Porcupine Meatballs

I received this recipe for Porcupine Meatballs from an old friend when I was still in my teenage years.  We did a recipe exchange for a youth activity at church, and this was one of the recipes that she brought to share with everyone.

Porcupine Meatballs

1 lb hamburger
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/4 cup rice
1 egg
salt and pepper
1 can tomato soup  - plus a can and a half of water

Combine hamburger, egg, rice, oatmeal, and salt and pepper (to your taste).  Create meatballs by take a portion of the meat mixture and rolling in your hands.

Meanwhile, open the can of soup and empty into a medium size sauce pan.  Add a can and a half of water and bring to a boil.  Once soup is boiling, carefully place meatballs in soup.  Simmer for 1 hour.  Serve over mashed potatoes.


Here are some tips from me for this recipe.

Use your electric mixture to combine the beef and other ingredients.  It is so fast and easy.

Don't worry if your meatballs aren't completely covered by the soup mixture..  Once it starts boiling and the meatballs start cooking you can stir them around a bit and they will all cook.

Here are my meatballs not fully covered by the soup.

And here they are once the soup returns to a boil and they begin cooking.  No worries!

When your meatballs are finished cooking, serve them over mashed potatoes.  Super yummy!

Dirty Rice with Ham and Black Beans

I decided to try a little twist on one of our family favorites.  I made up a batch of Cajun Dirty Rice but instead of using sausage, I used ham.  I also added a can of black beans.

My Altered Recipe for Dirty Rice with Ham and Black Beans
1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice (i use instant most of the time)
1/2 pound ham, cooked
1/2 cup yellow onions, diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder (you can add more, but this is the right amount of spice for my family)
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup olive oil

Cook rice according to package directions. In a large skillet, saute onions, peppers, and garlic.  Add ham and heat through.  Place rice and the remaining ingredients in a large skillet and simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed and the rice is hot and fluffy.

Ham Fried Rice

It's a new year!  So I changed the title of the blog yet again to keep current.

Last night I made a yummy version of an old favorite.  This recipe goes back to my childhood, as my mother made this all the time.  It is cheap, quick and tastes great.  I made another version of this a while ago using bacon instead of ham.  Not as good, but still edible.

Ham Fried Rice

2 Eggs
2-3 Green Onions, sliced
3 cups cooked Rice
2 cups cubed pre-cooked Ham
Soy Sauce
Black Pepper

Cook your rice according to the package directions.  Scramble eggs and set aside.  In large fry pan, cook onion slightly.  Add egg and ham.  Cook until ham is heated through.  Add rice and stir to combine.  Add soy sauce and black pepper to taste.

I didn't have any green onions on hand last night, so I just used regular yellow onion.

Sausage and Rice Skillet w/a recipe

So a while back I posted about my friend, Jess' Sausage and Rice Skillet, but apparently I never posted the recipe for it.  Thanks for pointing that out Malia.

So here is the recipe straight from Jess - well,  I corrected her spelling... love you girl!

s & r skillet‏

one package sausage
rice to your serving size (now that wyatt [her son]eats more i make two cups of rice)
water to your rice serving
one can cream of chicken (i have started using cream of chicken with herbs much better)
one TBSP butter
one pinch of salt
cheese to your preference

cut up sausage
mix rice, water, butter, salt, cream of chicken in skillet, add in sausage- bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes, add cheese on top and simmer for 5 more minutes and then serve.

easiest dinner ever

peace out

february 9, 2011 - fried rice

tonight i made a fried rice recipe with ingredients i already had out and ready.  i didn't have any ham thawed, but i did have bacon.  so instead of ham fried rice we had bacon fried rice.  i quickly cooked up the bacon and scrambled a few eggs, chopped the green onions and cooked some minute rice.  added a little soy sauce and we were good to go.

january 25, 2011 - cajun dirty rice

used the extra portion i made a while back for dinner tonight.  this one was more spicy for some reason so we all added a little sour cream to calm it down.

january 4, 2011 - cajun dirty rice

tonight i made a modified cajun dirty rice. i got the recipe shell from the dream dinners cookbook. i made a double batch and froze one for another night. this dish can be spicy depending on the amount of cayenne you add. for my family, the 1/2 teaspoon gives it just a little spice, nothing too crazy. we had green salad as a side.


1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice (i use instant most of the time)
4 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled
1/2 pound sausage, cooked
1/2 cup yellow onions, diced
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup olive oil

cook rice according to package directions. place rice and the remaining ingredients in a large skillet and simmer until the liquid is fully absorbed and the rice is hot and fluffy.

*note - if you make this and it is a little too spicy, we have added sour cream to settle it down. it actually tastes really good with sour cream on it as well.