So howโs everyone doing with Seven Days Seven Meals? I had to go out last night after work, so Iโm starting with Operation New Dinners tonight. Well, if weโre going to be technical about it, I actually started on Sunday when I made a batch of lamb meatballs for the freezer. I canโt tell you how happy it makes me knowing these are waiting for us to devour on Thursday, when soccer is going to end late, and dinner is going to have to happen fast. Like 15 minutes fast. Iโm not sure what meal will be built around them, but below I have a few options.
Keep me posted on your progress, too. Please share your triumphs with us, and remember: Catastrophes are always good for a laugh.
Freezer Lamb-balls with Two Options
Makes 16 meatballs
1 pound ground lamb
1 egg, whisked
not quite 1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoon chopped fresh mint or 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
zest from 1/2 lemon
2 tablespoon minced onions
1 large garlic clove, minced
What I did Sunday: Preheat oven to 350ยฐF. Mix all ingredients thoroughly but gently, and form into small balls as shown above. Bake on a cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Allow to cool, then freeze in Ziploc. Total time sacrificed for the betterment of my weeknight self? About 15 minutes hands-on, 35 minutes total.
What Iโll probably do on Thursday: Make Lamb Pita Sandwiches. Place frozen meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes at 400ยฐF.ย While they are baking, Iโll wrap whole wheat pitas in foil and heat them in the same oven for the last 10 minutes of meatball baking. Iโll also prepare sandwich toppings: pomegranate seeds, chopped fresh mint, feta, something green (cucumbers or shredded raw kale), plain yogurt mixed with lemon and a little cumin and salt. When meatballs are cooked, Iโll throw three or four into each pita along with assorted toppings as deemed acceptable by children.
What I could also do: Make Lamb Meatballs with Yogurt Dip.ย Place frozen meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake 15 minutes at 400ยฐF.ย While they are baking, Iโll mix plain yogurt with a squeeze of lemon, salt, a dash of cumin. Iโll serve lamb balls with yogurt dip (or ketchup if necessary) and some kind of salad with kale, feta, and pomegranate seeds โ all of which I have in the fridge from my Sunday shop.
Made a beer braised pork shoulder on Wednesday โ put it in the oven, went in to the office for four hours, picked up the kids and it was amazing. Picky eater enjoyed some shredded pork with egg noodles and the rest of us had the sauce as well.
I made 3 batches of the freezer lamb meatballs and have already used some of them โ I was so surprised at the moistness and general non-freezer like quality of them! Hurray for that! And my 1 year old loves them!
Last week I made this monthโs BA Flounder in Fennel Tomato sauce, DALS black bean burritos, a kale-brussels sprouts salad, and a Moosewood recipe for baked tofu with lemon and herbs. The flounder recipe was pretty good, but next time Iโll use haddock or cod. We used Raoโs sauce and the fennel was a really nice addition. The burritos and tofu were big hits with our three year old (and us!) so they will definitely be in the rotation in the future. The salad is my new favorite!
Flounder-
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2013/01/flounder-poached-in-fennel-tomato-sauce
Salad-http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/11/kale-and-brussels-sprout-salad
Tofu-
http://books.google.com/books?id=wsRr9NeYVX4C&pg=PT121&lpg=PT121&dq=moosewood+simple+suppers+lemon+tofu&source=bl&ots=BYpXVmnb3D&sig=FAMJtt1AhsD3Ip2miOsdsp3sIpA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pg_yUIGHDvLh0wH1qoGADg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA
This week Iโm trying three recipes from the Recipes For Health cookbookโhuevos rancheros, spinach,tofu, and sesame stir fry, and Buckwheat noodles w/kale.
so funny! (about the pomegranate molasses)โฆi delegated the meatballs to my husband, while i worked on the meal for that nightโฆ he made them, and last night when we were sitting down to eat them, i said~ โyou put the pomegranate molasses in, right??โ he replied, โit didnโt say to!!โ and then i said, โbut that was her whole reason for making them!โ ๐ โฆbut they were delicious anyway, and now, theyโve been added to next weekโs (our make-ahead item) menuโฆ now we get to compare :). {we used hummus instead of the yogurt dip (needed to try smitten kitchenโs *smooth hummus)โฆ next week, iโll try it with the yogurt!
I tried the meatballs with 2 T of the pomegranate molasses and they were a hit (though I didnโt compare with and withoutโฆ) The molasses means they caramelize a bit when baking, which I enjoyed. Thanks for the recipe! (Incidentally, like Torrie we also tried this with SK smooth hummus, which along with pita, lettuce, and cucumber plus some pomegranate seeds, made for a tasty dinner as well as lunch leftovers)
Jenny, Iโm a little late on the 7 Days, 7 Meals train but I made the lamb meatballs last night for dinner this weekend and they were stupendous! I fried off a little bit after mixing to check the seasoning and they were so good, I ended up sneaking a meatball (or two) while they were cooling. Wonderful recipe!
Letโs say I wanted to have these for dinner tonightโฆ what would the oven temp and cook time be? I checked the other meatball recipes in the DALS cookbook for reference but they seemed to involve stovetop cooking methods. Iโm vegetarian so Iโm not well versed in the ways of cooking meat but occasionally do so for guests/family. Any tips are greatly appreciated!
my one year old loved these dipped in greek yogurt. thx!
If I am not freezing these for later but using them now do I need to cook them longer than 20 minutes?