When I was a little girl it was always a fight to get me to eat what the family was eating. I would turn my nose up to any dish that accompanied meat — always.
Yes, I was my meat loving families worst nightmare.
For years, in my childhood home, every Tuesday ended up being spaghetti night. My gracious Mama would stir up the biggest pot of sauce and meatballs or ground beef and she would invite unsuspecting people from our church over to enjoy a hot meal with her six rambunctious children.
If they survived the chaos and the random surprises that fell into the sauce, and on their plates, then they were invited over again.
(Don’t worry mom. I am only slightly referring to that time the jar of push pins fell into the sauce and you thought you “Got all of them” before serving the sauce to our elementary school teacher. I wont mention the hair or that time with the bug, no worries.)
To say the least, when I was a girl, I spent a lot of long evenings staring at a plate of uneaten meat, and our family dog sat full and content beneath my feet. 😉
Since those long evenings spent sitting in the kitchen my parents have changed their ways and now enjoy vegan and vegetarian cuisine too. Now it is a highlight of my week when they invite us over for dinner!! (Thanks Mom and Dad!)
I have come a long way since those days as a fickle little girl and I will now try almost anything once. I love cooking and experimenting and making meatless dishes that others will love just as much as I do.
Over the years I have made many vegetarian dishes, but this one is one of my favorites since it can easily be incorporated into any meat loving families spaghetti night; as an addition or an alternative.
Just avoid storing the push pins in the cupboard above your stove.
For these meatless meatballs you will need:
*Cauliflower, cooked, 2.5 cup (1″ pieces)
* Egg, fresh, 2 large
* Olive Oil,1tbsp
* Garlic, 6 cloves
* Parsley, 0.5cup
* Parmesan Cheese, grated, 0.3cup
* Bread crumbs, dry, grated, plain, 0.5 cup (I substituted bread crumbs for gluten free bread crumbs by simply pulsing a piece or two of GF bread in my blender.)
* Egg, fresh, 2 large
* Olive Oil,1tbsp
* Garlic, 6 cloves
* Parsley, 0.5cup
* Parmesan Cheese, grated, 0.3cup
* Bread crumbs, dry, grated, plain, 0.5 cup (I substituted bread crumbs for gluten free bread crumbs by simply pulsing a piece or two of GF bread in my blender.)
Cook the cauliflower till tender. Drain as much water off as you
can. Saute the garlic in your oil and then mix all the ingredients together. Form
into balls by the tablespoon. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes until
firm and slightly browned. Serve as an appetizer or with sauce and
pasta or with spaghetti squash. This recipe makes about 24 “meatballs”
The only people that will be left sitting around the table after dinner time NOW, will be the people wanting MORE of these.
No force feeding allowed with this dish.
No pins either.
Just good old deliciousness that the WHOLE family, and the pleasantly surprised guests, will enjoy.
Happy Cooking Lovelies!
