Faster and Easier Meatballs Than Your Mom Made!

 And so it begins; the early mornings, late nights, running in circles, making breakfast lunches and supper all before 10 AM, laundry, dishes, after school activities, trying to get homework done after field work, and basically just chaos in general.  The leaves are turning and the dust is flying.  We took our first load of wheat off yesterday so harvest 2014 has officially started.  Many days during harvest I help out with the field work by delivering fuel, driving for parts or operating equipment.  Once the combines get rolling I often don’t have time to be in the kitchen so my supper has to be prepped (and sometimes cooked) early in the morning.  Cooking for 5 to 10 men (some with allergies) plus my kids is sometimes challenging especially when I have ground beef out, my kids won’t eat meatloaf, shepherd’s pie or lasagna!!  Meatballs used to be a favorite meal that I would only make when I had tons of time to shape 3 to 4 lbs of beef into tiny little balls (the way my kids liked them).  Now they are a common occurrence even when I am in a hurry thanks to this quick and easy recipe.

(the purpose of this post is to show you the method I use, not so much the recipe as any recipe can be used. The one I have included is my go to ‘all purpose’ recipe that I serve with many different sauces or gravies, although I do tend to cook like my grandma and add a little something different every time)

Ingredients:

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup of BBQ sauce

1 packet onion soup mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs

salt (or seasoning salt) and pepper to taste

1/4 cup milk

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together.  Take one pound of ground beef mix and shape into a square on a cookie sheet.

Next, use a plastic ruler or a spatula to divide up into meatballs of your preferred size (I usually make 1 lb into 20 meatballs)

Cook at 425F for 15 minutes and you’re done!

Today I decided to serve my ‘square’ meatballs with creamy dill and garlic sauce.  It was a hit!  I am always looking for quick and easy cooking ideas so if you have a favorite sauce to serve with meatballs that you would like to share, leave the recipe in the comments.  Happy Harvest everyone!