Friday, July 22, 2011

Marvelous Meatballs and New Favorite Snacks

Coworkers cannot keep their hands off of these meatballs!  If only they could save more than 1 meatball for me...

I love to make a huge bowl of meatballs every Sunday so my boyfriend and I can snack on it all week.  Our favorite meatball recipe is Everyday Paleo's Marvelous Meatballs.  These meatballs were so good that even my coworkers steal them every time I bring them in (and apparently regardless of whether or not I label my food).  I have the recipe below, with my modifications since we like them spicy.



Tools:


Ingredients for the meatballs:
  • 2lb Grass Fed Beef
  • 1lb Pork Sausage (2lb Spicy 30/70 Pork & Beef Sausage, 1lb for the recipe, 1lb cut up into chunks to go along with the meatballs & sauce.  The 3# of meat will yield A LOT of meatballs, add that extra # if you are an extra big eater, or if you want more of a variety meat taste, if that makes sense)
  • Chopped Celery, Carrots, and Onion (If I am lazy I will buy the pre-cut Trader Joe's celery/carrot/onion mix and chop it some more with a Food Processor, else I will use 1 red onion instead of the regular onion)
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1/2 cup Almond Meal
  • Lots of dried oregano (2 Tbsp), garlic powder (1 Tbsp), cracked black pepper, salt, and a little cayenne (1 Tbsp).  (I also add 1 Tbsp Chili Powder)
  • Small drizzle of raw honey (skip)

Ingredients for the Sauce:
  • 1 16oz can of Diced Tomatoes (could not find a 16oz can, so I used 1.5 cans of 14oz Diced Tomatoes, 2 cans if I add the extra sausage)
  • 1 can Tomato Paste (1.5 cans, or 2 cans with the extra sausage)
  • A large handful of torn fresh basil (entire package at Trader Joes, or a bunch from the Farmer's Market)
  • 5-6 coarsely chopped garlic cloves
  • A couple pinches of sea salt and black pepper (I also add cracked red pepper)

Instructions:
  1. Mix in all meatball ingredients (using your hands).  Form into large small meatballs and cover the bottom of the crock pot (you will have to stack)
  2. Mix all the sauce ingredient in a separate mixing bowl.  Cover meatballs with the tomato sauce and cook it for 8 hours on low.

2. Half of the delicious meatballs.


A must-try for sure!  Since my meatballs were all gone by mid-week and I did not have time to cook, I began snacking like a mad animal.  I devoured all 6 packages of Krunchy Kale chips and 6 packages of Organic Orange Bursts from the California Avenue Farmer's Market in one sitting.


3. My favorite dried fruit snack.  These cannot be very healthy at the quantities I eat them per sitting.  $7 for 2.

4. My second favorite snack currently.  I especially like the Sweet Cashew flavor. $7 each.

I need to find something cheaper to snack on.  That or find some way to keep my meatballs away from hungry engineers!


Related Recipes: Paleo SpaghettiGaram Masala Meatballs | Yummy Dumplings