Swedish Meatballs

It's been a crazy month for us.  We just moved into a new house and haven't been cooking much lately.  But in the midst of unpacking I decided I needed to cook something. This recipe isn't complicated, but it's time consuming.  Better suited to a Sunday afternoon than a weeknight when your kitchen is filled with boxes.  But the final product is worth it, and it makes enough for at least two meals. 

I love the way the meatballs turned out and I'd definitely use this method again for any kind of meatball. The beef and pork together make a very tender meatball.  Swedish meatballs are spiced with allspice and sometimes ginger and/or nutmeg.  Well, the allspice hasn't yet made it out of my packing boxes, but I had a little tin of pumpkin spice and it worked great!  Pumpkin spice meatballs! 

The gravy contains lingonberry jam, and it's extra tasty to serve a little extra jam on the side.  

Here's what you need for 55 meatballs!

Bone-In Country Ham with Dr. Pepper Glaze

I haven't always been the biggest ham fan. I've always liked thinly sliced deli ham on sandwiches, but I couldn't get behind baked ham for the holidays.  

That all changed when we went on our road trip down South last spring and tried country ham. Most of the time, when you see a ham in the grocery store it is a "city ham" that has already been cooked. Country ham is dry-cured but not cooked so it needs to be fully cooked, not just warmed up, before serving. Country ham is usually much saltier as well but it tastes amazing!

Braised Red Cabbage

Although it doesn't have the green of St. Patrick's Day, this is still a lovely side dish for your corned beef.  I served it with smoked pork chops and boiled potatoes and it was a perfect match.  The cabbage is nice and sweet and a great match for the salty smoked pork.

Here's what you need:

Short & Sweet Sunday - Bison Steaks

My husband loves game meat and, although it can be pricey and hard to find, it is also generally delicious.  We particularly like bison. It is so lean and flavourful.  If you ever see it available I highly recommend trying it.

I found bison striploin steaks at a local market and had to bring them home.  We seasoned them very simply with oil, salt and pepper.

And grilled them to medium-rare. We served them with roasted potatoes and steamed yellow beans. A delicious treat!