Meatloaf Balls

I have a whole list of recipes that I've been wanting to try but just haven't had the time.  With school being out I find myself in the kitchen A LOT and have added several recipes to my family's "tried and true" list of winners that everyone loved and asked me to make again.  I am a HUGE fan of Pioneer Woman recipes and when I came across this recipe I was intrigued by the sauce.  My boys all love ketchup so I decided to give it a try.

The original recipe called these "barbecue meatballs", but we all agreed that they weren't really barbecue-y enough to constitute the name.  We didn't think calling them just plain "meatballs" would suffice either since that leads you to believe that they'll have an Italian flavor and be served with pasta.  Ultimately we decided that they were more like meatloaf... hence our name... meatloaf balls :)

Oh my WORD, y'all!  They were AMAZING!!!  

Here's What You'll Need...

- 1.5 lbs ground beef

- 3/4 cups quick oats

- 1 cup milk

- 3 tablespoons diced onion (dice it REALLY small!)

- salt and pepper

- 1 cup flour

- canola oil

- 1 cup ketchup

- 2 tablespoons sugar

- 3 tablespoons vinegar

- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

- 4 tablespoons thinly diced onions

- Step 1 -

Combine the ground beef, oats, milk, thinly diced onion and salt and pepper (to taste). 

- Step 2 - 

Roll the meat into equal size balls and pop them into the freezer for about 5 minutes.  I used a 1/8 cup measuring cup to portion out the meat mixture before rolling it into balls.

Here's a lovely view of our outside deep freezer ;)  You just want them to firm up a bit before working with them more, you're not actually freezing them.

- Step 3 -

While the meatballs are chilling, whip up the sauce.  Combine 1 cup ketchup, 2 tablespoons sugar, 3 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce and 4 more tablespoons diced onion.

- Step 4 -

Warm up some canola oil in a pan, take the meatballs and roll them in flour before placing them in the hot oil to brown.  When they're browned place them into a baking dish.

The meatballs are going to cook in the oven so you're not worried about cooking them through.  You just want to brown them a bit and get them to hold their shape a bit.  It took about 10 minutes (3-4 batches) to get them all browned.

- Step 5 -

Pour the prepared sauce over the meatballs and pop the whole dish in the oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

45 minutes later they'll be all bubbly, the sauce will have thickened and your house will be smelling AMAZING!!!

I served them alongside piping hot mashed potatoes and they were AMAZING!!! 

PS - For my potatoes I peel and chop them and boil them until they're soft . Next I put the hot potatoes into my Kitchenaid stand mixer and then add in butter and whatever dairy I have in my fridge.  Obviously heavy whipping cream is the best way to go :)  Then I just whip them up until they're creamy and fluffy and Heaven-sent.

Dave's love language is meat and potatoes - so he was over the moon when he came home to this meal and has already requested it again.  The meatballs were moist, the sauce was tasty and everyone had seconds.  #winning

Be sure to file this one away for Fall or if you're like us and need some meat and potatoes year round you can put it on your meal calendar for this week :)

Happy Wednesday, friends!!!

PS - Don't forget that you can check out my previous recipes HERE