MEATBALL FOR APPETIZER RECIPES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, water and taco seasoning. Crumble beef over mixture and mix lightly but thoroughly. Shape into 16 balls., Place meatballs on a greased rack in a shallow baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 400° until meat is no longer pink, about 12 minutes. Drain meatballs on paper towels. Reduce heat to 375°., Arrange crescent rolls on a greased 15-in. pizza pan, forming a ring with pointed ends facing the outer edge of the pan and wide ends overlapping., Place a meatball on each roll; fold point over meatball and tuck under wide end of roll (meatball will be visible). Repeat. Bake until rolls are golden brown, 15-20 minutes., Transfer to a serving platter. Fill the center of the ring with lettuce, tomato, onions, olives, jalapenos, remaining cheese, and sour cream and salsa if desired.

Steps:

• 1. Whisk together the beef stock, heavy cream, flour, soy sauce, black pepper, and rosemary in a large saucepan until smooth. Cook and stir over low heat until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the meatballs, and continue cooking until meatballs are heated through, about 5 more minutes.
• 2. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain; toss with butter. Serve with meatball mixture; sprinkle with parsley.
• *My Meatballs: 1. Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add garlic, eggs, cheese, parsley, salt and pepper.
• 2. Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add the water 1/2 cup at a time. The mixture should be very moist but still hold its shape if rolled into meatballs. (I usually use about 1 1/4 cups of water). Shape into meatballs.
• 3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Fry meatballs in batches. When the meatball is very brown and slightly crisp remove from the heat and drain on a paper towel. (If your mixture is too wet, cover the meatballs while they are cooking so that they hold their shape better.).
• My Note: I used 1/2 skim milk and 1/2 cream so it wasn't so heavy and it turned out great! BUT IF LIKE TO HAVE A GRAVY: see be low.
• For a Gravy Ingredients:
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter.
• 4 tablespoons flour.
• 2 1/2 cups beef broth.
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire.
• 1/2 cup sour cream.
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice.
• salt/cracked black pepper, to taste.
• Gravy Directions:.
• 1). In a large skillet, melt butter on medium heat.
• 2). Whisk in the flour slowly and cook until smooth and slightly darkened.
• 3). Add the beef broth, allspice, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer.
• 4). Reduce the heat to medium low and stir until gravy thickens.
• 5). Stir in sour cream, mix well, and serve warm on top of meatballs.
• UPDATE: I used lean beef so had to melt butter in the pan to make the gravy. The flavor was wonderful. I skipped the noodles and used them as a hors d'oeuvre. I made the meatballs ahead of time and froze them so I had them ready to go when I made the recipe the following week. Used ground sirloin to cut down on fat. Next time I will need to add melted butter with flour to make the roux because it lumped up and I had to use my emulsifier to get the lumps out. Didn't have fat from the meat (can't add cold liquid to flour).
• Sometime I used at meatloaf mix (beef/pork/veal), and added 2 TBSP of parmesan cheese and 2 tsp crushed garlic for extra flavor. Baked them according to the recipe then put them in a pot of sauce to simmer for a couple hours. That me!