April 6, 2011 - Comfort Food

Update: OK, I'm eating the meatballs now, and the sauce really isn't as good as I remember it to be! Evidently my tastes have changed, because now I find it way to vinegary. The original cookbook is in AZ, so I can't check to see if I mistyped the amount of vinegar, I'm just going to assume I did and change it from 3 Tbsp. to 1 Tbsp. right now!

Every now and then, a cold, windy day brings on the urge to make some comfort food. Normally I'm into the lower fat, higher fiber, less meat, more veggies type of meals, but every now and then I throw caution to the wind and we pig out on something that might be less healthy for us, but sure does taste good. This morning I was reading the blogs to which I subscribe, and noticed that Kris, from Simply Living, had started a new cooking blog, Kris Simply Cooking. She will basically feature recipes for cooking on a budget, which is how I pretty much cook every day. Anyway, just reading her first (and as of yet, only) recipe made me hungry for comfort food, namely one of my old standbys, Barbecued Meatballs, made with Baked Meatballs.

First I made a double batch of the Baked Meatballs, as I always like to freeze some for future meals.......

Baked Meatballs
(serves 4)

1 pound ground beef, extra lean
¼ cup diced onion
2 egg whites (or 1 whole egg)
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
¼ cup milk 1 tablespoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 400°F Combine all ingredients, mix well. Form into 1-inch meatballs. Place on a Pam sprayed baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes (I bake mine 15 minutes, 'cause I like them browned a bit).

I put half of the baked meatballs into a small crockpot, and the other half onto a rack to cool. Today my meatballs weren't exactly round. That's what happens when you don't weigh your ground beef, and get too much liquid in the recipe! That's OK though, flat bottoms don't make them taste any different.


Barbecued Meatballs

1 recipe Baked Meatballs (above)
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all sauce ingredients and pour over meatballs in crockpot. Cook on low, covered, for 6-8 hours. If the sauce is too thin, and it always is, I thicken it with a cornstarch mixed with a small amount of water.

We love this served with mashed potatoes or buttered noodles.


The other half of the meatball recipe is quick frozen, and will then be bagged and kept in the freezer for another meal.


Here is the original Barbecued Meatball recipe, as done in the oven. I think this was from an old Crisco cookbook. It's even better than the crockpot recipe I normally use (for convenience).

Barbecued Meatballs - original recipe

1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 lb. lean ground beef
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup Crisco (substitute vegetable or canola oil )

3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine the egg, milk, bread crumbs, 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, salt, pepper, 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and ground beef. Mix well and shape into 18 meatballs. Roll the meatballs in the flour and, in a large skillet, brown the meatballs on all sides in hot vegetable or canola oil. Transfer the meatballs to a 2-quart casserole.

Pour off the excess fat from the skillet, add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour over meatballs in casserole. Cover and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Skim off excess fat and serve with mashed potatoes or parsley buttered noodles. Serves 6.