Hunk of Beef Monday: Meatballs

#IheartBeef

I'm sad that this is the last Hunk of Beef Monday for February's #Iheartbeef campaign, don't worry.... I look forward to sharing more beef recipes I find with you in the months to come! This past weekend my mom made these delicious meatballs with mashed potatoes.  Even though mashed potatoes weren't on the diet I still splurged and had a little:) However, I was not shy when the meatballs were passed to me! These were made with lean ground beef. As you know lean beef can be part of a healthy diet and is high in Zinc, Iron, Protein and vitamins B12. In no other meat product would my body be getting this many vitamins and minerals. Here's the recipe... looking forward to the leftovers tonight!

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 celery stalk, minced

1/4 cup minced parsley

1 lb 93% lean beef

1 egg

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp allspice

2 cups reduced sodium beef stoc

2 ounces light cream cheese

Directions
In a large deep saute pan, heat oil on medium heat, add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 more minutes. Let cool a few minutes.

In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and allspice. Mix well and form meatballs with your hands 1/8 cup each (fill 1/4 cup then divide the meat in half).
Add beef stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside in a serving dish. Strain the stock, add to blender with cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Return to pan and simmer a few minutes to thicken, then pour over meatballs. Garnish with parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or with toothpicks if you want to set these out as an appetizer.

N.Starr