Swedish Meatballs

Adapted from Skinnytaste.com
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 5 meatballs
Calories: 213.51 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 lb 93% lean beef
1 egg
1/4 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
1 tsp salt and pepper or to taste
1/2 tsp allspice
2 cups reduced sodium beef stock
2 oz light cream cheese

In a large deep saute pan, heat oil on medium heat, add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 more minutes. Let cool a few minutes. (I like to put the onion mixture into a small bowl and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes while I get the next step ready. That way I can handle the mixture and not burn my fingers in the process.)

In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and allspice. Mix well and form meatballs with your hands. Tip--Sometimes I'll use a cookie scoop or a melon baller to scoop out the meat mixture, then form the meat into a ball. If you don't have a melon baller, you can use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop up some meat, then divide the meat into two balls. 

Add beef stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside in a serving dish. Strain the stock, add to blender with cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Return to pan and simmer a few minutes to thicken, then pour over meatballs. You may want to add some cornstarch or flour here to thicken up the sauce. It's a bit runny.

Tip--When adding cornstarch to a recipe for thickening, add 2 T warm water to a small bowl. Whisk in 1 T cornstarch until smooth. Then add to the mixture you'd like to thicken and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Repeat if you'd still like the liquid thicker. 

Garnish with parsley and serve over noodles or with toothpicks if you want to set these out as an appetizer.

We've also whipped up some mashed potatoes and the meatballs were great with that, too!

This makes approx. 22 meatballs, nutritional info is based on 5 meatballs with gravy.