Tag: Meatballs

Appetizers, Dinners

Recipe—Big Ol’ BBQ Meatballs

Diva di Cucina

Looking for a family friendly recipe that both you and the kids will enjoy? Then search no more! Don’t have kids, no worries. Everyone loves these regardless of age! My 4 year old  loves helping to crush all the saltine crackers. I just put them in a zip loc bag and he goes to town with his toy hammer. (Cooking is a family affair in our house.) These big ol’ bbq meatballs are huge on flavor and so easy to put together. The brown sugar in the sauce helps to glaze the balls giving them a nice even coating of the sweet and tangy sauce. Yummy! These are the perfect comfort food as the weather cools off. I served these as a main dish but I could totally see making these smaller and serving them up as a party appetizer. Hope you enjoy these sticky saucy balls as much as I do!

Note: The sauce for these balls ends up being super sticky so I HIGHLY recommend lining your cooking sheets with parchment paper to help with cleanup. Otherwise you are going to have a super sticky glaze all over your baking sheets, which will not be very easy to clean up. If you do not have parchment paper then I recommend spraying your cookie sheets with a nice coating of cooking spray.

INGREDIENTS
2 lb ground beef
small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers, crushed
3 eggs
salt
pepper
3 tbsp honey mustard
3/4 c ketchup, divided
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 c bbq sauce
3/4 c brown sugar

STEPS

  • Preheat your oven to 400º.
  • In a large bowl combine the ground beef, onions, crushed crackers, eggs, salt, pepper, honey mustard, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, and the Worcestershire sauce.
  • Using your hands combine all the ingredients until well blended.
  • Grab a handful of the meat mixture and roll into 2″ balls.
  • Place the balls on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (see above note) and repeat until you are out of the meat mixture.
  • Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
  • While the meatballs are baking mix together the remaining 1/4 cup of ketchup, bbq sauce, and the brown sugar.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the oven after 20 minutes and top each ball with a spoonful of the sauce.
  • Place the meatballs back in the oven for another 10 minutes to allow the sauce to melt and coat the balls.
  • Remove from oven and serve.
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Dinners

Recipe—Quick and Easy Swedish Meatballs

Diva di Cucina

Quick and Easy Swedish Meatballs

I am a huge fan of Swedish meatballs but so many of the recipes out there call for unique ingredients that I don’t typically have on hand, like lingonberries. I was craving some Swedish meatballs and decided to whip up this super easy version using things I did have on hand. This recipe took less than 15 minutes to make, cost less than $10, and was a hit with the whole fam damily. (And that my friends, is the perfect recipe for a happy mom.) This is the ultimate in classic comfort food.  Hearty, simple, and delicious! 

Quick and Easy Swedish Meatballs

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp butter
1 lb frozen beef meatballs
salt and pepper
1 tbsp flour
1 1/2 c beef broth
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 c heavy cream
12 oz bag egg noodles
1/4 c fresh parsley, chopped

STEPS

  • Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet.
  • Add the meatballs to the butter and season with salt and pepper.
  • Pan-fry the meatballs until they are a nice brown color all over making sure to move them around frequently.
  • When the meatballs are thoroughly cooked, sprinkle them with the flour, stirring to coat.
  • Add the beef broth and bring to a boil.
  • Add the Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce mixing well.
  • Slowly pour in the heavy cream and stir to combine.
  • Allow to come to a boil and then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer until the sauce is the desired consistency.
  • While the sauce is simmering, cook the egg noodles per package instructions.
  • Transfer the cooked egg noodles to the skillet and stir to coat.
  • Finish off with with the chopped parsley.
  • Serve and enjoy!
Appetizers, Dinners, Sauces

Recipe—Chinese Chicken Meatballs with a Sesame Garlic Hoisin Sauce

Diva di Cucina

I saw a recipe for Asian meatballs made with pork and beef the other day and I thought that a great way to cut some of the calories would be to make something similar but with ground chicken. Two of my son’s favorite meals are chicken teriyaki and spaghetti with meatballs. You should have seen the size of his eyes when I told him we were having Chinese chicken meatballs. His eyes got really big and his mouth dropped open. I think he was excited for the marriage of two of his fave dishes. He really liked the sauce and gobbled dinner up. I served these over rice with steamed veggies but they would also make an excellent appetizer. I must admit the sauce really makes this recipe. It has so many different flavors in it. It really gets your taste buds going. This recipe is fairly quick and very easy. With the number of meatballs it makes it ended up being enough for two dinners so I have some in the freezer ready for a quick and easy dinner in a few weeks.

Note: Toss the cooked meatballs in a crock-pot and double up the sauce, heat on low and you have an awesome and healthy appetizer that will stay warm for hours.

MEATBALL INGREDIENTS
2 lbs ground chicken
2 tsp sesame oil
2 c panko breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c green onions, thinly sliced
salt
sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish

SAUCE INGREDIENTS
2/3 c hoisin sauce
1/4 c rice vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground ginger

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 400º.
  • In a large bowl, mix together all meatball ingredients until well combined.
  • Using an oversized spoon scoop about a ¼ cup worth of the meat mixture and shape into round meatballs. (Mine end up being about 1 1/4″ in diameter. This will yield about 28–32 meatballs.)
  • Place the formed meatballs in a large lightly greased baking dish.
  • Bake for 20–25 minutes or until balls are lightly browned on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.
  • While your meatballs are baking put all your sauce ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together until well blended.
  • Pour the sauce over the hot meatballs and garnish with additional sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.