Now that’s a Saucy Meatball!

Happy Monday all!  Who knew that so many of you would be interested in the new way I learned on how to “peel” an orange.  This method is PERFECT if you are anything like me and hate having your hands smell like oranges all day.  Thanks again to Becky for showing me this method ~ I LOVE it.

Rinse your orange off and place it on a plate or cutting board.

Slice off the top and the bottom.

Slice your orange in half.

Slice those halves into this pieces.

Fan your halves out on a plate because it makes it FEEL and LOOK like more and well, it makes it fun to eat.

I eat just the middle but The Husband eats the peel too.

I PROMISE I froze the rest of my Turkey Meatloaf Muffins so I can stop pretending they are sausages too

Did I mention I LOVE them?! (3 points+)

1 Slice of TJ’s FF Multi-Grain Bread topped with ICBINB Olive Oil Spray (1 points+)

All served up with Coconut Coffee ~ an awesome 4 points+ start.

Lunch today involved a little Panda Express and a whole lot of fiber goodness (maybe a tad bit too much)!

Mixed Veggies instead of Chow Mein or Fried Rice.

Kung Pao Chicken because sometimes you just need a little spice.

Broccoli Beef!  I put my entire meal into their Build a Meal and it came up to 13 points+! AWESOME!! I think that’s A LOT of Chinese food for the points+ and I probably checked off my 5 a day Veggies LOL

As promised, I made my first attempt at making Mary’s Mini Pizza Meatball Sliders.  I’d venture to say they were downright fantastic, but, I’ll you all make them and be the judge.

There are 3 options to making Mini Saucy Meatball Sliders.

1.  Buy pre-made frozen meatballs, bottled pasta sauce, store bought buns, cheese and basil.

2.  Make these delicious homemade meatballs and use store bought for the sauce, buns, cheese and basil.

3. GO ALL OUT and impress everyone with your Saucy Balls ~ Making the sauce, meatballs, and buns from scratch served up with cheese and basil!

Tonight, I went ALL OUT with one shortcut (Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough ~ why make it when you can buy it delicious!)

MINI PIZZA MEATBALL SLIDERS

INGREDIENTS

Meatballs

• 1 lb 93% lean ground beef
• 1/2 lb Lean Turkey Sausage
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup carrots, chopped fine
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped fine
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, minced
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• A few shakes of sea salt and black pepper

Marinara Sauce

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup carrots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice, chop tomatoes
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine, I used Merlot
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 bay leaf (dried or fresh)
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

2 packages Store Bought Pizza Dough

1/2 cup part skin mozzarella, shredded

1/4 cup fresh basil, minced for garnish, optional

 

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Spray a large cookie sheet with nonstick spray.  Finely chop your veggies by hand or using your food processor.  The veggies are similar for the meatballs and sauce so you can chop them all at one time.

2.  Combine ground beef through parmesan in a large mixing bowl.  Mix up meatball ingredients.  Add the Greek yogurt and continue mixing until well combined, yet not over-mixed.  

3.  Use a tablespoon to scoop out 1.5 inch round meatballs and space equally onto your prepared baking sheet. Place meatballs in oven and roast about 15 minutes.

Optional: You can “fry” your meatballs in a large NONSTICK sauce pan with 1 Tbsp Olive Oil until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes per side.

4.  Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add oil and onion, celery, garlic.  Cook until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, and simmer for 35 minutes.

5.  Add meatballs and continue simmering for 15 minutes.  If using store bought pizza dough, divide into 30, 1.5 inch balls or rounds.  Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt and parmesan.  Reduce oven heat to 400 and bake for 10 minutes or until cooked through and golden.

6.  Slice rolls in half, add 1 meatball, 1 Tbsp sauce, 1 tsp mozzarella and a sprinkle of basil leaves. Serve at once.

Makes 30 Mini Pizza Meatball Sliders! Each slider contains 1 Mini Pizza Dough Roll, 1 Meatball, 2 Tbsp Sauce, 1 tsp Mozzarella 3 points+ (calculated using caloriecount.com)

Nutritional information per meatball based on 30 meatballs, 1 points+ EACH!

Nutritional information for the marinara sauce, based on 20, 1/2 cup servings, 1 points+ each. 2 Tbsps = 0 points+

STEP-BY-STEP

My “secret” ingredient. 

I divided my bag into 15 servings to make my pizza dough buns, 2 points+ each.

After letting your dough “rise” for 20 minutes. roll it out on a floured surface until it’s 1/2 an inch thick.  I used my small circle cookie cutter to cut circles, then, brushed each with a little olive oil, sea salt and parmesan before baking at 400 for 10 minutes.

You could make them into balls too, but, I thought rounds worked better for sliders.

I didn’t waste any time finely chopping anything and let my food processor do the work.  It’s a bazillion times faster.

Combine your meatloaf ingredients in a big mixing bowl.

After combining, I felt like they needed more moisture.  Some people use water, milk or oil, but, I used Greek Yogurt for added.  It really keeps your meatballs light and soft when you bite into them without making them watery.

There are TWO options for cooking.  I thought originally I’d “Brown” them in my pan, but, they stuck like crazy (probably because I refused to use mass amounts of oil).

Enter option 2, which actually is easier….baking them in the oven!

I think it’s REALLY important to cook your meatballs in your sauce (whether you made your own or are using store bought) because they help to flavor your marinara and make it more than just a red sauce.  Cook them for 15 minutes.

Assemble ~ split your buns, add your saucy balls, 1 Tbsp sauce for good measure, a sprinkle of cheese and basil.

Put a lid on it and dig in!  I had 2 for 6 points+

Along with another crunchy salad topped with Newman’s Lite Lime Vinaigrette (2 points+)

NEW AT FRIENDS FOR WEIGHT LOSS

* Shannon is back with her MINI Series showing us how to make 1 points+ Granola Cups!

Just TWO MORE DAYS until BLOGHERFOOD 11!!!

Q’s

Have you ever made sliders or eaten them while dining out? If so, what was on them and what were your favorite versions?

My favorite BEFORE I tried Mini Pizza Meatball Sliders, included BBQ Sauce, Beer Caramelized Onions and Cheddar Cheese!

Night all!