Meat Balls Nirvana

Ingredients:
- 1 pound extra lean ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried mint
- 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 dash hot pepper sauce (I used Tabasco Sauce)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1/3 cup skim milk
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 roma tomato, sliced & diced
- 1 small cucumber, peeled, sliced & diced

Drizzle:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- pepper to taste (I used a dash of ground pepper)
- 1/2 teaspoon Splenda or sugar

Other:
- Orzo, noodles or cous cous

The meat balls...

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Place the beef into a mixing bowl, and season with salt, onion, garlic salt, mint, oregano, red pepper flakes, hot pepper sauce, and Worcestershire sauce; mix well. Add the milk, Parmesan cheese, and bread crumbs. Mix until evenly blended, then form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs, and place onto a baking sheet.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, 20 to 25 minutes.
4.  While the meat balls are in the oven, slice the roma tomato, peel and slice the cucumber and place into a bowl.  Also, make the drizzle and set aside.
5.  When the meat balls are done, remove them from the oven.  Place the meatballs on top of orzo, noodles or cous cous.
6.  Spoon the sliced tomatoes and cucumbers over the meat balls.  Drizzle the drizzle over the meat balls, tomatoes and cucumbers and enjoy.

The drizzle...

Gen 5.  Awesome everyday sipping red wine.

Cook's Notes:

Deirdre found this recipe.  We tweaked it a little and we gave it a try.  We were very happy with the results.  The meat balls had a little kick to them.  While the meat balls were cooking, we made some orzo, and served the meatballs on top of it.  Gen 5 wine was a perfect compliment to the meat balls.

Whenever a recipe calls for "salt and pepper" we substitute a seasoning called "All American Season" from our friends at Mickey & T's.  We started using Mickey's rubs and spices in 2010 and we have never looked back.  For my fellow foodies out there, I urge you to click on the link above and look at Mickey's rubs and spices.  Order any of his products and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.