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