Hi there, Mrs. 1500 today. I have been thinking about cooking at home vs. going out to dinner lately. We are in the midst of an enormous remodeling project, which spews dust over the whole house, including the kitchen. At the end of the day, I don’t really feel like cooking, or I have been running around all day and haven’t had a chance to make anything. But I don’t want to go out to dinner all the time, because that can get expensive and quite frankly, the little 1500’s can’t sit still that long. Then I remembered The Meatballs.
I received a magazine in the mail from Kraft Foods about 2 years ago. On the cover, was a picture of meatballs, and suddenly I craved meatballs. I opened the magazine and found, literally, the easiest meatball recipe I have ever come across. My girls love them so much, they stand by the oven and after the meatballs come out and are cooled, they will stuff about 10 in their mouths before I can put them away. You can use these meatballs to top pasta, as a sandwich filler, an appetizer, or pretty much any other way you use meatballs. I was at Ikea over the weekend, and picked up a package of their Swedish Meatball Gravy and will top them with that next week for dinner. Here’s what you need:
Meatballs
2 lbs ground meat
1 box Stove Top Stuffing, unprepared
1-1/2 cups Water
2 Eggs
Step 1. Mix ingredients together. Step 2. Form balls and put on a cookie sheet. (I use a small cookie scoop and make mine slightly smaller than golf balls.) Step 3. Bake at 400 until done. (If you make smaller meatballs, you will need to cook for a shorter amount of time. If you make them larger, you will need to cook for a longer amount of time.)
That is it. I like to buy 4 lbs of ground turkey at Costco and make it all up into meatballs. By the time my girls have stopped scarfing them down, I have about 3 lbs left. I put them in a ziploc bag in the freezer and we have several meals. Since I make them a smaller size, they thaw quickly. Put them in the pasta sauce while it simmers on the stove to warm them up or thaw them in the microwave. Slice open a hoagie bun, pile them inside, cover with tomato sauce or barbecue sauce and top with a slice of mozzerella. Quick meal.
I’m planning to serve spaghetti and meatballs for dinner this week! While admittedly I already went to the store to get my meatballs (I had a coupon for a free bag of them), I’m going to have to try these. We love meatballs.
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Allie, you will LOVE these meatballs, too. Make them now, so you can stock up on Stove Top during the Thanksgiving sales.
Hello Mrs. 1500!
I really like the idea of using ground turkey for meatballs. Can you give me an idea of how long you bake them in the oven? I realize the time will vary based on oven and size of meatballs but…
Many thanks,
MG
Hi MG.
I mistakenly put the temperature at 350. It is 400 and 15-20 minutes does it for us.
That sounds very similar to a meatloaf recipe I make (also from Kraft). Ground beef, strive top stuffing, onion, Italian dressing, ketchup, and then ketchup and cheese on top. Sounds kind of gross, but honestly the thing gets devoured every time I are it for company – not a scrap left.
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I can’t say that I’ve seen a recipe with stove top stuffing you’re right, that is dead easy to make. I have my own recipe on my blog but it’s not near as easy since I have many different ingredients in mine. They look awesome though. We get that Kraft book as well.
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This is the only recipe I have ever used from that book, but it is so easy and so good!
Once I move, I want to get into the habit of making things like this. I have more than my fair share of days where I don’t feel like cooking. This leads me to either consume snack food items or going out to eat. Neither is a good option for my wallet.
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Micro, I hope the Sunday Make Ahead Recipe will become a regular thing. I have several more make aheads in mind, so keep checking Sundays. Thank you for reading. And really, these are amazing!!!
Sounds yummy! Spaghetti and meatballs are my favorite 🙂
Michelle recently posted…When Is It Too Late For You To Buy Life Insurance?
love it! definitely going to save this recipe to try out soon… make ahead meals are my favorite!
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You know, Mrs. 1500, Stove Top has never been beaten in any taste contest for stuffing that I know of. So it goes to figure that it assists in making excellent meatballs too! Thanks for sharing!!!
One year for Thanksgiving, I made 4 different types of stuffing. I was living in Chicago and had heard about White Castle stuffing for years, so I made that recipe. I made homemade stuffing with sage and onion bread from Jewel (they make it only during the holidays and it is interesting). I can’t remember the third recipe I tried, but the last one was Stove Top. Guess which was eaten first? It is so easy, and so tasty, I just don’t bother with anything else. I stock up during the holidays (it is dried bread, how much more stale can it get?) and have it all year long. YUM!
Thanks for the recipe Mrs. 1500! Quite often I will preemptively make a bunch of meals ahead and freeze them, then pull them out for quick dinners when we’re really busy. With a little planning this can save a lot of money over take out. I will definitely be adding this meatball recipe to our collection of ‘make ahead and freeze’ recipes.
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I’m thinking the use of the crock pot would be great for you these days, too – with the remodeling dust everywhere! Throw the food in the crockpot and let it cook all day! No mess, not much to it. Really, just about anything can go in the crockpot. You can then also microwave sides if needed (potatoes, veggies, etc.). Or the grill! I’m all about easy in the kitchen – I come close to saying I “hate” to cook. But I do it because I have a hubby. (and if I didn’t have the hubby, I could make due with sandwiches, cereal, salads for “meals”). I can’t imagine having to cook in a the midst of a renov. You have my sympathies. 🙁 (but I’m sure the results will be well worth it!!).
Oh, if only this were my first rodeo, SusieQ. I am well versed in the art of crockpot cooking, and many of my make ahead recipes will feature the use of the crockpot. I remember cooking in the bedroom, and washing the dishes in the bathtub. NOT fond memories…
This sounds like a great recipe. I should try it so I can have some on hand for when my sons come home.
Good luck with the remodelling. I hope it is over soon.
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You and me both, Judy. And your sons will love this recipe. If they are big eaters, you should probably make 8 pounds…
Good luck with the remodeling. I’d suggest making some freezer recipes for grilling. No kitchen needed (assuming you’ve got a grill 🙂 ). We’ve spent most of the summer meals out by the grill because we don’t want to turn the oven on and heat up the house. And we’ll probably keep grilling until October-ish…
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