Portuguese Meatballs

Growing up I vividly remember many many times, sitting in the kitchen while my greatgrandmother fixed lunch or dinner for the family.

I learned how to cook from her, she taught me to love being in the kitchen and love fixing meals and seeing plain ingredients turn into amazingly delicious meals.

One of the things I remember her making was these portuguese meatballs, they're covered in bread crumbs and fried, then served with homemade fries and a portuguese salad.  Makes me want to transport myself back to my childhood in Portugal and sit at the kitchen table watching her....she would be humming over the stove, shouting out reprimands to my brothers and I and sharing stories about her own childhood, her father, her mother, her siblings and how to be the best mother, wife and homemaker.  I miss her!

Anyway, let me show you how these are done, they're quick and easy and the trick is in refrigerating them for a few hours or a whole day just so the flavors really seep through.

Bio's Almondegas - My Greatgrandma's Meatballs

 

We start with 1 lb of ground beef.

1 small onion finely chopped

 

We add the onion to the ground beef.....love love love the smell of onion

1 small tomato also finely chopped....I just love my little chopper, it helps a LOT

Now go ahead and add the tomato to the bowl

A good sprinkling of paprika...probably like a teaspoon or two...I don't know, honestly I just eyeball everything.

Ground black pepper, again just eyeball, if you like a lot of pepper go for it, if not, then just a little

Now garlic powder, you can see we love garlic by the big pile of white on the meat mixture LOL 

some salt

Now stick your hands in there and start mooshing it all up real good...I actually like this part and if you don't feel like doing it, find an unsuspecting child walking around to do it....they'll jump right in.

Place the lid on the bowl and pop it in the refrigerator overnight or for a few hours before cooking.

Now we're ready to start cooking so open the bowl and start forming little meatballs.  Look I'm not here to to judge the size and perfectness of the little balls, just do whatever you want.  My greatgrandmother never had a set size, some were bigger than others or they were all big or all small.  Whatever, it's your meat do with it was you please. LOL

Drop them in a bowl with two beaten eggs and make sure they get a good covering.

In another bowl you're going to have breadcrumbs ready and waiting....drop the meatballs into that one next and cover it completely with the breadcrumbs.

Place them into a skillet with hot oil.  and fry them about 5 or 6 minutes on each side until nice and brown and preferably cooked through *snicker*

Now tell me you're not dying to eat one of those?  I tell you the onion and the tomato are SOOOO good together.  Look I'll open one up just to show you the inside.

Oh and don't forget to serve these up with a nice salad and some of these yummylicious (I know I know not a word) homemade fries.

Go go enjoy.....enjoy your little bit of Portugal in your tummy!