Meat, thinking beyond the ball

I've had a really good run this week with ground meat (none of it beef). I've discovered that thinking outside of the box (or ball as it were) increases my ablity to create good stuff. I've done three different "meatballs" that are extremely easy to make. Sweet & Sour Chicken balls, Italian Meatballs and Lamb Balls. Lamb balls are very easy. Get the ground lamb with rosemary, mint and garlic from Whole foods, form into balls, cook in olive oil you're done.

Sweet & Sour Chicken Balls
1lb of ground chicken
1 package of sweet and sour seasoning
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 egg
1 serving cup of pineapple (like the kind you put in kids lunches)
A few dashes of hot sauce
Cooking oil
Sweet and Sour Sauce (optional)

Mix all ingredients together with hands (except the oil). Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a deep sauce pan. Once the oil is very hot drop the formed chicken balls into the hot grease and deep fry for about 5-10 minutes depending on how thick the balls are. Remove from oil drain on paper towel. Empty sweet and sour sauce into a large bowl mix in balls to coat. Serve over rice with bok choy.

Italian Sausage Meatballs
1 package of Italian sausage (about 5 or 6 links)
3 tbsp Italian Seasoning (fresh basil, thyme and oregano if you have it)
2 tbsp Red wine
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1 egg
A few dashes of hot sauce
Olive oil for cooking

Take the outter casing off of the sausages. Place the ground meat in a bowl. Knead in all other ingredients except oil. Form into balls. Heat oil in pan. Sautee on both sides until brown. Cover and continue to cook until done.

All three of these were big hits with both the child and the hubby, not that they had much of a choice. But when you're looking for something simple meatballs can't be beat. And they translate well to lunch the next day. A meatball gyro, a meatball sub just add tomato sauce to the italian balls. Throw the chicken balls into a cup of ramen noodles. There you go.