Thursday, June 23, 2011

Waikiki Meatballs

I tried this recipe a couple years ago when I found it in my good ol' Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, and it was an instant hit. (Here is a copy of the original recipe on Allrecipes.) I obviously had to alter it to make it gluten-free, but I changed a few other things as well. The main thing I changed was the sauce -- I like a little more sauce than the original included, so I make about a half recipe extra. I also reduced the sugar, because the original was much too sweet for me, especially considering it already has big chunks of pineapple in it that are plenty sweet. Finally, I added the zucchini because it seemed to be sadly lacking in veggies. A bit more zucchini than what I added wouldn't hurt, actually!

[Picture coming soon]

WAIKIKI MEATBALLS

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. ground beef
2/3 c. crushed GF cracker crumbs*
1/3 c. minced onion
1 egg
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbs. cornstarch
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. white vinegar
2 tbs. water
2 tbs. soy sauce
1 (20-oz.) can pineapple chunks -- drained, juice reserved
1 tbs. olive oil
1/3 c. chopped green bell pepper
1 c. chopped zucchini

4-6 servings cooked brown rice

Directions:
1. Combine beef, cracker crumbs, onion, egg, milk, ginger, and salt. Mix thoroughly and shape into meatballs. Place on a broiler pan and cook at 350ยบ for 20-25 min. (May be somewhat pink inside after 20 mins, should be cooked through at 25 mins.)
2. While meatballs are cooking, saute pepper and zucchini in oil in a large frying pan. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, brown sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce, and reserved pineapple juice. Stir until smooth. Pour into same pan as used for veggies. Cook, stirring consistently (a whisk would be good), until mixture thickens and boils (about 5 min for a cool pan, but if pan is still warm from veggies, this will only take 1-2 mins). Stir in meatballs, pineapple, and veggies. Warm over medium heat until everything is heated through. Serve over rice.

*I normally use Trader Joe's "Savory Thins" (rice crackers). Other options: GF bread crumbs (may want to add about 1/2 tsp. extra salt), or GF ginger snaps. If using ginger snaps, reduce or omit ginger, depending on how gingery the cookies are. I used Trader Joe's GF ginger snaps, which have a very strong ginger flavor, and was able to omit the ginger altogether.

1 comment:

  1. Yay for less sugar! Just a reminder, most soy sauces are not gluten-free, so pay attention to your labels!

    ReplyDelete

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