The Best Italian Meatballs And Winter Storm

We sure dodged the bullet with the winter storm impact here especially compared to Nashville.  We had a trace of snow on Saturday then rain which continued thru Sunday (while we made the meal below) then about a quarter inch of snow on ice fell overnight Sunday which made our road too dangerous to drive on so our Monday plans were cancelled.  And most importantly, we didn't lose power which I feel very fortunate about since I need it to keep the RV warm.

You know you are a serious Italian cook when you name your blog La Belle Vita Cucina (My Beautiful Life Kitchen), go to Italy to visit and cook with family members, and you attend the famous Mama Agata Cooking Class on Italy’s Amalfi Coast.  And so it is with Roz who takes us on her cooking journey via her blog and who recently published a post titled “Secrets For The Best Italian Meatballs.”  Since Bev and I had just discussed wanting spaghetti and meatballs, Roz’s recipe immediately moved to the top of the list.

Yet Another Tuscan Dish - Creamy Tuscan Chicken Breasts And Cindy Update

When I saw the recipe for Creamy Tuscan Chicken Thighs on the “Café Delights” blog, I knew I had to make it.  But since my ladies prefer breasts to thighs, I made that substitution and I cooked six of them (three for this meal and three for leftovers).

Tuscan White Beans

When Pam posted the recipe for Tuscan Gigante Beans on her “For The Love Of Cooking” blog I new I wanted to make it, but I also know that Bev doesn’t like lima beans in any form – it’s the texture and also applies to chickpeas.  However, she does like white beans so I decided to just make the dish with Great Northern Beans.  Since I was sure we would like the beans, I made a double recipe as shown below.  Click on the link above to check out Pam's site for the original recipe and some great pics.

Lunch At Las Margarita’s 411 Mexican Grill With Kathy And Bev

Once again this year, my Christmas gift to friend Kathy was five lunches at the restaurants of her choice and most of the time, she just has me pick one.  The adjoining towns of Maryille and Alcoa, TN (county population of 140,000) surprisingly have nine Mexican restaurants and one combination store and restaurant.  And for this meal, we picked one of them we had never been to as it was conveniently located for all of us.  Las Margarita’s 411 Mexican Grill is located in a building that had been the go-to mom and pop 411 Restaurant since before I came to the area in 1969.

Delicious Corned Beef Hash For Breakfast

During a recent market trip, Bev picked up two packages of corned beef and I froze the smaller one and cooked the larger one.  I decided it was large enough to eat some for supper with still plenty left over for corned beef hash.  The size of the ingredients is a matter of personal preference but after eating some Neuske’s Corned Beef Hash, I think I like the smaller pieces better even though they take more time to prepare.

Delicious and Easy Vegetable Cheese Sausage Breakfast Casserole And Christmas Tree

I’ve always enjoyed breakfast casseroles and have made, and posted about, many of them over the years and lately I decided I really, really like them as they can be made then eaten on for several days.  For this one, I used the recipe for Easy Vegetable Cheese Sausage Breakfast Casserole from Serious Eats and I made it as shown below.

Happy 2026

 

Bev and I wish you the best for the coming year and we are looking forward to another year together - since 2025 was a good year for us, we will be eating black eyed peas again for good luck today. 

We did our usual New Year's Eve - Watched a little football, had a glass of champagne about 10pm then I went to bed and Bev was shortly behind me.

And here is the list of my New Year's Resolutions

1.