Artichokes and Italian Meatballs

The other day Zach and I were having dinner and it dawned on me, now that I am pregnant again, I totally have to start eating better and healthier - BOO. Not that we eat horribly, just as you can see from all of these blog posts, our meals tend to be centered around the glorious carbohydrate! In an effort to find something still delicious and yet low to no-carb it dawned on me that it's been ages since we have had artichokes. Now normally they are a meal in themselves; however, I know that Zach would be hungry about 30 minutes after devouring his artichoke if I didn't prepare something additional  - hence the meatballs. These two dishes are super easy, but this will definitely take you a good 45 minutes to prepare both so make sure you have the time. Ok, let's go...


Recipe:

1 artichoke per person
1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp butter
1 egg
1 cup of breadcrumbs
2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Take the artichokes and cut the stem off. Trim the tops of the artichokes about 1/4" so that the pointy tips no longer prick you. Place the artichokes in a large pot and cover with water. Lightly salt the water and turn the heat on medium-high. Cover the pot with a lid and let them cook for about 45 minutes. (You can check them after about 30 minutes, when they are ready the leaves will pull right off without much force.) For a dipping sauce I like to melt about 3 tbsp of butter and a sprinkle of garlic salt while Zach like to use 3 tbsp of mayo with a few hits of hot sauce - it just depends what you like!

After the artichokes have been cooking for 20 minutes you can start the meatballs. In a medium sized frying pan, melt the butter. Mix the ground beef, egg, breadcrumbs, garlic salt and pepper in a bowl by hand and shape into balls (you can also add a little grated parmesan cheese to the mixture if you'd like). Place the balls into the frying pan and cook for about 15 minutes. Note: you will need to turn them every 3-5 minutes so that they brown evenly, not char on one end and remain raw everywhere else lol). Once they're a golden brown all over they're ready!

Pictures:

Meatball Picture:

OOPS well I told you they were good, evidently they were so good that Zach and I devoured them without even remembering to take a picture lol