Swedish Meatballs (User Friendly for Younger Cooks)

This is a delicious Swedish Meatballs recipe from a cook book called Many Hands Cooking: An International Cookbook for Girls and Boys by Terry Touff Cooper and Marilyn Ratner. This is one of the first dishes I prepared as a child. I made it for company and I was so proud of it! Swedish meatballs usually include ground pork as well as beef, but this makes a comforting and delicious meal and can easily be tweaked and doubled or tripled. Great for OAMC and great for teaching children to cook.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 3⁄4 cup  breadcrumbs
• 1  cup  cream
• 1  onion
• 1  egg
• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2  tablespoons butter
• 2  tablespoons flour
• 1 1⁄2 cups milk

Directions

1. Measure the bread crumbs and 1/2 cup of the cream into the mixing bowl.
2. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
3. With the paring knife, peel the onion and chop it up into small pieces.
4. Break the egg into the small bowl and beat it with the fork.
5. Add the meat and the cut-up onion to the bread crumbs and cream.
6. Mix well.
7. Stir in the egg, the salt and the allspice.
8. Pick up a small amount ot the mixture - about as big as a plum - with your hand.
9. Roll it between your palms.
10. Shape it into a ball.
11. Place each ball when you have made it on the plate.
12. Continue until all the meat is rolled into balls.
13. Melt the butter in the frying pan, over low heat.
14. Place a few meat balls in the pan.
15. Roll them from side to side with the spoon until they are browned on all sides.
16. Remove them to a plate.
17. Continue until all the balls are browned.
18. Turn off the heat.
19. Add the flour to the frying pan.
20. Stir it with the fat and meat juice until it is all mixed together.
21. Scrape up the meat that has tuck to the bottom of the pan with the mixing spoon.
22. Add the second 1/2 c of cream and the milk to the mixture in the pan.
23. Stir it until it makes a smooth sauce.
24. Return the meat balls to the frying pan with the sauce.
25. Cover the pan with the lid.
26. Simmer it over a very low flame for 25 minutes.
27. Arrange the meat balls on the serving platter and pour the gravy over them.