Pioneer woman meatballs in Delicious Cheesy Sliders

Delicious Cheesy Sliders

Howdy, I have the best meatball recipe to share with you.... 

Seriously. 

These easy-make-ahead beauties are good for school nights, after school before baseball or football practices, great weekend sit around watch football after church lunches, or just to pair with your favorite pasta. Plus, these easy PIONEER WOMAN comfort-food meatballs should be on your menu this week, because school. In my house, we are in our 6th week of homeschooling, and all the public schools are just starting around us. AND then there are fall sports, the nfl (I am a huge football fan), music lessons beginning up again, boy scouts, girl scouts, and everything else in-between that summer offered us peace from (hahaha). Fall makes people CRAZY busy, plus we all want to create fun fall memories, or quickly cling to the last days maybe couple weeks of summer. I feel tired just thinking about it. I'll go get some coffee and come back. 

Since you can't go wrong with any of the PW's yummy ranch meaty recipes, make a double batch, and throw them in the freezer. Actually, According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "food kept frozen at 0-degrees F. or lower will remain safe to eat indefinitely. After one year, the food may suffer loss of quality due to freezer burn, but it will still be safe to eat because freezing stops all bacterial growth". See this link for more info about freezing/defrosting/food safety  So why not.... take a half day or less, and make a ton of these. You'll be set for spaghetti and meatballs, meatball sliders (pictured above), or meatball subs, or just pair it with your favorite bbq sauce for an easy meal. 

Try it. You won't be disappointed :) 

Beef Make Ahead Meatballs in delicious cheesy sliders: 

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs (I used whole wheat) 
1/2 lb. ground pork, sweet italian
2 tsp dried oregano
1 lb. ground beef ( i usually use in-between 93% - 85%) 
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup of milk
olive oil or your choice 1-2 Tsp for browning the meatballs

for the sliders: 
dinner rolls 
provolone cheese cut into 4ths  (Mozzarella also tastes awesome) 
marinara sauce or veggie pasta sauce homemade or store bought

Prep
In a large bowl mix up all the ingredients for the meatballs. 
Form the meatballs into approx 2 Tbs sized balls. 
If freezing - transfer the rolled meatballs onto a baking sheet lined with parchment and freeze in a single layer. 

Cook
Pan fry these in oil of any kind for several minute until they are browned on all sides

If making spaghetti and meatballs, it would be in your best interest to finish cooking the meatballs in your sauce to give everything more flavor. 

If you are serving them as sliders or in bbq sauce as a side or main dish - do finish cooking them all the way through but not overcooking to make them dry (using higher fat content of pork and beef helps with this). Then put them briefly into sauce but not simmer them - so they don't overcook and get mushy or fall apart. 


See... super easy. 
Now go enjoy your busy fall!

Stephanie