Jo's Vege Meatballs (All Purpose)

There are several ideas here for using these meatballs. I usually make a load of them for the freezer when hamburger is on sale. We heat them up and dip them in ketchup or BBQ sauce as our main meat dish sometimes too. These are great to have in the freezer for summer...instant meat without the heat of the oven. See other serving ideas in the FREEZE section below.

KETO: to make these keto, either leave out the potatoes or substitute grated zucchini for the potatoes. 

Vege Meatballs
2 potatoes, peeled
2 carrots, peeled
1/2 onion
1 lb hamburger
1 egg
salt and pepper

Grate the potatoes, carrots, and onion. (I use the food processor.) Add them to the hamburger, egg, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Mix together and form balls (about the size of a ping pong ball). Place meatballs about 1/4" apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees about 20 minutes or until done. Use in Meatballs With Gravy (see recipe below) OR....

FREEZE:
Remove cooked meatballs from oven and cool 15 minutes. Move meatballs to a clean cookie sheet. Place in the freezer for 1 hour. When frozen solid, move to a gallon sized ziptop freezer bag. Label and date! To thaw...place meatballs in a dish in the refrigerator, or thaw in microwave. They can be put directly into most dishes without thawing first. Place desired number of meatballs directly into spaghetti sauce for Spaghetti or Meatball Hoagies, and heat through. To make Sweet And Sour Meatballs, place frozen meatballs in a crockpot, add chunks of pineapple, bell pepper, & carrot and cover with sweet and sour sauce. Cook on low for up to 3 hours.

Meatballs With Gravy
8-10 vege meatballs (see recipe above)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of milk
1 cup rice
2 cups water

In a saucepan, place the rice and water. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and cover. Cook 20 minutes, or until rice has absorbed all the water and become tender. While the rice is cooking, place meatballs in a greased loaf pan. Mix mushroom soup and milk in a bowl. Pour over the meatballs. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes (if thawed), up to 40 minutes (if frozen), or until hot all the way through. Serve hot over rice. (In summer, this could be heated in the crockpot instead of the oven...probably not more than 3 hours on low.)