Ah the improvised dinner. Lately when I go grocery shopping it is hard for me to focus on what I want to cook or eat for the week. Mind you this is a huge jump from three years ago were I would, no lie, stop by the grocery every day after work to pick out dinner. I’m proud of at least trying to think seven days in advance. Plus with two toddlers I’d go nuts going to the store every day.
So here I am with a pound of ground beef left from the weekly shopping trip and nothing else. No noodles. No bread. No freaking idea what I’m going to do with a pound of meat.
I look at some recipes but nothing really sticks. I thought about meatballs but who wants meatballs without noodles. What could replace noodles? Rice. I look around for a recipe with rice and meat. I find one called Porcupine Meatballs. With a couple of tweaks I came up with this. For a pinch it was rather tasty and the big plus, as always, is the girly-girls ate them. Even the probably-will-be-a-vegetarian-and-I-promise-I-won’t-disown-her-for-it-Teagan ate them.
Porcupine Meatballs
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup chopped onion (I used white, next time I’ll use red)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
15 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
In a bowl combine the rice, water, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and beef. Mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. In a large skillet add oil. Brown meatballs on medium high, rolling around to get even color. Drain oil. Combine tomato sauce, water, brown sugar, and Worcestershire in bowl and mix well. Pour over meatballs. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 1 hour.
I made extra rice to place the meatballs and sauce on. It reduced a lot so not much sauce was left. The picture does not do it justice.
So here I am with a pound of ground beef left from the weekly shopping trip and nothing else. No noodles. No bread. No freaking idea what I’m going to do with a pound of meat.
I look at some recipes but nothing really sticks. I thought about meatballs but who wants meatballs without noodles. What could replace noodles? Rice. I look around for a recipe with rice and meat. I find one called Porcupine Meatballs. With a couple of tweaks I came up with this. For a pinch it was rather tasty and the big plus, as always, is the girly-girls ate them. Even the probably-will-be-a-vegetarian-and-I-promise-I-won’t-disown-her-for-it-Teagan ate them.
Porcupine Meatballs
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup chopped onion (I used white, next time I’ll use red)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
15 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
In a bowl combine the rice, water, onion, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and beef. Mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. In a large skillet add oil. Brown meatballs on medium high, rolling around to get even color. Drain oil. Combine tomato sauce, water, brown sugar, and Worcestershire in bowl and mix well. Pour over meatballs. Cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 1 hour.
I made extra rice to place the meatballs and sauce on. It reduced a lot so not much sauce was left. The picture does not do it justice.
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