These meatballs in a creamy dill sauce fill tummies in multiple ways. First, the dish is incredibly good comfort food. It's loaded with piquant dill, tempered with smooth, tangy sour cream. The meatballs are cheap. The dish makes the most of inexpensive ground beef and mostly on-hand staples. And, finally, the meatballs are quick to put together and cook. In fact, for an easy weeknight dinner, you might consider baking the meatballs on Sunday (while cooking other things) and stashing them, pre-baked, for a meal during the week. The meatballs themselves, minus the sauce, are simple and can accommodate different types of sauce. I often save a few to cook later in the week with a different sauce (like pesto, or even barbecue). Sometimes that's tough, though, because the Meatballs in Creamy Dill Sauce really are good! Serve them with a salad, vegetable, and egg noodles for a special, yet easy meal. Enjoy!
Meatballs in Creamy Dill Sauce -- Serves 4+
1- 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef (93 percent or less)
1 cup of fresh bread crumbs (stale is fine, but not panko)
3/4 - 1 cup of milk (depending on the state of the bread crumbs)
1 egg
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoons of minced dried onions
1 tablespoon of dried parsley flakes
2 tablespoons of canola oil
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1/3 cup of flour
2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of milk
3-4 tablespoons of chopped fresh dill fronds, plus extra for garnish
1/2 cup of sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and coat a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the beef, bread crumbs, 3/4 cup of milk, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, dried onions, and parsley flakes and mix everything gently but thoroughly. If the mixture seems dry, add a little more milk. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes (alternatively, you can stick it in the refrigerator, covered, and bake the meatballs later in the day). Form 12 meatballs, each a little larger than a golf ball, and place them on the prepared baking sheet, at least an inch or so apart. Bake the meatballs for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the onion. Saute the onion for about five minutes until it softens. Sprinkle on the flour and cook it, stirring constantly, with the onion for a minute or two. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, incorporating the flour, until the mixture smooths out. Turn down the heat to medium low and whisk in the milk. Keep whisking until the mixture thickens a bit. Stir in the 3-4 tablespoons of chopped dill. Add the baked meatballs to the sauce and let them cook in the sauce for a few minutes, spooning some of the sauce over them. Move the meatballs to the outside edge of the skillet and whisk in the sour cream. When the sauce is smooth, move the meatballs back to the center of the skillet and cover them again with the sauce. Sprinkle on the remaining dill and serve the meatballs and sauce over noodles or rice, if you'd prefer.
