Week 6: Recipe #1--Swedish Meatballs

I really liked this recipe.  I found it on a Martha Stewart blog I follow (see link below).  It makes a lot of meatballs, but you can freeze them and use them later, which is nice.  I served this with a side salad.

Photo from marthastewart.com

You'll Need:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 3 cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Coarse salt and ground pepper (I just used regular table salt)
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 3 Tblsp. butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 cups canned reduced-sodium beef broth
• grape or current jelly, cooked egg noodles, chopped parsley (I left that out) for serving (all optional)  (I thought the jelly idea was strange but tried it anyway...yummy!)

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, panko, 1/2 cup of the milk, eggs, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and allspice.  Mix just until combined.
2. Using a rounded 1 tablespoon measure for each, form mixture into meatballs (you should have about 48--I had less, my meatballs must have been a little bigger...).  Place meatballs onto two rimmed baking sheets (I lined mine with foil for less cleanup); bake until golden brown and cooked through, 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.
3. Meanwhile, make sauce:  In a medium saucepan, melt butter over med-high.  Add flour; cook, whisking, 1 minute (do not let darken).  Gradually whisk in remaining cup milk and broth; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, and simmer until sauce has slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer to a larger bowl.
4. Using a slotted spoon, add meatballs to bowl with sauce; gently toss to combine.  Serve as an appetizer, on toothpicks, with jelly on the side; or as a main dish over noodles (I did this with egg noodles), garnished with parsley, with jelly on the side.  (Lily LOVED dipping her meatballs in the jelly, so she ended up eating pretty well.)

**Recipe and link (directions to freeze are below the recipe on the link):  http://www.marthastewart.com/283034/swedish-meatballs