Mississippi Meatballs

 

From the people that brought you that insanely popular recipe for Mississippi Pot Roast, welcome, if you will, Mississippi Meatballs! The meatball recipe is even simpler than the pot roast because all you are going to do is plop the ingredients in a slow cooker and then walk away.

I stumbled on the Pot Roast recipe 10 years ago after it made the NY TIMES recipe of the year: (https://terrygruggen.blogspot.com/2016/12/mississippi-pot-roast.html). And it is so loved that I have made it part of my permanent repertoire. And now I can get the same flavor profile of the roast in comfy, round meatballs. No prep required.

I do not recommend making your own meatballs from scratch. Homemade meatballs will fall apart when used in this recipe and add too much fat to the sauce. So save yourself the work and buy a bag of frozen meatballs. Costco sells my favorite....albeit in a 6-pound bag! Well, that just means you can make this recipe 3 times.

The ingredients are simple. Meatballs, butter, packets of ranch dressing and au jus seasonings and pepperoncini.  If your palate finds the pepperoncini too hot, just substitute banana peppers. And while this recipe is killer as Hors d' Oeuvres for a crowd, I like using it as an entree. My favorite way is to serve the meatballs and sauce over buttered, dumpling egg noodles. This Mrs. Sippy recipe yields approximately 24 single meatballs....enough for Hors d'Oeuvres for 12 or entrees for 6.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds frozen beef meatballs

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup beef broth

1-ounce packet of powdered au jus gravy mix

1-ounce packet of powdered ranch dressing mix

1 stick unsalted butter, sliced into 8 pieces

8 pepperoncini peppers

DIRECTIONS

1. Place frozen meatballs in a slow cooker.
2. In a large measuring cup combine water, broth and the 2 powdered packets. Mix thoroughly and pour over top of meatballs. Stir all to coat.
3. Add butter slices and pepperoncini randomly on top of meatballs.
4. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to prevent burning.
5. Serve meatballs with sauce on the top.

Wine pairing: Syrah

Few are aware that a meatball is actually a fruit.

Crispy Homemade Tacos

 

This is a Cook's Illustrated, all-time favorite recipe of mine. I've been using it for close to 40 years and we eat it several times a month. So why revisit it here in 2026? Because there is a new tool out there that crisps up your tacos without deep frying.

Becky gave me a pair of these stainless steel taco holders for my birthday and I am totally smitten. First, because the stand makes it incredibly easy to build your tacos. Slip the shells into the slots, add in the main ingredients and you are good to go. Second, the stainless steel material amplifies the heat in the oven and crisps up the shells to perfection. 

Each stainless steel tray holds six tacos. They have silicone handles which makes it easy to slide in and out of the oven or grill. And stainless steel makes them very easy to clean...we just slap them in the dishwasher. Both Blackstone and Weber sell this specific design (perforated stainless steel walls). A pair will run you anywhere from $25 to $40 and are available most anywhere online (Becky got mine at Amazon).

Make sure you use corn taco shells.....either yellow or white corn will do. Do not use flour shells as they will burn in the oven. And for the cheese, I recommend Chihuahua quesadilla cheese. It melts perfectly in the oven! And don't forget all the taco fillings of choice: salsa, hot sauce, lettuce, sour cream, avocados, jalapeños, chipotle peppers, guacamole, etc.

INGREDIENTS

For the Taco Meat Filling

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 teaspoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons cider vinegar 

For the Shells and Toppings
12 yellow corn taco shells
1 cup shredded Chihuahua quesedilla cheese (from Costco) or shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven or grill to 350º.
2. Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cayenne pepper and salt; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3.  Add ground beef and cook, breaking meat up with wooden spoon and scraping pan bottom to prevent scorching, until beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce, chicken broth, brown sugar and vinegar; bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently and breaking meat up so that no chunks remain, until liquid has reduced and thickened (mixture should not be completely dry), about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. 
4. Spoon meat into the individual shells on the taco rack and then add cheese to each taco. Place racks in oven or on the grill and heat for about 10 minutes until the taco shells are crisp (if your oven has convection, switch it on for the last 5 minutes for extra crisping). Then serve for people to add their favorite toppings.

 Pairing: Ice Cold Pacifico