Meatball Mania! Followup

All of the meatballs were a success. We decided at the last minute to make a sesame ginger one as well which turned out great.

The favorite was the Caribbean Jerk. We decided all of the recipes needed about 1/4 of the marinade we put in instead of a couple of tablespoons. When we remade the Caribbean Jerk, we added a lot more of the marinade and it turned out just wonderfully. Needless to say, very few of them were left to freeze.

Better luck next time I guess.

It's been a real blast putting them together. I think the coolest thing is getting input from the kids who munched down more than we did.

Each recipe was easily made:

Caribbean Jerk Meatballs
2 pounds of ground beef
1/4 cup Caribbean Jerk Marinade
1/2 yellow onion diced
1/2 orange bell pepper diced
1/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup of bread crumbs

Pre-heat oven to 375. Mix everything together but the crumbs. Mix thoroughly. Add the bread crumbs, mix until combined. Roll into balls. Bake for 25 minutes flipping the meatballs over half way through. Serve on a bed of jasmine rice with chunks of pineapple mixed in. We considered grilling the pineapple and adding it to the rice, but we weren't using the grill so we decided against it.

To freeze, simply place cooked meatballs in freezer bags or vacuum seal to extend their life. I prefer the vacuum seal personally.

Man these were good. It's a fairly easy recipe and it makes quite a bit depending on the size of the meatballs.

The recipe is basically the same for each one except for the sauces/liquids and minus the pineapple in the above recipe.

Sesame Ginger
Cilantro and red pepper (for the Fireball)
Peanut sauce and sesame seeds
Cheese (I used Colby jack) and garlic (4 large cloves)

Possibilities are endless. And each one can be served alone or on a bed of rice or noodles or in a sauce. We're still working on deciding how we want to serve them. Though, now that I think about it, pineapple in the sesame ginger sounds pretty good. Or perhaps making the meatball with watercress in the middle or chopped and mixed in.

The best thing about cooking your own meals from scratch is that you get to go through the fun of figuring out what the best way to serve them would be. Not to mention the family time. I know that when my children grow up they will look back on our time in the kitchen fondly.

Who could ask for more?