Porcupine Meatballs

[PieSusan]

This is a recipe that my mom made when I was small. Fussy kids usually are willing to eat them.

Porcupine Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 cup instant rice
1-1/2 lb. ground beef
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped celery (optional)
2 Tbs chopped green pepper (optional)
2 Tbs chopped onion
2 cups tomato puree

Directions:
Add rice, salt, pepper and onion to meat. Mix well. Shape into balls, pressing them firmly into place. Place in baking dish. In frying pan, saute celery and green pepper if using. Add tomato puree. Pour over meatballs. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees. Remove cover last half hour of baking to brown the meat and cook down the sauce.

 

[Barbara L]

I've never tried doing mine in the oven. For mine I use regular rice. I mix that and chopped onion into my ground beef. For the sauce I use canned tomatoes and parsley (I add these after browning the meatballs). This is one of my very favorite meals (with mashed potatoes and green beans). When I was almost 12 my mom knew I was sick when I refused to eat porcupine meatballs! It turned out I had appendicitis--the only thing that has ever kept me from eating them! lol

If I am in a hurry I sometimes just break the meat up and brown it, then add the tomatoes and parsley. Then we just put the meat sauce on the potatoes.

I will have to try doing these in the oven sometime.

Barbara

 

[miniman]

I have done a version of this but coated the meatballs with regular rice and then steamed them to cook the rice - they were very nice.

 

[QSis]

That sounds interesting and very porcupine-y, miniman!

So the only rice is on the outside and it's uncooked? How long do you steam them? Do you serve them as is, or with tomato sauce or gravy or what?

Lee

 

[Constance]

This is a recipe that my mom made when I was small. Fussy kids usually are willing to eat them.

Porcupine Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 cup instant rice
1-1/2 lb. ground beef
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped celery (optional)
2 Tbs chopped green pepper (optional)
2 Tbs chopped onion
2 cups tomato puree

Directions:
Add rice, salt, pepper and onion to meat. Mix well. Shape into balls, pressing them firmly into place. Place in baking dish. In frying pan, saute celery and green pepper if using. Add tomato puree. Pour over meatballs. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees. Remove cover last half hour of baking to brown the meat and cook down the sauce.

That's the way my mom made them for me, and the way I made them for my kids. I wouldn't change a thing!

 

[GotGarlic]

This is a recipe that my mom made when I was small. Fussy kids usually are willing to eat them.

Porcupine Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 cup instant rice
1-1/2 lb. ground beef
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped celery (optional)
2 Tbs chopped green pepper (optional)
2 Tbs chopped onion
2 cups tomato puree

Directions:
Add rice, salt, pepper and onion to meat. Mix well. Shape into balls, pressing them firmly into place. Place in baking dish. In frying pan, saute celery and green pepper if using. Add tomato puree. Pour over meatballs. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees. Remove cover last half hour of baking to brown the meat and cook down the sauce.

Hi, PieSusan. These sound really good You say to remove the cover for the last half hour of baking - how long is the total baking time?

 

[miniman]

That sounds interesting and very porcupine-y, miniman!

So the only rice is on the outside and it's uncooked? How long do you steam them? Do you serve them as is, or with tomato sauce or gravy or what?

Lee

I honestly don't remember - it was in a cookbook that was chucked away after our fire. We did it once and it wroked fine.

 

[AuntieV]

I use regular rice and tomato soup in mine. Usually I will throw an extra handful of rice in the pan just because we like the rice/soup combo.
This is one of the first things I learned to cook, by myself, from my grandmother.

 

[PieSusan]

I think 1-1/2 hours total--you want to ensure that the rice is cooked in the meatballs. I use regular rice.