I enjoy cooking, I really do. But the past few weeks my husband & I have been running around most week nights, making our dinners seem more like after thoughts. So I promised my husband earlier this week that Friday night I would make something delicious for us. Not that he’s been complaining or anything, but he did share as part of our wedding ceremony how much he likes my cooking. So I don’t want to drop the ball only 4 months into our marriage!

I’ve had some ground pork in the freezer for like 3 weeks, waiting for both the inspiration & the time to use it. Friday was the night. I finally decided on meatballs.

I’ve been wanting to make stir fry for weeks now, but haven’t been able to find the noodles I like lately. Then, all of the sudden, I realized: Who needs noodles? I have a bunch of veggies in the freezer!

I’ve never made meatballs from scratch, so I looked up some recipes for inspiration & how-tos before coming up with my own 🙂

The meatballs were not terribly difficult to make! I think ground pork might be one of our new freezer staples.

I was tempted for a minute to just cook one giant meatball. But, then what would my husband eat?

While the meatballs were cooking, I made the sauce & cooked the frozen veggies. Once the sauce was done, I took it off the heat & put half of it in with the veggies to give them more flavor.

Once the meatballs were done, I combined everything.

I thought I was going to have left overs, but this was sooo good we ate the whole thing! The sauce is sweet & spicy. The meatballs on their own have a nice savory flavor. I’m patting myself on the back for my new sauce & very first meatball recipe!

Asian-style Pork Meatball Stir Fry

Makes 24 meatballs

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, pressed, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• Sriracha sauce
• Vegetables for stir fry
• Sesame seeds (optional)

For meatballs:

1. Heat the oven to 400°.
2. Line a large baking sheet with foil & coat with butter (or use non stick spray).
3. Combine the pork with the egg, bread crumbs, onion, 1 clove pressed garlic, salt, & pepper. Mix the pork mixture by hand until all ingredients are well blended.Shape the pork into meatballs & arrange them on the baking sheet.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.

For sauce:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the remaining 3 cloves of pressed garlic. Cook for about 1 minute while stirring continuously.
3. Add the ground ginger, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, and desired amount of Sriracha. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 1 minute.

Putting the Stir Fry together:

1. Cook vegetables in a large skillet. Once meatballs & sauce are done, combine with veggies in the skillet.
2. Serve, sprinkle with sesame seeds, & enjoy!