Warming up with a comforting meatball stew before the big storm...

Around this same time last year while we were living back in Maryland, we did our monthly trip (it was a fairly far drive) to Trader Joe's and came across one of their new seasonal products. We only got one box and quickly snacked our way through it - we decided to make an early trip back a couple weeks later only to find they had sold out a week earlier and they just could not keep up with the demand.

Neither of us forgot about the item and when I saw Jeff do a little happy dance (a sight to be seen!) when we went to the Minneapolis (St. Louis Park actually) Trader Joe's this past weekend, I knew exactly what he found!

They make their "house" version of Oreo's called Joe Joe's (fitting if I do say so myself!) in a few different flavors, but these limited candy cane ones are so good! There is just enough filling, somewhere between a regular Oreo and a double stuffed, between the two crisp cookies and that filling is laced with little peppermint crunchies. We bought a couple boxes and I have a feeling we should probably get a couple extra to hide so we can enjoy them throughout the season - I'd love to give these a try in those Oreo Truffle Balls, dipping them in dark chocolate instead, and dusting the tops with a bit of crushed candy canes!

We are expecting a big snow storm this weekend (or so they say...) and the winds are really howling tonight - thankfully I had already planned to have this Hungarian Meatball Stew which warmed us right up.

Lean ground sirloin is bound together with bread crumbs, an egg and garlic - once combined, the meat is divided into 1 1/2" meatballs. The meatballs are browned in two batches to allow each round to get a golden caramelized crust. Carrots, onions and celery are diced up and added to the oil and juices left behind from the meatballs - while allowing the vegetables to soften, this also gives you a chance to get any of those savory little bits off of the bottom of the pan. So the sauce of the stew has some body, a couple tablespoons of flour are added, along with the same amount of sweet paprika, and allowed to briefly cook to lose that flour-y taste.

Beef broth is the liquid of choice as it brings such a rich depth to the sauce - once the broth has been added and comes to a boil, pungent caraway seeds are tossed in, along with the meatballs, to add a flavor very reminiscent of rye bread. After bubbling for a few minutes to warm everything through, we portioned the stew out over buttered egg noodles to round out the meal. Adding the noodles made this so hearty and comforting - with lots of "Mmmm..." sounds coming from Jeff as he ate, this recipe will definitely be made again, especially in the dead of winter.

Recipes
Hungarian Meatball Stew