Pickled Avocados: Brave A New Flavor

When I first heard about pickled avocados, I was a bit skeptical. I am now a fan. I love savory pickled veggies... and yah, so avocados are technically a fruit, but never mind that. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to find a pickling recipe that didn't have sugar in it. I am not a fan of sweet pickles. Yuck. I like savory. So I found a basic recipe that was just vinegar, water and salt. Then I experimented with seasonings and what was really great about this recipe, is that it doesn't take long to get your reward. Just 24hrs before it's minimum flavor is reached. I thought it was best after 4 days. Another plus is that it uses unripe avocados. Costco gets bags of them and they're all usually unripe and very firm. As the avocado pickles, it softens and is the PERFECT consistency.

You can eat these right out of the jar or have them on salads, burgers, sandwiches, hotdogs (yes!) and a friend of mine made portobello mushroom burgers and these pickled avocados were made for them. She's vegan and used vegan cheese too and it was a fabulous flavor profile. The plus to this recipe is it's a small batch. Just enough to share with friends/co-workers and enjoy in short order. So, I'm sure you're curious and want to try this out, so here is the recipe:

I ended up with three jars from 2 1/2 avocados.

Pickled Avocados
2 unripe avocados sliced or chopped
2 cloves garlic sliced thin
1/2C cilantro leaves

Place in clean pint jar.
While preparing jars, boil:
1C white or apple cider vinegar
1C water 1 Tbsp iodized sea salt
1 Tbsp pickling spice
2 tsp dill weed
1 tsp cayenne
1 Tbsp dried onion

Pour brine over avocados, cover with lid loosely tightened and allow to cool before putting in refrigerator. Not shelf stable! Full flavor after 24hrs. Keeps for 3wks in refrigerator.

I encourage experimenting with the amount of seasonings and adding or subtracting anything to make it what you want. Just imagine how you would want a customized pickle to taste and go for it!

Mother Lovin' Meatballs!

So, in my post entitled "Love Is In The Meatloaf", I gave the basic recipe for the meat mixture to make meatloaf, that called for reserving one pound to make meatballs. You cannot argue with any warm blooded, proud countryman, that homemade meatballs are sacred and that every homemaker worth his or her salt, should know how to make proficiently. There is something about the savory caramelized crust from the browning of the meat, to the satisfying garlic and herb taste that lingers on the tongue that just cannot be copied in a frozen counterpart. So, without further ado, please take some time to master this dish, even make it your own by adding, subtracting, varying the seasonings and tackle this dish with all your heart! Here is the recipe!

Homemade Meatballs

refer to the recipe in "Love Is In The Meatloaf"

Form the meatballs into golf ball size balls. Place on a cookie sheet and cover with foil and freeze until firm. Transfer meatballs to freezer bags and into freezer until you are ready to make spaghetti or meatballs subs with marinara sauce... or, you could try making my Garlic Zucchini Cream Sauce with thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta. Mama Mia!

• 2 Tblsp butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°

Heat oil and butter in crock pot over medium heat until butter is melted. Add single layer of meatballs and cook each side until dark brown (caramelized). Cover and place in oven at 350° for 20-30 min. You can split one ball and make sure center is no longer pink. Then, you can add whatever spaghetti sauce you want and continue to heat until the sauce is bubbly, finally serving over noodles. Or, you can do this:

Garlic Zucchini Cream Sauce

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 small zucchini finely diced
• 3 heaping Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 C. milk
• 1/2 C. heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp flour or use Wondra
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium heat and add garlic. Saute until garlic just starts to golden. Add zucchini and saute until tender. Add milk and cream and continue to stir until heat comes back up and it just starts to bubble. Lower heat and add flour or Wondra and cook until it starts to thicken. Add more milk if too thick. Salt and pepper if needed. Add noodles, and fold in. Next, add your meatballs and enjoy with garlic toast. YUM!

Love Is In The Meatloaf

I love meatballs and spaghetti. Especially with a real meaty sauce and cheese on top. I don't like sweet red sauces. The sauce has to have a lot of garlic and top the charts for savory. So, I took a little time to make meatloaf one night for dinner and took one pound of the seasoned meat and made meatballs that I then froze on a cookie sheet so that they wouldn't stick to each other in a freezer bag. So, the following recipe is for meatloaf to be made right away and the meatballs can be frozen for a dinner later in the week.

• 3 lbs ground beef (I use 80/20 blend)
• 1 dry onion soup mix
• 2 heaping Tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 C. ketchup
• 1/4 C. sun dried tomatoes (Italian seasoned) chopped
• 1/2 C. real bacon crumbles (don't insult the meat w/imitation bacon!)
• 1 C. plain or seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 C. shredded Colby cheese
• 1/2 C. french fried onions (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°

With just the tips of your fingers, blend first eight ingredients well in a very large bowl. Do not squish the meat, as this can affect the texture of the meat adversely.

Set aside one pound of the mixture for now. Take remaining two pounds of the mixture, and pat into a loaf shape in a large baking dish. I highly recommend topping it with the french fried onions. It makes a wonderful crispy topping that put the dish over the top. Do not cover. I like to add red potatoes around the pan to cook with the meatloaf but it's not necessary.

Bake at 350° for approx. 1 hour. Depending on your oven, it may take as much as 1 1/2 hours. Follow guidelines for internal temperatures for beef (I believe it is 160°).

I also serve my meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy (with some of the meat drippings from the meatloaf!). Everyone loves it. If you are lucky enough to have left overs (rare in our house) it makes the most outstanding meatloaf sandwich to surprise the hubby in his lunch at work. Or, for yourself. Next post: Mother Lovin' Meatballs!