Name: Middle Eastern Meatballs with Dill Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef (or ground chicken, lamb, turkey or pork or a combination); 2 teaspoons Stacey Hawkins Spices of India; 1/4 teaspoon Stacey Hawkins Sinful Cinnamon; Salt and pepper to taste; SAUCE; 1/2 C plain, low-fat Greek yogurt; 1 1/2 teaspoons Stacey Hawkins Citrus Dill

Middle Eastern Meatballs with Dill Sauce

Servings

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

I, like many of you, am trying to make as few grocery runs as possible these days. As we've got a small stock of "basics" on hand, it's now a matter of getting creative with cooking them because, well, it's getting pretty boring, right?

This week I created Middle Eastern Meatballs with Dill Sauce and Turmeric Ginger Spiced Cauliflower. I was inspired by what I had on hand combined with the desire of my family to eat something DIFFERENT.

What we don't often realize is that it's not just WHAT we cook that creates the flavor and excitement for a meal (or not!), but HOW we cook it. Simply by changing technique (for example roasting vs. steaming) you can completely transform something meh to something WOW.

While the ingredients are really basic; ground beef, yogurt, cauliflower & carrots (you can use red/yellow bell pepper of on program), it's the WAY I cooked them that makes all the difference. (For the veggie recipe follow this link)

The meatballs are loaded with flavor and then pan seared instead of baked. This creates an incredibly flavorful, slightly crisp, browned crust on the beef. Paired with a little dollop of dill sauce, the combination is truly delicious.

One thing to note- it is very important to season the beef equally- this can be hard to do with a "lump" of ground meat. For consistent, easy results, place the ground meat in a bowl and press it out into equal thickness like you see below. Then sprinkle the seasoning all over the beef and then mix with your hands for even seasoning.

This recipe can also be made with ground lamb, ground pork or ground turkey. The counts and the nutrition information below is for beef.

Happy Cooking!
Stacey

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef (or ground chicken, lamb, turkey or pork or a combination)
2 teaspoons Stacey Hawkins Spices of India
1/4 teaspoon Stacey Hawkins Sinful Cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
SAUCE
1/2 C plain, low-fat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons Stacey Hawkins Citrus Dill

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Directions

Add seasoning to beef and mix well to combine.
Divide mixture into 20 even portions and roll into balls.
Place a nonstick pan over medium high heat and add the meatballs once pan has come to temperature.
Cook for 15-20 minutes, turning meatballs every 2-3 minutes so they brown equally on all sides.
While beef is cooking, make the sauce by combining the yogurt and Citrus Dill seasoning together. Stir well & keep in fridge until ready to eat.
When meatballs are finished (internal temperature of 160° F) place on a plate and serve hot with sauce.

Recipe Notes & Optavia Counts

Serving Size 5 oz. ground beef with 1 T sauce.

1 - Lean

2 - Condiments

Stacey Hawkins the Queen of Lean and Green Recipes, Optavia Recipes and Low Carb Recipes presents this quick and easy recipe for Middle Eastern Meatballs with Dill Sauce to help you stay on your low carb diet or Optavia diet. Great for people trying to lose weight by eating right, those following diabetic recipes, people wanting low carb recipes and especially those who are on the Optavia 5 & 1 recipes diet. More recipes at staceyhawkins.com

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Middle Eastern Meatballs with Dill Sauce

Category

Servings

Prep Time

Cook Time

Ingredients

Directions

Recipe Notes & Optavia Counts

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