Spicy Mushroom Meatballs

I recently found out that at work I am known as “the cupcake lady.” I’m not sure how to feel about this.

Should I be ashamed because I don’t have a stronger “health” presence at work? Or am I glad that people don’t think of me as the broccoli lady or the health nut?

At least they know my husband doesn’t starve.

It’s easy to want to share only food that is a guaranteed hit – and healthy food often is not that. I’m still winning back my family’s favor, though their trust may never be mine. Just last week I made a batch of these brownies (great recipe, by the way). Not thirty seconds after I took them out of the oven my family goes, “Oh. Brownies. What’d you put in them?”

This was not a friendly inquiry. This was doubt, distrust. Maybe even fear.

So I think you may understand why the vegetarian recipes I share with non-vegetarians are usually the least healthy of my meatless options.

Take my favorite vegetarian meatloaf. The recipe calls for something along the lines of 1 cup of butter, 8 eggs, and four cups of cheese. We’re off to a wonderful start. I won’t even tell you about all the sugar in the glaze.

Then we have lentil loaf. I still love this recipe (mostly because ketchup covers a multitude of wrongs), but it is by no means something I would proudly serve to non-vegetarian friends.

These mushroom meatballs though, these I would serve to anyone.

And without nuts, soy, and potentially no gluten, you really could serve these to just about anyone. You might even be able to sneak them by mushroom-haters.

They are also quite versatile. I adapted the recipe from Tania at Cooktoria and I look forward to playing with many more flavor variations. With some different seasonings and a glaze, these would make perfect cocktail meatballs. They could also star in a vegetarian stroganoff. Or you can do like me and eat a plateful just as they are.

Lets see, what else?

They don’t fall apart easily like some vegetarian meatballs, so you can cook them up in a pot of sauce to serve over spaghetti.

Best of all, this is a recipe I can serve to vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, without feeling like I have to sell my soul and put enough cheese and butter in the bowl to make anyone like my vegetarian food.

To make these numptious meatballs, start off with some finely diced onions and mushrooms. My Ninja worked great for this.

And of course I always buy the clearance mushrooms.

Don’t be impatient when it comes to cooking these mushrooms and onions.

Wait for almost all of the liquid to cook off or you will have soggy meatballs.

While the onions and mushrooms cook, stir together the dry ingredients and eggs. Be sure to cool the mushroom mixture before adding to the other ingredients or you will have scrambled eggs.

After the mixture has chilled, scoop the meatballs into a greased 9 X 13 pan. This scoop makes it especially easy.

Cover the meatballs with sauce, then bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

The first time we tried these meatballs was in meatball sandwiches. Feel free to experiment of course!