Saucy Porcupine Meatballs

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Nov 082013
 

Meatballs filled with brown rice and topped with a tangy tomato sauce from mylittlegourmet.com

These little porcupine meatballs are not only adorable, but delicious too! I’ve been making this recipe for months now, and have been wanting to share it with you all for a while. The only problem was, that I was never satisfied with how the pictures were turning out. Well, after attempt #3 I’ve finally just given up and decided these guys just aren’t photogenic and shouldn’t be kept from you any longer. 🙂

Meatballs filled with brown rice and topped with a tangy tomato sauce from mylittlegourmet.com

I served these meatballs with some whole-grain pasta, which made Arik very happy, but I found it to be a bit of a starch overload since the meatballs themselves are already filled with rice. We also had some steamed veggies on the side. If you all like meatballs as much as we do, you should also check out this recipe, which stuffs them with cheese! Alright, I’m off to repair Arik’s Lantern so it is ready to go for St. Martin’s Day on Sunday. Not sure if this is just a German tradition or not, but if you are celebrating as well, have fun and let’s hope the rain clouds stay far far away!

Meatballs filled with brown rice and topped with a tangy tomato sauce from mylittlegourmet.com

5.0 from 1 reviews
Saucy Porcupine Meatballs
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 24 oz./700 ml can tomato sauce (no-salt-added)
  • 2 cups/500ml water
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 dashes of Tabasco
  • ¾ cup/120g brown rice
  • 2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon thyme, dried
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lb./500g ground beef
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃.
  2. In a dutch oven, whisk together tomato sauce, water, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco.
  3. In a bowl combine rice, onion, and spices. Add the ground beef and gently combine.
  4. Using a tablespoon each, make little meatballs (about 26) and place in the sauce.
  5. Cover and bake, gently stirring once or twice for about 2 hours or until rice is soft.
 
 Recipe adapted from The Kitchen Daily.
 Posted by at 13:20

Greek Meatballs with a Feta Cheese Center

 Main Dishes  Comments Off on Greek Meatballs with a Feta Cheese Center
Jan 112013
 

Greek Meatballs

The other day, I was looking through my more recent past posts and realized I’ve only been posting meatless recipes. This was pretty surprising since my two guys will take meat over anything…especially when we are talking about meatballs. Personally, I don’t feel the same way, unless we are referring to these Greek Meatballs.

Greek Meatballs

They are the perfect compromise for the three of us. They are very meaty, which the boys appreciate, yet they have a delicious cheesy center, which speaks to me. The rosemary and oregano gives them a nice mediterranean flavor, which we all enjoy, so in turn, everyone is happy!!

Greek Meatballs

Arik’s favorite way to eat these meatballs is in a tomato sauce over pasta. Since tomato sauce and pasta is served more often than not in our household, every once in a while, I will mix it up and serve them with a bell pepper rice and some steamed veggies. Regardless of how I serve these, the boys are just happy to finally be having meat again. 🙂

Greek Meatballs

Arik’s favorite way to eat Greek Meatballs; with tomato sauce and pasta

 

Greek Meatballs with a Feta Cheese Center
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1 lb./500g ground beef
  • ½ cup/50g bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¾ teaspoon rosemary, dried
  • ½ teaspoon oregano, dried
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ cup feta cheese, cubed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
  1. Mix together the beef, bread crumbs, egg, and spices until well-combined.
  2. Form into about 20 small meatballs and fill each one with a cube of feta cheese, making sure the cheese isn't showing and completely surrouned by the meat.
  3. Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the meatballs on all sides.
Notes
If you are serving these with a tomato sauce like I usually do, then just add them to the sauce and continue to simmer until cooked through. If serving them without a sauce, leave them to fry in the pan a bit longer until cooked through.

 
 Recipe adapted from Chefkoch
 Posted by at 13:01

Chicken and Vegetable Risotto

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Sep 282012
 

Chicken and Vegetable Risotto

This is one of our favorite meals because it is so flexible and easy for Arik to eat by himself.  You can toss in just about any vegetables you want.  I’ve been going with red bell pepper, zucchini and mushrooms since that seems to be the favorite right now, but just about anything will work (ie asparagus, peas, corn, green beans, eggplant, etc.) As far as the broth goes, you can go with chicken or vegetable.

I hope your kiddies will like this one as much as mine does!

Chicken and Vegetable Risotto

Chicken and Vegetable Risotto
 
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Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1 chopped onion
  • 1 chopped garlic clove
  • 2 chicken breasts, cut to a size your baby can handle
  • 3¼ cups or 900 mL chicken or vegetable broth
  • Vegetables of your choosing (I used 1 zucchini and 1 red bell pepper)
  • 1½ cups or 300 grams risotto rice
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan. When the butter is melted add the onion and garlic, and fry until soft. Add the chicken and fry until the outside is white.
  2. Meanwhile, put the broth on to heat in a separate pan.
  3. Add the vegetables to the chicken, and fry gently for 3-4 minutes or until they start to soften.
  4. Add the rice and stir to make sure all of the grains are covered in oil/butter (add a little more oil or butter if necessary).
  5. Add the hot broth to the rice mixture, a ladle-ful at a time, stirring constantly, until each ladle-ful is absorbed. Simmer gently. Continue adding broth (you may not need to use all of it) stirring until the rice is plump but still has a "bite." The overall consistency should be creamy when done (this will take about 20 to 25 minutes).
  6. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the Parmesan cheese and black pepper, and serve.
 
Adapted from The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook
 
 Posted by at 22:15