Thats-a Mini Meatball

Today was dinner #2 from our “make a list then shop for it” experiment. It was definitely nice to not HAVE to go to the grocery store after work (even though I did… I NEEDED Turtle Mountain coconut milk ice cream and some foil baking sheets) and I got to start cooking right when I got hungry! I didn’t need to think about what I had in the cabinets, I just knew that I had all the ingredients! It was definitely a relief!

What was this dinner you might ask? Mini meatball sandwiches! I took my favorite meatball recipe and made itty bitty meatballs. They were literally an ounce a piece. I had 24 oz. of meat and 23 meatballs. Usually, I get about 12-13 meatballs per package of ground beef.

Anyway, I took these teeny tiny meatballs, put them on a light hot dog bun, topped them with about 2 Tbsp. of marinara sauce, and mixed lowfat Italian cheese and broiled them for about 5 minutes. The result? Well, see for yourself:

Delicious, simple, and just enough food (though I may have had  a couple extra meatballs!) Here’s the whole plate, complete with a fresh salad topped with Penzey’s Green Goddess dressing.

I’m quite proud of myself that I had more vegetables on that plate than meat or starch… and I’m still satisfied! There will be a mini coconut milk ice cream sundae tonight too, but not until much later. I have some challah a-rising! I finally had the time tonight to make the challah I donated for Meghann’s Blogger Bake Sale. So, Kara and KP? It’s going out tomorrow!!

Now, as promised, a new feature on What’s For Dinner?, something I’m calling “Guests for Dinner.” My first guest is Matt from Run, Live, and Enjoy. I “met” Matt when he asked me to make him a new header for his blog, and have since become amazed by his incredible running skill! So, have a seat at my table, Matt, and share what you made for dinner:

Hey everyone! Matt here from Run, Live, and Enjoy! Mara has graciously asked me to do a guest dinner post and I gladly accepted. I’m no professional chef, but cooking is a huge hobby of mine. Ever since I came to college, I started cooking to keep costs down and it’s also a lot healthier than eating out all the time. As a runner, nutrition is really important to me, so I love whipping up healthy meals.
Here is my take on a classic, chicken fried rice. It’s pretty easy and actually only takes a few minutes. I’m not going to list amounts of ingredients because I just made this for myself and didn’t really measure. You can adjust the amounts to your tastes and how many people you need to feed!
You’ll need:
1.    Vegetables of your choice (I used an Asian blend)
2.    Chicken (shrimp, scallops, or beef would work as well)
3.    LEFTOVER brown or white rice (I used brown; It’s important the rice is leftover and cold or else it will get really mushy)
4.    Teriyaki sauce
5.    Oil for stir frying

I started by sautéing half a bag of a frozen Asian vegetable medley that I bought at target. It has all of my favorite vegetables including broccoli, water chestnuts, carrots, red peppers, and a few others. Easy, cheap, delicious, and nutritious.

Once the vegetables were done, I removed them from the pan and started sautéing some chicken in a bit of olive oil. I seasoned the chicken with salt and pepper beforehand. Yes that pan is old!

Once the chicken was done, I added some leftover brown rice, veggies,  and my teriyaki sauce. The sauce is awesome; even better than the store bought sauces. I’m sure you could use those as well if you don’t have the ingredients on hand.

I let the rice crisp and heat up and just mixed everything together. Add as much or as little sauce as you want. I added a lot; I LOVE teriyaki sauce!
All plated up.

I hope you guys enjoyed!

Thanks Matt! Do you want to see YOUR dinner on What’s For Dinner? Send me a description, a photo, a recipe, or all of the above, and you too can be featured!

I’m off to punch down some challah, and then enjoy a tiny sundae… have a wonderful evening!

Tagged as: Guests for Dinner, Italian, simple recipe