Pesto Meatballs

I really wish I had photographed these BEFORE putting on the sauce so you can see the amazing color of these Pesto Meatballs from The Food Network Magazine.

I usually bake my meatballs and am not used to frying - I had a few casualties. But the flavor of these meatballs is so intense and powerful that it's worth it. I used store-bought pesto but can only imagine the punch of homemade. What a great summery twist to a go-to comfort meal!

Pesto Meatballs
from The Food Network Magazine, by way of Carrie's Sweet Life

• 2 pounds ground meat
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 cup pesto
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Form into small balls. Cook in a nonstick skillet with olive oil, 10 to 12 minutes.

Crockpot Meatball and Veggie Stew

One of the best things about having mom-friends is that you're all in the same boat with the same priorities.  As much as we love to cook, no one wants to spend hours in the kitchen prepping dinner when there are too many games of Uno to be played or pages to be colored or Lego towers to be built.  Yet, of course, it is important to keep our families' bellies full of nutritious food.

My friend Colleen recognizes the value of the crockpot as much as I do - I'm pretty sure I've said that before!  This stew she posted a few months ago really hit the spot during a snow storm.  I served it plain, but this would go great over egg noodles!

If you want to "lighten up" this meal, use turkey meatballs instead (store-bought or homemade) and low-fat gravy.

Crockpot Meatball and Vegetable Stew
from Better Homes and Gardens

• 1 16- to 18-ounce package frozen cooked meatballs
  
• 1/2 of a 16-ounce package (about 2 cups) loose-pack frozen broccoli, corn, and red sweet peppers, or other mixed vegetables
  
• 1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes with onion and garlic, or stewed tomatoes, undrained
  
• 1 12-ounce jar mushroom gravy
  
• 1/3 cup water
  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed

Place meatballs and frozen vegetables in a 4 quart slow cooker.

In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes, gravy, water, and basil; pour over meatballs and vegetables.

Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

I love meatballs, and I love trying new ways to make them.  This recipe is fast, easy, and healthy - perfect for a quick weeknight meal.  The flavor of the meatballs coupled with the dipping sauce is reminiscent of take-out, only much better for your budget and waistline.

Asian Turkey Meatballs With Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce
from Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Size: 3 meatballs • Calories: 229 • Points: 4.75 pts

• 1/4 cup panko crumbs
• 1-1/4 lbs 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil

Dipping Sauce

• 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 chopped fresh scallion

Preheat oven to 500°F.

Mix ground turkey, panko, egg, salt, scallions, cilantro, 1 tbsp soy sauce, and 2 tsp oil and mix with your hands until combined well. Shape 1/4 cup meat mixture into a ball and transfer to a baking dish. Repeat with remaining mixture. Bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes.

For the dipping sauce mix together lime juice, water, soy sauce, and remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a bowl. Add scallions.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Stir sauce, then drizzle meatballs with 1 tablespoon sauce.

Serve meatballs with remaining sauce. Chances are you won't use all the dipping sauce.

Teriyaki Meatballs

I recently discovered the blog My Kitchen Cafe and have saved a ton of her recipes to try. A few weeks ago, I made her fluffy cous cous, and I topped them with these delicious Teriyaki Meatballs.

Together, this was a perfect dinner. I loved the flavor of the sauce, and I really appreciated that the meatballs were baked and not fried. Not only are they healthier that way, but much easier!


Meatballs:

• 2 pounds ground beef (at least 90% lean)
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons milk

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup cold water

For the sauce, in a medium bowl mix the soy sauce, 1 3/4 cups water, ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar, honey and cornstarch together. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch into the 1/2 cup cold water. Set both bowls aside.

For the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients except for the ground beef and mix well. Add the ground beef and mix until combined. Form ground beef mixture into 1 to 1 1/2-inch meatballs. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat two tablespoons oil over medium heat until the oil is rippling and hot. Add the meatballs to the hot skillet and brown on all sides, turning with a pair of tongs. The meatballs don't need to be completely cooked through, just equally browned on all sides.

When the meatballs have browned, pour the sauce ingredients over the meatballs and gently turn the meatballs to coat them in the sauce. Heat the sauce until just simmering and add the cornstarch/water mixture, carefully mixing so as not to break apart the meatballs as you combine the cornstarch mixture with the teriyaki sauce. Simmer the meatballs and sauce over medium heat, maintaining a constant simmer but not cooking at too high of a boil, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is thick and smooth (if the sauce becomes overly thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time to thin), about 10-15 minutes, turning the meatballs every two or three minutes to ensure even cooking. Serve over rice or couscous.

Superbowl Snack Throwdown: Mini BBQ Meatballs

Another Friday; another voting session!  Kick off your weekend by visiting HighLowAha to cast your vote for your favorite game food; polls are open until 9pm EST.

This week's secret ingredient was turkey.  I am very happy to present to you a very versatile appetizer - something that is suitable for cooks of all levels.

A few months ago, I stumbled upon The Pioneer Woman's BBQ Meatballs.  I've made them repeatedly, and each time they are delicious.  I've used them in sandwiches, on top of mashed potatoes, mixed with pasta, and on their own; no matter how I've prepared them, they were amazing. 

Now that the cold weather is absolutely upon us, this recipe is the first thing I thought up when trying to come up with a turkey snack.  I frequently make this meal with ground turkey rather than beef in an effort to be a bit healthier, and I actually find them yummier as well.

So for this week, I shrunk 'em down and adjusted the sauce to make these the perfect snack to grab while watching your team.

Perhaps the best part about this is that, truly, anyone can make these.  While they are time consuming, they are very basic and simple.  Short on time?  No problem!  Grab a package of pre-made meatballs and just make the sauce.  Easy peasy.

My three-year-old LOVES these, and so will your guests.  Enjoy!

Meatballs

• 1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• plenty of ground black pepper

Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2.5 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 4 to 6 tablespoons onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.

Barbeque Meatballs

When the Pioneer Woman posted this recipe for BBQ Meatballs last week, I was tempted to run out and make them immediately.

Well, I restrained myself, but I did make them on Sunday because, quite frankly, I couldn't wait much longer.


They were really easy to assemble, and I'm glad I remembered to start them early since they take a lot of time between freezing, browning, and baking.

The result? AWESOME. Unbelievably delicious. When she says "Comfort food to the max," she is NOT kidding around.

I served my husband's on a roll to make a sub...

...and I just plopped mine down atop my mashed potatoes!

Meatballs

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 3/4 cup oats
• 1 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons very finely minced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• plenty of ground black pepper

Sauce

• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire
• 4 to 6 tablespoons onion
• Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.

Crockpot Meatball Tortellini Soup

I have had this recipe for Meatball Tortellini Soup from Brooke starred for what seems like forever. Even though spring is in the air, we've had a few chilly days recently, and this soup really hit the spot.

I thought I was out of the beans, so I omitted them, but then about a half hour into cooking, I FOUND the beans, so I added them... but I kind of wish I hadn't. They added a texture that seemed a bit off with the meatballs and tortellini.

Oh well. Live and learn. This soup was still pretty yummy!


Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (14 oz.) cans vegetable broth
• 2 (14 oz.) cans Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
• 18 oz. can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp. dried basil leaves
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• Half of a large bag of frozen mini meatballs
• 9 0z. package frozen cheese tortellini
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except tortellini and Parmesan cheese in 3-4 quart slow cooker. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6 hours until carrots are tender. Increase heat to high and stir in tortellini. Cover crockpot and cook for 15-20 minutes until tortellini are tender. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

Barefoot Bloggers: Real Spaghetti and Meatballs

Another late one... whoops!

I really enjoyed this dish! I did end up making it with campanelle to appease my spaghetti-abhorring husband...

One of the benefits to doing a recipe late is that I get to reap the experiences of others. There were several mentions of the sauce not being enough, so I planned on using 2 cans of crushed, at least. Then, of course, I realized that I completely forgot to order the canned tomatoes (yay peapod!) and only had one 28-oz can of diced tomatoes.

I worried about the thin consistency along with the small quantity, so I also added some tomato paste and half a jar of tomato sauce that I had hanging out in my pantry. It could have used some more sauce, but definitely wasn't bad.


I tweaked the meatballs just slightly to make them more like my grandmother's and I was pretty proud of myself. They weren't quite as good as hers, but I suspect I will never reach her level of meatball greatness. So with that in mind, I was quite pleased.

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1/2 pound ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs (4 slices, crusts removed)
• 1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 extra-large egg, beaten
• Vegetable oil
• Olive oil

For the sauce:

• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1/2 cup good red wine, such as Chianti
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes, or plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For serving:

• 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti, cooked according to package directions
• Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions

Place the ground meats, both bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, nutmeg, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs.

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don't crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don't clean the pan.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve hot on cooked spaghetti and pass the grated Parmesan.

Meatballs

I've been on the hunt for some freezer-friendly foods in another effort to cut back how much time I spend cooking during the week without really cutting back how much I cook. Make sense? :)

I remember that I bought this book, Don't Panic--Dinner's in the Freezer, when I was pregnant with Ryan to try to have food ready for when he was born. While it's not the greatest book ever, it has some good stuff in it.

I was making some marinara sauce, so I figured meatballs would be a great addition to my freezer stash. I doubled this recipe (I used half turkey and half beef) and made about 4 dozen meatballs, give or take. They certainly weren't my grandmother's, but they weren't bad.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 ground meat
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 1 T parsley flakes
• 1 t salt
• 1/8 t pepper
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients and mix together gently. Shape into balls and place on baking sheet; bake for 30 minutes at 350.

To freeze - place on a jelly roll pan before baking and flash freeze. After frozen, remove from pan and store in freezer-safe ziplocs.

Florentine Meatballs

I've made this Rachael Ray recipe a bunch of times, but thought they deserved a spot in my blog. They are really easy to make and, since they are baked, you don't have to worry about giving them any attention while they cook. Plus - they're a great way to get some veggies into your green-hating husband or child. :)

Tonight I served them over egg noodles and a marinara sauce, but you can do anything. The original recipe calls for a specific sauce to go over them, but I've never tried it.


Ingredients:

• 1 box frozen spinach, defrosted in the microwave
• 1 1/3 pound (1 package) ground turkey breast
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups milk, divided
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs, 3 handfuls
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 2 palm fulls
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Wring defrosted spinach dry in a clean kitchen towel. Place turkey in a bowl and make a well in the middle of it. Add the spinach, all but 3 tablespoons of the onion, all of the garlic, 1 large egg, about 1/4 cup milk, bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, salt and pepper. Mix well. Form into 12 large balls and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Arrange on a nonstick cookie sheet and roast 20 minutes, or until cooked through.