Meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 Egg, lightly beaten
• 1 C Shredded Carrot
• 1 Onion, finely diced
• 1 C Mushrooms, finely dice
• 2 T Oregano, dried
• 1 T Garlic Powder
• 1 T Basil, dried
• 3 T Coconut Oil
• S&P to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sweat the onions in 2 t of coconut oil. Put in a bowl and use the pan again.
3. Sautee the mushrooms in 2 t of coconut oil with a pinch of salt until most of the moisture has evaporated.
4. Add the onions and the carrots and cook for about 3 minutes, until everything is soft and there is no remaining moisture.
5. Cool for as long as you have time.  If you’re me, this means 3 minutes in the fridge.  It could have/should have been longer, but I was in a hurry.
6. In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients – meat, egg, veggies, spices.  Use a gentle touch and just barely bring it together.  if you bought the very lean ground beef like I did, you may want to add 1-2 T of melted coconut oil.
7. Shape into balls of a similar size.  I used a scoop to keep them uniform.  Everything to this point can be done up to 1 day ahead of time.  It will actually make them better, but requires you to plan ahead (not my strong suit).
8. Brown on each side in a skillet (preferably cast iron) over high heat with the remaining coconut oil.
9. Place on a rack set onto a cookie sheet and put in the oven.  Cook until they are cooked through, 15 minutes depending on size.  Let rest 5 minutes before eating.

Bonus: If you have a sauce that you are serving with them (perhaps tomato sauce?), you can spoon this over them halfway through the baking.