You know I love to roll my favorite flavors into Meatballs of Love!

The warm Indian spices found in Butter Chicken were the perfect pairing for meatballs. And the sauce is pure heaven!

The Curry Spice Blend

Curry in its most basic form is a type of sauce used in Indian cooking. These sauces or gravies are seasoned with a blend of spices, typically including cumin, turmeric, coriander and others like garam masala (which is a blend on its own) and chili powder.

I’ve found preparing the curry spice blend first when making a recipe like this to be a great time saver. Measure once, use twice.

We’re going to incorporate the same seasoning blend in the meatballs and the curry sauce.

• Ground cumin
• Garam masala
• Ground coriander
• Turmeric
• Red chili powder
• Salt

The Chicken Meatball Ingredients

Ground chicken is a wonderful protein that loves big bold flavors. The meatball ingredients come together quickly!

• Ground chicken
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Curry Spice Blend
• Egg
• Panko breadcrumbs

Meatball Preparation

• Mix all the meatball ingredients (except chicken)
• Then add the ground chicken and mix until just combined
• Roll into 1 1/2″ meatballs
• Place on a parchment lined baking sheet
• Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees F. for 20 minutes

The Butter Curry Sauce Ingredients

Like Chicken Tikka Masala, the curry sauce is savory with hints of ginger and garlic. However Butter Chicken also brings a smooth buttery consistency.

• Ghee
• Onion
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Curry Spice Blend
• Tomato paste & sauce
• Chicken broth
• Cream or coconut milk
• Butter
• Salt & sugar to taste

Butter Curry Sauce Preparation

• The sauce begins by sautéing grated onion with melted ghee or butter for 4-5 minutes
• Then the garlic & ginger are added and sautéed for an additional minute
• Add the curry spices and cooked off for a minute
• Add the tomato paste and tomato sauce along with a little chicken broth to bring the ingredients together

• The sauce is then blended until smooth and returned to the pan
• The cream and butter are whisked in
• A final seasoning of salt and a touch of sugar to taste bring the sauce together
• Serve meatballs over basmati rice, covered in curry butter sauce, garnished with fresh cilantro

This sauce is fragrant and full of spice flavor without heat. It’s luscious served over a bed of basmati rice topped with the tender butter chicken meatballs.

Simple Butter Chicken Meatballs over Basmati Rice is on our comfort food rotation!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Simple Butter Chicken Meatballs Over Basmati Rice

The warm Indian spices found in Butter Chicken were the perfect pairing for meatballs. And the sauce is pure heaven!

Course Entree

Cuisine Indian

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Curry Spice Blend

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons garam masala
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons red chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For the Chicken Meatballs

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/4 cup grated onion squeezed dry in kitchen or paper towel
• 3 cloves fine minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
• 2 Tablespoons Curry Spice Blend see above
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (gluten free for GF Version)

For the Butter Curry Sauce

• 2 Tablespoons ghee or butter
• 1/4 cup grated onion
• 3 cloves fine minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon grated ginger
• 3 Tablespoons Curry Spice Blend see above
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk or heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• salt to taste

For the Basmati Rice

• 1 cups basmati rice triple rinsed and drained
• 1 Tablespoon ghee or butter
• 1 3/4 cups water
• Cilantro leaves for garnish

Instructions

For the Curry Spice Blend

• Combine the curry spices in a jar.

For the Chicken Meatballs

• Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients, except the chicken in a large bowl. Add in the ground chicken and mix until just combined. Roll meatballs into 1 1/2" diameter and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

For the Basmati Rice

• Meanwhile, melt ghee in a skillet with a tight fitting lid. Saute rinsed and drained basmati rice for 2-3 minutes until all grains are nicely coated with ghee. Add water and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook an additional 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Fluff with a fork before serving.

For the Butter Curry Sauce

• While meatballs bake and rice cooks, prepare the sauce. Melt ghee in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add in grated onion and saute for 4-5 minutes. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook for an additional minute. Add remaining curry spice blend and stir for 1 minute. Add tomato paste and stir to combine. Then add tomato sauce and chicken broth and whisk until incorporated well. Bring sauce to a gentle boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Transfer sauce to a blender and process until smooth. **Careful with hot liquids when removing blender lid** Add sauce back to saucepan and whisk in cream and butter, heat through. Season with sugar and salt to taste.

  Serve meatballs covered in butter curry sauce with a side of basmati rice. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

The post Simple Butter Chicken Meatballs Over Basmati Rice appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

This dish is incredibly satisfying.

The mild Italian ground sausage is slow cooked with mushrooms, red wine and aromatics until the flavors melt together like your favorite comfort food.

It was that exact flavor profile that inspired this recipe, except it wasn’t a hearty rich Ragù I dreamed of, it was a pizza.

For as long as I can remember my favorite pizza toppings have been sausage and mushroom (very light on the tomato sauce please). The flavor combination is everything!

Our neighborhood gathering spot happens to be an Italian restaurant with a rich personal history.

But it’s the no-fuss comfortable feel we get sitting at the bar that makes this a favorite.

Pre-covid, almost every week Nick and I would choose a night to forgo cooking and belly up to the bar instead. We’d catch up with our favorite bartenders and other folks like us (the “regulars”), have a cocktail, and then we’d order dinner.

Flash forward to a couple weeks ago. After taking nearly a year off from dining-in we went for it. It was a Tuesday, the day had gotten away from us, and we just wanted to sit at the bar. And so we did. I ordered a martini, Nick a G&T and we sipped to our hearts content. For dinner I ordered a sausage & mushroom pizza (on gluten free crust…which is thin & crispy and I positively adore). I’m not sure if it was the nostalgic feeling I got from seeing some old familiar faces or the comfort of my cocktail and pizza toppings but I left Ipp’s inspired that night.

With all of that in mind, it is my intent with this recipe to make it as comfortable as a great slice of pizza (or dirty martini). These gorgeous on-the-vine cherry tomatoes called to me at the market. I knew it would be the perfect way to incorporate the tomato element to this dish without overpowering the Ragù. And since pizza was the inspiration, fresh mozzarella found its way into this giant bowl of love!!

/ comfort food /

noun

“a food that provides consolation or a feeling of well-being”

Because my intention with this dish was to deliver comfort, I served it two ways. Over Herby Polenta {with Smoked Gouda} and over tagliatelle pasta. Both family-style presentations were inviting and delicious and enjoyed by all.

Cheers to the weekend (or weeknight) when dinner is ready in under an hour and delivers familiar comfortable flavors. This Sausage & Mushroom Ragù will do just that. These cocktails will help.

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Sausage & Mushroom Ragù

Cheers to the weekend (or weeknight) when dinner is ready in under an hour and delivers familiar comfortable flavors. This Sausage & Mushroom Ragù will do just that.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For Ragu

• 3-4 Tablespoons olive oil divided
• 3 Tablespoons butter divided
• 1 pound mushrooms sliced
• 1/2 sweet onion about 1 cup fine diced
• 1 shallot fine diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 pound ground mild Italian sausage
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth divided
• salt & pepper to taste

To serve

• 2-3 bunches cherry tomatoes on the vine
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 servings Herbed Polenta or Favorite Pasta Polenta Recipe Link in Post
• fresh mozzarella or parmesan cheese
• fresh parsley for garnish

Instructions

For Ragu

• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespooon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Saute mushrooms in batches until golden brown. Adding additional butter and oil as needed. Remove mushrooms from pan and reserve.
• Saute diced onion and shallot until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add ground sausage to pan, using wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Cook until well browned and cooked through. Return mushrooms to pan and stir to heat through.
• Add red wine and cook until almost evaporated. Stir in tomato paste and 1/2 cup broth, mix well. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste. Add additional broth if needed to desired consistency.
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400° F. Place tomatoes on baking sheet; drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes, just until tomatoes begin to burst.
• Prepare Herby Polenta or favorite pasta.

To serve

• Spoon ragu over a bed of creamy polenta or cooked pasta, topped with roasted tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella pieces or parmesan shavings. Garnish with fresh parsley.

The post Sausage & Mushroom Ragù appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Home of one of my many dream jobs. 

It was one of several recipes that my sister uncovered in a misplaced recipe box. 

I could hardly wait to recreate it, and now that I have I can hardly wait to make it again.  I’m certain the family is completely on board with that.

I have an ongoing, long winded, yet-to-be-published blog post entitled My Dream Job. 

I add to it from time to time, but mostly use it for reflection. 

Below is an excerpt from that post.  Remember…..long winded. 

Feel free to scroll on by to the bottom of the page for this glorious Seafood Newburg recipe.

A stroll down memory lane…

By age 12 (way before child labor laws kicked in) I was ready to make real money.  It was summer.  I arrived at 6:30 am to The Woodbound Inn in Rindge, NH where I would begin every day by peeling 100 lbs. of potatoes.  When finished I would wash salad greens, pick parsley, inventory the walk-in freezer and clean anything that needed to be cleaned.  I eventually graduated to dish washer.  Boy that was a tough job on a busy hot Saturday night.  But I knew if I stuck with it, worked hard without complaint, and didn’t break too many dishes….I could graduate to the dream job.  Bus Girl.  At the coolest vacation spot imaginable.  What a fabulous place to work.

By age 15 I had graduated from bus girl to waitress (living the dream).  My sister had also joined the team.  We realized that we had a special ‘attention to detail’ gift.  Taking the time to ‘clean up’ our plates before they left the kitchen.  We added citrus slices, fresh picked parsley, or anything else we could find to ‘garnish’ the plates as we headed out the door into the dining room, as to not offend the chef.  We’d even pick wild blueberries and blackberries to offer our guests with breakfast.  Without discussion we both got this simple concept. “Go the extra mile.”  All credit to Mom.  Our common denominator.

Woodbound Inn

If you’ve seen the movie Dirty Dancing, envision that kind of resort on a smaller scale.  We had patrons that came back year after year and would stay for 2-3 weeks in the summer. We witnessed the growth of their families, who: always requested the same rooms in the Inn, the same tables in the dining room and could be found in the same front porch rockers most afternoons. 

Our job was to deliver the ‘Woodbound’ experience.  Whether it be during Wednesday Night Cookouts under the Pines (even in the middle of winter), delivering Boxed Lunches to the lakeside beach, serving Seafood Newburg from Friday Night’s Buffet or presenting Saturday Prime Rib Night (with Dott’s Yorkshire Pudding), Oooo and we always gave special attention to the Roast Turkey and Fried Shrimp on Sundays.  This is my chance to come clean.  I did once order an extra Fried Shrimp Dinner knowing full well that I was intending to consume it myself and did.  I later confessed.

After putting my time in at Woodbound and over the years those memories and favorite dishes became engrained.  Sarah finding this Seafood Newburg recipe was like a stroll down memory lane.

The Seafood

Seafood Newburg includes shrimp, scallops and lobster. I chose a lobster tail which I oven roasted with garlic & herb butter before adding the shrimp and scallops.

The Newburg Sauce

• While seafood is cooking, melt butter in skillet. Saute shallot until tender, then add cooked seafood and simmer for one minute. Add cream, sherry and tomato paste; whisk gently to combine. Bring to almost a boil, then reduce heat to low.
• Combine egg yolks with 1/2 cup of cream mixture to temper; then return skillet; whisk to combine. Season with nutmeg, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir in cooked seafood.

Seafood Newburg is luxurious and indulgent and worthy of any special occasion or treat yourself because you’re worth it meal. The sauce is rich yet delicate. Enjoy!

All my best,
xo Libby

The post Seafood Newburg and a Stroll Down Memory Lane appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

With winter ragging across most of the country, I posed this question on Facebook:

What is your favorite soup?

I received a nice variety of responses, which included some of my favorite soups like Broccoli Cheddar and Italian Wedding and others that I had yet to recreate at home.

Nick described his beloved Steak & Potato Soup as “meaty and full of potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. The broth is rich but not too thick.” I’m fairly certain what he described was available in a can and included the word Chunky on the label :) I can work with that and so chunky this soup would be. A fine balance between a soup and a stew.

Soup will generally contain meat or vegetables that are typically brought to a boil in water or broth and served with a generous ratio of broth to meat/vegetables. Whereas a Stew has less liquid, is typically simmered for a longer period and is served with more meat/vegetables and less broth.

For the ‘steak’ you can use your favorite cut. I prefer beginning with tender beef that has some nice marbling. This is the star of the show so why scrimp and use a tough cut of meat?! I used Yukon Gold for the potatoes because I like how they hold together yet are nice and creamy. Fresh thyme is a must and caramelized mushrooms go perfectly in this hearty soup.

I pan brown the steak and mushrooms in batches because a nice sear really helps to build flavor. Remove the beef and mushrooms and reserve them until nearer the end of cooking.

Add onions, carrots and fresh thyme to the same pan and sauté until almost tender. Dust the veggies with flour or arrowroot (for GF), then deglaze the pan with red wine and tomato paste to incorporate all those yummy brown bits from the seared steak, all the while building layers of flavor.

Next comes the cubed potatoes, bay leaves and a nice rich beef stock or bone broth. Simmer soup until potatoes are just fork tender, then return the seared steak and mushrooms to the pot and heat through. Remove the thyme sprigs and bay leaves before serving.

Homemade Steak & Potato Soup got two thumbs up from my favorite taste-tester. This soup will satisfy your best eaters and is the perfect cold-weather blues buster!!

Making homemade soup reminds me of one of my favorite cooking quotes.

“Cooking is a caring and nurturing act. It’s kind of the ultimate gift for someone, to cook for them. It creates all this beautiful stuff, conversation, appreciation, romance. All the most important things in life you do around a dinner table.” ~ Curtis Stone.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

Wishing you a happy table. All my best, Libby

The post Steak & Potato Soup appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Trust me when I tell you once you go with Homemade Enchilada Sauce you’ll never go back to the canned variety.  From start to finish in 20 minutes and worth every one of those.

Take 5 minutes to gather your ingredients before you begin.  Once you start making the sauce it moves quickly.

It’s delicious over your favorite Enchiladas and the star of your Game Day Cheesy Beef Enchilada Dip, but also a great base for Soup.

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Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 3 Tbl. canola oil
• 1 Tbl. flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 10 oz. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan heat oil over medium heat, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Cook for 1 minute, then add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt as necessary.

The post Homemade Enchilada Sauce appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

It’s well worth the 20 minutes it takes to prepare and is so much better than store bought.

The homemade enchiladas sauce comes together rather quickly, so it’s well worth the few extra minutes to gather all of your ingredients in advance.  

• You’ll begin by heating the oil over medium heat in a medium sauce pan.
• Once hot, whisk in the flour and stir for one minute.
• Add the chili powder and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
• Add the broth, tomato paste, ground cumin, oregano, and salt.
• Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• The sauce will thicken and smooth out as it’s cooked and stirred.

This sauce will transform your Chicken Enchiladas and Loaded Easy Chicken Enchiladas Casserole.

Make this sauce…trust me, you will love it.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Homemade Enchiladas Sauce

Homemade Enchiladas Sauce is a complete game-changer. It's well worth the 20 minutes it takes to prepare and is so much better than store bought.

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Author Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

• 3 Tbl. canola or avocado oil
• 1 Tbl. flour
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 10 oz. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Instructions

• In a medium saucepan heat oil over medium heat, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Cook for 1 minute, then add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add stock, tomato paste, oregano, and cumin. Whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt as necessary.

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