It’s been awhile since I’ve had a blog post, not because I’ve given up on low carb/paleo eating, but because life changes have limited my space (and natural light) to take food photos. I used to have a photography “studio” (really it was just an extra bedroom) with plenty of space to have all my photography props and a table to hold the food that was getting its photo shoot. Last year, I found myself with significantly less space and those life changes have given me an amazing opportunity to spending more time reconnecting with family and exploring new relationships. It has been an amazing time, but it has been hard for me to find a new “normal” for my blog and the time I have available to dedicate to creating new content. In case you were wondering, it takes a lot of hard work to run a blog. I used to be able to dedicate almost a full time jobs (aka 40 hours or more) worth of hours a week pouring into the blog…this was in addition to the full time day job I already have. It never felt like work because I absolutely love it! But along the way I realized that I had created the blog originally not just as away to track progress and recipes, but also as a way to pretend certain relationship trouble I was dealing with at the time didn’t really exist. It was easy for me to throw myself into the blog instead of dealing with the emotions I was experiencing in “real life.” It’s through this experience that I realized that health is so much more than just physical health. I’ve really been praying about the new direction I want to take the blog. I love creating new recipes and taking pictures of that delicious food, but over the last year I have learned some much about how emotional and spiritual health can affect physical health. I want to be able to share what has inspired and encouraged me so I can help others who may be struggling. So stay tuned for more coming to the Holistically Engineered blog!
So let’s get to the food! I like to keep things simple, especially during the week. These meatballs are easy to make because you just have to add some cooked bacon and onion + an egg + your favorite seasoning to ground beef and the oven does all the work. The meatballs end up juicy and full of flavor! I even have my Mom making these and we’ve both tried them with different kinds of ground meat. We love them with ground chicken (the one with both white and dark meat–i.e. not super low in fat) and up next we are going to try them with ground pork and turkey also. I absolutely love making these meatballs because they are so easy to make and they are very versatile. You can put them in some marinara sauce to eat over zucchini noodles (get the recipe here) or just eat them plain with a side cauliflower mash (get the recipe here). Plenty of options! I first came across a similar recipe from Dandy Dishes when I was trying to figure out what to make with the ground chicken I had in the freezer from my monthly Meat Share. I ended up putting a new spin on the recipe to add the flavors I love and it worked great in many ways.
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Ingredients
- 3 strips of bacon, cut into pieces
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 1 glove garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp fennel seed
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 tsp of your favorite season (Italian season, Flavor God Everything Seasoning {get it here}, rosemary, or oregano)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 tsp salt (may need more if your favorite seasoning blend doesn't have salt in it)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp marinara or tomato sauce
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- Add the bacon pieces to a medium-sized pan over medium heat and allow the bacon fat to render.
- Once some of the bacon fat has started to render, add the onions and allow to cook until the bacon is crispy and the onions are soft.
- Right before the bacon and onion are finished cooking, add the garlic and fennel seed and cook for one minute.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- To a medium bowl, add the ground beef, seasonings (I use Flavor God Everything Seasoning {get it here}), egg, salt, black pepper, and cooled bacon/onions.
- Mix all of the ingredients until well incorporated.
- Using a small scooper, take out 2 scoops of meat (about 2 Tbsp) and form into a ball.
- Place the meatball onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining meat mixture.
- In a small bowl, mix the marinara sauce and olive oil together and brush the mixture over the meatballs.
- Cook for 15 minutes and then switch the oven to the Broil setting.
- Broil for about 1-4 minute or until the meatballs have browned (be sure to keep an eye on the meatballs while they are browning so they don't burn).
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