The BEST meatballs!

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Chatty Kathy

When you request spaghetti and meatballs at Nana’s house you better be prepared to make the meatballs! Stella loves to, and we all agreed that they were the absolute best meatballs ever. In fact, I had a hard time keeping enough left in the sauce to have dinner. Tasters kept appearing in my kitchen …..

This shows a double recipe, all measured exactly to what Stella feels is the perfect meatball size …. 38 grams. If you aren’t in a hurry your kids are great at this!

1 pound ground meat (I like a combo of beef and pork)
1/2 cup panko-style breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk, any kind
2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more to serve
2 tablespoons finely grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese, plus more to serve
2 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, divided
Red pepper flakes and/or freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
2 large eggs
2 garlic cloves, minced

Place meat, crumbs, milk, parsley, cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, onion powder, eggs, and one-third of your minced garlic in a large bowl, and mash everything together with a fork or potato masher until evenly mixed. Using wet hands if needed, form mixture into 2-inch meatballs and arrange on prepared tray. Roast for 12 minutes, until cooked through (you can cut one in half).

Ground beef and pork well mixed and ready for forming.

Making sure each meatball is 38 grams takes time …..

Almost 7 now, Stella likes to do it all, even if Nana’s freaking (quietly!) while she puts stuff in or takes it out of the oven.

From this point you can serve them however you like – we like them simmered in a tomato sauce just until heated through. They are so soft and tender with just the right amount of seasoning. I always make enough to freeze half for another dinner, for us that means doubling this recipe.

This recipe came from the amazing Deb at smitten kitchen.com, and she also lists her easy tomato sauce for simmering … if you haven’t been to her website, or read any of her cookbooks, make sure you do! Always delicious, and manageable for doing with kid helpers.

Swedish Meatballs

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Chatty Kathy

Oh man, these meatballs are just the ticket for a cool evening – they are so tender and moist – like maybe the best meatballs ever??

These meatballs are moist, tender and so delicious – you won’t miss Ikea at all.

Meatballs

1/2 cup panko crumbs
2 tbsp butter unsalted
1 medium onion chopped
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
vegetable oil for frying meatballs

Gravy

6 tbsp butter unsalted
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth low sodium, or beef broth
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
3/4 cup sour cream

Melt the butter in a skillet, then add the onions and a bit of salt. Cook the onions until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the ground pork, ground beef, onions, egg yolks, salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice to the bowl with the panko. Mix the meat mixture well using your clean hands. Shape the meat into 1 inch meatballs.
In a skillet heat some vegetable oil. Add the meatballs and fry until golden all around, about 7 minutes, but not cooked all the way through. Repeat with all meatballs.

To make the gravy melt the butter in a clean skillet. Add the flour to the pan and whisk well. Add the broth with the Worcestershire sauce and continue whisking. Season with salt and pepper and other spices if preferred. As the flour cooks the gravy should thicken. Whisk in the sour cream. Bring the gravy to a boil then add the meatballs to it and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure meatballs don’t stick to bottom of pan.
Garnish with parsley. Serve warm over mashed potatoes, buttered noodles or rice.

Brown on all sides, but don’t cook all the way through, let the gravy simmer do that job.

Gently stir in the sour cream and then return the meatballs to the sauce.

Simmer the meatballs gently until cooked through, then garnish with parsley.

Moist and tender meatballs

Posted on March 19, 2019 by Chatty Kathy

I’ve made meatballs for so many years I can’t even remember when I started. Then, over the last few years we’ve tasted some pretty amazing meatballs, most notably and surprisingly – in Mexico! I decided I better start rethinking my meatball game. After research and the usual taste testing, these won out. They are so moist and tender you won’t believe the difference. I like to make a double batch and freeze a bunch for another day.

One perfectly moist meatball, set on a bed of saucy tangled pasta – heaven.

2 pounds ground meat (equal parts ground beef & ground pork)
1 cup panko-style breadcrumbs
2/3 cup milk, any kind
4 tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more to serve
4 tablespoons finely grated parmesan
2 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt
Red pepper flakes and/or freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 large eggs
1 tbsp minced garlic cloves

Heat your oven to 425 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup, and coat it lightly with a nonstick spray.

Add the milk, eggs and seasonings to the panko first in order to have it all evenly distributed without overmixing your meatballs.

Next -get your herbs in there.

This is where the large fork comes in handy. If you over mix the meatballs they will get tough, so this allows you to gently combine everything.

Place meat, crumbs, milk, parsley, cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, onion powder, eggs, and your minced garlic in a large bowl, and mash everything together with a fork (this keeps your meatballs from getting overworked) until evenly mixed. Using wet hands if needed, form mixture into 2-inch meatballs (I used a 3 tablespoon scoop) and arrange on prepared tray. Roast for 12 minutes, until cooked through (you can cut one in half).

Ready to pop in the oven. These were on the larger size so they took about 18 minutes to cook through. Don’t overcook them! Break one open at that point and check.

If serving with spaghetti – submerge meatballs into tomato sauce and allow to simmer until pasta is ready.

Always cook the pasta for the last few minutes in the tomato sauce to allow the sauce to coat all pasta.

Serve with plenty of parmesan to grate over top.

Thanks to Deb at Smitten Kitchen for these meatballs!

Lamb Meatballs with Tomato Olive Sauce and Mint

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Chatty Kathy

lamb meatballs

These meatballs are tender and delicious – the sauce is rich and that mint sauce is a perfect taste to brighten it all up. If you aren’t a big fan of lamb, then use minced pork.

You could buy lamb merguez sausage to make these meatballs, but if that isn’t available to you, this is an easy fix and tastes amazing.

1 pound lean ground lamb

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp turmeric

3 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp harissa

1 tbsp tomato sauce

Grind salt and fennel together until smooth, then add the rest of the spices and stir together. Add in garlic, harissa and tomato sauce to make a paste. Lightly toss paste with ground lamb, until well blended.

For the best flavour, allow to sit over night but they are great if made into meatballs right away too.

Form balls about 1″ in diameter. Heat oil until shimmering, then cook meatballs until just crispy on the outside and

Meanwhile ….. on roasting pan in moderate oven (375) toss in olive oil:

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

1/2 cup black olives

Roast until vegetables are tender, and blend with enough olive oil to make a smooth sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Toss meatballs with tomato sauce and serve with mint sauce.

Mint Sauce

Blend fresh mint leaves with a drizzle of honey, freshly squeezed lemon and olive oil just until smooth – season to taste with salt.

Chicken Meatballs

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Chatty Kathy

Do you ever wonder what you can do to help when someone has a baby? Has surgery? Just can’t get out of the house? Needs assistance of any kind? Make a freezer full of ready to go meal ideas, that’s what. This is our favourite way of helping anybody. Just make sure you find out first what kind of food they like to eat – after all, it is about what their household needs, not what you like to eat!! These chicken meatballs are one of the best and easiest to do – they can be frozen individually and then tossed into a large ziplock bag so that when dinner comes around they can either go on the bbq and be served with tzatsiki dip, go into a tomato sauce and become spaghetti, or just served with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The possiblities are limited only by your imagination …

Meghan and I had a great time creating food that Hayley and Mike could have ready to go after their adorable little baby girl Sloan arrived!

2 pounds ground lean chicken meat – please use a butcher and good quality meat

1 small onion, grated

lots of fresh herbs, minced very fine – I like basil, oregano, rosemary and parsley

2 cloves garlic (don’t overdo the garlic in case you are preparing these for a nursing mother or other sensitive eater)

1/2 cup finely ground bread crumbs

Combine all ingredients and blend well (your hands are the best possible tool), then roll into balls. Toss lightly in flour and set on baking sheet. Allow to freeze individually and then put all of them in a freezer container or ziplock bag – label it!

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