Vegan Meatballs

Hi everyone!  Sorry I have been MIA, but life has been a bit hectic.  I am almost two weeks out from ACL reconstruction surgery.  YUCK!  In any case, I did lots of cooking to prepare for my surgery (so I would have plenty of food), so get ready for a bunch of posts.  I promise not to disappear for this long again!

Vegan Meatballs

Ingredients:

Gimme Lean Vegan "Ground Beef"

1 medium yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of Italian flat leaf parsley

3 tablespoons of tamari (or you can use Braggs)

1/4 cup of vegan Parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons of EVOO + 2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon of thyme

1 tablespoon of oregano

1 tablespoon of red pepper

1 tablespoon of rosemary

1 teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of fresh ground pepper

Start with one package of Gimme Lean vegan "ground beef".  I usually find this in the grocery store near the tofu.  You can buy in a a condensed cylinder (like above) or in look crumbles.  For this recipe, I recommend the condensed version.

Start by finely chopping the onion and garlic.  Add a small amount of EVOO, about a tablespoon,  to a pan and add the onions and garlic.  Add a dash of salt and a little bit of ground black pepper and saute for several minutes.  You want to saute them until the onions start to get translucent but before the garlic starts to brown, about 3-4 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the Gimme Lean, sauteed onions and garlic, and all the remaining ingredients.  You are going to want to wait a few minutes for the onions and garlic too cool before hand mixing.  In the mean time, chop the parsley and add it to the bowl.  You are going to want to use your hands to knead the mixture until it is well combined.

When you are done, our completed mixture should look like this:

Take a baking sheet (I used two) and use cooking spray or grease with a little EVOO.  To shape the meatballs, take a spoon and take the mixture into your hand.  The size of your meatball is totally up to you.  I make mine about golf ball size.  Pat the mixture in your hands and then begin rolling into a ball.  Place completed balls on the baking sheet.  Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, rotating them once to assure they cook on all sides.

While the meatballs are baking, take a frying pan and put 4 tablespoons of EVOO in the pan.  At the same time, start the water to boil your pasta.  When I am looking to make this a quick meal, I used canned sauce.  I tend to use Classico Tomato and Basil, but I jazz it up a bit.  I start by adding some mushrooms (thinly sliced crimini) and garlic in a small sauce pan.  I saute them for a few minutes before adding the sauce.  I then add about 1/4 cup of vegan Parmesan cheese, salt, red and black pepper.  I let this simmer on low while preparing the pasta and finishing up the meatballs.

Heat the EVOO in the frying pan for the last 2-3 minutes that the meatballs are baking.  Remove the meatballs from the stove and add them to the frying back.  Cover them and keep them on medium heat.  You are going to want to rotate the meatballs every few minutes until they are browned on all sides.  As they are ready, drain them on on plate with paper towels.

Once they are done, combine them with your pasta and sauce and you are done!  This is a quick recipe that is a real pleaser.  My boyfriend loves these and he is a meat eater.  For leftovers, you can make meatball subs too. Yum!