Eating gluten-free due to celiac disease can be challenging in the best of circumstances. So when life throws you a curve ball (or ten) it can be a real struggle. This summer our family was thrown a couple of curve balls. The main cook, grocery shopper and organizer of all things gluten free in the family (me), was out of commission. While recuperating I always had a worry in the back of my mind, how is my son (who has celiac disease) going to stay safe?! I know that my husband is perfectly capable of keeping him safe, we have wonderful friends and family close by who also are “in the know” and my son is great advocate for himself. That still doesn’t erase that voice of worry in my mind.
Other than help from our village and take-out from our favorite local Thai place, we were saved by having some meatballs, homemade sausage and a couple of meals in the freezer and of course Annie’s Gluten-Free Mac-n-cheese, lots and lots of mac-n-cheese.
Whether you are preparing for a known surgery, business trip or the unknown, meatballs are perfect for stocking your freezer. You can bring them to a holiday potluck or serve for a game day appetizer. These Cheeseburger Meatballs are a new family favorite.
Cheeseburger Meatballs
Ingredients
3 pounds of ground meat (75% beef and 25%pork)
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons of spicy brown mustard
2 teaspoons of ketchup
2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
8 ounces of cheddar cheese, cut into ¼ to ½ inch cubes
Directions
Mix all ingredients, except the cheddar, together in a large bowl. Cook a small patty and taste for flavor. Add more spices if needed. Roll into 1 ½ to 2 inch balls and stuff with a cube of the cheddar. Sear on at least 3 sides and then place on a metal baking rack sitting on a baking sheet. Cook for about 20 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Serve as an appetizer with your favorite ketchup or mustard to dip, with your favorite pasta sauce and spaghetti or even on mashed potatoes with peas and bbq sauce.
Prepping food in bulk when you have the time and energy so you have it in your freezer when you need it is great for everyone, especially if you need easy allergy-free meals that aren’t available for take-out. What is your favorite freezer meal? If you want to try some other meatball recipes, here are some of my favorites from 2016.
do you freeze the balls after you form them, raw? or do you cook then freeze?
I cook them first and then freeze. That way, they are ready to go when you pull them out of the freezer. You can just reheat (microwave, stove, crockpot) and then serve! I find the stove or crockpot is better because I reheat them with a sauce then they do not get dried out.
I have been wanting to try a new meatball recipe and I love the idea of making these in bulk.
It definitely takes the stress out of a busy night when you can just defrost something from the freezer!
Meatballs are such a great thing to have in the freezer. You can make breakfasts, lunches, dinners, appetizers, sandwiches…The only limit is your imagination.It is great that these are gluten free, too!
Thank you!
Never heard of this!!! Looks so good!!
Thanks!
I love the idea of having meatballs just ready and waiting in the freezer. Have you ever tried using ground turkey before? I think I’m going to give that a try this weekend:) Thanks for the suggestion!
I’ve never tried using ground turkey with this recipe, but I’m sure it would be great!
Ground turkey is what I used all the time for meatballs. This looks so delicious, cannot wait to try your recipe.
These look delicious and so easy- my kind of meal!
Homemade meatballs are any celiac family’s meal-saver! Yours sound delicious! Annies gluten free mac and cheese is my daughter’s and my favorite, too!
These look delicious. I love cheeseburgers, but I’m about to give all that up for my health. Sometimes you need to do that!
These look delicious! I think I know what I’m making for dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing!
These sound yummy. I’m going to try making them with ground turkey rather than beef and pork.