User Friendly Meatballs

CraftScout's Note:

Easy, easy, easy! These taste yummy freshly made or from the freezer. They are also very versatile since they aren't highly seasoned. The only thing hard about this recipe is rolling the little things. I originally got the idea from a Food and Family magazine, but modified it a little.

• Total Time: 35 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 1 lb ground beef
• 10 saltine crackers , crushed
• ¼ cup Italian salad dressing , divided
• 1 beef bouillon cube , dissolved in 1/2 c. boiling water

Directions:

1. Mix ground beef, cracker crumbs, and half salad dressing until well blended. Roll into 32 one inch balls.
2. Heat the rest of the dressing in a non stick skillet on medium high heat. Add meatballs to skillet. Cook, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes, or until brown. Add bouillon. Simmer about 5 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.
3. At this point, you can bag them and freeze, or add sauce. Pasta sauce of all kinds is good, so is a can of cream of mushroom soup, thinned out with milk.

Reviews

[CottageGarden]

These were super easy to make. I didn't fry them. I just added the full amount of dressing and baked them in the oven in a roaster. They froze well and came in handy for quick meals. However I found that the brand of Italian dressing that I used made them a bit tangy - which is fine for tomato based dishes but I would not use them in a cream sauce or brown gravy because of the tanginess.

[xraypinky]

My husband and I liked these meatballs. They weren't over-spiced, just pleasant. I used a new tiny ice cream scoop to make the meatballs, and I got 25 to one pound of meat. I browned these on the sides in a skillet, they fell apart a little. I then decided to broil the meatballs for a total of about 10 minutes, turning once. The fat drained off nicely, and they were still juicy. We are planning on making these again. I liked that the ingredients were things I had on hand. Good basic recipe. Thanks!

[Ma Field]

I didn't care for these at all, but DH really liked 'em, so we split the difference, bringing it up to three stars. DH says they taste like swedish meatballs you can get in frozen entrees. i would agree with him, which is why I don't like them. The recipe went together easily, and they thawed well. Just not my cup of tea. Made for Freezer Tag March 2008.