside for a bit later.

In a large bowl, toss together the berries, and the rest of the ingredients except the tsp of sugar.

On a well floured surface, roll out one half of your pie dough to about an 11" circle. Carefully transfer it to your pie plate and press it firmly into the bottom and sides. Trim the crust to just the edge of the pie plate and place in the fridge.

Re-flour your surface and roll out the other half of your dough into another 11" circle.

Remove the pie plate from the fridge and dump the berry mixture into the crust. Dot the top of the berry mixture with the butter bits (i forgot to do this! eek!) and then gently lay out the rolled out dough onto the top of the pie.

Press this crust down gently around the edges, trim the overhang to about 1" and then fold the top crust under the bottom crust edge, pressing firmly to seal as you go around.

Carefully cut some slits into the top of the pie and then sprinkle with the tsp of sugar.

Cover the edges of the pie with foil and then place the whole pie into the preheated oven, directly onto the foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 30 minutes, remove the foil, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling.

Let the pie cool if you want prettier pieces. Serve with ice cream or fresh whipped cream!