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meatballs

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Grape Jelly Meat-Less Balls + Heinz Happy

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Heinz Ketchup for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

If you have been reading this blog long enough, you know I like to say “Makes Me Happy!”

You know what Makes Me Happy?  Heinz Ketchup.

Why?  Because they offer organic ketchup with no high-fructose corn syrup!

I make a lot of things homemade to avoid unhealthy ingredients, but I draw the line at having to make my own ketchup, and thanks to Heinz, I don’t have to!

Heinz ketchup put together a Heinz Super Bowl spot for this year’s game that is sure to make YOU happy.  I got to preview it and it made me chuckle.  It made me very happy to have a commercial that the whole family can enjoy.  You can Watch the Heinz Super Bowl spot  below, then tell me if it made you happy.

Heinz is also running a photo promotion where you can share a photo of you and your family showing off your love for Heinz.  It is called Show Us Your Heinz.  When I first read about this, I was reading too fast and thought it said “show us your hiney.”  That, too, made me chuckle.  Leave it to Heinz to make me happy that people are not showing us their bums.

On to this awesome recipe.

Lentil Meatless Balls

The happiness theme continues.  I was super happy to see a sauce made from just 3 ingredients. Ketchup (Heinz of course!) lemon juice, and grape jelly.

You can make this simple sauce and toss your favorite meatballs in it.  To make it even more simple for those Super Bowl Games & parties, you can buy frozen meatballs and just whip up the sauce.  Throw it all in a slow cooker and keep a jar of toothpicks nearby for guests to serve themselves.

I used the sauce with this great Lentil Meat-less Balls recipe.  They were delicious.  We didn’t miss the meat one bit!  A great little snack with a nice punch of plant protein–now THAT makes me happy!


Lentil Meat-Less Balls
2 Cups Cooked Lentils
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 Cup Ricotta (I used pureed cashews, add water until ricotta-like consistency)
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (I used nutritional yeast)
1 Large Garlic Clove, minced
1/2 tsp. Fennel Seed, crushed
2 Tbsp. Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley
Hefty pinch of Dried or Fresh Thyme
1 tsp. Each Sea Salt and Pepper
2/3 Cup Breadcrumbs (fresh or panko, preferably)

Sauce:
1 cup Heinz Organic ketchup
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup grape jelly ( look for jelly with no high-fructose corn syrup in it!)

Meat-less Balls:
In a food processor or high speed blender, pulverize the lentils into mush.

Add the rest of the ingredients except the breadcrumbs.  Mix well.
Add the breadcrumbs. Mix and let sit for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Check the lentil mix by rolling a 1″ round ball between your palms, it should hold together fairly well.  If it seems pretty wet and is falling apart, stir in another Tbsp. or two of breadcrumbs until the ball will stay together. (I had to add quite a bit more breadcrumbs)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease well.  Roll the mix into balls and line them up on a baking sheet (they don’t need lots of space between, they won’t spread). If you like a bit more of a crust, brush them with  oil.

Bake on the middle rack for 15-20 minutes until the tops are golden brown, gently turning the balls over halfway through baking.  Remove to cool slightly.

Sauce:
Melt sauce ingredients in a pan, stirring constantly.  Pour over meatballs. Can keep it all warm in a slow cooker with toothpicks nearby for serving at parties!

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FAMILY/ How-Tos/ Meals/ Parenting/ RECIPES

Saucy Asian Meatballs & Getting Your Kids To Help In The Kitchen

I will get to this awesome recipe of Saucy Asian Meatballs in just a minute.  It made my whole family VERY happy and I enjoyed the sauce with veggies and rice.  But first let me tell you how it came about that this recipe even made it into our family favorites.

I am reading a book on parenting (whose title I will share with you soon when I remember it…I am sitting in a coffee shop and it is at home).  Anyway…it is an awesome book that has my wheels turning when it comes to parenting and what I expect out of my kids.

It has challenged me to challenge my kids. To expect more out of them and to encourage them to do things they don’t think they can or don’t want to do.

My oldest who will be 13 in a month, REALLY does not like to cook.  At least I thought she didn’t like to cook.  Every time I would try to pull her in the kitchen, she would shuffle, moan, groan & we would end up frustrated with each other.  I have decided that learning to cook is a non-negotiable in our home, as I want them prepared as possible to run a home of their own someday, so I have been trying to come up with a way to make cooking less of a drudgery for my oldest.

Enter Pinterest.  I have watched my daughter slowly build a following on Pinterest as she has super great taste and an eye for beauty.  She loves pinning things, and I noticed one of her boards was named “Get In My Belly.”  I checked out the recipes she pinned, and noticed that many of them were cheesy and full of sugar, so I cringed when I found myself saying to her, “Hey, how about you pick a recipe from your ‘Get In My Belly‘ boards to make for dinner.  I will let you pick what you want, I will buy the ingredients, but you have to make it.”

She immediately went to her boards and I was pleased with what she chose.  I was happy it was not deep fried or oozing with cheese and cream of something soup.  She chose Saucy Asian Meatballs.

I was interested to see if she would follow through with no complaining, and she did just that.  I sat in with her at the table, but I was very careful not do anything but guide her with my words.  She did all the chopping, shaping and baking.  I was amazed and very proud of my non-cook, cooking!

It took a few minutes to get her to use her hands to mix the raw meat mixture (can you blame her?) But, she gave in and we laughed about her dramatic facial expressions as she mixed by hand.  Blech.

Here she is with her finished dinner.  I showed her how to prepare rice in our rice cooker & make a side of frozen vegetables.  Her dinner got rave reviews from her sisters and her dad, who loves great flavor & “mmm’ed” all through dinner.

{Wanna pin it? She would be thrilled.  Pin button down by the comments}

 I was proud and so was she.  I’m eager to see if this will work again with her.  I sure hope so.  I totally enjoyed being with her in the kitchen and I loved seeing how empowered she felt by working hard and producing an entire meal by herself!

Want to follow her on Pinterest?  I know she would be thrilled to see her numbers grow.

Click here if so!

________________

Saucy Asian Meatballs Recipe

 

*we doubled the sauce to make sure we had enough for my rice & veggies

{from Give Me Some Oven, click through for amazing photos of this recipe! She also talks about the flavor & how they won a taste testing contest by her friends after making numerous meatball recipes}

Ingredients:

Meatball Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. ground pork or ground beef (we used beef, local & grass fed)
  • 2 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 cup Panko or breadcrumbs (we used regular breadcrumbs)
  • 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
  • optional garnish: toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions

Asian Sauce Ingredients:

  • 2/3 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1/4 cup rice vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. ground ginger

Method:

Preheat oven to 400.

In a large bowl, mix together meatball ingredients until well-combined.  Shape into balls (I made mine about 1.5 inches, which yielded about 35 meatballs, but 1 inch is probably standard), and place on a greased baking sheet or in a 9×13 baking dish.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until meatballs are golden on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.

While the meatballs are baking, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until blended.  Once meatballs have finished cooking, you can either dip each meatball individually (using a toothpick) in the sauce mixture.  Or you can pour the sauce over the meatballs and gently stir them until covered.

 

 

Meals/ RECIPES

Easy Baked Meatballs

I just recently made this recipe and really liked it.  It is basic and simple.  I had no idea what to make one night for dinner.  Sat down to check my emails and found this recipe in my inbox from my sister.  45 minutes later, we were eating them for dinner.
These were a snap to throw together and can be used in a few different ways.  We used them in Meatball Sandwiches (toss them in this sauce and put ’em on a bun).  You could make Spaghetti and Meatballs.  You could make a Meatball Appetizer, either BBQ Sauce or a Sweet Chili Type Sauce.  The next time I make them I plan on doubling the recipe and freezing half.

Easy Baked Meatballs
Yield: Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2  pounds  ground beef
  • 1  large egg, lightly beaten
  • 3/4  cup  quick-cooking oats, uncooked
  • 3/4  cup  milk
  • 1  teaspoon  salt
  • 1  teaspoon  Italian seasoning
  • 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
  • 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  paprika
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt

Preparation

Combine first 7 ingredients; shape into 1-inch balls.
Combine all-purpose flour, paprika, and salt. Gently roll meatballs in flour mixture, and place on a lightly greased rack in a foil-lined 13- x 9-inch pan.
Bake at 400° for 25 to 30 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve with your favorite sauce.
NOTE: To freeze, cool completely, and seal in an airtight container. To serve, place in a single layer on a baking sheet; bake at 400° for 10 to 15 minutes.
recipe via Southern Living, JANUARY 2002
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