So I originally came across this recipe when I was searching for a good pot sticker recipe. Pot stickers from scratch, by the way, take FOREVER to make, fill and cook. Regardless, I loved the filling to these, and Sophia loves flavorful foods so I decided to do some tweaking and voila! Deliciously satisfying meatballs. The original recipe came from the Food Network and I picked it because it had really great reviews. That being said, I feel like I tweaked it A LOT so I’m going to fully list my recipe and ingredients for you so that you fully understand how I transformed the pot sticker filling to yummy meatballs.

Above is everything I used. I always add shredded carrots and I was pretty sad that I didn’t have any on hand 😦 Nevertheless, I made them anyway.

(*Note: I try and sneak as many vegetables in everything I make, especially when I know Sophia will eat it. She’ll even eat bean sprouts!)

*PREHEAT OVEN TO 450 DEGREES*

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground pork (not the ‘lean’ kind either)
• 1/3 cup shredded carrots (optional)
• 1/3 cup green onions (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger
• 2 tbsp crushed garlic (I used Christopher Ranch brand, sooo good)
• 1/2 tbsp salt (the recipe calls for a full tbsp, but judge for yourself, I usually use about 3/4 tbsp)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Mix all ingredients above together in a bowl with your hands. I’ve found it’s the easiest way to mix it thoroughly. (Oh lookey there, there’s that $1 iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts I was talking about in my last post…)

Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and coat with non-stick cooking spray. Using a cookie scooper, place the meatballs on to the tray.

Place in the oven (preheated at 450 degrees) for around 15-16 minutes, flipping them halfway through with tongs.

Now for the sauce to drizzle on top!

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• Few squirts of Sriracha
• Green onions (optional)

Combine!

Once the meatballs come out of the oven, drizzle a spoonful of sauce over each and enjoy! These are so flavorful, and perfect for toddlers! Sophia has been LOVING meatballs lately, but just the ones I make her. She definitely likes flavor, if it’s bland, she won’t touch it with a 10 foot pole!

Let me know how these turn out for you! Did you tweak them, leave anything out or add some new things? Different veggies or sauces? Leave it in the comments below!

XO

KJS