Meatballs 2
 
I called this recipe Meatballs 2 because I have already discussed making meatballs with the meat mixture recipe. (a different recipe). This is a quick version or for someone that does not want to make 8 pounds worth of meatballs.  I put these together about 4 weeks ago and put them in the freezer.  I had forgotten about them, until I was “searching” my freezer for meal ideas, when there they were, just begging to be cooked.  So I did.  (I’ll give you the recipe in a minute)  What I loved about these small meatballs (1” diameter meatballs) was that all I had to do was take the frozen meatballs and drop them in my pasta sauce.  I cooked them for 30 minutes.  The fact that the meatballs were frozen and cooked in the sauce was great, in that they flavored the sauce.  I had Spaghetti and Meatballs in 30 minutes.  Along with a side salad, it was perfect.  Great on spaghetti squash as well.  
 
Ok, here goes the recipe: TIP:  You could put the carrot, celery, onion, garlic in the food processor and mince.  Works great.
 
1 pound ground turkey, beef or pork
1/3 cup minced carrot
1/3 cup minced celery
1/3 cup minced onion
2 to 3 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or Italian Seasoning
1 egg white, for binding
1/3 cup dried bread crumbs, helps keep them together(if you use soft bread crumbs instead of dry, you’ll get a more moist meatball. It takes twice as many fresh crumbs to give you the same binding as dried breadcrumbs.
 
salt, optional, but adds a lot of flavor
Be careful with black pepper.  If you are going to freeze the meat, it’s best to leave out the black pepper.  It tends to get bitter when frozen.  
 
Saute the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme until cooked half way. This will take approximately 4 minutes. Let it cool.  You don’t want to mix it with the meat and eggs because it will start cooking the meat and start making scrambled eggs.  Take mixture out of the saute pan let it rest about 15 minutes or until cooled down.
 
Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients.  Don’t overmix.  Add the sauteed vegetables.  Mix.  Make your meatballs.  I got 32 meatballs from 1 pound meat.  Freeze them raw.
 
Kids will love these.  You can thaw them, broil the meatballs  and ‘thread” them on skewers with boiled new potatoes and mushrooms or grilled vegetables.  You could also serve over brown rice (leave off the potatoes).    
 
Meatballs 2
Monday, September 25, 2006
You can also add fresh herbs instead of dried.  These are made with chopped parsley.  Fresh basil will turn black when you freeze it.  
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