Swedish Meatballs

One of my best friends is from New Sweden, Maine, and as you could guess many of the residents up there are of Swedish decent. We were living together for a few years, two girls out of college trying to make it in the real world, and her parents would come down to Baltimore every once in a while and I always looked forward to it as they are wonderful people and they always made us some delicious dinners! Her mom taught me how to make their family recipe one night and I will be forever grateful.

The first time I had Swedish Meatballs was during my Thesis Year of Architecture School about 4 weeks before our final presentation. Her parents had come down to the school to help out and support my friend and they were generous enough to cook for a few of us to make sure we had at least one healthy meal a day. They were unlike any Italian meatball I had ever had, no garlic, no oregano or basil and a gravy instead of a marinara sauce. Personally I like to serve these with potatoes though many serve with rice or egg noodles, but rest assured any way you have them they will be wonderful.

Swedish Meatballs: Serves 6-8

2lbs Ground Beef (I use 93% Lean)
2 Eggs
1-1/4C Milk
2 Pieces of Bread
1tsp Onion Powder
1/2tsp Salt
1/2tsp Pepper
1TB Butter
2C Water
1/4C Flour

In a large bowl break the bread into small pieces and pour 1/4C of milk over it (you will use the remaining cup of milk for the gravy), let it soak in for a few minutes then with your hands break it up so it is one even texture. Make sure to really break apart the crust so you don't have any large chunks. Lightly beat the eggs and add to the milk mixture, then add the ground beef, onion powder, salt & pepper. With your hands lightly mix until all of the milk mixture has incorporated with the beef. Make a small meatball and microwave for 20-30 seconds and do a taste test to see if it needs any more salt, pepper or onion powder. Once you have approved of the taste test it is time to get cranking on those meatballs.

Make meatballs that are approximately 1TB worth of meat mixture (will make approximately 55-60 meatballs) place meat balls in shifts into a greased saute pan over medium heat, brown all sides of the meatballs. You do not need to cook the meatballs 100% of the way through, but you shouldn't be able to see pink from the outside of the meatball. Remove the cooked meatballs to a casserole dish and repeat with the next batch until all meatballs have been cooked.

Once all meatballs are in the casserole dish you will notice that your pan has a healthy amount of browned bits on the bottom - don't worry we are going to save them! Take the butter and place it in the pan over medium heat and with a spatula loosen the brown bits. While the butter is melting mix the water and flour together and then add to the pan and stir together to incorporate. Bring the mix up to a boil whisking constantly, the gravy will thicken. Once it thickens to a gravy consistency add the remaining 1C of milk, whisk and bring back up to a boil and allow it to thicken again. Taste test to make sure it isn't bland and remember you could add more salt/pepper or onion powder to season. Pour the sauce over the meatballs then place in a 350° oven uncovered for 30 minutes, stir gently, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Once it is finished cooking remove from the oven, stir again and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. The sauce will thicken while it cools. Serve and Enjoy!!!

Tip: If you can stand it make this the day before (including the baking!) and place in the fridge, then stir the next day and reheat in a 350° oven covered for 30-40 minutes until the sauce is bubbling. While Swedish Meatballs are fantastic the first day they are even better the second day!

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WW: 8 Points Plus / serving @ 6 servings
6 Points Plus / serving @ 8 servings