Gluten-Free Meatballs

   Caleb (for those who don't know, he's my 9 year old son with autism) with all his picky food habits had started talking about "spaghetti and meatballs" a lot lately. He has talked about a lot of other random foods, so I would make whatever it was, and he wouldn't eat it. Not my favourite.
   But, every time we had pasta (and I would just cook up the meat like I always did), Caleb would say, "spaghetti and meatballs!". 
   So, I decided I would make them for him. I want him to expand his limited (but finally growing!) foods he'll eat list, and I thought the idea of meatballs sounded good. 
   I set out to make a super-basic, paleo (sugar free, grain and flour free, dairy free), but yummy enough even Caleb would eat it kind of meatball.
   After I had them cooked and ready, and I asked Caleb how many he wanted on his noodles, his answer was, "......um......7!". So, I didn't give him seven, but I was happy he still thought the ideas of meatballs was a good one (instead of standing there saying, "meatballs are so very disgusting!"-which he has said about other foods he talked and talked about and I would finally make for him!). 
   All that to say, if Caleb liked them, ANYONE will like them!

Gluten-Free (and paleo) Meatballs
The above photo shows gluten-free pasta, which is not paleo, fyi.

Ingredients:

• 1lb ground pork + 1lb ground beef (or any 2 ground meats you generally have)
  
• 1 Small onion, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp paprika
  
• 1 Tbsp salt-free seasoning mix (I use the Kirkland brand, but Mrs. Dash would be great too). If you have no such thing, simply use a spice mix you generally use and enjoy (such as an herb and garlic mix) 
  
• 2 Garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
  
• 1 Egg
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• Black pepper
  
• Sea salt
  

Method:

1. Combine all ingredients, and mix thoroughly using your hands. Make sure to knead the mixture for a few minutes to work the protein in the meat which will bind everything together. 
   
2. Heat a large frying pan, lightly coated with olive oil or coconut oil on medium heat.
3. Lay out a sheet of wax or parchment paper, wet your hands and roll 2 tbsp worth of the meat mixture into balls (I use my Pampered Chef 2 tbsp scoop, and I scoop the mixture into my hands, then roll it into a proper ball), setting them on the wax or parchment paper so they are ready for frying.   
4. In bathes of 5-6 (you just don't want them touching in the pan), brown one 'side' of the meatballs. Keep turning to make sure all sides look visibly cooked and nicely coloured, and to make sure they stay round. Total cooking time should be about 12-13 minutes. 
5. Remove from the pan and let the meatballs rest for a few minutes before serving. I generally don't mind that each batch is sitting while I prepare the rest because the kids need them cooled anyway, and once you add them to hot noodles and sauce, they are warm enough again.  

   **Another method is to sear the meatballs (browning them on high heat in the frying pan) and then finish cooking them in an oven for about 10 minutes at around 170C.

   The meatballs were easy to prepare, and were really, really good! I ate mine with a pile o' spaghetti squash! 

   And that is the story of how the VanLondersele family started eating meatballs again. :)