Monday, June 1, 2009

Pass It On Plates

5:23 AM    

Pass It On Plates
Add to Google

Meatballs

Posted: 31 May 2009 09:45 AM PDT


Meatball scoop, originally uploaded by Adventures of Pam & Frank.

Who says you have to put sweets on your Pass It On Plate? Why not a mound of meatballs?

This would be perfect for a neighborhood pot luck or summer party hostess gift. You could include a bag of little pretzel sticks so everyone can poke a pretzel into a meatball to pick it up - instead of using toothpicks or forks - then they can eat the pretzel. Less dishes to wash and less trash to throw out.

This Recipe of the Week is from Pam & Frank at Pass It On Plates. Pam says:

We had meatballs the other night. I used to make lousy meatballs but finally figured it out. We don't use pre-made mixes or dry soup blends because we want to avoid sugar and MSG in our food. Here's my recipe:

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground turkey, pork, or lamb
1 c dry bread crumbs (or if you're on the Atkins diet like we are, substitute crushed pork rinds)
1 egg
1 tbs worchestershire sauce or anchovy paste
1 tbs yellow mustard
salt and pepper to taste


Don't forget to add seasoning such as:
Italian - rosemary-oregano-basil-garlic powder-fennel seeds
Tex Mex - oregano-lime juice-onion powder-garlic powder-cumin-dried red pepper-chili powder
French - oregano-rosemary-tarragon-thyme-lavender
Swedish - nutmeg
BBQ - garlic powder-onion powder-celery seed-chili powder-honey or molasses (just a tbs)
Middle Eastern - garlic powder-onion powder-ginger-shawirma (if you can find it)

Mix together gently with your fingers. Don't squish with your hands or they'll be little rock meatballs. Form into balls on a large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Add your favorite sauce...

Also, we love this commercial style scoop for making the meatballs. It makes the meatballs all uniform and cook up great. Also perfect for portion control if you're dieting or serving lots of people at a party. This little scoop makes 2 doz meatballs per lb of ground meat.

Here is a photo of how nice and uniform they all look on the pan: www.flickr.com/photos/adventurespf/3274671619/