Enchilada Albondigas (Meatballs)

Makes 14-16 1 oz. meatballs

20-30 minutes cook time

1 slice sandwich bread (sub 1/4 cup almond flour for keto or whole 30 preparation)

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

1 egg

1 tsp. onion powder

1 crushed garlic clove

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. chili powder

2 cups prepared enchilada sauce (recipe below)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (as garnish)*

Pulse bread in the bowl of your food processor to make a fine crumb. In a bowl, combine meatball ingredients with bread crumbs and mix well with a fork. Shape meat into balls a bit larger than a tablespoon. Sauté in olive oil over medium heat in a large non-stick frying pan. Once the balls are set but not cooked through, add 2 cups of sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes over low. When meatballs are ready, cover in cheese and serve with rice or veggies.

*Cheese is not included on the whole 30 diet plan and may be omitted from recipe.

Yields 2 quarts of sauce 

30 minutes cook time 


2 Tbsp. olive oil 
1 large yellow onion
6 dried Ancho chilies
6 dried California chilies
6 dried Guajillo chilies
2-3 Arbol chilies (optional, these chilies add heat)
2 cloves fresh garlic

Salt and pepper to taste 

5 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
Water (optional, for thinning) 


In a large sauce pan, sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat until it begins to caramelize. Add dried chilies with seeds and stems removed. Sauté 2-3 minutes and add garlic. Continue cooking until garlic becomes fragrant. Season with salt and pepper. Add chicken stock and tomatoes, and bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover pot with a lid and allow chilies to steep for 20 minutes. Blend the mixture with a stick blender or in your standard blender. Bring enchilada sauce to a boil again and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper. If the sauce is thicker than you’d like, add a bit more chicken stock or water to thin. This sauce packs a mild heat and has a rich smoky flavor.

Lime and Peach Vodka Fizz

Happy New Year!

Makes one cocktail

2 oz. Heritage Distilling Peach Vodka

1 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice

1 Tbsp. honey

1 egg white

5 ice cubes

1 oz. club soda

lime slices for garnish

Add the first four ingredients to a shaker, without ice, and shake until honey is dissolved. Open shaker and add five ice cubes. Shake for 10 seconds. Pour into chilled cocktail glass, then top with club soda and add lime slices for garnish.

Buttermilk Braised Leg of Lamb and Crispy Olive Oil Potatoes & Horseradish Sour Cream

With Christmas fast approaching, one of the things on your mind might be a special and unique meal to serve your loved ones. A leg of lamb for Christmas is not only traditional, it’s absolutely show-stopping! It’s very common to marinate lamb in yogurt and milk and buttermilk. I decided to take that custom a bit further in developing this recipe. I wanted to try out a braise in buttermilk.  

To braise something simply means to cook in dry heat, slowly, in liquid. The liquid must cover at least half of the meat. The acid in the buttermilk helps to tenderize the meat as it cooks, and it also helps to mellow any gamey flavors in the meat. We chose an American lamb (raised here in the States on a farm in California) that’s already known for its brilliant, mild flavor, and cooking the meat in buttermilk made it mouth-watering, tender, juicy, and exactly what you’d want to serve during Christmas. The buttermilk helps give a gloss to the top of the roast and the onions that cook in the braising liquid are pure gold with a crispy bite of potato and horseradish cream. I hope that you will try this recipe for your Christmas roast.  Merry Christmas & happy holidays from us at Rustic Joyful Food! 

Buttermilk Braised Leg of Lamb for Christmas

Serves 6-8

2 medium-sized onions, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed

2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. of piment d'espelette**
1 4-5 lb. leg of lamb*

2 cups buttermilk
1 cup water
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. cracked black pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 325°. Lay sliced onions, garlic, rosemary, and bay leaf in the bottom of an enamel-covered cast iron or Dutch oven. A roasting pan covered tightly with heavy duty foil works as well. Cover onions, garlic, and herbs with olive oil and piment d’esplette. Place lamb on top of onions, fatty side up. Cover with buttermilk, water, salt, and pepper. Cover tightly with a lid and bake for 3-4 hours. Meat will be fork tender and juicy. This lamb can become dry if the braising liquid evaporates. If liquid appears low, add a touch more water. Milk solids in buttermilk will curdle. Skim them off finished braise if desired, though they are perfectly edible. Allow meat to rest in its juices for 15 minutes before slicing. Ladle a bit of onions and broth over top of sliced meat before serving.

* Ours was de-boned, but bone-in would help to keep meat moist. It will weigh another pound with the bone.

** Paprika is a great substitute.

Crispy Olive Oil Potatoes & Horseradish Sour Cream 

5 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, diced into roughly one-inch cubes
1 tsp. kosher or pink Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread potatoes evenly on the parchment. Season with salt and pepper and olive oil. Using clean hands or a large spoon, stir to coat each potato with oil. Bake 45-60 minutes until potatoes are crisp and tender.

Horseradish Sour Cream

1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. prepared mild horseradish 
1/2 garlic clove, smashed and finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste 

Mix, then chill for an hour before serving.