So, I made these a WHILE ago. But, in true Ashley fashion I'm just getting around to telling you about them. They were… delish and super simple.
I'm onto this new kick of trying to trick myself into eating healthy things. I keep slipping in veggies and “superfoods” into my normal dishes. I also keep telling myself it's totally helping my waistline and therefore I don't need to workout… ever. (It's not working, but ignorance is bliss right?) Anyway, thanks to this new habit I have a new BFF, enter: Kale. You've seen it here and here and you're probably thinking: WHAT'S WITH ALL THE KALE. Well, let me tell you. The analyst at my work apparently grows kale (who knew?!) and brought me in a HUGE bag a few months ago, which lead to me trying 80 different kale recipes to get rid of it all because I can't keep having these things in my fridge. I'm trying to be HEALTHY, people (says the girl scarfing down a krispy kreme donut). Thanks for the Kale, Verlin!
Lucky for you, I'm only sharing the recipes that were good. I tried making kale chips.. but I burned them. I don't know. It was an epic fail. If anyone has any tips PLEASE let me know. I'm dying for a potato chip replacement (because once you pop you just can stop & the bags of chips in my snack cabinet just keep DARING me to try having only ONE. Spoiler alert: you can't). How does everyone else on the internet make perfect kale chips, and mine turn burnt and ruined EVERY STINKING TIME.
Ugh. Any kale chip tips would be appreciated. Again, I pay in cookies.
Where was I? Oh yeah. THESE MEATBALLS. Nom nom nom. You won't even care that you're eating kale. If you have small children (or a childlike adult, aka: me… or my boyfriend), I'd probably chop the kale into tiny pieces so they have no clue they're eating a veggie.
My secret weapon when it comes to meatballs? Red wine. Learned that trick when I was in Italy. Take it for what its worth.
Wanna go super healthy? Make these with ground turkey or ground chicken. I'm not that ambitious and I love ground beef, grease and all… although, maybe if I were my workout philosophy would actually yield some results! (the light bulb above my head is going off)
Also, I said these meatballs have a swedish twist because of the nutmeg. I'm aware that does not make these swedish meatballs, but I'm not witty enough to come up with anything else. Let me tell you though, that pesky little spice sure does pack a ton of flavor. Love me some nutmeg. Honestly, if you're really craving swedish meatballs you could probably whip up a quick swedish meatball sauce and some pasta.
)
I went the low carb way and ate this with some bacon wrapped green beans (disregard the pasta… they're invisible carbs). Yum. I know three meatballs seems like a small portion, but it filled me up so I embraced it.
I'm done teasing you now. Here's the recipe.
Kale Meatballs
Yields: 15 Meatballs Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients
1/2 lb ground beef
1 cup chopped kale
1/2 cup minced onion
1/8 cup red wine
3 tablespoons plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
zest of one meyer lemon (or normal lemon)
Procedures
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Rinse the kale and dry thoroughly (I used a salad spinner). Then roughly chop (or mince if you're hiding if from children) the kale and mince the onion.
Use hands or spatula to combine all ingredients in a large bowl. If the mixture feels too moist add more breadcrumbs.
Use a tablespoon to shape the meatballs (each meatball should have about two tablespoons of the mixture). Place the meatballs in a muffin tin and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
Nutritional Data
Serving Size: 3 Meatballs
Calories: 152 Carbohydrates: 6g Fat: 9g Protein: 9g Fiber: 1g Calcium 3g
Yum. After you make these, priority mail me some? Please and thank you.