Meatballs with Vegetables

What a great way to sneak in some vegetables into your kids' meatballs! They come out moist and tender. Use a food processor for easier preparation and even texture. You can double up the recipe for a meatloaf; bake in a meatloaf pan dish for 45 min.

• 250g / 0.5lb ground beef
• 1 small carrot, grated
• 1 zucchini, grated, small
• 1 potato, small, grated
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce

1. Mix all the ingredients, form into small balls.

2. Brown the meatballs in a heated skillet, turn down the heat to medium, cover with a lid. Cook till ready for about 20 minutes.

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Mustafa

I'm not sure how this recipe came to be or from where I got it. But this is a terrific, flexible recipe. I omitted potatoes and mayo for a healthier choice. Any veggies can be added.

• 1 lb any meat, beef or ground beef, chicken, etc 
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 5 potatoes
• 1 white onion
• 200 grams prunes
• 1 eggplant
• 5 tomato
• 6 Tablespoon(s) mayonnaise 

*All ingredients should be first sliced 1cm thick

Pour 1/4 cup of boiing water into a heat-proof dish and layer the following:
-meat;
-minced garlic, salt, pepper, spices;
-potatoes
-onion;
-prunes;
-eggplants;
-marinated mushrooms;
-tomatoes, layer so the slices overlap;
Put a bit of mayo on each layer.

Bake in a oven, 360F for 1 hour. Cover with foil if needed. 

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Stu's Meatballs

My husband's colleague, Stu, had been bringing these meatballs to quite a few potlucks. They are sweet and tangy and disappear in no time; I couldn't help asking for a recipe and here's the copy'n'paste from his email:

I usually use a package of hamburger (medium fat or lean), larger, but not the family pack. For a lot of meatballs, use two of the packs. I make small meatballs, but my mother-in-low (the source of the recipe, but she got it from a woman on an air force base in Quebec, so I have no idea where the recipe actually comes from) makes balls about 1" to 1.5" in diameter, as they stay softer in texture. My meatballs are probably about 3/4"-1" in diameter.
The sauce is made from 1 jar of red currant jelly (not jam) and one or two jars of Heintz chili sauce. I roll the meatballs in flour and brown in a skillet, then place in the sauce and let them
simmer for a couple of hours, then usually let them sit in a cool place overnight and heat again for serving the following day.

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Best-Ever Meatballs

• 1/4 cups rice
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 white onion, grated
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
  
• salt, ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil 

Tomato Sauce:

• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t dried oregano leaves
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t cracked black peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick piece, about 5cm length
• 1 can tomatoes, 28oz/796 ml
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Meatballs: In a bowl, stir rice into 4 cups of boiling water. Set aside for 30min to soak, drain well. Return to bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except oil, and mix well. Form into 16 balls, each 2 inches in diameter.

2. In a skillet, heat oil over med-high heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and brown on all sides. Transfer to slow cooker. Drain all but 1tbsp  fat from pan.

3. Tomato Sauce: Reduce heat to med. Add onions to pan and cook, stirring until softened. Add garlic, oregano, salt, peppercorns, and cin. stick and cook, stirring for 1 min. Stir in tomatoes and lemon juice and bring to a boil, breaking up tomatoes with spoon as they cook.

4. Pour sauce over meatballs. Cover and cook on Low for 8h, on High for 4H until meatballs are no longer pink inside. Discard the cinnamon stick.

Can be prepared the night before. Complete step 3, adding 1T oil to pan before softening onions. Cover and refrigerate. Next day make the meatballs and cook as directed in steps 1, 2, 4. 

Delicious & Dependable Slow Cooker Recipes by J. Finlayson

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Slow cooker Bolognese Sauce

This Bolognese Sauce is a great recipe to make for freezing for future use. The output is about 1 liter / 2qt of sauce, which I usually divide (cooled) and store in ziplock bags or cups and freeze individually. Next time you want to make Pasta Bolognese, pizza, spaghetti with sauce, or anything that requires, all you need to do is to thaw this beautiful Bolognese Sauce!

• 1 lb / 500g lean ground beef
• 1 lb / 500g pork sausage
• 1/4 cup pepperoni, sliced
• 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
• 1tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 white onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups tomato sauce
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 1 cup tomato paste
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 1 cup beef bouillon
• 1 tsp black pepper 

1. For slow cooking mix all ingredients and cook for 8 hours. 
2. For conventional cooking, see the recipe below.
   
   
   • In a large stockpot cook the ground beef, sausage, pepperoni, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain into a large colander to drain grease.
   • To the large saucepot, add the mushrooms, tomato sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, bouillon cubes, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, basil, crushed red pepper, black pepper, sugar, and beef broth and stir well. Pour the meat mixture into the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 2 hours.  

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Perfect Meatloaf

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp any type vinegar white vinegar
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium white onion, chopped 
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup saltine crackers or breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp dry thyme or sage 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 cups milk
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/3 cup minced parsley 

For the glaze, mix first 3 ingredients in small pan, set aside.

1. For the meatloaf, heat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; saute until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool. 
3. Mix eggs with salt, pepper, thyme, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and milk. Add to meat in large bowl along with crackers, parsley and cooked onion and garlic. Mix with fork until evenly blended and mixture doesn't stick to the bowl. If it sticks add milk. 
4. With wet hands, pat mixture into 9x5-inch loaf shape. Place in foil lined baking pan for easy clean up. Brush with half the glaze. Bake until crisp, about 1 hour. 
5. Cool at least 20 minutes and serve with the remaining glaze. 

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