I am a wife to the love of my life and a new mommy to the most beautiful baby girl ever. I'm still trying to get a hang of this whole 'homemaker' gig I've got going on over here, but I'm loving every second of it. Well...almost every second of it. Sometimes the never-ending laundry and diapers get to me. But no matter how overwhelming my job can be at times, I always make sure that at the end of the day, I can answer yes to the following questions: 1. Did I love and support my husband? 2. Did I teach my baby girl? 3. And did I show her how much I love her?
More often than not, I accomplish each of these goals while in the kitchen.
Even though my daughter Rae is only a few months old, I still bring her into the kitchen with me and I explain to her all the steps I'm taking as I cook. She sits in her little bumbo-chair and watches wide-eyed as I measure, pour, and stir. And while our food is sitting, rising, cooling, or cooking, we like to sing songs and dance. Growing up, spending time with my mom in the kitchen was one of our main forms of bonding. I hope to carry on that same tradition with Rae.
The phrase "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" has always been true of my husband, Garrett. We were best friends in high school but never anything romantic, even though I always had a crush on him. Before he left on a 2-year service mission for our church I invited him over for dinner as kind of a last-hurrah! I scoured through recipe books and online websites, but finally settled on an old family meatball recipe that I remembered my sister making for me once. My goal was to make something unforgettable. And I'm tellin' ya, these meatballs were exactly that! Many times during Garrett's mission, he wrote me saying that he was craving the meatballs that I had made him. He made me promise multiple times that when he got home, I'd make them for him right away. Well, I kept my promise, and here we are: three years later with our own little family! I pretty much owe my marriage to these babies! When we were engaged, he tried to write out a contract that had me promise to make these meatballs at least once a week. Trust me, they're that good!
So without further adieu:
THE MEATBALLS I OWE MY MARRIAGE TO!!
Serves: 5
Best served on rice with a vegetable on the side.
Meatballs
2lb ground beef
1 cup rolled oats
2 eggs, slightly beaten (<this really does make a difference, they come out a little weird if you forget to beat them)
1/4 cup dehydrated onion
1 1/4 tsp salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup milk
Sauce
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tsp mustard
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
Combine all meatball ingredients. Blend well. Form into balls, about 1 1/2 inches. Place in casserole dish (or cookie sheet with tin foil) in a single layer. Cover with sauce. Bake 30 minutes at 350. Save some sauce (or make extra) to use with rice afterwards.
****To make them really over the top, I like to dip each meatball in sauce before cooking it. Sometimes I'm lazy and just pour it over them, but I don't think it tastes nearly as good. Make sure to use a separate sauce bowl for dipping because you don't want to use the contaminated sauce to pour over the cooked meatballs and rice. Also, I've seen this made as a meatloaf, all pressed into a casserole dish and then sauce poured on top. I've never tried it, but it seems like it would be way easier!
And there ya have it! I'd love to hear your feedback! Did your hubby love them as much as mine?
** To find out more about Kaela and her family visit her blog! Also feel free to check out her darling Etsy shop!
