This past weekend, I challenged myself to come up with a well-thought out menu and actually shop, prep and cook all (or most) of the dishes on Sunday. So it was pretty imperative that everything I made be able to re-heat well and also travel with us, if need be. I’ll be posting a slew of recipes that we included in our menu this week, and on Friday, I’ll post the actual step-by-step, mind-numbing logistical steps for the shopping list and prep sequences. So if you’re like us, and grocery shopping on Saturday night is considered a “date”, you’ll be ready to go for next week.

Since I was making a lot of food on all the same day, I cut some corners–like the dried onion flakes and granulated garlic. I didn’t want to have to saute the fresh stuff, dirtying a pan and taking extra time, when I could just measure out of a bottle and continue on my merry way. However, as preachy as this is about to sound– this is not a declaration for using all dried herbs & stuff–fresh mint and lemon zest are a no compromise must in the meatballs.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground lamb
• 1 egg
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced
• 1/4 cup feta cheese (optional)
• salt & pepper

Method

Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together all the ingredients until well incorporated.

Use a cookie scoop (or your hand) to shape the mixture into balls and place in a 9×13 oven-safe baking dish.

Bake until cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Once the meatballs are cool, remove (making sure to remove any goop) from the pan and place, uncovered, in the fridge. Once cool, cover and store until ready to re-heat and eat.