Mighty Meatball Recipe

I love meatballs.  I really do.  Meatball subs are one of my favorite things and I’ve been craving them lately.  But let’s be honest, meatballs are not exactly light and for someone trying to lose a little weight like me they are not usually on the menu.  So I thought I’d do a little tweaking to my stand-by meatball recipe and see if I could lighten them up a bit and sneak a little extra veggies in there.

Now I know that some people are opposed to parents “sneaking” veggies into their kids food but that’s not really what I’m doing here.  My son watched me make these and is fully aware that they have delicious vegetables in them.  I love to try to make meals not only light but also full of good nutrition for my family so I do seek to figure out new ways to add more vegetables to any meal.

Here’s how I made my veggie infused meatballs:

Ingredients

• 1 cup of carrots
• 1/2 cup zucchini and squash
• 1/2 cup of broccoli
• 1 egg
• 2 cloves of garlic (pressed)
• 1/2 cup of dried breadcrumbs
• 1 lb. of ground beef
• 1/4 cup of diced onion

1. Steam the carrots, zucchini, squash, and broccoli.  Then puree them in the blender.

2. Combine the egg, garlic, breadcrumbs, beef, onion, and veggie puree in a bowl.

3. Form your 24 meatballs.  To make sure mine are equal I flatten my meat mixture into a 9X13 pan.  Then I cut it into 24 equal portions, roll each portion into a ball shape and place onto a baking sheet.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until they are done.

5. Let the grease drain a little on a paper towel lined plate.

I used the meatballs to make little meatball sliders that my family enjoyed.  I love meatballs for this time of year because they are extremely versatile.  You can make sliders like I did, spaghetti and meatballs, Swedish meatballs, meatballs as an appetizer, little meatballs for Italian Wedding Soup, etc.  I love that I can make up a batch and use them for more than one meal.

Anyone else love meatball subs as much as I do?  Do you have any favorite recipes that you sneak some extra veggies into?

Linking up with I Should Be Mopping the Floor and A Pinch of Joy.

Cat

Cat is a teacher turned stay-at-home mom of two boys.  She shares crafts, DIY projects, kids’ activities, and a little bit about life in Ohio.  Learn more about her and the blog on the About page.