recipe by Lily Nichols

Nutritional Highlights:

Vitamins: A, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, Choline

Minerals: Copper, Iron, Phosphorus, Selenium & Zinc

High protein, zinc, garlic and onions make these great for boosting immune health!

Ingredients - makes 24 meatballs

2 small onions, finely diced. You could also throw it in a food processor to get it super fine. Don't overdo it though, or it will turn to mush.
12-16 oz. of cremini mushrooms, finely diced. I pulverized mine in the food processor for a much faster and finer end result. You can use any mushrooms, the flavor will just change based on the type you use.
4 cloves garlic, minced.
1/4 cup ghee or coconut oil
1 lb. ground beef (we prefer grass-finished)
1 lb. ground pork (we prefer pasture-raised)
4-6 oz. grass-fed beef or chicken liver pate (optional). I pre-make this and store frozen in 1 oz. cubes to add to recipes like this for an extra boost of iron, choline, and vitamins such as B12, A, D, E, and K.
2 pasture-raised eggs
2.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional). I don't use this because my kids are pretty sensitive to spice.

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400 deg.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté garlic in the ghee or coconut oil for 1-2 minutes, just letting it sweat into the fat.
Add onions and mushrooms and cook until lightly browned and all that excess water has evaporated. Set aside to cool (if it's cold outside, I'll place it outside to cool off faster).
In a large mixing bow, mix together the meat, cooked/cooled vegetables, and remaining ingredients until thoroughly blended together.
Grease 2 large baking sheets (ours are stainless steel) with ghee or coconut oil.
Using a 1" melon baller, or just a regular spoon and/or your hands if you don't have one, form 24 meatballs, placing them at least 1" apart. They should use up two baking sheets.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
For a one pan recipe with sauce, cook meatballs for 10 minutes, pour sauce around the pan, then finish cooking until done. This will heat the sauce, condense it some, and de-glaze your pan.
Serve with whatever side floats your boat.

Notes

If you only have ground beef, just use that. The original recipe does not include ground pork. I just love it so much and wanted the meatballs to remind me of eating sausage.
Using the oven makes this process much less messy. If you'd rather sauté them in a cast iron skillet, go for it.