Yorkshire Meat Balls, Fruit Pudding Cake

The Thrifty Cook: Tasty budget recipes by the food editors of Farm Journal [1974]

Whilst perusing my collection of cookbooks, I came across these two recipes for which I just happened to have ingredients. Serendipitous! The fact that Yorkshire pudding is one of Husband's most favorite things in the whole wide world, coupled with his love of cake, seemed to indicate that this would be a good day for him.

Or would it. *dun dun dun* I lacked but one ingredient,one which does not fail to strike fear to Husband's heart and send chills down his spine... fake cheese.

Yorkshire Meat Balls
Topping in meat balls tastes like Yorkshire pudding--an ideal main dish for company.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 c. ketchup
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 tblsp. parsley flakes
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 tblsp. water
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
3 tblsp. melted regular margarine
Fast-fix Cheese Sauce

Thoroughly combine ground beef, ketchup, onion soup mix, parsley, pepper, 1 egg and water. Form mixture into 24 balls and place in 6 rows of 4 meat balls each in a well-greased 13x9x2" baking pan.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.

Beat 4 eggs until foamy; blend in milk and margarine. Add dry ingredients all at once; beat with rotary blender just until smooth. Pour over meat balls. Bake in 350 degree oven 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with Fast-fix Cheese Sauce. Makes 8 servings.

Fast-fix Cheese Sauce: Combine 3/4 lb. process cheese spread (Velveeta), cubed, 1/3 c. milk and 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until cheese is melted. Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Fruit Pudding Cake
Good inexpensive dessert. You can use leftover fruits instead of the fruit cocktail. Use 1 1/2 c. fruit and 1/2 to 2/3 c. of their juice.

1 (1 lb. 1 oz.) can fruit cocktail
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. sifted flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
Whipped dessert topping

Place fruit and juice in mixing bowl; add egg and vanilla. Sift flour, white sugar, salt, and baking soda over it. Beat with spoon until smooth. Pour into greased 13x9x2" baking pan. Sprinkle on brown sugar and nuts. Bake in 325 degree oven 40 to 45 minutes, or until pudding begins to pull away from the sides of pan. Cut into squares and serve with whipped dessert topping. Makes 9 servings.

Verdict:

Yorkshire Meat Balls: YES, "Meat Balls" is two words. I love Yorkshire pudding. This is much like meatbally toad-in-the-hole. The meatballs are a little salty from the onion soup mix, but other than that, it's really nice! Especially when bites are dipped in beef broth, an activity which transports Husband into raptures. BUT WAIT. There is NO beef broth there is, in its place... cheese sauce. But not just cheese sauce. Cheese sauce is fantastic. This, this here, is fake cheese sauce, the kind that instantly forms a rubbery skin both on its own surface and on the back of your teeth.

When Husband realized that one of his favorite things had been replaced with one of his least favorite things, his sadness was pathetic to behold. He gamely ate one pudding-imprisoned meatball with "cheese" sauce before sighing and making beef broth. After a few bites with "cheese" sauce, I joined him. The cheese sauce isn't bad, it's just not... not... right.

Fruit Pudding Cake: Tasty times! And better than eating straight-up fruit cocktail. Fruit cocktail is the worst. I don't even remember buying it! How did it get in my pantry? How does it always appear at the back of the pantry? I think bad wizards must put it there.

Anyway, this was moist and delicious, with a lovely topping. The grapes were still squidgy and unnatural, but really, one can only ask so much. It's a cake, not a miracle machine.