Greek Meatballs

Last weekend I was trying to decide what we should have for dinner during the week and was really not coming up with anything. I actually just wrote on the shopping list, "fruit, veggies, food." But even I know that is a little ridiculous (even though Zach helpfully pointed it out) so I dragged out some old issues of Cuisine at Home looking for inspiration. I found a recipe for Greek Meatballs that looked good. We went to the grocery store and I forgot to buy quite a few things that the recipe called for but, as usual, didn't realize it until I got home to start cooking.

A quick phone call to Zach meant that feta cheese was again on the menu, but I ended up sprinkling it on top of the finished product instead of mixing it in to the meatballs. I didn't have parsley either, so I chopped up some celery leaves to use instead (I feel like tv chef's always tell you to use the celery leaves for something- I think this is the first time I ever have) and added a cup of the cooked lemon rice that we were having on the side in place of bread crumbs. The final result was a rather tasty meatball but the sauce really pulled the dish together. It consisted of just a can of whole tomatoes that I roughly chopped with some garlic and kalamata olives and cooked on the stove for about 20 minutes. The olives gave the sauce a piquant taste that really added to the meatballs.

Greek Meatballs
Serves 4-6
Adapted from Cuisine at Home

11 C cooked rice
1/4 c milk
1/4 c chopped parsley or celery greens
2 T scallion, minced
1 t salt
2 t dried oregano (Greek oregano if you have it)
1 egg
1 lb. ground beef (I used 93% lean) or ground turkey
2 t olive oil
3/4 c kalmata olives, pitted and halved
1 T garlic
squirt of hot sauce
1, 28oz. can chopped tomatoes with their juice (or whole tomatoes, chopped)
Feta cheese, for topping

- Mix first 8 ingredients together. If you have time, let the mixture sit for 30 minutes or so.

- Heat oil in a non-stick skillet. Form meatballs a bit larger than golf ball size (should make 15) and add them to the pan. Brown on both sides and remove from pan.

- Remove all but 1 T. oil from the pan. Add the garlic and olives and saute for about a minute. Add the hot sauce and tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes.

- Add the meatballs back to the pan and simmer for another 5 minutes or so, until meatballs are cooked through. Serve immediately over rice or pasta.