My sweet wife and I have arrived to Lake Michigan, on Michigan’s western shore. It is a little foggy today, but the picture provides some flavor of the place. I do not believe the Great Lakes receive their due. Yes, it is icy cold in the winter, but shirt sleeves and shorts all summer long. In fact, lots of folks here are wearing sweaters today at the beach. The lakes are so big, you would swear you were at the ocean … without the salt water. Wonderful!
Beginning twenty-four hours after our arrival, both of us were super sick with a virus someone shared with us, likely upon our arrival in the north country. I will not go into the details, but after three days of crackers and chicken soup, once I began to feel better, I wanted to eat something real!
Now, I am not a doctor and doubt one will approve of my meatballs, but if you have come through the symptoms and your stomach feels almost as good as new, I think you will be OK with these. Frankly, we thought they were pretty good regardless of the toned down approach.
Get well quick!
- ½ Pound 93% Lean Ground Beef
- ¼ Cup Plain Bread Crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Yellow Onion
- 1 Tablespoon Finely Chopped Carrot
- 1 Egg
- Pinch of Salt
- ⅔ Cup Beef Broth (If you are really feeling well, ⅓ Cup Broth plus ⅓ Cup Milk)
- 1 Tablespoon All Purpose Flour
- 1 White Mushroom, Sliced
- 1 Teaspoon Oil (Olive or Canola)
- Place a rack in the center slot of your oven and preheat to 350 degrees.
- Crumble the meat into a bowl. Add the bread crumbs and the next 5 ingredients. Mix well to combine and form 2 equal balls.
- Place the meatballs in a baking dish and into your preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 20 minutes and check by pressing on one with the back of a spoon. It will be done when it feels somewhat firm, rather than soft or spongy. Because the idea here is to make something filling, but not greasy, we want them well done.
- While the meatballs are baking, make the gravy. Put the oil and mushrooms in a small saute pan over medium heat and saute until the mushrooms begin to turn colors. Measure the flour and room-temp liquid (broth, milk or not) into a small bowl and whisk briskly to combine and eliminate all lumps. Add to the sauted mushrooms and stir until it boils, reduce heat to low and simmer 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Serve the sauce over the meatballs with salt and pepper at the table. This is wonderful with boiled and butter potatoes. Additionally, if you feel up to it, yellow squash sliced and boiled, drained and seasoned with a pat of butter will round out your meal. Also, my doctor will like this recipe better if you use ground chicken ... feel free!
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