MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - SLOW COOKER MONSTER MEATBALLS IN TOMATO SAUCE

I forgot to take photos so came up with the artwork. When this is made again, I will add my own photos. In the meantime, you can see what the meal looks like if you go to the original website.

It’s been a while since I put meatballs on the menu. When I found this recipe, both ingredients and slow cooker won the day. There was no browning the meatballs first, which made it even easier. I am happy to say we both gave it a 10 out of 10, really delicious! My thanks goes to Louisa Clements, host of Living Lou. The original recipe can be found here.  I made another of her recipes which I put on this blog, a Greek Orzo Salad. You can see it here. It's not a salad I would serve with this meal, but is a really good one.

Slow Cooker Meatballs in Tomato Sauce 

Serves: 6

Calories: approximately 422 per serving 

For tomato Sauce:

1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, broken up with a spoon

1 5.5 ounce tomato paste

1 carrot, chopped 

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon chili flakes 

10 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced, for garnish

For Meatballs:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 pound ground pork

2 eggs

3/4 cup breadcrumbs 

1/3 cup milk

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 teaspoon fennel, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

In the slow cooker, add the tomatoes that you have broken up with a spoon, also tomato paste, onion, carrot, garlic, salt and hot pepper flakes. Mix until well combined.

In a large bowl, mix beef, pork, eggs, breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, fennel seeds, salt and pepper until combined.

Shape in 12 large meatballs and arrange meatballs on top of tomato sauce in slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, until carrots are tender and an instant-read thermometer inserted into meatballs read 160 degrees F. Skim off fat.

Serve sprinkled with basil. 

We made no changes  It is described as a traditional style meatball recipe. 

I was curious about using the fennel seeds as I don’t remember using this ingredient before. My super taster hubs could detect a faint taste of it but I couldn’t. All I know is that it was a delicious dish and as mentioned, we both easily gave it a 10 out of 10. 

We served it with Angel Hair Spaghetti and extra grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top, along with the thinly sliced basil leaves.

A nice mixed veggie salad would finish it off perfectly.

I checked after 6 hours and everything was cooked perfectly. You be the judge though as temperatures may differ from one slow cooker to another.  

There are leftovers which will taste even better the next day but…

we both said we would like more sauce and would double those ingredients next time  Not the meatballs though! Any sauce left over that we don’t finish, I will freeze it.  

The added ingredients might alter the length of cooking time, but I will allow for the 8 hours while checking after 6, for both carrot and meatball. Easy enough to check the carrot but will always use a thermometer to make sure the meatball is cooked all the way through. 

Another thing I wanted to add was that one of the commenters said her meatballs turned out softer than she likes. Louisa’s response was that they tend to be more tender than those made in a frying pan or in the oven as they are braised rather than roasted or fried.  I personally thought these were excellent both in texture and taste, but wanted to let you know just in case you wondered about them once served. I am looking forward to making this recipe again. 

That’s all I can remember for now but if you have any questions, write a comment and I will be happy to try and answer. I highly recommend visiting Louisa’s blog to look at the original recipe. 

Below is the full address if you prefer to copy and paste today’s recipe, as well as the salad,  rather than using the links above.

https://www.livinglou.com/slow-cooker-monster-meatballs-tomato-sauce/

and

https://www.livinglou.com/greek-orzo-salad

Thanks for looking and have a great week.