Swedish Meatballs (Freezer-Friendly)

I’m on week 2 of freezer-friendly meals and so far I am loving it!  I grocery shop on Saturday, cook on Sunday, and do next to nothing the rest of the week.  During the week, it’s just a matter of heating and assembling.  How did I not think of this before?

Since I married into a Swedish family, I thought I should polish up on my Swedish meatball-making skills.  Since it’s just the two of us, I made the entire recipe below, but portioned the meatballs and gravy in half so we actually were able to make two meals out of one recipe.  Yet another bonus to making this meal ahead of time!

Makes 30-35 small meatballs (6 Servings)

Ingredients:
Meatballs:

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. evaporated milk
• 2 lbs. ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley

Gravy:

• 2 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• ¼ tsp. onion powder
• ¼ tsp. garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ¼ cup fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or half-n-half

Directions:
Meatballs:

1. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until soft, ~3-5 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine breadcrumbs and evaporated milk, stir.  Add ground beef, onion, egg, salt black pepper and parsley.  Mix just to combine making sure to not overwork the meat.
3. Roll meatballs and brown on all sides in skillet over medium-high heat.

* Meatballs will keep frozen for 6 months.

Gravy:

1. Melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and stir constantly for 2-3 minutes.  Slowly whisk in beef broth until combined.  Add onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt, black pepper, and fresh parsley.
2. Heat until boiling.  Reduce heat and simmer until thickened.

* Gravy will keep frozen for 2 months.

To Serve:

1. Simmer meatballs and gravy in a skillet over medium heat until both are heated thoroughly, about 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to low, add 1/2 cup cream and mix to combine.

 Ground Beef & Heavy Cream                                                Ground Turkey & Half-n-Half