Middle Eastern Meatballs with Dill Sauce

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