Movies and Books and Food, Oh My!

I watched Julie & Julia yesterday afternoon while the wee boy had his nap. I was wary at first because I am not a big Nora Ephron fan, but I totally and completely loved it! So much that I entertained the notion of putting it on my wishlist for my upcoming birthday...but I have so many movies that I need to watch/don't have time to watch (we bought "Once" back in December and still haven't seen it...partly because I'm worried it will be depressing!) that I thought maybe mixing bowls were a better idea. Or if some kind soul wanted to buy me a KitchenAid Mixer...I'm just saying it would get a lot more use. ;)

But I digress! The reason I'm finally updating (Hi, Mom!) is that for Christmas my adorable in-laws gave me a copy of The Pioneer Woman Cooks. I have never really read her blog, but her book had great ratings and I'm always looking for new recipes. It's beautifully photographed and the recipes are easy and tasty what with that extra heart stopping pound of butter.

However, the book is laid out all wrong to be a really useful cookbook. It's a coffee table book, not meant to be near your spattering frying pan. It's hardbound, the pages don't stay open, and they get dirty the minute you walk into your kitchen with it. My biggest pet peeve is she makes some of the recipes far harder than they need to be, and she takes pictures of every. single. step. So you have to turn 3 or 4 pages sometimes to find out what needs to be done next. It's annoying.

So what do I do? I have to sit down with the book and write out the recipes. And after making her meatball recipe 4 times I realized that I could do it so much easier and get the same result, well, it's time for me to write down my revised and easy-to-follow recipes for you.

Comfort Meatballs
P.W. (aka Pioneer Woman, not Pee Wee Herman) says that she was given these by a neighbor when she was nursing her third baby and they saved her from starving. Seeing as I've made this recipe monthly since I got the cookbook, I can confirm that they are as good as advertised. Just imagine little baby meatloaves bathed in delectable barbecue sauce. Even my picky baby boy will eat them!

Meatballs:
1 and 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
3/4 cup quick oats
1 cup milk
3 tablespoons grated onion (hides the onion from small eyes!)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste

-Put the ground beef and oats in a bowl.
-Pour the milk over it, then add the grated onion, salt and pepper.
-Mix everything together well.
-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
-Roll the mixture into walnut sized balls and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet, keeping a little space between each meatball so they don't stick together.
-Put the meatballs into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
-While they're baking prepare the sauce.

Sauce:
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
4-6 tablespoons grated onion
2 dashes ground red pepper or tobasco sauce

-Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl.
-When the meatballs have baked for 10 minutes, take them out of the oven and put them in a 9x13 baking dish.
-Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
-Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
-Put the baking dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
-Serve with mashed potatoes or buttered egg noodles.