mulberryshoots

2 patties of leftover Angus grass-fed hamburger patties, sourdough bread in milk, egg, onion. . .

We’ve been trying out grass-fed angus ground beef lately. The other day, we had hamburgers with all the fixin’s and found the beef tasty but the texture a little dry. I’ve been thinking about using the leftover beef to make meatballs and find that cooking mid-morning for all the ‘sous-chef” prep steps makes dinner easy to put on the table when the time comes.

Today, I thought I’d mix the leftover beef patties with some sourdough bread soaked in milk, minced onions browned in the skillet, an egg, Lawry’s garlic salt, cracked pepper and salt. In other words, my classic recipe for making meatballs. The softened bread crumbs make the meatballs tender and extend their volume at the same time.

I think I’ll make the meatballs a tad smaller than usual so that there will be more of them and they’ll be easier to eat. After they’re browned, I’ll drain off the grease, clean out the pan and then add the meatballs back to a jar of ready made spaghetti sauce for about forty-five minutes to warm and meld the flavors of the beef and tomato sauce right before we’re ready to sit down at the table. (Yep, I’m not fussy about making the tomato sauce myself and have found various brands of sauce that do just fine.)

Sixteen medium sized meatballs from 2 hamburger patties . . .

I’ll cook up some thin spaghetti to go with the meatballs – a little bit more bite than angel hair which we also like. And plenty of hand-grated parmesan cheese (not boxed) to add on top if we feel like it. A simple lettuce salad (boston and red leaf) with some chopped scallions dressed with a sharp Marukan seasoned vinegar and olive oil with crushed garlic and a dab of Poupon mustard dressing will round out the meal. Skip the garlic bread of old – too much carb & gluten!

Happy Sunday everybody!