Norwegian Meatballs and Mashed Potatoes

This just seemed like a really good idea on a cold wintry night.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Meatballs:

1 pound ground pork

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 pound lean ground beef

2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp sea salt 

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 egg

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Vegetable oil (if you want to fry them, baking instructions also below)

Mashed Potatoes:

Use your own recipe; I chose to use red potatoes with cream cheese and roasted garlic.

Gravy:
2 cups beef stock
1/4 cup red wine
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Mix the meatball mixture in a bowl with the seasonings, Worcestershire, egg, bread crumbs, and cheese.  The easiest way to do this is with your hands, but I recommend using gloves as it can get a bit messy!

Form the meatballs into 1 1/2 inch circles.  To fry them, preheat vegetable oil in a shallow skillet and fry for about 5 minutes per side, until brown, then drain and set aside.  To bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake for about 20-25 minutes, until no longer pink in center, turning halfway during cooking to brown on both sides.

For the gravy, boil the stock until reduced to about 2 cups, then add the red wine.  Boil for an additional two minutes, then mix in the heavy cream and reduce heat.  Add garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste and then cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve the meatballs on top of the mashed potatoes with gravy drizzled over them (or on the side, for your fussy guests!).  This gravy is really good!  Enjoy!

Tips:  
You can really use any type of ground meat you would like in this recipe, I personally just like to use the ground pork and turkey to cut a bit of the fat/calories.