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Ground Beef Meatballs

These could be baked or cooked in another sauce, or just sautéed until cooked through. I do them in this delicious tomato olive sauce and serve in bowls with a side salad.

What you need

  1. »«Meatballs»«
  2. 1 lb ground beef
  3. 1 large shallot, minced
  4. 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  5. 1 tbl Worcestershire sauce
  6. 1/2 tsp salt
  7. 1 tbl minced fresh oregano leaves
  8. 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar or other sharp cheese
  9. Fresh ground black pepper
  10. »«Sauce»«
  11. 1 28oz can organic plum tomatoes whole or crushed
  12. 1/2 - 3/4 cup kalamata olives, sliced lengthwise into quarters
  13. 2 cloves garlic, minced
  14. 1/2 - 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  15. 1/2 tsp salt
  16. 2-3 tbl minced fresh oregano leaves

How to make it

  1. Combine meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl, pressing firmly to blend and tighten the mixture
  2. Form meat mixture into 1 inch balls which should make about 20-24 meatballs
  3. Chill for 20-30 minutes (or a couple of hours)
  4. Crush tomatoes if needed and set aside with sauce or juice from their can
  5. Heat fat in a skillet over medium heat
  6. Add meatballs and cook until browned on all sides
  7. Remove and set aside
  8. Add olives, garlic and red pepper flakes
  9. Sauté until garlic it is very fragrant, but not yet browned
  10. Add tomatoes, oregano and salt
  11. Stir and cook over medium-low to medium heat, adjusting as needed until flavors have blended -- this only takes 10-15 minutes
  12. Add meatballs to sauce, spooning sauce over each and cook over medium-low until meatballs are cooked through

If you use a less salty cheese you'll want to increase the salt in the meatballs to 1 tsp

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