Mama's Meatballs

Yesterday I mentioned my recent interest in meatballs to my mom who - as she often does - quickly produced the family recipe. She recopied the recipe for me and I made a grocery list during my layover. After a kharmically deserved stress-free day of flying, I was in great need of the kind of protein only provided by meat.

Just in case you are hankering for a meatball, here is the family recipe for meatballs and the sassy sauce to go with. My family has never been stingy with recipes before, so I'm assuming this release won't ruffle family feathers. We'll see! :)

From the Kitchen of: Meatballs
(I'm just keepin' it real. This is how the original recipe was written, so it's exactly how my mom copied it.)

+ 2 cups cornflakes or 1/2 cup cornflake crumbs
+ 1 lb. ground beef
+ 2 tbsp. ketchup
+ 2/3 cup nonfat dry milk (I used buttermilk powder and it worked really well.)
+ 1 tsp. salt
+ 1/8 tsp. pepper
+ 1 egg
+ 1/4 cup grated onion
+ 1/4 cup water

Crush cornflakes into fine crumbs and place in mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Shape into 48 to 50 balls (drop by spoons - no need to shape). Place in single layer in foil lined shallow baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees about 12 minutes or until browned.


I was skeptical about the lack of shaping, but the irregular shape made for some gorgeous crispy bits around the edges of the meatballs. I recommend the spoon dropping for sure. I ended up with 55 meatballs, but I have a tendency to stretch things.

Spicy Sauce for Meatballs
(Creative naming is a family strong point.)

+ 2 tbsp. pickle relish
+ 1/4 cup ketchup
+ 8 oz. tomato sauce
+ 2 tbsp. chopped onion (I lazily used the dried stuff and it was lovely.)
+ 2 tbsp. brown sugar
+ 1/8 tsp. pepper
+ 1 tbsp. vinegar (I forgot I was out of vinegar, so I used balsamic vinegar. I'd recommend you use the regular stuff. The sauce was good but it did have a little balsamic edge to it that I could have done without.)
+ 1 tbsp. Worcestshire sauce
+ 1/4 cup water

Simmer in saucepan over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Add to meatballs. (I kept the meatballs and sauce separate and just spooned a bit over them on the plate. The meatballs are so good on their own that I didn't want the sauce to take over my leftovers.)

I paired my meatballs with some whole grain brown rice and steamed green beans. It was absolutely fantastic. The meatballs are flavorful without being overpowering or too saucey. The rice and green beans allowed the meatballs to take center stage and provided the perfect back up. My mouth is watering just looking at this picture.

I'm going to go to bed right now so that when I wake up it will be tomorrow and I can look forward to meatball leftovers for lunch!