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Asian Meatballs & Creamy Stroganoff Meatball Pasta

Part of our Cook Once & Eat Twice Series, prepare meatballs once and create two separate meals & flavour profiles to feed your family on a budget.
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Equipment

  • 1 Air fryer - This is simply for quick cooking and easy cleanup however you can shallow fry the meatballs on the stove top or bake in the oven.
  • Slow cooker - f you want to adapt this recipe for a make ahead meal, see the notes section.

Ingredients

Meatball Base

  • 1 cup oatmeal
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 kg pork mince
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 eggs

Sticky Honey Soy Asian Meatball Sauce

  • 1/4 cup light soy saucee
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbs honey
  • 2 tbs corn flour
  • 2 tbs water

Asian Meatball Sides

  • rice to serve
  • sauteed green vegies to serve

Creamy Stroganoff Meatball Pasta

  • 500 g spiral pasta - see note
  • 1 onion or 1/2 cup frozen onion - see note
  • 2 tbs butter
  • 250 g sliced mushrooms
  • 1 can cream of mushroom soup
  • 100 g fresh spinach or a few frozen spinach cubes
  • 250 ml cream
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper

Instructions

Prepare Meatballs

  • First up, soak oatmeal in milk in a large bowl while you gather the rest of your ingredients. This will act as a meat extender, bulking out the meatballs as a budget friendly hack. The longer they soak, the smoother the final meatball texture will be.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to the same bowl and mix well. It may appear on the 'wet' side but this is ok as the oatmeal will continue to absorb the excess moisture.
  • Line air fryer with baking paper or alfoil for a quick clean up, adding in a tray to disperse the meatballs in 2 layers if yours has that ability. Otherwise, pre-heat your oven or get your frying pan warmed up and ready to go.
  • Roll meatballs in your palms and try and remove any air bubbles by firmly passing them from hand to hand.

Night 1 - Asian Style Meatballs

  • Prepare rice using your favourite method so that it's ready in time for when the meatballs are done. I'm currently using a pressure cooker as the result is always light and fluffy.
  • Add meatballs to air fryer, frypan or oven and cook until golden and crispy.
  • Prepare whatever vegetables you have on hand, some simple ideas if you need some inspiration; sauteed onion and frozen green beans or stir-fried garlic & broccolini.
  • Add all sauce ingredients to a small saucepan on low-med heat until thickened, using a whisk to stir frequently.
  • Add enough meatballs for tonight's meal to a medium sized bowl and pour over honey soy sauce and stir through. To save washing up you can add sauce straight to your frypan or oven tray if you prefer.
  • Serve meatballs with a side of rice and vegetables of choice. To elevate the dish, garnish with sesame seeds or chopped chives/eschalots.

Night 2 - Creamy Stroganoff Meatball Pasta

  • Add pasta to boiling water and follow pasta instructions
  • Add butter to a pan and fry the onion and mushrooms until soft and brown. You can add a lid to help speed up this process if you're in a time crunch. Remove from pan and add to leftover container of meatballs from the night before.
  • Add mushroom soup and cream to the pan over medium heat, seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat through.
  • Once sauce has thickened, add in the onion, mushroom, leftover vegetables and leftover meatballs snipping them in half or smaller with kitchen scissors if you need to stretch the meat portion out further.
  • Stir through spinach until wilted and serve immediately. If making this ahead of time, add spinach just before serving. See notes for make ahead version.
  • To elevate this dish, serve with a sprinkle of freshly cracked pepper or dried chilli flakes.

Video

Notes

How to convert this recipe into a Make ahead Meal:
  • The raw meatballs can be prepared ahead of time and left in the fridge overnight for a quick and easy meal after work or after school activities.
  • Prepare Night 2 meal ahead during the day and leave in the slow cooker on 'keep warm' until you are ready to serve.
Diced frozen onion hack:
Time saving hack incoming - purchase diced frozen onion if you are currently in a season of being time-poor or have a baby close by in the kitchen (that you don't want to gas with onion fumes!) as pre-prepared onion is a great way to save you time and tears! 
Pasta Schmasta:
Use whatever pasta you have on hand and don't worry about spending any extra money to buy the spiral variety, however I like to keep this type in my pantry as a staple as it's great to soak up pasta sauce to enjoy with every bite.
Course: Main Course
Keyword: Cook Once & Eat Twice
Servings: 6 people