I was just talking about veggies first....

I know I've already blogposted about meatballs, but ground meat is so underrated sometimes.....goodness, ground meat? Ground meat is kind of like the "broccoli" of meat! In other words when you can't think of anything else, you go for the ground meat. Personally when I ask for ground meat at the butchers counter I always think that the Meat Cutter must think I don't know how to cook! Sometimes we just don't have the energy to deal with a protein that takes time to cook and clean up. Mostly though, you get to the meat counter and lacking imagination is #1 problem, and you just want something fast.

But since I was just writing about veggies first, I thought I might post some pictures of tonights meatballs....they may not make it into some homemade tomato sauce, but who the hell cares.....I think I've already treated myself to 1/2 dozen!

I diced 1/2 onion, 5 green onions, 2 celery stalks, and one of the roasted jalapenos from last night. (I included some seeds to make it spicey hot!) Sautee in a bit of olive oil for 5-8 minutes, let cool and then add to

1 lb ground meat (I used pork)

1 egg

1 cup oatmeal (I ground this fine in my blender)

1/4 cup water (I think this is to expand the oatmeal...or breadcrumbs. Whichever you use)

1 tsp salt, ground pepper (I use kosher salt, so if you are using sea salt, or iodized salt you would use 1/2 this amount)

Using a 2 tbl scoop, I formed the mixture into a couple dozen meatballs. Does it matter if the meatballs are perfectly round? I don't think so! If these ever make it into some sauce it will be a miracle!

This is also the same way you make meatloaf, only you form it into a log, and cook it in a 375 degree oven. The time varies with how much meat you use....I always use 2 lbs of ground meats for my meatloaf, so it takes about 45 minutes....I do check with an insta-read thermometer occasionally. The problem with making a big meatloaf is that I will eat slice after slice after yummy slice, starting with the end pieces first! I admit I can be a bit greedy when it comes to the end pieces. When I make meatballs I eat less.

PS green onions are second only to radishes for the biggest deal in the produce section! Good Lord, what do they cost? 2, 3, 4 bunches for $1? My BFF Fawn makes a killer salad dressing from using just the green tops with oil, goat cheese, lemon and honey! In this recipe I was cleaning out my veg drawers and 4-5 green onion stalks lingered.....I once used sliced green onions in my Split Pea Soup when I discovered no other onion in my pantry....the result? MMM, mmm, good! Slice up those leftover green onions, green tops and all, into your sauteed veggies. You never know!