Dinner/ Gluten Free/ Healthy/ Keto/ Lunch/ Shared Plates

Mediterranean Meatballs with Whipped Feta

November 13, 2018

Holy ishhh you guys, before we talk about my Mediterranean Meatballs with Whipped Feta, do I have something to share.

Mediterranean Meatballs- The Seasonal Junkie.

So I totally know- it is one hundred percent not like me to be dramatic. Amiright?! But, I have a story and it all happened within a 40 hour time frame.

Every time….. And when I say “every time”, I mean a grand total of two times. Every time, I go to Houston, it’s just mayhem.

First of all, I had the craziest turbulence on the plane ride there. During take off, I literally thought, this is it. This is how I go out. Alone. At one point, I jumped and squeezed the sleeping man’s arm next to mine so hard, he jolted up in his seat. It looked like he just saw Kurt Cobain singing “Teenage Spirit” live from the row in front of us. I said sorry like a million times and for some reason when I’m really scared my teeth chatter- so that was happening the whole two hour flight. Which was so unbelievably cool.

Secondly, I ran out of data. And now I know you are probably like booo-hoo, you big data-less baby, now you can’t check instagram. While yes, it was unfortunate to not be able to flip through my insta feed and see food porn and glamorous fashion influencers living their best life.  No, being deprived of instagram, was not my biggest hurdle. I dare you. No…..I triple dog dare you, to go to a city where you have no point of reference, with no data. and survive (mapquests website is actually pretty cool now, so that was fun to see). If you can do it, I am super proud of you and you are allowed to travel with me.

And then thirdly, it started snowing. Which may not be a big deal to anyone but me, but let’s just say I basically left Houston with butt cheek icicles from freezing my hiney off.

But on the bright side, my training went really well and I love visiting the property we have out there.

So I guess you could say it was an eventful work trip.

Any who the real reason we are here….

Mediterranean Meatballs- The Seasonal Junkie.

Mediterranean Meatballs with Whipped Feta

The great thing about my Mediterranean meatballs is your options are pretty much endless. I used ground lamb. And I can already hear so many of you throwing a fit, because they are definitely not about to eat ground lamb. Well, shh because you can use ground chicken, beef, turkey… really any ground meat. Just keep in mind the spices are going to be more Mediterranean based. If I wasn’t using lamb in my Mediterranean meatballs, I probably would have used ground turkey.

Another Great Fall Recipe is my Bison Sweet Potato Chili. Check it out here. 

Originally, I had planned for the meatballs to be the star of the show, you know, since it has the word “meatballs” in the title and everything. But, I really feel like it’s an injustice to not costar the whipped feta. It was seriously TO DIE FOR. Because lamb is such an indulgent meat, the whipped feta really brought some brightness to the dish. This meal truly was love at first bite.

Mediterranean Meatballs- The Seasonal Junkie.

Well with all of that information I just spewed on you, I challenge you to either A) go into a new city without data or B) Cook up these Mediterranean Meatballs. Something tells me that you should go with the more delicious option.

But you know what, you do you.

Mediterranean Meatballs with Whipped Feta

Serves: 4
Cooking Time: 40 Min

Ingredients

  • Meatballs:
  • 1 Pound Ground Meat (lamb, turkey, chicken, or beef)
  • 1/2 Onion, grated in food processor
  • 3 cloves Garlic, grated in food processor
  • 1 tbsp Dried Oregano
  • 1 1/2 tsp Cumin
  • 1/4 cup Kalamata Olives, chopped
  • 1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
  • 1-2 tbsp Salt (I used 1 1/2)
  • 1 tbsp Pepper
  • 1 tsp Olive Oil
  • 1 Lemon zested
  • Whipped Feta:
  • 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese
  • 2 tbsp- 1/4 cup water to thin out
  • 1/4 cup Herb Feta
  • 1/2-1 Lemon, juice
  • 2 tbsp Parsley
  • 1 tbsp Dill
  • Optional: salt
  • Optional Garnishing: Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Sliced Cucumbers, and Kalamata Olives

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 375

2

In a mixing bowl add ground meat, grated onion and garlic, lemon zest, dried oregano, cumin, chopped kalamata olives, chopped parsley, salt, and peper

3

Mixing together by hand until everything is evenly distributed

4

I used a cooking scoop to scoop out meatballs, but you can just grab a handful and roll by hand

5

Using a cast iron skillet or an oven safe pan heat oil up on medium

6

Add meatballs and cook on one side until brown flip and repeat on opposite side

7

Once meatballs are browned on each side pop into the oven and cook until internal temp 160*

8

While meatballs are cooking in the oven

9

In a food processor, add Greek yogurt cream cheese, feta, lemon juice, parsley, dill

10

(In my opinion between the feta and the lemon, I did not use any salt, but taste it and see you may want to add some)

11

Pulse until smooth

12

I wanted to thin mine out so I added about 3 tbsp of water and pulsed again to give it more of a whipped texture, but add as much or as little as you want

13

Once meatballs are done remove from oven

14

Plate with Whipped Feta, Meatballs, and Optional Garnishes

Notes

*Any ground meats should be cooked at least to 160, but in some cases 165 to prevent food sickness

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4 Comments

  • Reply
    Nicole
    November 14, 2018 at 7:47 pm

    Girl, you need to find yourself a deal on an unlimited plan ? I cant even imagine trying to navigate an nee city sans cell phone. Nice work. I’m totally loving this dish, the whipped feta has me seriously intrigued. I cant wait to try it!

  • Reply
    Jamie
    November 14, 2018 at 8:20 pm

    Oh yum. I love meatballs and have never made them quite like this- looks delish! <3 Jamie

  • Reply
    jena leigh | naughty kitchen
    November 14, 2018 at 10:39 pm

    i love Mediterranean food! These meatballs will do great for my family and especially for my work lunches. I might do a ground chicken version of this 🙂

  • Reply
    Sara | mshealthesteem.com
    November 15, 2018 at 2:44 am

    That whipped feta sounds extra amazing! Holy goodness ?. I sadly can’t eat dairy but you’ve inspired me to work away at recreating this with cashew cream cheese and almond feta. Hopefully it tastes half as awesome ?. Because daaaaammmmnnn. Thanks a ton for sharing your recipe ?

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