Browsing Tag

meatballs

Food

Quick Meatballs Gravy and Potatoes

Turns out, I still know how to cook. Who would have thought?

I made a promise to Andy that we’d start planning out our meals for the week. So I had us schedule out pasta dishes, chicken with veggies, and even a taco night. Well, when it came time for me to make the meatloaf I had planned all week on making, I took the ground beef out of the fridge, only to find it was still frozen.

I scrambled, searched through the cabinets looking for an alternative. I couldn’t swap it for another day, those had frozen pieces to the meals as well.

So I boiled some potatoes, threw some broccoli into some boiling water. Then I went through the freezer and fridge and found some frozen meatballs. Ok, I can work with this. The only issue was making gravy. I didn’t have any drippings to work with, so I lucked out with some beef bouillon cubes.

Andy loved it so much, that he’s asking me to make it again. Wahoo! That’s a win for last minute meals that were basically a throw in the pan and hope for the best!

Easy Meatballs and Gravy Recipe

Gravy Recipe
2 cups of water
3 beef bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons of flour
2 tablespoon margarine
pepper
garlic powder

In a large saucepan, add water and bouillon cubes. Heat on medium-high heat until cubes have dissolved. In another heated pan, add margarine and flour. Stir to combine and cook until flour was thickened, creating a roux. Slowly add beef broth mixture you just created. Stirring to combine.

Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and 1/2 tablespoon of black pepper to gravy. Continue cooking and stirring until gravy as thickened to your desired consistency. I usually let mine boil a bit while stirring to quicken the process.

Add frozen meatballs to gravy and cook for another 8-10 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through. Top over mashed potatoes, and serve with a side of steamed broccoli.

October 31, 2015 by Roni

Food, Savory

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I think my roommate is in love with me. Let me back up, it was momentary love. And it might have just been the fact that he was actually in love with the smell of Frank’s Red Hot wafting out of the kitchen and into the hallway. I totally respect a Frank’s Red Hot love.

You see, a few weeks ago I tried to make Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, but failed miserably when I used cayenne instead of hot sauce. Yeah, you can’t just substitute hot sauce out, it’s integral. Anyway, I thought I’d give it another go. This time going right for the jugular. I caved and went to the store to buy Frank’s (my favorite hot sauce and go to condiment). What happened after is a secret between me and you, my blogger buddies. You see, I needed someone there to stop me. Someone to say, “no, don’t eat that.” Because they didn’t make it through the night. I actually ate the entire batch in one sitting (with the exception of one my roommate ate). Sickening, I know. But I’ll be honest, they were delicious.

If you’d like to fall down the tragic path I did, please follow my lead:

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Gather:
1 pound of ground chicken
1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot sauce
1/4 cup of pre-cooked couscous
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Cooking spray

Heat a skillet on medium heat. While that is getting warm, mix chicken, hot sauce, couscous, and cheddar cheese together in a bowl until everything is evenly mixed together.

Spray pan with cooking spray. Roll meat mixture into one-inch balls. Place balls in pan and cook through. That’s about 4 minutes a side, rotating them until the outsides are brown and the insides are cooked. Be aware, though, if you over stuff your pan, your chicken won’t brown because there will be too much moisture in the pan.

September 11, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Spicy Turkey Meatballs, Take 1

Learned a lesson this week. A very important lesson for those of you out there trying to plan a week of meals to take to work without any will power. Don’t make bite-sized meals. You’ll regret it.

Every time I got bored, I’d sneak downstairs, open the fridge, and pop a few of these babies in my mouth and go back to watching TV. My only saving grace? I have to walk up and down a set of stairs to get from my bedroom to the kitchen. That has to be a couple calories burned, right?

All I wanted was to make some turkey buffalo meatballs, which I didn’t exactly create. Need to take another go at them, however, they did end up spicy. I ended up eating a good portion of them before work the next day. Seriously, I need help.

Anyway, they came out delicious, probably would be good in a sauce or on sub roll with some melted cheese. I’ll have to try that with the next batch if they make it through my snack time.

Gather the Goods:
1/2 pound of ground turkey
1/8 cup of minced onion
1/8 cup of minced green peppers
1 egg
1/2 cup of unseasoned bread crumbs
1/4 cup of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce
1/2 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
1/8 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
Olive oil

In a oven-safe sauce pan heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix together all ingredients in a bowl (except olive oil). Portion out mixture into 1-inch balls and place into heated pan. Cook for five minutes, or until golden brown, turn. Cook for another five minutes. Rotate one more time and put into oven on a low broil on the middle rack. Bake for another 7-9 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.

Pull from oven and let rest on paper towels. Serve or put in fridge for later. Enjoy.

August 14, 2013 by Roni

Food, Savory

Meatballs – The Basics

Nom nom nom

Yup, I’m Italian. Yeah, it’s basically required that you know at least one way to make meatballs. That or I hear they disown you or something. (Okay, I might be making that one up. But you might as well know how to fake making a good Italian meal.)

Preheat your oven to 350. That’s right, they’re going in the oven. Surprising, since how I first learned to make meatballs just meant I put them in a frying pan.

Okay, here we go. Grab a pound of ground beef, 1 egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs like 4C, a quarter of an onion minced, a quarter of a green pepper minced, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp parsley, and 1/4 tsp garlic powder. Mash all of that up in a bowl and make one-inch round meatballs. Place on cooking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through.

Once complete, you can eat them like that (my preference), or douse them in pasta sauce, cooked pasta, and fresh grated Parmesan.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to invite me for dinner.

November 13, 2012 by Roni