This past weekend I did a bit of strategic meal planning, cooking a turkey breast on Saturday, which in turn will provide us with several meals. Not to mention to wonderful broth for making a pot of turkey and noodles.
I also purchased Boston Burger a couple of weeks ago for 2.99 a lb. This is an southwest Missouri blend of both pork and lean ground beef. We use it for multiple ground beef style recipes. Today I’ve chosen to run my very simple ‘meatballs’ recipe, because it may be one of the multiple freezer meals I prepare with the ground beef mix. Of course, there are multiple other recipes like Salisbury steaks, burgers, meat loaves, and tacos etc. we could make with the amount I purchased. Both adults and youth will enjoy a dish of spaghetti and meatballs or a warm meatball sub, especially with the colder temperatures. With the super bowl coming our way you may choose to make a big batch for home. Better yet, make the meatballs a bit smaller and fill a crockpot with ‘homemade’ meatballs in a specialty sauce of your choice. You can go with BBQ style sauces or more of a sweet Jezebel approach.
Other uses for the meatballs could be a cream sauce served over rice or fettuccine. Or, reach for a Swedish meatball recipe in a brown gravy sauce with mushrooms. So many directions to flow into with the simple meatball.
Usually; I freeze all mine and bake them when I’m ready to prepare the recipe for freshness. I can also see needs for families with young children to cook them ahead of time in order to turn meals a bit
faster. I remember those nights when everyone is going in a different direction, but still needs a hearty meal!
There’s something fun about spaghetti and meatballs served over a bed of warm pasta. Remember; let the spaghetti cool a bit before pouring the sauce over the top. It can create a watery dish when the pasta is way too hot.
We also had a big pot of potato soup this weekend, which hit the spot. Ervin took a bus trip with students to Sedalia and managed to get both his shoes and socks saturated in a large semi frozen puddle, then had to wear them til’ he got home. He so appreciated the hot soup and sliced turkey.
Make things in advance, prepare for days when you truly don’t feel like cooking. I remember growing up in Lewistown, Mo., you had to cook because most of the time we didn’t have a restaurant or cafe. Back in those ‘old’ days you didn’t drive 15 miles just to eat, it was too costly. Stay warm and enjoy a good fire! Simply yours, The Covered Dish.
Meatballs
2.5lbs. ground beef or blend, uncooked, (Italian Sausage(
½ cup dried onions
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oregano leaves
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon dry basil leaves
2 cups Italian Bread Crumbs
2 beaten eggs
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Lay parchment paper in the bottom of a jelly roll pan. (With low sides.) Make the meatballs about the size of a half dollar. If you bake the entire batch at once the meatballs take about 25 minutes. If you cook only half and freeze the rest , the time reduces to about 20 minutes.
For meatball sandwiches toast the buns before filling with meatballs and sauce. Top with Italian Cheeses, Parmesan or provolone.
I usually bake my meatballs, but they can also be boiled. I don’t care for this as much as I think it pulls some flavor away. Also; don’t raise the oven temperature or the meatballs will shrink more. FYI meatballs float to the top of the water when done.
