when i was about 12 years old, my mother's aunt alice took the train up from south texas for a little visit. naturally, this called for an extra special jell-o concoction-possibly a pink one involving pineapple & cool-whip- i don't remember. it was also, memorably, the first time i cooked an entire dinner by myself. i chose one of my absolute favorites: porcupine meatballs- meatballs with minute rice mixed in so when they baked, the rice kinda poked out like porcupine quills- with baked potatoes, tossed salad & rolls. it took me f o r e v e r... & that was just chopping the carrots. those were the days when ranch dressing was all the rage & it didn't come in a bottle-you had to shake up the hidden valley ranch dry mix with milk & mayonnaise.....so that was another forever.
when we finally ate-it was around 9:30pm, i think, everyone oohed & ahhed....actually, they were starving & would have raved if i'd fed them rice cakes & fruit cocktail, but that's not the point. there really is no point. just that i vividly remember that night- being given the task of making dinner for company- TRUSTED to make dinner for great aunt alice & i did it!....it was a huge confidence builder. i hope you do that for your kids- give them the chance to do something you could maybe do a lot faster & easier (& with far less mess)-like baking cookies or even cooking dinner for great aunts to let them know they can do it-that they have what it takes. after several years of teaching kids in public schools, i came to the conclusion that nearly all of the problems/poor choices/conflicts/bullying i saw in the classroom (maybe the world) somehow seemed to point back to lack of self-confidence & poor self-esteem. it may be a stretch to fix that with meatballs, but whatever makes a kid succeed in some way, to be confident & capable, is a step in the right direction...maybe it's cooking...or sports...or photography...or cheerleading...or academics....or art...or music...or drama...or martial arts...you get the picture....
and i still love porcupine meatballs. (i debated sharing this-they're not very sophisticated, but then again, neither am i...and they are tasty:)
*porcupine meatballs*
1 lb. ground chuck, sirloin or round (i prefer ground something" identifiable"-usually it's leaner & ground beef might be meat from lots of parts of the cow- legs, etc...did you know that?)
1 cup minute rice (brown or white)
1 egg (or egg white, if you're not into cholesterol)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
dash worchestershire
juice from 1 can of diced tomatoes (save the tomatoes) & a little water- maybe 1/2 cup
salt & pepper...maybe celery salt or garlic salt or seasoning salt, if you like the flavors, or any herbs you like...
mix all of the ingredients together. form meatballs about the size of a golf ball ( i use a large metal scoop-like a big melon-baller) & place in an 8x8 or 6x10 baking dish sprayed with pam-makes about 16... i like to dump the remaining tomatoes on part of the top- my kids don't like them, but i do- you could add ketchup if you like that whole meatloaf-y thing...bake covered with foil for hmmm...50 minutes or so at 350*
* this isn't really a recipe- i just made it up since it isn't writen down anywhere, but i think it's about right- these are good with baked potatoes & salad & rolls-great aunts optional- i'm going to BE one this summer! can't wait!
-the snackmom
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