Farm Style Meatballs

Farm style, aka use what you have on hand, meatballs are a great way to sneak in your not-so-favorite veggies.  

A CSA member inspired this recipe.  He shared that this was their favorite way to use their salad turnips — dice them up and add them to meatballs!  It’s wonderful with large greens, beets, and works with pretty much any mix of savory vegetables.  

Farm Style Meatballs

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Lb ground beef or other ground meat
• Fresh or dried herbs, chopped (parsley, basil, etc.) use anywhere from 1 tablespoon to 1 cup of herbs, depending on personal taste.  
• 3-6 cloves of garlic, minced.  Sub green garlic or garlic scapes.
• 1 bunch of greens, finely chopped (chard, kale, beet greens, turnip greens, etc.)
• 1-2 cups of diced veggies (turnips, beets, sweet peppers, summer squash, onion, etc.)
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, oatmeal, or 1/8 cup flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon olive oil for baking dish
• Optional 1/4 cup shredded cheese of choice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven (or BBQ — see notes) to 400 degrees F.  

2. Prepare a cast iron skillet or baking dish by oiling it liberally with 1 T olive oil.  

3. Mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl until evenly combined.  

4. Form meatballs with your hands or a scoop/spoon, aiming for 1 ½ inches in diameter.  

5. Place meatballs in the prepared cast iron or baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes.  

6. Check for doneness and remove from oven.  

7. Serve with pasta, rice, veggies, or slice and put them on a sandwich!  

NOTES:

You can use the baking dish or cast iron to keep on cooking!  Roast veggies in your baking dish or saute some other greens in your cast iron… or just pour the juices from the pan into your pasta.  

If you don’t have pre-made breadcrumbs on hand, you can make your own!  Cut or break bread slices into smaller pieces and then bake at 300 degrees F for 5-10 minutes, until dry to touch and lightly toasted.  Let cool and blend in a food processor or place in a ziplock bag and smash with a rolling pin.  If you don’t have bread, you can substitute oatmeal, crushed nuts or seeds, or even flour (but use half the amount of flour). 

You can bake these on the BBQ, too!  Preheat BBQ and turn off or down the burners directly under your dish.  Check often for burning — every BBQ is different.  Ours usually takes 10 minutes longer than baking in the oven.  Here are some tips from Serious Eats for BBQ baking! 

Feel free to add anything else in that you’d like!  This recipe is meant as a guide — substitute as needed!

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