Whiteley Creek Homestead

Last Saturday, I bought two packages of local grass-fed ground beef. One pound was destined to be formed into meatballs simmered in homemade pasta sauce.   

 
After tearing an Italian Meatballs recipe from a January 16, 2011 issue of Parade, a mini publication that is included in our local newspaper, the prep began with making bread crumbs from French Meadow Bakery Hemp Bread* using a food processor and grating Parmesan cheese. *Ingredients: filtered water, organic whole wheat flour with wheat germ, hempseed flour, organic flax meal, organic poppy seeds, organic oat fiber, dates, organic pumpkin seeds, organic millet, hemp seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic cracked wheat, organic sprouted kamut, organic sprouted spelt berries, organic sesame seeds, sea salt, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted amaranth berries, and organic sprouted quinoa. French Meadow Bakery is located is Eagan, Minnesota (a Minneapolis suburb). 

Italian Meatballs

1 cup bread crumbs (2 slices bread processed in food processor until crumbly)

½ cup water

2 eggs

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

handful of fresh spinach, kale, Swiss chard, or collards, diced (my addition)

1 onion, minced and sautéed until translucent (my addition)

2 cloves garlic, minced (my addition)

1 tsp dried parsley

¼ ½ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp garlic powder (my addition)

1 tsp salt

Dash pepper

1 lb grass-fed ground beef or ground bison

2 tbsp olive oil

Homemade Heat and Eat Tomato Pasta Sauce

Combine bread crumbs, water, eggs, cheese, greens, onion, garlic, and seasonings. Add meat; mix well. Form into balls. (I used a generous tablespoon for each meatball which produced 32 balls.) Heat oil and brown meatballs. Drain, if ground beef or bison isn’t extra lean. The recipe’s next step was to cover and simmer the meatballs in pasta sauce for 30 to 40 minutes. I found that too much of the sauce evaporated away, so what I would suggest is to skip the browning step and bake the meatballs at 350° for 25-30 minutes, then add them to heated sauce. Serve over pasta or spaghetti squash.