Cook Crook Creation: Teriyaki Meatballs

I am always looking for ways to simply meals during the week and as I have said many a time, a slow-cooker is often the way to go. And the meal itself may prove to be as simple an inspiration as a magazine coupon!

I came across an advertisement and coupon for Minute-Rice and Dole Pineapple. The idea was to make a teriyaki meatball with pork and bottled teriyaki sauce along with the pineapple and serve over rice. Being that I always have prepared turkey meatballs on hand and just so happened to have a can of pineapple chunks as well as a bottle of Lawry's teriyaki marinade and sauce, a crock-pot meal came together just like that.

I used two packages of meatballs, one bottle of teriyaki, and the whole can of pineapple and juice. I had it on my slow-cooker for about 7 hours on Low but I think the ideal time would be 4-5 only because I could tell that the meatballs closest to the side of the crock-pot were getting a little overdone. I removed the meatballs and then turned the crock-pot on high and added a little cornstarch to thicken the liquid. I then decided a little more pineapple was in order and added one of the single serve containers to the sauce. I added the meatballs back in and served them over 90 second Uncle Ben's Jasmine Rice. Quick and pretty yummy. I think when I do it again I will make my own teriyaki ahead of time only because the bottled kind is pretty salty. The leftovers were even better the next day.

Lower Guilt Meatball Parm Sandwich

Sometimes minimizing the impact of ingredients on caloric content takes very easy substitutions. Sometimes those substitutions are intentional and other times they are accidental. My hubby loves what he calls “meatball parm grinders”  which for me being from "The South" equates to a meatball sub. One of the items I often pick up in large quantities when on sale are Harris Teeter’s fresh made and precooked turkey meatballs. I freeze them until I am ready to use them and either quickly heat them in olive oil before adding to a prepared sauce for a quick meal or add them frozen and allow to slow cook in the sauce I have prepared for all day cooking.

The night I had meatball subs on the menu, we were strangely without bread, rolls or buns of any kind (I blame a week in which 3 members of the household had to take packed lunches every day). I had pasta on the menu for the week already so I wasn't going to go that route either. As I searched fridge for more ideas I came across my package of Flat-Out flatbread. We typically use these for deli-meat or chicken wraps and the occasional quick and healthy pizza but why couldn’t I use them for a meatball "sandwich"?

I decided to brown the meatballs in a little olive oil and then halve them before laying them out on one half of each of the flatbreads which I had laid on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

I added just a little bit of jarred pasta sauce (because I was worried about sogginess and leakage) and then added 2% mozzarella cheese. 

I folded the other half over and sprayed that also with the cooking spray. I popped them into a 375 degree oven for about 15 minutes until cheese had melted and the flatbread had browned and gotten a little crispy. I halved the sandwiches and served them with a side of the sauce. 

Hubby declared he’d eat meatball parm like this anytime and said he was sad that I only made him one! I actually see a lot of potential using these for more hot sandwiches especially since they are pretty healthy as well as tasty! The Flat-Out folks also have recipes on their website if you don't know where to start! Happy wrapping!

Cooking with Kids: Part I - Porcupine Balls

I had "meatballs" on the menu for Friday night but wasn't sure how I wanted to prepare them. I have some tried and true recipes but then it occurred to me that we could take advantage of another night for our daughter to cook in the kitchen.

A very brief search landed me on a Paula Deen recipe for "porcupine balls" A VERY easy recipe and pretty much everything was stuff I had on hand or something that could be easily substituted.

First of all, we used 1 pound of meatloaf mix instead of just ground beef. We added 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire and 1/4 cup of Parmesan to the meatballs for added flavor based on some of the comments on the recipe.  The girl's favorite part of this recipe was making the "meatballs"...here is her "ITSA MEATBALL (add the Italian accent)" face:

I also had half of a package of onion soup mix leftover from another recipe, so we used that in the rice instead of the dried onion, seasoned salt and Italian seasoning. We also substituted one can of roasted garlic diced tomatoes and a can of vegetable broth for the regular tomatoes and beef broth.

One hour later and we had this:

Before trying them I can tell you I knew we should have made sure the meat was submerged in the sauce, as some of the rice on the outside was a little chewy. However, the rice in the sauce was super flavorful and personally my favorite part of the dish. We all agreed the meatballs themselves need to be seasoned more. I agree with my girl that some pepper and garlic slat should do the trick.

At the end of dinner, we only had TWO meatballs left, so I believe it was a success!

Frozen Turkey Meatballs - Why I Always Have a Bag on Hand

The husband LOVES meatball subs, the step-daughter loves spaghetti and meatballs and I enjoy a simple cocktail meatball at any party I go to. I have made meatballs from scratch (my mother-in-law has an awesome recipe) but many times, especially for parties or quick meals, I used the reliable pre-cooked kind (frozen or meat case).
Like most beef and pork based items these days, meatballs are also available in the turkey variety. A word of caution that like most turkey products, not all of them are good (ahem, Armour) but those that are (I happen to especially enjoy Harris Teeter's store brand version) really are a great thing to have on hand.
Remember that crock pot marina sauce I made? Well, cooking that in the crock-pot freed me up some time to go the extra mile with the meatballs and bake them in the oven like I love. Thirty minutes from package, to pan to serving dish. Those meatball subs my husband loves are easy with a jar of our favorite sauce and add meatballs. I can even make a simple sauce, add the meatballs and leave in the trusty crock-pot all day.
I have also found some "cocktail" meatball recipes that make fantastic meals. Burgundy meatballs, for example, involve a simple sauce of onions, brown gravy mix and red wine and are delicious over egg noodles.

And did you ever think about serving sweet and sour meatballs with fried rice or in a poor man's Lo Mein (i.e spaghetti noodles and chopped veggies).
When I am preparing the menu for the month, that bag (or package) of meatballs has always proved to be a great go-to option and so far, everything I have made with them have been asked for again.