Foodies, please cover your eyes! Shield yourself from the deadly rays of prosaic 1960’s cuisine!
We’re about to dive into the world of comfort food.
Can cuisine be “prosaic”? I’ll have to ponder that today.
All I know is this. I had a baby. Then I had another baby. Then I had a third baby, a boy. After my third baby, a boy, was born, I found myself back on the ranch with two young daughters and yet another suckling infant, and I was starving all the time. If I wasn’t eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch by the truckload, I was gnawing on a divine Mexican chicken casserole my BFF Hyacinth brought me or a box of Krispy Kreme doughuts my father-in-law picked up the city.
That was back in Krispy Kreme’s glory days.
It all helped my milk production. But still, I was starving.
And then, one dark and stormy night, my good friend Beth (a ranching neighbor of ours) and her mother Diane (also a longtime rancher) knocked on my door and brought me…dinner.
They brought me meatballs.
I won’t wax rhapsodic about how much these meatballs changed my life. They were so simple, so savory, so comforting and warm and delicious…I almost cried. Come to think of it, I think I did cry. I always thought it was my hormones regulating to normal levels. But maybe it was totally meatball-induced.
Here’s how you make the babies:
Start with 1 1/2 pounds ground beef. This is home grown, baby.
His name was Alfie.
Grab some oats.
And pour in 3/4 cup.
Pour in 1 cup of milk.
Now cut an onion in half from root to tip, then cut one of the halves in half again. Peel off the outer layer and make very thin vertical slices.
Rotate it 90 degrees, then make slices downward to create a thin dice.
Go over them with the knife several times to get them really fine, or your family will stage a mutiny. Big onion chunks are not welcome here.
Throw in 3 tablespoons onions into the meat mixture.
Followed by 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
And plenty of black pepper. Yes, the black dust stuff. There’s a time and a place for fresh ground. But it isn’t here.
Now just stir the mixture until it’s all combined!
Now we just need to form the mixture into balls. I like using this small cookie dough scoop so they’re all uniform in size.
Just scoop the meat into your hand…
And roll it into a neat ball.
Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet as you go. When you’ve rolled all the meatballs, place the cookie sheet into the freezer for about five minutes, just to make them easier to work with.
If you have a six-year-old son, he can help you with the rolling. Look at this freaky photo! It looks like his arm is coming out of the side of his head, doesn’t it? I can’t quit staring at it.
Trivia: This is the “baby” referenced at the beginning of this post.
After five minutes, remove the meatballs and throw some flour onto a plate. Dredge the meatballs in flour.
And there you have it! Mexican Wedding Cookies.
Hope you enjoy!
Just kidding. We’re not through yet. And these aren’t Mexican Wedding Cookies. Just heat 3 tablespoons canola oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and throw in 1/3 of the meatballs.
All we’re doing here is browning them quickly on both sides; We don’t want them to cook all the way.
When they’re brown, remove them to a baking dish and continue browning the rest of the meatballs.
Now just set them aside while you make the sauce. (Or, if you’re organized, you can whip out the sauce when the meatballs are chilling in the freezer.)
To a bowl, add 1 cup ketchup…
2 tablespoons sugar…
3 tablespoons white vinegar…
4 to 6 tablespoons chopped onion…
A couple splashes of Tabasco, if you’re feeling ornery.
And two tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Mix it together well.
Now just pour the sauce evenly over the top of the meatballs.
Now just pop ’em in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.
You’ll know they’re done when your house smells so good you want to marry it. They should be sizzling around the edges. Mmmm.
Oh. I’m sorry. Did someone say “Mmmmm?”
Oh, wait. It was me.
These really are so delicious, folks. They’re almost like little “meatloaf balls”, with a lot more flavorful surface area than a big slice of meatloaf. And the sauce is just a classic sweet/sour ketchup concoction and it makes you think of Grandma. My kids love this dish, which is a miracle. And they’re delicious warmed up the next day and placed on a toasted sandwich bun with melted mozzarella on top. Yikes.
*Note that these meatballs are not in the same category of regular Italian meatballs that would go in Spaghetti and Meatballs—those have more of a breadcrumb/parsley/Parmesan flair. These are more in the comfort food/meatloaf category. If you’d like to serve them with pasta, regular egg noodles tossed in a tiny bit of melted butter would be divine.
For the mashed potato recipe, click here:
Delicious, Creamy Mashed Potatoes
