Porcupine Meatballs

What to have for dinner? That is always a challenging question for me but usually once I figure out the entree the rest is pretty easy.

Today I am featuring an entree that I have been making for years, although it had been awhile since I had made them.

I got this recipe from a cookbook that I bought years ago called Lowfat Country Cooking by Taste of Home,  but I have made some changes to the recipe. For one thing, I have tripled the original recipe. I like to have plenty for my family and possibly some leftovers too. I was making these for my entire family: 2 daughters, 2 son-in-laws, 3 grandchildren and myself so I needed plenty and my motto in cooking is that I would rather have too much than not enough. You can always use leftovers and these are just as good the 2nd and 3rd day as the first day.

The recipe as I prepare it:

For the Meatballs:

Mix the following ingredients together in a large bowl:

1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice

(do not use brown rice for this recipe)

1 1/2 cups water

3/4 to 1 cup chopped onions

3/4 teaspoons salt (the original recipe calls for celery salt but I use regular salt)

3/8 teaspoon pepper

3/8 teaspoon garlic powder

3 pounds ground beef or ground round

Once you have all of the rice, water, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder and ground beef mixed well, shape the meat mixture into meatballs. Be sure to use regular white uncooked long grain rice for this recipe. I have always used the white rice before, but I thought I would try this recipe using brown rice to add more nutritional value to it, but I will not do that again. While they tasted great as always, the brown rice in the meatballs did not get as tender as the white rice always has all the times I have made these before. So you can learn from my mistake. Stick to the white rice for this recipe.

Once you have shaped all of the meatballs, spray 2 large skillets or pans with cooking spray. It usually takes 2 pans to hold them all. Once the skillets are hot, cook the meatballs, turning them as needed, until they are all evenly browned and no longer pink inside. Drain excess liquid and grease from the meatballs.

You are now ready to add the sauce that the meatballs will simmer in:

For the sauce mix together in a large bowl:

3 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce

3 cups water

6 tablespoons brown sugar

6 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Once the sauce is mixed, pour the sauce over the meatballs in the skillets. Cover the skillets with a lid or foil and lower the heat so that they will just simmer covered at a low boil and not a rapid boil. Continue to simmer the meatballs in the sauce until the sauce thickens, usually about an hour.  

Once the meatballs have simmered for about an hour and the sauce has thickened, I transfer all of the meatballs to a large bowl and allow to cool for about 10 minutes or so before serving them. These are great with just a salad, or with mashed potatoes and green beans.

Enjoy!