Meatballs or Meat Loaf

Click to enlarge "visual recipe"! :)
Use a cookie version of an Ice cream scoop for Meat balls (spread in a pan or pressure cooker)
or smash into a pan anywhere from a muffin tin for small servings to a larger pan of any size for cutting up later.
Bake them hot 425* to go quicker, but 350* or so for the thicker loaves.

These freeze great!! ....And when served in portions are a frugal way to get your protein and grass fed healthy fat ....So Make up a big batch so you can still put away plenty for later.

So make sure that you have lots of other foods ready and on the plates before serving so that your family doesn't fill up with out eating their veggies I really like potatoes, sweet potato (put them in the bottom of the oven!), cauliflower "delight" :), green beans, and lots of raw veggies and/or salad as options when we have meat loaf. I even will steam up a big old plate of greens and onions with butter or gravy on mine. Whatever it is you like, have it ready so no one eats too much meat loaf - It's really easy to do ;)!

Ingredients:

Might as well start with some other super foods! ;) :

• chopped Onions 2 or 3 more = so there is less than but can be up to an equal amount to the meat
• Chopped garlic (optional) ....and garlic powder later

Cut and allow to sit out while you prep everything else (better for you?, worth the possibility)

Pick and choose veggies: These all support the great flavor of a strong meaty meatloaf.

• Carrot = chopped or peelings - "peeling" the entire carrot (all the way until it is too skinny to hold onto anymore) gives the meatloaf better texture and no biting into veggies when you want meat!
  
• Greens = Kale, bok choy, (rich in available calcium) and swiss chard/beet greens seem to be taste free and collards when chopped small are just as hard to detect - all are better if subjected to freezing temperatures so wash and stuff into a zipbag, crush and use.
  
• (Both greens and seaweed have taste properties that actually make red meat taste better and deeper)
• Seaweed = (Later, or for those who are more used to using seaweed, you can remember to add this)
• Brown Lentils = put them in water as soon as you think of it, they might sprout by the end of mixing - Brown lentils vs other colors because cooking collapses the brown's texture and they hide completely making them a great stretcher and addition of plant food to this meaty meal. (start with a small amount like a 1/4 C /lb- I've never measured the successful ratios)
• mushrooms = only if everyone is a fan
• I imagine finely chopped turnip would be great, but I haven't had a chance to try it, I also want to try chopped beet and in one with an Asian or Old European twist, Cabbage!
  

Seasonings - LOTS! (ordered by approx amount) sorry I don't measure, but this also gives it a new flavor every time!:

• Sea Salt &/ (Celtic, Redmonds, whatever, but most sea salt at the store is still just processed salt from the sea (typically 'processed' removes the minerals and adds chemicals))
• or Season salt (if you are accustomed to the flavor in your meat loaf, no reason scare anyone off who would miss it... Lawry's, Tony's, Old Bay)
• Old Bay is a great addition and is more complex than most season salts This version is a great one/ingredients and could well be used as a list of seasonings to add.
  
• Black pepper, lots of it!!!
• Garlic powder
  
• Basil, Marjoram
• Thyme (fresh is great)
  
• Parsley (fresh is great -big handful of it!!)
• Cloves, Allspice (, Mace)
• Ginger (crazy spices? nah, think of the swedish meatballs at Ikea w/lignon (cranberry-ish) sauce)
  
• Kelp powder OR dash of soy or worchestershire sauce
  

and the meat of course:

• Ground hamburger (grass fed only here)
• Optional: any ratio of Wild Ferel Boar (pig/pork), and/or anteloupe, elk, bison,... (for a boost in amino acids (tryptophan for serotonin)) or ground organ meats
  
• The Pork adds an amazing dimension of flavor especially if you really load up on the fun spices = proclaimed the best we'd ever eaten by all of us older ones, the younger ones had their mouths full anyway... we all really like meatloaf around here!
  

But what about?:

• Bread crumbs and such are optional because of the amount of onion already lightening it up.
• Egg is a great addition to help hold it all together; if they are healthy eggs, then it's a bonus.
• Gelatin (perferred via bone broth, but gelatin packets in a pinch) is a great protein/nutrient to add, especially if your meat is low in fat. It tenderizes tough meat, but its bigger bonus is in your body... It enables great digestion and digestive/intestinal health among other things.

Now Mix it all together until it's all the same through out -- oo gooey fun for the kiddos too. Then smash into the pans and cook them until cooked through. brown on top if needed.

Sauce is unnecessary, but depending on how tasty it is or the direction you went with the spices, then it may be a bonus. I like to put some in a muffin tin because they are done in less than 20 minutes; I can pull them out and have a premeal snack and find out what they taste like while there is still plenty of time to put sauce on the rest of them.

• For the basic American traditional Beef Version:

Ketchup ~1 C


Mustard ~ 1/4 C


Brown sugar ~ 1/8 C


(chili powder)

• For the Swedish version: Any Cranberry or slightly sour jam or Apricot, Peach, Cherry, Berry,...
• For an Asian twist: Sweet and Sour or Terriyaki or ....
• or Gravy! (I'll make a more specific post later) (gluten-free with Arrowroot powder, dairy-free with bone broth)
  
• salt, pepper, butter fried mushroom, onions.
  
• cheese...