My son LOVES meatballs. And since it is summer, and he is starting to get antsy being home and not getting the constant drain and stimulation he got in school (my bad, I know, I could do more to keep him busy – but I’m a busy momma too and some days I am lucky if we all have clean undies!) I thought what better meal to make tonight since its simple, fast, and he can totally help and learn some cooking skills. And, we use math to cook, so it’s kind of like I am working on his school with him right?! Just so you know, it is a random Tuesday night. I spent all day out and about, have gotten several loads of laundry done, gotten some work done, and now I am HUNGRY. So, while the little naps, me and my boy are gunna whip up some awesome dinner in no time! And, I really hate spending forever digging through hundreds of recipes trying to decide on an entree, and then sides. So this time, I did the whole meal in one blog! The very first thing we do is come to the kitchen clean up, wash our hands, I put on my apron and make sure my hair is up, and we review kitchen safety (and say a prayer for lots of patience) since I have a young one helping today!
First, we took four small-medium potatoes. I use about one potato of this size per person I plan on serving. I almost always still have leftovers, but that’s okay! I peeled and cubed the potatoes into about 1 inch cubes, placed in medium pot, and covered with water. I turned stove on high, without lid on, and will now wait for them to boil. While you are over there, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
While we wait for them to boil, we will start on the meatballs. Gather alllllll of your ingredients first – a rule of mine! My son loves measuring out the stuff with me, and occasionally sneaking a finger of ketchup lol
By now, your potatoes should be boiling. Turn off heat, cover, and leave them for now. To start the meatballs, in a large mixing bowl, combine meat, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic powder and salt, and milk. Then, roll into about 2 inch meatballs. I got 24 meatballs out of this mixture. Place meatballs on parchment paper lined baking sheet, and back for about 40 minutes, until no longer pink in the center. And look how proud my baby looks! I have the cutest co-chef in the entire world.
While those cook we will make the sauce and the carrots. Use a large saucepan for the sauce, because you will be adding the meatballs to this pan. Add the honey, garlic, ketchup, and soy sauce. Stir well, heat through, and stir occasionally until meatballs are done in the oven.
For the carrots, I used baby carrots because I already had them – so no need to buy new carrots! If you have whole carrots, just cut them up – or better yet, buy already sliced up carrots! Get all of your ingredients prepped for the carrots…
That part did require a lot of chopping, so I lost the interest of my helper along the way haha but I can’t say I blame him. He has hung in so well! In a large skillet, cook your carrots, water (not pictured above – I forgot…) with the salt and pepper on high until it begins to boil. Once boiling, cover, reduce to medium heat, and let simmer for about 8-10 minutes – until carrots are soft.
Take this moment to stir your sauce, and clean up your dirty dishes. And I am going to get my stuff ready for potatoes as well.
Drain the water from potatoes, add milk, sour cream, and butter, salt and pepper. Mash or blend until desired texture. I like mine to have small little potato nubs, so I hand mash. *TIP: If they are too wet for you’re taste, simply place on low-medium heat again to help some moisture to leave to potatoes. But keep an eye on them!
Now, return to your carrots. Drain the water and mix in syrup and butter. Stir, stir, stir for the next 3-5 minutes. YUMMMY!
Now, the meatballs should be done. Remove from oven and add to pot with the sauce. Toss gently to coat evenly.
And, VOILA! Dinner is served! All hot, all delicious, and all pretty simple to make!
I hope you enjoy this dinner as much as we did! Let us know what you think!
Honey Garlic Meatballs, Maple Glazed Carrots, and Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Credit: Meatballs: NurseLovesFarmer Carrots: BudgetSavvyDiva Potatoes: Me!
**all recipes were modified from original source to fit my wants and to use what I already had in my kitchen**
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Meatball Sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
Carrots
- 1 pound baby carrots, chopped
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Potatoes
- 4 small-medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 6 Tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Place in medium pot, cover with water, and cook on high, uncovered until water comes to a boil. Once water boils, cover, turn off stove, and let sit while you cook the rest of the meal.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In mixing bowl, use hands to combine meat, bread crumbs, eggs, garlic salt, garlic powder, and milk. Once combined well, use hands to form 2-inch meatballs. Place meatballs on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cook in oven for 40 minutes.
- In large sauce pan – the meatballs will be added to this pan, so pick a large one – stir together ketchup, soy sauce, honey, and garlic. Heat on low, stirring occasionally while meatballs cook.
- In large skillet, add water, carrots, salt, and pepper and heat on high. Once water boils, cover with lid (or foil if you don’t have a lid), reduce heat to medium, and let simmer for approximately 8-10 minutes until carrots are soft.
- While carrots are simmering and softening, drain water from potatoes. Add milk, butter, sour cream, salt and pepper, and using hand masher (or hand mixer), combine to desired consistency.
- Add syrup and butter to skillet with carrots, and stir for 3-5 minutes to coat and cook evenly.
- Remove meatballs from oven once done cooking and no longer pink in the center. Add to sauce, toss gently to evenly coat.
- Serve, and enjoy while the food is all hot!
Mama's Missing Mind 