Saturday 7 March 2009

Finger Food - Swedish Meatballs



Now when the little ones are approaching 15 months, they are becoming more and more independent and this is something I try to encourage as much as I can, especially during meal times.Luckily, they are both very good eaters and not very fussy with t
heir food. They pretty much eat anything I put in front of them. Feeding them is actually quite easy but it is even easier when they feed themselves. So whenever I can I try to cook meals that can easily be turned into finger-food for them.
Had our weekly food delivery (read earlier post to find out more) today. Yet again, they had included some minced meat in out weekly meat box. We have previously made bolognese, cottage pie etc. but it was all a bit too messy for self-feeding. So decided to make one of my own childhood favourites, Swedish meatballs.
I have, although I was brought up in Sweden, never actually made Swedish Meatballs. My mum always made them for me when I was little and now I was going to make them for my own children.

Basic recipe:For 4-6 servings
  • 500g (18oz) minced beef/pork mixture (I used minced beef)
  • approx. 65ml (1/4 cup) milk
  • approx. 75g (3/4 cup) white bread crumbs (I didn't have any, so put 3 slices of white bread in the the oven, 220C for about 15 mins. When they felt completely dry, i put them on a toast rack to cool. Then when they cooled down, crumbled them in plastic bag using rolling pin)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 onion
  • white peppar, salt (optional)
  • ground allspice (optional)
Finely dice the onion and saute gently in a little butter. Soak the breadcrumbs in milk for 2-3 mins. Blend minced meat, onion, egg, milk/breadcrumb mixture and spices to proper consistency, preferably in food processor. If it feels too hard, add a bit of water. Then shape them to small bite-size balls using either your hands or with the aid of 2 spoons.
Brown a generous pat of butter in a frying pan on medium-high heat and when butter is melted, place meatballs in the pan and let them brown on all sides. Shake the frying pan often.
Serve with mashed potatoes and rawstirred lingonberries, the traditional swedish way or with cubed boiled potatoes and vegetables or pasta, the self-feeding friendly way.

It was a hit with my little ones. They couldn't get enough of them ! And best thing of all, it was easy, quick ( about 20mins incl. making my own breadcrumbs !) and they finished all their food without any help from me !

ps. Even DH had some and complimented me on how yummy they were.

Enjoy !







2 comments:

Stefanie Hartman said...

Hi, This is what we are having for dinner tonight! Sounds so yummy. I decided to sign up for your emails. I love your site!! And you have such cute little twins!! Blessings to you.

tc said...

Great. Let me know if you (and your bunch) like it ! x