How do I make dinners from scratch when I have  one hour or less for prep and cooking? Well, I could take shortcuts like buying pre-packaged foods but that gets very expensive and I’m stingy to my soul.  I could spend my weekends preparing meals to freeze for the week but really, I have too many other things I’d rather be doing.  For me the answer is cooking in double time.

When I’m making a nice meal from scratch, I double the recipe.  Since I’m already doing the work, why not make one to eat and one to freeze?  It’s a great way to fill up my freezer with quick, no prep meals without sacrificing my precious weekends.  Here’s what I made last night:

Swedish Meatballs-

• 4 Slices Fresh White Bread
• 6 oz. Evaporated Milk
• 3 tablespoons Butter, divided
• 1/2 cup Minced Onion
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt, + a pinch
• 1 pound Ground Beef
• 1 pound Ground Pork
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg

Gravy:

• 1/4 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups Beef Broth
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 cup Heavy Cream

1. Whirrrrr!  the bread in a food processor to make fresh bread crumbs. Empty into a stand mixer bowl. Pour in evaporated milk, give it a quick stir and let it sit.
2. Saute onions in a tablespoon of butter and a pinch of salt. They are done when they are soft and clear.
3. Dump the onions in the mixing bowl with the meat, eggs and spices. Mix well, (about 3 minutes on medium speed).
4. Now comes the fun! Using your  hands or a small cookie scoop, shape the meat mixture into small, 1-inch balls.  The key to success is keeping them small.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons butter in a big deep skillet. Keep the heat low to medium low to prevent scorching. Saute the meatballs until they are brown on all sides.
6. As each batch of meatballs finishes, use a slotted spoon to move them to a parchment lined cooking sheet. This recipe makes about 4 dozen meatballs.
7. When all of the meatballs are cooked, divide half for now & half to freeze.
8. For now: Keep meatballs warm in glass pan in low oven while preparing the sauce.
9. For later:  Making sure none of the meatballs are touching, lay them flat on the lined cooking sheet in freezer. When they are slightly frozen so they can’t stick together, move them into a storage container or freezer bag.  They keep up to 3 months.

To make the sauce-

1. Add flour to the unwashed pan. Use a wire whisk to smooth.
2. Slowly add the beef stock, whisking constantly and bring to a boil.
3. Lower the heat and add sour cream.
4. Keep whisking until it’s nice and thick then remove from heat and stir in the cream.

I like to serve the meatballs over egg noodles with the cream sauce poured over top. Serves 4-6.

Photo by mroach