Meatballs

This is one of my favorite meal prep recipes. It makes aprox 3 dozen, 2 inch meatballs, which freeze easily and are great to have on hand for quick weeknight meals. These also make a great appetizer to feed a crowd.

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoon chopped, fresh parsley OR 1 ½ tablespoon dried parsley
2 lbs ground beef
1 lb ground chicken
1 ½ cups bread crumbs 
3 eggs
2 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon salt

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add onion. Cook 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add garlic and parsley. Cook an additional 3-4 minutes until onion is translucent and garlic is cooked.

Remove from heat and set aside. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease two sheet pans. Set aside. 

Place ground beef and ground chicken in a large bowl.

Add all remaining ingredients, including the mixture from skillet.

Using your (clean) hands, mash and mix to combine everything together in the bowl. Stop as soon as all ingredients are incorporated. 

Take a small amount of the meat mixture and roll it into 2” balls. (Make them 1" if using for appetizers.)

Place into one of the greased pans.

Continue doing this - place so the meatballs are tight together but not touching - until all of the meat mixture is used up. 

Place in preheated oven and bake for 25-30 mins. 

Remove meatballs from oven and allow to cool.

Enjoy!

Tips on Meatballs

• The meatballs turn out best with 80/20 ground beef. If you use beef with a lower fat content, increase the milk by 1 tablespoon
• You can substitute ground pork or ground turkey for the ground chicken.
• Any non-dairy milk can be substituted for the milk.

How to Freeze Meatballs

Once meatballs have cooled completely, remove from pan and placed on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and place in freezer overnight. 

Remove from freezer. Place frozen meatballs into a large, zip-top bag. Store in your freezer until ready to use. 

To reheat

Add frozen meatballs to your favorite sauce in a pan over medium-low heat.

Cover and allow the meatballs to thaw while the sauce heats up. 

Quick BBQ Meatball Appetizer

Place equal parts store-bought BBQ sauce and maple syrup in a saucepan. Add the juice from 1 orange and whisk everything together until it’s combined.

Add frozen meatballs to the pan and gently stir to coat with the BBQ mixture.

Place the saucepan over medium-low heat, cover and allow the meatballs to thaw as the sauce heats up. How long this will take depends on how many meatballs you're reheating. Start checking them after 10 minutes.

If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the lid after the meatballs have (mostly) thawed and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. 

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