I found out today I am a finalist in the Girl Scout Cookie recipe contest with my Chocolate Peanut Butter Tag-A-Dos Cheesecake!!! I am thrilled, but now I really need your help – the winner is determined by who gets the most votes, so I really need you to go here and cast your vote. Now for the fun part…so if I win, I get $250 (plus Girl Scout Cookies, for my team at work). I have never done a give-away on my blog before, so I am going to try something new. Please leave me a comment on the charity you think is most deserving of the money – and as a bonus, the wonderful company that I work for is going to match my donation, which means $500 to a deserving organization. The only rule is that it must have a valid 501 (c) (3) public charity status. My daughter will pick a random comment, and if I win – that charity will be given $500. So please send this blog post to your friends, ask them to vote, and leave a comment with a the charity of your choice – and better yet, post a link on your Facebook account or Twitter – this is a great cause!!
On a completely different topic – I have some milestones that I would like to acknowledge – I just posted my 300th recipe – can you believe it? I certainly can’t – but again, I do cook a lot. I love looking back to the first few posts, to see how much the blog has changed. In addition, I am one person away from having 500 subscribers – now that is even more amazing to me than the number of blog posts! When I started this blog, I never imagined that anyone would ever read it, outside of my family and friends. Then I discovered Foodgawker and Tastespotting, and now I have Pinterest to thank. It is amazing how these sites can get people to your blog – so thanks to all those sites that have helped me reach these milestones.
It must be my lucky day, because my blog friend Kirsty just posted her Banana Bread recipe contest, and my mother’s recipe came in a tie for second. I am thrilled, and so should you Mom!! She had a lot of great recipes, so I am honored to have come out almost on top. Thanks Kirsty!!
And, I almost forgot – Kristi from Necessary Indulgences awarded me a Liebster’ed Award – this is my first blog award! Thanks very much Kristi – I really appreciate it, and what a surprise that was!! Kristi has a lovely blog, so please check it out…
Now, I think I have used up my blogging time tonight…so I leave you with this recipe for Swedish Meatball Stoup, which I adapted from Rachael Ray. Normally, I am not a huge fan, but I must say – she makes some great dishes with meatballs. I made this for a crowd of people the other weekend, and it was a huge hit – for the kids and the grownups. It will take you longer than 30 minutes to make this, but it is worth it – and while you are waiting for it to cook – maybe you can vote for me again…
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) (once around the pan)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 1/2 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 1 large carrot, cut into rounds
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef stock or broth
- 1 quart chicken stock or broth
- 1/3 pound ground veal
- 1/3 pound ground beef
- 1/3 pound ground pork
- 2 rounded teaspoonfuls Dijon mustard
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 to 2/3 cup plain bread crumbs (about 3 generous handfuls)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
- 1/2 pound medium or wide egg noodles
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or fresh dill, your choice
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat a medium soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add the EVOO and butter and when the butter melts into the EVOO, add the mushrooms, celery, carrots, onions, and bay leaf. Cook until the mushrooms are tender and the celery, carrots, and onions begin to soften, 7 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the flour. Cook for another minute. Whisk in the beef and chicken stock to combine. Cover the pot and bring to a boil.
While the soup comes to a boil, mix the meat with the mustard, egg, bread crumbs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Roll the meat into small balls, 1 inch in diameter, tops. Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment, and bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until slightly browned.
Remove the lid from the soup and add the balls. After 2 to 3 minutes, stir in the egg noodles and cook for 6 minutes more. Turn off the heat and stir the sour cream into the stoup. Adjust the salt and pepper and fish out the bay leaf. Serve the stoup with a generous sprinkle of either chives or dill.
For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here: Swedish Meatball Stoup
First Look, Then Cook 
Congratulations Dawn! I’m so excited for you. :) I already voted. And if I can vote again, I certainly will. (Shhh!) And congrats on all the followers – well-deserved if I say so myself. Thank you also for the shout-out. As you know – we loved your banana bread!
As for my charity pick: March of Dimes. (Mr. N was premature…)
Good choice Kristy, thanks!!
Congrats on your finalist status, they look delicious!
My charity suggestion was going to be Make-A-Wish Foundation, as they do such great work for kids and families that are dealing with challenges that fun-loving children should not have to be subject to. Plus, I figured that in a sense, it would be kids helping kids, since the inspiration for the dessert is via the Girl Scouts. That said, I forgot about March of Dimes (posted above,) and since our boys were so premature, I have a soft spot for them too, and they would be worthy recipients. Maybe co-champions!?
I love it Eric, thanks!
Congratulations on all of your achievements! Awesome 500 followers and 300 posts , you have come a long way. Looking forward to reading the next 1000 posts. Take care, BAM
Thanks!!
Congratulations, Dawn! (And to Karen also — our first cooking teacher! How about some Pepperoni Bread for the blog??)
With your winnings, I suggest a charitable organization that helps children in some way, by helping them to make healthy lifestyle decisions (food choices, exercise, etc…).
Good luck! xo
Great idea Mari – thanks!!
Congrats Dawn! I am so happy for you! I voted this morning and will also vote again if they let me! I love your blog and you do such a good job explaining the recipes. It is also fun to get a glimpse of how your kiddos respond to your recipes!
My vote for the charity would be: Seattle Children’s Hospital Foundation. EIN#911156519. This money would go into the uncompensated care fund to continue to provide care for anyone that walks through their doors. Good luck!
Thanks Meredith!!
Would love you to donate to our charity, http://www.causeforthepaws.org. We hold fundraisers for St. Louis Area animal shelters and rescues. Next event April 21! thanks!!!!
Congrats Dawn. I enjoy making your recipes and look forward to your posts every Saturday morning.. that is my private coffee and recipe time :)
Thanks Robyn!! I love that you do that…I need some of that!
Dawn, you totally deserve to win! I’ve already voted and am cheering you on. An organization that is very near and dear to our hearts is, Alex’s Lemonade Stand. This organization raises money to help fight childhood cancers. It truly is a grassroots organization encouraging families to go out and setup old fashion lemonade stands — all proceeds go toward cancer research. Good luck to you!!
Thanks Maya, did you start this charity for Alex??
Actually, Alex’s Lemonade Stand started long before our Alex’s battle with cancer. Of course we were drawn to the charity at first by it’s name and then once we learned about all the good things they’ve done, it became a charity we’ve supported ever since. One of these days we’ll hold our very own lemonade stand here in the neighborhood — we’ve tried before but just couldn’t get our act together in time for the lemonade season. Perhaps this summer it will happen.
Dawn, here’s the link to the charity.
http://www.alexslemonade.org/about
since march is quickly approaching, i would recommend a donation to the blue note fund. march is national colorectal cancer awareness month. the blue note fund gives grants to colon cancer patients who are currently undergoing treatment. these grants go directly to the patient and can be used for non-medical items that insurance will not cover, such as gas to and from doctor’s appointments (some folks travel hours for treatment!), assistance with utilities and groceries, etc.
in 2011, grants were given to over 400 families. you can visit this webpage for more info: http://www.ccalliance.org/bluenotefund/index.html
this is a great idea, you are so generous!
Thanks Candace, I just I hope I can pull off a win!
That noodle soup looks delicious! And wish you good luck hope you win.
THanks, your blog is amazing!!!!
My mom always made swedish meatballs on Christmas Eve so I will have to send her this recipe.
For the GS Cookie contest, I second Maya’s nomination of Alex’s Lemonade Stand for childhood cancer research.
Fingers and toes crossed!
Dawn – your cookie recipe looks amazing, and I’m dying to try my hand at making them once I get my hands on some Girl Scout cookies.
Here’s a charity suggestion:
Charity : Water
They are a fantastic organization, and 100% of public donations go toward their actual work – which is funding and building clean water projects in developing countries.
The childhood cancer research is definitely the one to go for.
Congrats on the special swedish meatballs.
Dawn,
Congratulations on being a finalist!!!
I suggest donating to Mazon, a charity whose mission is responding to hunger. To balance all the beautiful pictures of the delicious food on your blog, it would be nice to help those who go to bed hungry.
Love,
Dad
thanks.very good blog and very good share.