Meatball Casserole

Our Grandkids love to cook. This is our grandson Tucker. Tonight is his turn to cook. Since the grandkids are home schooled, cooking is an easy way to incorporate education without them knowing it and enjoying it. Tucker’s a hands on kid. Always busy. He likes taking things apart and putting them back together, trying to make it better in the process. He loves to make things out of nothing. Boxes and duct tape are treasures to him. This young man was lucky to have spent some time getting to know his great grandpa ( Dale), who was a WWII veteran. This has given him a great respect for our country’s veterans and a love for anything to do with WWII. Tonight, Tucker’s making a meatball casserole with a side of baked beans. I won’t be helping him, for that would be taboo. I’ll just be by his side to answer any questions he might have, help if asked, make sure he’s safe, and making sure he doesn’t try to make it better. 😳. Lol

Recipe

Meatballs

2 lbs. ground beef
1 egg
1 stalk of saltine crackers crushed
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground sage
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbls oil

Meatball gravy

6 cups water
1 Tbls Italian seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
2 beef bouillon cubes
2 Tbls flour

1 pkg hash brown potatoes
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper

First make the meatballs. Combine the ground beef, egg, crackers, milk, onion powder, sage, pepper. Form in to golf ball size meat balls. Heat large fry pan with oil and add meatballs cover. Turn meatballs as the brown. Remove browned meatballs and set aside.
Add 6 cups of water, Italian seasoning, onion powder, and bouillon to fry pan let come to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Add enough of this hot liquid to flour until it becomes a thin paste. Add to paste to seasoned liquid and whisk until combined. Return meat to mixture and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Set aside. Combine hash browns, cheese, butter, onion powder, salt and pepper. Place hash brown mixture into large casserole dish. Top with meatballs and pour gravy over all. Cover and place in a preheated 350 degree oven and cook for 1 hour. Serves 8-10 people.
Enjoy. ​