Swedish Meatballs

I made these meatballs last week for dinner. They were a nice change from the traditional Italian meatballs and tomato sauce that I usually make (but have still not blogged about). The recipe comes from the blog, My Kitchen Cafe. I've gotten several great recipes from there and this one is no exception. We all enjoyed this dinner!

Melanie (from My Kitchen Cafe) calls this recipe "meatballs in cream sauce" but I think they are basically Swedish meatballs. I haven't had Swedish meatballs too many times, so please correct me if the recipe is missing some key ingredient. Anyway, I did follow Melanie's advice about using only one cup of broth if you like a thicker sauce. I used just a little more than one cup and I thought the consistency of the sauce was great. So, if you are looking for a new meatball recipe, try this one. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

I served these up with some simple steamed carrots.


Ingredients

Meatballs:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 T. ketchup
1 t. Worcestershire sauce
3/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/2 lb. lean ground beef
3 T. flour

Cream Sauce:
2 T. butter
3 1/2 T. flour
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
14 oz. can chicken broth (If you want your sauce thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup)
2/3 cup milk
2 T. minced fresh parsley

In a bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients EXCEPT the beef and flour. Add beef and mix well. Shape into balls. Roll in flour, shaking off excess. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet and bake, uncovered, at 400 for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs, bake 8-10 minutes longer or until no longer pink. Meanwhile, for the sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, thyme, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add broth and milk; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. If using the full can of chicken broth, the sauce doesn't thicken overly much, but it is delicious that way. If you want it slightly thicker, cut down the chicken broth to 1 cup. Drain meatballs on paper towels; transfer to a serving dish. Top with sauce and parsley. Serve over rice or egg noodles (I used egg noodles and loved the result!).

Source: My Kitchen Cafe blog