One of the events is a potluck and I really wanted to simplify my life. I happened upon an interesting recipe over at Kalyn's Kitchen that adapted a South Beach Diet recipe. I loved the ingredients and decided to give it a trial run before I make it for the pot luck. It also doesn't hurt that it's figure friendly given that I'll probably have to have my jaws wired shut just to get through the holiday season.
Mini Greek Meatballs
1 lb lean ground beef (I used lamb)
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 cup very finely crumbled feta cheese (measure after crumbling finely with a fork)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1 T extra virgin olive oil, plus more for baking dish
1 T dried Greek oregano
4 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt (optional - I didn't use it since the Feta is salty)
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp Greek seasoning (I omitted this since I didn't have any on hand)
Preheat oven to 400 F. Use a food processor to chop the onion very finely (or a box grater), then drain if it seems like there is a lot of liquid.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, then use your hands to mix ingredients.
Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish (I foiled and sprayed). Shape meat into 1 Tbsp size meatballs and place on baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes, after which time you will see liquid oozing out.
Turn meatballs and bake 10 more minutes. Turn again, and bake 5-10 more minutes, until meatballs are well-browned and cooked through.
Tzatziki Sauce is great with these meatballs.
Verdict: Using the lamb instead of beef gave it a distinctive and wonderful flavour. I found that I didn't need the full 20 minutes in my oven before the first turn and that the meatballs were done by the end of the first turn.
I would make these again and double or triple the recipe for a crowd.
8 comments:
I like the thought of using lamb in these instead of the ground beef. I bet these were tasty, I'll have to give this a try!
So glad you liked the recipe! I love lamb and I bet it would be great in these!
I think these sound great with the lamb. I think everyone really wants to celebrate the holidays this year because it was a tough year.
I'm having my own mini meatball adventure tonight so I can make Italian wedding soup.
That's such a hearty meal I would love. I love lamb but would love to add a lot of coriander.
I skipped lunch today and its nearing dinner time so it doesnt help that these meatballs look just divine!! Wish I had some mince in the fridge so I could do this right now!
I love baked meatballs, I've never tried lamb but I especially like pork. My newest thing is fresh-ground meat. I find a pork tenderloin or beef london broil (top round) from the meat counter and bring it to the butcher behind the window and ask him to grind it, they're usually super-friendly and happy to help you. It also gives you the leanest and tastiest ground meat you'll ever have! Happy Hannamas Giz!
Don't wire your jaws shut, how will you have those sups of tequila that will get you through the holidays.
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