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I looked in the pantry and there was no BBQ sauce for my meatballs. Panic! I’m taking meatballs to a birthday party tomorrow and wanted to get a head start.   So, I decided that I would try a new type of meatball sauce similar to one I found on BigOven.  This recipe is a twist on the grape jelly meatball sauce where cranberry sauce is used instead.  It was changed it up in a big way to make it my own and get the taste I wanted.  The only thing I didn’t do was make it a “Drunkin” dish.  It was posted on BigOven just now.  Visit there to see more of my recipes and those of many others.  The cooked meatballs are now marinating in the thick sauce in the fridge.  Into the crockpot they will go tomorrow to finish up for a few hours before the party.

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Ingredients

12 ounces Cranberry Sauce; or Cranberry Jelly 2 tablespoons Chili powder
16 ounces Tomato sauce 1 teaspoon Chili Spice; Carroll Shelby’s
1 tablespoon Sugar 1 teaspoon Onion powder
1 tablespoon Honey 1 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons Dark Corn Syrup 1/4 teaspoon Pepper

Preparation

Combine all ingredients in mediums size saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened and smooth. If you are using leftover Cranberry Sauce instead of jelly, then use a masher to reduce the size of the berries. Pour hot sauce over pre-cooked meatballs in a crockpot. Stir occasionally to coat. Keep warm on low until ready to serve.

If you like the recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀  I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.

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Almost a Date Dinner with KCinAZ tonight was a grilled thick cut beef tenderloin grilled slowly.  While the tenderloin was grilling; we started the gravy with sautéed onions caramelized, mushrooms, port and brown gravy stock were added.  All along, small red potatoes were simmering on the stove top.

 

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Ingredients:

 POTATOES:
8 small Red potatoes; whole
Salt; for water
MUSHROOM GRAVY:
1/2 medium Yellow onion; chopped
2 tablespoon olive Oil
12 ounces Fresh mushrooms; sliced
1 Beef Stock; Knorr Home-style concentrated stock
1/2 teaspoon Greek Spice; Cavendar’s
1 clove garlic; minced
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup port; make it a good one
1 cup water
1/4 cup McCormick Beef Gravy; Powdered for Thickening
MEDIUM RARE TENDERLOIN:
10 ounces Beef tenderloin; 2″ thick cut steak
1 tablespoon Steak Spice; Use a flavorful one

Preparation

Potatoes:

Place 8 very small whole red potatoes in small saucepan and cover with water.  Add a small amount of salt to the water.  Bring to slow boil and then turn down to simmer.  Continue to simmer until tender.  Cover and turn off heat but leave on stove top where the pan will remain hot.  If the sauce pan has good insulation this will be best to keep the potatoes hot.  This will allow the potatoes to continue to cook but not overcook.  Continue on with starting the gravy and steak as the potatoes cook.

Port Mushroom Gravy:

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Meanwhile, in medium size skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and chopped onions.  Cook while stirring with wooden spoon over medium heat until onions begin to brown and caramelize.  Add butter, mushrooms, Greek spice and minced garlic clove and mix in.  Turn down to medium low heat and continue to sauté until mushrooms are tender and turn golden brown.  Add 1 packet Knorr home-style Stock concentrate (if not available add 2 beef stock cubes) and blend into mushroom saucepan.  Then mix in 1/4 cup or more good Port and let reduce for a few minutes so that the Port absorbs into the mushrooms.  Add water and continue to simmer over medium low heat.  Meanwhile watch the meat that is also cooking until it reaches around 100 degrees on the thermometer.  Then, add enough McCormick’s Brown Gravy mix to thicken the gravy and then turn to low.   Cook slowly until thickened and the grilled meat is cooked to your desired temperature.

Medium Rare Beef Tenderloin:

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Season liberally with your favorite steak rub.  Place on sizzling hot grill and sear for 3-5 minutes per side.  This steak was a 2″ thick cut of tenderloin that was around 5″ long and 3″ wide.  Cook for 2-3 minutes on one side, do a 1/2 turn keeping on same side and cook another 2 minutes.  Then turn completely over and repeat.  If a thick cut, turn on small sides and sear those sides too for around 2 minutes each.  After searing completely on all four sides, turn down heat to medium high and continue to cook until meat thermometer reaches 120 degrees.  Since the meat will continue to cook it will end up medium rare.

These directions are for a very thick cut of meat.  If yours is say 1″ thick or less you will need to reduce the cooking time per side considerably.   If using a smaller cut of meat then make sure to reduce the cooking time proportionately.  1-2 minutes per side possibly.

Plating the Meal:

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Heat two plates in the microwave for one minute.  Using a ladle, spoon mushroom gravy onto hot plates to create a gravy layer for the meat and potatoes.  Slice the meat against the grain in about 1 – 1 1/2″ slices and place three or more slices of tenderloin on each plate.  Quarter the small potatoes and arrange nicely on top of the gravy.  Sprinkle potatoes with a little parsley garnish.

For Your Date:

Tell your darlin’ or date that dinner is served and it’s not to get cold!  If your date is like my sweet hubby he’s watching the TV waiting for the dinner bell.  Maybe yours will be in the kitchen helping and tasting as dinner is in the making.  Have ready a nice red wine or the port used for the gravy ready to serve and enjoy your date dinner.

If you like this recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀  I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.