Our chicken nuggets have been such a success that Meghan and I decided to add meatballs as a group cooking project. She even had a “secret” family recipe for us to use. Very easy – ground beef, spinach, breadcrumbs (homemade), egg, herbs, garlic and onion. This recipe appealed to me because of the spinach – extra nutrition and great flavor. And pretty, the little meatballs looked like marbled pink granite before we baked them.

They take longer to bake than the chicken nuggets, but the whole process seemed to go faster. And since they bake longer (and make the house smell amazing), we had some down time to just talk and chase down the kiddos who were hiding in a built-in entertainment cabinet. Hannah and Cody really liked watching the meatballs cook, though, and would come look through the window periodically to make sure they were still there.

After tasting the finished product, we agreed it could have used more salt, so we decided to positively brand this batch as “low sodium” and “heart healthy.” Good on their own but really tasty covered in sauce. Hannah didn’t like them, but she’s in one of her food funks again and only wants to eat toast, smoothies, and popsicles. I’ll freeze the extras, and I’m pretty sure the next time I pull them out she’ll be a fan.

And there are lots of options for using meatballs – plain, on pasta with sauce, in a pita or on a sandwich, sliced on pizza, or stuck with a cute toothpick to look like a fancy appetizer. When they’re frozen, they only take 30 seconds in the microwave and they’re ready to enjoy. Yum!

My “More-with-Less” cookbook is surprisingly diverse. I was expecting page after page of German and Midwestern recipes – read generally BLAND. However, many of the recipes were submitted by Mennonite missionaries from across the globe, so I found more appealing options than I expected.

One recipe that has been unique to add to my rotation of regulars is Pakistani Kima. It’s basically a beef curry with other vegetables, served on rice. Still skeptical about the authenticity of a recipe from a Midwestern cookbook, I did a little research and found that keema is a traditional Indian and Pakistani dish with ground meat. I think this version is slightly Americanized, but the basics hold true. After making this a few times, I have tweaked the recipe a bit, so the following is my own edit.

Pakistani Kima

• 2 T. butter or vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 T. curry powder
• 1/4 tsp. each of cinnamon, ginger and turmeric
• 2 cans petite diced tomatoes, drained
• 2 potatoes, peeled, diced and par-cooked (microwave on high 4 minutes, stirring once)
• 1 12-oz bag frozen green beans (steam-in-the bag variety, microwave 3 minutes)

Cook onions and garlic in butter/oil. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Add all other ingredients and stir. Simmer for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Serve over cooked rice.

The “More-with-Less” recipe version calls for green beans or peas, and from what I’ve read the peas would be more authentic. But I prefer green beans. The spices provide great warmth and flavor; this is not a spicy curry. It’s easy prep and easy clean-up. I figured it comes to around $7 for ingredients, plus rice and spices I already had in my pantry. That is just over $1 per serving – wow! Even Hannah liked it, though she mostly went for the potatoes. Maybe she would have preferred it with peas.

One of my favorite sandwiches to order at a restaurant is the classic BLT. I enjoy the original three ingredients – crunchy lettuce, cold juicy tomato and crispy, salty bacon. My award for classic BLT with the most bacon (dare I say almost too much? if too much bacon is even possible) would go to Sid’s Rainbow Grill in Carrollton, TX. The bacon was thick and crispy, not overly greasy, perfectly done and piled on.

I like the classic, but I also like the unique spins that many restaurants put on the BLT. My favorite sandwich of all time is the BBLT at The Leaning Pear in Wimberley, TX. The BBLT stands for bacon, brie, lettuce and tomato, all on toasted sourdough. Serious yum.

One of our favorite local places Kerbey Lane Cafe has a new BLT on their summer seasonal menu – the Fried Green Tomato BLT with prosciutto and pesto mayo.

This was definitely different but really tasty. Combining fried stuff and bacon is always a good idea.

One of my earliest consumed BLT variations was my mom’s TLT – tofu, lettuce and tomato. Sounds really weird but is great with BBQ sauce. What’s the best BLT you’ve ever eaten?

I am a big fan of slow cookers. Even in my college apartment days, my roommate and I would often use a slow cooker for meals. It was easy to throw everything in before class and then come home to a hot tasty meal at the end of the day. We ate our share of ramen noodles and canned soup, but even as college students we were able to cook and eat “real food” thanks to shortcuts like the slow cooker.

So there’s lots to love about my favorite small appliance. However, I did not love clean-up. While it was slow-cooking my food, it was slow-caking residue that required soaking, scrubbing, scraping, more soaking, etc to remove. People say that spraying the pot with non-stick spray helps, but that never worked for me.

Then my life was changed. My mother-in-law blessed me with the introduction of Slow Cooker Liners. They rock my world. I plan slow-cooked meals several times a month, and I have also started cooking dried beans (in the slow cooker) instead of using cans. My average monthly slow-cooker usage probably comes between 25 and 30 hours. That’s a lot of time that stuff could be crusting onto my slow cooker pot. Instead, it looks almost brand new thanks to these handy plastic bags (BPA-free, btw).

These are a disposable, one-time-use item, and while I am trying to make changes to “go green” around here, I also take convenience into consideration. I also considered all the water I was using trying to wash off baked-on food. Given these factors, I decided that liners are the way to go. I wish they’d sell them at Costco in giant boxes.

And – yay! – if you go to their website, they’ll give you a coupon for $1 off a box. That’s over 50% off for me at HEB. If you think slow cookers are just for winter stews and pot roasts, here are a few of my more summery favorites to keep you going:

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Slow Cooker So-Easy Sloppy Joes

Slow Cooker Barbecued Beans and Sausage (see my post here)