Porky Balls!

I hope you have a sense of humor and can get past the title because this recipe is amazing.

Do you struggle to get your loved ones to eat veggies?

Are you looking for a healthy high protein snack?

Are you sick of eating the same thing all the time?

If you answered yes to any of those questions you must keep reading!

This recipe was inspired by my lovely cousin Melanie. She recently made one of her childhood favorites, Porcupine Meatballs and posted about how good they were on Facebook. When I saw that recipe I knew Seth would love them, they're simple and have all of his favorite things (meat, rice and marinara sauce).  But, I also wanted something I could eat on the go in between appointments and something with veggies! I played with the recipe, made some tweaks and came up with a little ball of hearty goodness that Seth willing eats not knowing how healthy it is! Thanks for the inspiration Mel, I'll have to bring some over to have you taste test!

Ingredients:

Balls:
1.25 lbs 95% Lean Ground Pork (You could use beef or poultry)
1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cup Uncooked Brown Rice
2 Tbsp crushed Garlic (2 large cloves)
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cups Shredded Carrots
2 cups raw spinach

Ready to be browned  in skillet

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Egg
Salt and Pepper to liking

Sauce:
1 16 oz Jar Tomato or Marinara Sauce (look for one with very few ingredients, avoiding canola oil and added sugars)
1 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix all ball ingredients by hand in a large bowl, you will need to mix and squeeze to bruise the spinach well enough to stick to meat mixture.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Scoop and roll 14-16 meatballs to the size of your liking and place in skillet (med-high heat) to brown. Roll or flip the balls around to brown all sides. This should take 12-15 minutes.

Browned and ready for sauce.

4. Use a slotted spoon (to drain any grease) and and place balls in a large baking dish (glass 8x12 is my preference).

5. Mix Water and Sauce together and then pour evenly over the balls.

6. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 minutes, remove from oven and take foil off. Put in the oven uncovered and bake another 10-15 minutes (watch to make sure all the sauce doesn't evaporate).

7. Let cool and serve!

Ready to be put back in the oven for 15 minutes uncovered,

Serving Size 2 Balls:
Cals: 198
Fat: 6
Carb: 12
Sugar: 2
Fiber: 2
Protein: 24