Sweet/Sour Meatballs over Fried Rice

I served these last week when Ann and Aunt Miranda came over to lunch before we went to see Evan Almighty. Good movie, by the way. Family oriented, feel good, just one of those you walk out in a good mood on.  Of course, when we went in the theater the skies were clear. We came out to thunder and rain. Hmmm...and the ark is parked where?

Sweet and Sour Meatballs is one of my standard "go to" recipes, you know what I mean? It's one of Gene's favorites, it's the one people always ask me for the recipe at potlucks, etc.  I don't remember where the original recipe came from, I think I clipped it out of a magazine, but I've been making it for 20 years and it's gone through so many permutations scribbled on the recipe card that I pretty much claim it as my own these days.

Loaded with ginger in both the meatballs and rice, Sweet & Sour Meatballs is my addition to Weekend Herb Blogging this week, created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and hosted this week by Chris of Mele Cotte.  Stop by later tonight for the weekly herbalicious round up!

Sweet/Sour Meatballs over Fried Rice

by Glenna Anderson Muse

Meatballs:

Mix together:

1 lb extra lean ground beef

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 Tbsp chopped onion

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp all purpose seasoning

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp ginger

Form into 1-1 1/2" balls. Makes approx. 24

Lay meatballs out on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, with space in between each meatball, and bake on 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until well done. 

Can also be fried a few at a time on the stove top but be careful. The brown sugar in them makes them tend to stick.

Cook's note: I usually make a double batch and freeze whatever's leftover after baking them. Making the meatballs is the most time consuming.  They're easy to pull from the freezer and whip together the sauce for a quick dinner.

Sweet/Sour Sauce:

Whisk together:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1--individual serving of pineapple tidbits

1   6 oz can of apricot nectar

1 cup chicken stock

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup white vinegar

Whisk together, pour into sauce pan over medium heat.  Stir until thickened and bubbly.  Serve over meatballs.

Fried Rice:

1 carrot, minced

1 stalk celery, minced

1/2 medium onion, minced

1 Tbsp butter

2 cups leftover rice

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp Rooster sauce

1 egg

2 green onions, chopped

Directions:  Saute garlic, onion, carrot, and celery in butter in large skillet or wok over medium heat.  When translucent, add in rice and spices and heat through. Move rice back to sides and crack egg in the middle of the pan, stirring to cook.  Combine all the ingredients again,  distributing egg throughout.

Garnish with green onion.

Comments

[TexanNewYorker]

There you go again, making me hungry at my desk this morning. *sigh* Will I ever learn to wait until after lunch to read your food blogs? Probably not.

[Deborah]

Yeah, not a good idea to read food blogs first thing in the morning.... These are going to my "to make" pile!!

[Cynthia]

Yes, yes, yes Glenna! This is fantastic. I love fried rice but never thought of making meat balls to serve with it. Thanks for this idea.

[Katiez]

I never thought of 'Sweet & Sour' meatballs - great idea! I, also, make a meatball with chopped fresh ginger. Next time I'll do the sauce....and the fried rice....yah, that's good!

[sher]

Boy, that looks wonderful. I loves me some meatballs--and those look perfect to me.

[Tanna]

Right down to making a double of the meatballs, Glenna, this is a terrific recipe!
I'll have mine with one of the Panna Cotta Please!

[Glenna]

Kayleen--Thank you! That's so sweet.

Deborah--I appreciate it. Let me knwo what you think, okay?

Cynthia--It was an odd one to me too but they're very good, I promise.

Katie--You're halfway there already! I do like the combo of the beef and the sweet/sour. It's not what you normally think of.

Sher--LOL! Thanks! You're hilarious.

Tanna--Funny, that's how we ate the leftovers!

[Auntie Miranda]

For all of you that didn't have the privilege of EATING this meal - well, tough. Everything was delicious from the cucumber/lemon water down to the Panna Cotta. Then I hit a wall. It must have taken me 15 minutes to eat the Panna Cotta. It was just so wonderful I didn't want it to stop, so I just kept taking tiny little bites so it would last a very long time. I'm still re-living it in my dreams. Come on, night-time!

[candy]

sweet & sour meatballs are one of my mom's specialties too. she made them often when i was a kid & i requested them for my birthday dinner a couple years ago. she makes it with plain white rice & her meatballs are a little smaller. now i want my mama's cooking! (thanks for bringing back the memories!)

[Glenna]

Auntie--That's very very sweet--thank you!

Candy--Call your mama and tell her you love her!

[Chris]

Yum! I think I have a new Go-To recipe! Thanks for participating in WHB!

[Kalyn]

Sounds like a fun time and a very good meal both! Isn't it funny how meatballs some how are more than the sum of the parts? Love them! What is rooster sauce? Never heard of that before.

[Glenna]

Chris--Thank you!

Kalyn--it's that Chinese "Spiracha hot chili sauce" that has a drawing of a rooster on the front. Everyone I know (must be a regional thing) calls it "rooster" sauce to differentiate it from Tabassco or Louisiana hot sauce.