Meatballs

We LOVE pasta in this house!  Lately we have been making our own sauce so that we know EVERY ingredient that goes into it. We eat brown rice pasta and we cannot even tell the difference! Brown rice pasta is made from rice, which is a grain, so it does not have gluten or flour in it.  Your body process grains slower than gluten or flour and it is low on the glycemic index. 

I made these lean meatballs to go with our sauce and our brown rice pasta.  First, gather all the ingredients.  I like to sneak in extra vegetables for flavor and fiber, so get a big mixing bowl and add in your ingredients. 

Disclaimer: I NEVER measure things!  I will give you an estimate of the measurements, but add as much or as little as you desire.   :)

 1 egg

1/4 c. chopped onions

1/4 c. chopped green peppers

2 tbsp. tomato sauce (homemade)

1/2 c. almond meal (added for extra protein)

and of course, your lean meat-- I used 97% lean ground beef, 

but ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey would work as well

Stir it up and form it (even though I hate touching raw meat, I had to use my hands)

I used my cast iron skillet and added some sauce and some oil 

(palm fruit or coconut oil are best, but I only had olive oil, so I used that)

Cover the pan, set it on medium heat and wait until they are AT LEAST half cooked

When they are about half browned, you can turn them over.  Some of mine broke, so be VERY careful! They are done cooking when they are all the way brown and the internal temperature is about 160-165 degrees. 

Serve them with brown rice pasta and LOTS of sauce.. ok, you don't have to have a lot of sauce, but that's what we like!

Full Recipe makes about 6 servings

Ingredients:

1 egg

1/4 c. chopped onions

1/4 c. chopped green peppers

1/4 c. tomato sauce 

1/2 c. almond meal (added for extra protein, but not necessary)

1 lb. lean, ground meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey)

2 tbsp. oil (palm fruit, coconut are best)

1. In a mixing bowl, combine onions, peppers, egg, 2 tbsp. sauce, almond meal, and ground meat.

2. Mix it all up and form it into small balls of meat.

3. Add oil and desired amount of sauce to a frying pan and place the meatballs in the pan.

4. At medium heat, cook the meatballs until they are fully brown inside and out and the internal temperature is about 160-165 degrees.

5. Serve with brown rice pasta and tomato sauce and enjoy!