Meatballs in Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce
Last Sunday some friends had us over for dinner. Deb brought out this huge platter of elk meatballs and placed it conveniently in front of me. "Did I have to pass them around, I wondered secretly?" I could have devoured every last one! Well, after my raving about them she kindly gave me the recipe. The next day I went to work modifying. Her recipe called for catsup. I thought I'd try to cut back on the sugar, by making a catsup-like sauce using sun-dried tomatoes and a bit of honey. Here is what I came up with.
THE SAUCE
Combine and soak to soften:
1/3 cup SUN DRIED TOMATOES (dry, not soaked in oil)
1-1/2 cups boiling WATER
In blender, puree:
Sun-dried tomatoes and soaking water
1/3 cup Bragg’s APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
2 tablespoons HONEY
1 teaspoon SEA SALT
1 small ONION
THE MEATBALLS
In a large bowl combine:
2 pounds ground BISON, BEEF or ELK
1/2 cup RICE CRACKER CRUMBS (easily made in a blender or food processor)
1 cup jarred mild SALSA (I used Pace Picante)
1 teaspoon SEA SALT
1 teaspoon ONION POWDER
Shape meat mixture into 2-4” balls using cookie dough scoop. Place in baking dish and cover with the tomato mixture. Bake 350˚F for 1 hour (or until cooked through). For crispy-top meatballs switch from bake to broil for last five minutes. Remove from oven and let stand 3-5 minutes.
NOTES: The meatballs are mighty good even without the sauce.
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Reader Comments (4)
The meatballs and the sauce are making my mouth water! YUM! Also, I have the same plate =) I got two when I saw them at Marshall's and I wish I got more =) Still on for Saturday I hope? xoxo
PS Love your new photo!
I've been craving meatballs... but I can only have organic chicken. Could you replace the chicken with the beef? And could you use gf bread crumbs instead of the crackers? I'm so new at this, I need help? :)
Michelle, though I haven't tried these with chicken, I think you will be fine : ) A mixture of ground turkey and chicken is always nice. The ground turkey is usually a darker meat with more fat. If you are going with ground chicken breast, add a tablespoon or two of safe oil or mayo (I use Vegenaise). The GF bread crumbs should be fine, too. I like the Brown Rice Bread Crumbs I get at my local HF store. Nice to have on hand for meatballs : ) good luck. xoLexie