Quarantine with a chance of meatballs.
June 6, 2020
Quarantine with a chance of meatballs. . Another Birthday post. It’s not easy for a teen, especially a social butterfly teen to go through a quarantine Birthday. My teen was quite mature about staying home and celebrating a quiet and socially isolated birthday, but to make it special, she asked for her favorite foods... meatballs with gravy, mashed potatoes and some cranberry sauce. . She was craving Swedish meatballs, the IKEA kind. So after looking through a bunch of recipes, I was ready to recreate, but of course with a twist. . Instead of beef and pork, I went with 2 lbs of lean ground chicken for the meatballs. Added sautéed chopped onion to the meat, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, salt and some spices. Most recipes call for all spice, so instead of using store bought, I went and made my own. Ground cinnamon, ground cloves and grated nutmeg. 1/2 tsp of each. Mixed it all up and scooped the meat (balls) in a pan with a spoonful of oil. Pan fried the meatballs evenly on all sides on low/med flame and set aside. . For the gravy too, I went with a twist - chicken broth vs. beef. Made a nice golden roux from 1/2 stick of butter and 1/4 cup of flour, added 4 cups of broth, stirred, thickened and finished up with 1/2 a cup whisked sour cream, salt and pepper. One last simmer and it was ready to go. . Served the meatballs drizzled with gravy with a side of creamy, buttery mashed potatoes and some cranberry sauce (instead of lingonberry, the traditional Swedish condiment). This turned out to be a complete hit! It was lighter on the tummy and absolutely delish. . ***Tips: 1)Before adding the spices, toast them in a dry pan, to intensify flavors. 2)Use a cookie scoop to get evenly sized meatballs. 3)Whisk sour cream smooth before adding to gravy, to avoid lumps. . . . . . #meatballs #meatballsandgravy #mashedpotatoes #swedishmeatballs #ikeameatballs #chickenmeatballs #foodstagram #lunch #saturdayvibes #saturdaylunch #mealideas #easyrecipes #cookingwithatwist #platedexpressions #plating #foodstyling #foodphotography #artofplating #damnthatsdelish #cookingathome #foodartchefs #huffposttaste #buzzfeast #gastromeals #cookniche #thekitchn #foodiesofinstagram #foodlover #eat