Staying on the theme of Christmas and my favorite recipes, I again offer you my recipe for Swedish Meatballs. Which BTW, was one of my kids’ favorite dishes. (Probably still is!) They would gobble the meatballs up every time I made them. And for me, they were easy to build. Especially if I’d made the meatballs ahead and either refrigerated them overnight or hid them in the freezer.

So, even on a work night, I could throw this dish in the oven and dinner would be ready in about an hour. That left me time to start a load of laundry, make a salad or steam a green veggie, and slowly unwind from my workday. And I often needed that little bit of time to transition from managing people at work, to managing kids at home. (Not that different BTW!) It also left me time to talk with the kids about their day, even though we would be sitting down to dinner together and every subject imaginable would be fodder for our conversations. With 4 kids there were always stories to be told. Sometimes even more information was provided than I wanted or felt I needed to know. But the discussions were always lively. And I learned a lot about what the kids were experiencing just by these easy and relaxed exchanges. But I bet you are wondering why Swedish Meatballs would be considered a Christmas dish.

Every Christmas Eve my sister-in-law Evelyn and brother-in-law Dan and their kids feast on homemade lefsa and Swedish Meatballs. They spend the day making the lefsa and the meatballs and it is a tradition cherished by one and all. So, I too think of Swedish Meatballs as a part of what makes Christmas special.

So, if you too are still making Christmas traditions, I offer this recipe for your consideration. But don’t stop at Christmas time to serve this dish to family and friends. Meatballs are good any old time of year.

Well, enough posting for today. There are presents still to be ordered. And Christmas goodies to be baked.

But before I leave you today, just a hint about making cookies. Especially if you are crazy like me and insist that there be several different types of cookies for family and friends to enjoy. Make all the dough one day and bake it off the next. Most cookies profit from time spent in the fridge anyway. And make refrigerator cookies whenever possible. Much easier slicing the dough rather than shaping it. And making all the dough in one day only makes sense.

I place all the ingredients I will be using that day on a kitchen counter or sometimes on my kitchen table. Then any recipe calling for room temperature butter, vanilla, all-purpose flour, etc. etc., is right at hand. No putting ingredients away just to have to get them out again for the next recipe.  Plus, you only make a mess one time. And measuring cups and spoons if used for dry ingredients can be used repeatedly thus saving time for cleanup. And yes, it took me years to figure this out. But there is no looking back now. This system just plain makes cookie baking easier and faster.

OK Patti, enough pontificating. Let these fine folks get back to their real lives. And the real reason they are reading this post in the first place!

As always, may you find peace and love in your life. And Merry Christmas.

⅓ c. dehydrated chopped onion

½ tsp. granulated garlic

2 T. parsley (dried or fresh)

½ tsp. ground savory

¼ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. dried thyme leaves

¼ tsp. dried rosemary

pinch nutmeg

½ tsp. seasoned salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs

2 T. milk

¾ c. uncooked oats

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. pork sausage

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 tsp. beef base

2 c. sour cream

Combine the onion, garlic, parsley, savory, paprika, thyme, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, pepper, eggs, and milk in a bowl. Add the oats, ground beef, and pork sausage. Form into balls with a small ice cream scoop. Place on a low sided baking pan and bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Meanwhile whisk the cream of mushroom soup, beef base, and sour cream together. When meatballs are out of the oven, layer them with the sour cream mixture in a covered casserole.

Cover dish and bake at 350-degree for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue baking an additional 15 minutes.

Great served with thick al dente egg noodles.