Saturday, September 17, 2011

My Basic Meatball Recipe and Sweet and Sour Sauce

I have to be honest, I loathe rolling meatballs.  It takes forever and I have to scream at the top of my lungs to get someone to help me turn on the faucet when it’s time to wash my hands.  And don’t think about adjusting the volume on the TV or answering your phone, once you dive in with both hands, you’re committed.  Barring a fire, flood or injured child,  you’re not touching anything until you’re done rolling.   But, the end result is worth the hassle. 
 I like to grate veggies into mine for a couple reasons. #1) kids dig meatballs, even with grated veggies. Tricky right?  #2) Moisture digs veggies. And that means your meatballs with be moist. 
Once you’ve baked these off, the possibilities are endless.  You can make a sweet and sour sauce, as I’ve done in the picture here.  You can add them to marinara for spaghetti and meatballs or make meatball subs.  You can make Swedish meatballs, cheese stuffed meatballs, spicy meatballs, meatball soup, meat kabobs. Ok I’m kidding about that, but how could I let this moment slip by without a Forrest Gump reference?   You get the picture. 

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs ground sirloin (or whatever happens to be on sale)
1 lb ground pork
1 medium zucchini grated
½ medium onion grated
½ bell pepper grated
Pinch crush red pepper
1 package Sazon seasoning
Salt and pepper
1 tbs onion powder
1 tbs garlic powder
1 egg
¼ cup breadcrumbs.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Call your assistant to be ready to help you wash your hands.  Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl until blended, but please don’t over mix your meat.  Form into balls, I usually make them a tad smaller than golf balls.  Place on prepared cookie sheet, lined with foil or parchment paper.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
From here you can add to your favorite sauce**sweet and sour sauce below**, or allow to cool and freeze or refrigerate.


Sweet and Sour Sauce:
1/2 bottle grape jelly
1 bottle chili sauce
1 small can crushed pineapple with juice
Sriracha to taste
1-2Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs agave syrup
Salt and pepper


Mix all ingredients in a pan over medium heat.  Add meatballs and allow the heat through.  You can add raw meatballs and above ingredients to a slow cooker to keep warm.
Serve over Jasmine rice and garnish with scallions....mmmmmm!!!!

6 comments:

  1. Made a steak and black bean chilli from scratch last night...made up the recipe and all...made me think of you.

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  2. I make almost the same sauce, except I use cranberry sauce instead of grape jelly ;) The meatballs sound yummy too!

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  3. Erika....YUM!!! That sounds really good!! Chili is a passage of seasons for me, we haven't gotten there yet. Can't wait for my first "chili day" though.

    Annie, yeah, I think I've heard of using cranberry before. I'll try it next time. Probably gives it more of a zip :) The kids LOVE sweet and sour meatballs.

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  4. i have learned that if you wet your hands before you handle the meatballs your hands come out cleaner it really works are i wear gloves if i have them

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  5. i have learned that if you wet your hands before you handle the meatballs your hands come out cleaner it really works are i wear gloves if i have them

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  6. Yeah, I don't know why I never thought of that LOL. I do have a box of gloves I wear sometimes, I'll have to break them out next time I'm rolling meatballs or making meatloaf :) Great suggestion :)

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