Free beer!

Ok let's face it, if I named the title of this blog post what it is really about you wouldn't have read this far.  But now that I have your attention please humor me and keep on reading...

I was reading Cozy Kitchen's blog about Eggplant Meatballs.  Not being a fan of eggplant, blah, I decided I liked the idea but just couldn't do it.  So I did a search for lentil meatballs and found a couple recipes.  I mainly followed this one and added my own twist.  They came out surprisingly well!  Z-man ate them which is a huge bonus in my book.  C ate nearly as many as he would eat of beef meatballs.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not in lala land over here.  The rain (and snow) isn't making me batty.  They are definitely not meatballs as we all know and love but they are for sure a close second.

Are you still reading?  I'm impressed and think you look lovely today.  Have you lost weight?

The first night we had them with spaghetti and marinara sauce.  [Yep, jarred.]  The second night I simmered them in BBQ sauce for meatball subs.  They are super filling and pretty tasty!  We both liked them even better in BBQ.  They can easily stand up to simmering in a sauce like a regular meatball so next time I'll let them sit awhile in marinara.  So here it is, what I was originally going to title this post but thought otherwise...  [drum roll please]

Lentil "Meat"balls 

1.2 cup low-fat yogurt,well- drained
2 cups dried brown lentils
2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth if you're hard core)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp garlic powder divided (the real thing would be good)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cooked spinach (get that frozen chopped stuff)
2/3 cups bread crumbs (I toast a piece or two of bread and pulverize in processor)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (shhh don't tell C)
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt/pepper

Bring broth to a boil.  Add lentils, bay leaf, and 1 tsp garl powder.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 20-30 minutes.  All liquid should be absorbed and lentils downright mushy.

In large bowl mix all ingredients very well with a spoon.  If you are like me you pull out the food processor instead and pulse it all until it looks the picture above-ish.  Sorry, not much to look at but it all works out in the end and the picture kinda helps.

Let mixture sit in fridge an hour or two.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Wet your hands and shape meatballs and place onto well greased cookie sheet.  Bake about 25 minutes turning them halfway through.  If you can break it apart like a meatball with a fork then you know they're done.

Fun additions would be saute onion, mushrooms, garlic. Whatever you like!  Heck, try it with some roasted eggplant!  I almost wonder how some Lipton onion soup mix would be in there.  Yep that's right I said it.