Ancient Family Tradition for Christmas Eve – Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

5 pounds of ground meat (beef, pork, turkey.  Tastes good if you use a little from column A and a little from column B). The meat should have a bit of fat to it, as you will need to make a sauce with drippings.  I use 80/20 hamburger mixed with ground turkey.
3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup dried onions
1/4 to 1/2 cup rolled oats
Salt
Black Pepper
1 tsp allspice

Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sized white or yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup flour
3 cans beef broth
Finely ground white or black pepper

In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine meat, eggs, milk, dried onions, and oats.  Add salt and pepper to taste, along with the allspice.

In your largest saute pan, heat enough olive oil to barely cover the bottom, then add the garlic and onions.  Saute until the onions are clear and soft.  Shape the meat into 1 to 1 1/2 inch meatballs and brown in batches.  When meatballs are browned, put them into a shallow dish and place in a warm oven.  When you are cooking the last batch of meatballs, add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are done.  Scoop out all of the mushrooms, meatballs, and onions you can into the shallow dish and keep in the oven.

In the saute pan, which should have a good amount of fat and liquid in it by now, add the flour and whisk until the flour is completely absorbed.  Continue cooking over low heat until the flour mixture has become a light brown.  Add the broth and season with the pepper to taste.  Continue cooking over low heat and stir until the sauce is smooth and thick.

Add in meatballs, mushrooms, and other tasty bits and stir together gently.

Serve over rice, pasta, or mashed potatoes.  Goes well with lefse or fresh whole wheat bread and your favorite winter vegetable.