Wheat Harvest is near…….

and meal preparation becomes key. It’s something that you REALLY thank yourself for later.

Every farm harvest meal looks a little different, and quite honestly, if it is anything like ours, it continues to evolve over the years.

Here is what our harvest meal setup currently looks like - aka who do I need to feed:

Combine driver(s), wheat truck driver(s), ancillary help, oh and don’t forget those children - they must eat too! & most of the time I am the ancillary help or the combine driver, which means I need to be able to pop in the house, have a decently warm meal heated and back out the door in 30 minutes. Many years I’ve had to prepare enough for 15 - PORTABLE meals once, sometimes twice a day, with a baby on the hip. Yeah, that was A LOT…but you just do what you need to do. Our farming circumstances continue to evolve, and now the number is down to a much more manageable less than 8, and NO baby on that hip - WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING?!

Which leads me to putting the freezer to work for you, which includes MEATBALLS:

Want to use ALL beef - go for it. Have some ground pork you want to mix in there too, GO FOR IT. Want to spice it up, add some sausage to the mix. Meatballs are incredible - they take on the which direction you want them to go - at least in the flavor department. My favorite are the BBQ direction, but I understand there is a tendency toward the spaghetti [& meatballs] too. But here’s the deal - make extra, DOUBLE, maybe even TRIPLE the batch - because you have a freezer that you need to put to work! You’ll thank me later.

The Dry Matter:

The recipe: I have a tendency to use, uses oats - yep oats. You prefer breadcrumbs? Go for it!

The Cooking Matter:

Option 1: 9 x 13 baking dish and bake away.
- Pro: One Dish Clean Up
- Con: Meatballs sitting in their own greasy goodness (this could be a pro to some, I know, I know) - but if you are looking to lean things up, let’s look at option 2.
Option 2: Use a cooling rack nestled in a cookie [or is it cooking?!] sheet - grease drippings drip below, and you continue living with a leaner protein meaty option.

Thanks for sticking with me - here’s the recipe I LOVE! + it’s modifiable!

Meatballs

Yield: 5-8

Author: Sheri Glazier

Ingredients

Meatballs

2 lbs ground beef (or use 1/2 ground pork or sausage)
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup oatmeal
1 small onion, minced (or 3 T. dried minced onion)
Salt and Pepper to Taste
1 T. dried parsley (optional)

Sauce (optional)

Option 1: Jarred pasta sauce. The end.
Option 2: BBQ savory meatballs (my favorite)
1.5 cups ketchup
4 T. dried minced onion
3 T. white vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
Mix together and pour over meatballs prior to cooking, or pour over meatballs while reheating. Reheat to 160 degrees!

Instructions

Mix the meatballs mixture together until well combined. Form in to UNIFORM sized meatballs. Cover with sauce if desired, or bake without sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for ~60 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.
If baked without sauce - when reheating, reheat in desired sauce.