Meat balls in citrus sauce

If you've worked up an appetite and are looking for a hearty, satisfying meal, you've come to the right place. My mom concocted this recipe a few years back, and we just recently tried it again. It combines two flavors I never thought would complement each other so well: orange and tomato! I know it's weird, right? Well, let me tell you this: Orange is probably the ONLY citrus fruit that can combine with tomato.

A few years ago, my little sister invited a new friend, Jessie, over to spend the day. When we found out she was staying for dinner, my mom wanted to treat her with this dish because she knew Jessie would simply love it! We really talked this dinner up, telling Jessie how much she was going to enjoy it. We were really emphasizing our mom's cooking skills to impress our new guest. Unfortunately, after putting the dish together, my mom found out we were out of oranges to add to the stew. She figured grapefruit would suffice, and it would be a fun, new rendition of her recipe... NOT! We all sat down excited to eat, and unknowingly we all dug into this grapefruit and meat concoction. Well, I made eye contact with my dad, who then looked at my sister, who looked back at me, and all at once we looked at my mom, who likes everything, and saw her staring at her plate, refusing to look any of us in the eye. Then we all turn to Jessie who is trying to be polite by forcing the stew into her mouth. My mom finally looks up blurts out that we don't need to eat it. Well, poor Jessie went home hungry that night! Being the sweet girl she is, she offered to make us chicken quesadillas with her new quesadilla maker! 

Now it's been a few years since this incident and every now and then when we try a new recipe, we reminisce about the horrible grapefruit curse! However, my mom had her chance at redemption last night when Jessie came over again for dinner! We had a ton of oranges this time, and the meal turned out wonderfully! I'm not a big meat eater to begin with, but this is a dish I kept going back into the kitchen for seconds...and possibly thirds! :)

The recipe is a little more advanced, and it takes some preparation time, but trust me, it's worth it. The meal itself seems like a hearty winter stew, but the citrus flavor from the orange that's infused into the sauce, all combined with the bountiful  fresh vegetables from the stir fry, make this the perfect satisfying summer supper! Nice alliteration, huh?

Stir fry ingredients:

 Spaghetti squash (cooking directions below)
Mushrooms
1 large purple onion, chopped
Fresh spinach
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper. finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

1. Before all else, preheat oven to 350 to cook the spaghetti squash.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and place (pulp-side down) on a cookie sheet or baking dish and bake for an hour.
3. Using a spoon, scrape out the pulp and seeds and disregard,
4. Take a fork and simply scrape out the "meat" of the squash. It will be stringy, resembling spaghetti. Set aside.

 5. In a skillet, heat olive oil and saute chopped garlic, onion, peppers, and mushrooms until the onions are transluscent.
6. Add spaghetti squash and soy sauce and saute until squash begins to brown.
7. Add the spinach and let sit until your stew is ready.

Stew Ingredients: 

 Meat:
2 pounds lean hamburger meat
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup uncooked rice
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
Squirt of kethcup
Squirt of mustard
Salt
Pepper

Sauce:

Large can tomato sauce
1/2 cup sweet whine (your choice)
1 cup water
4 beef bouillon cubes
1-2 oranges cut in half
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. butter 

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and combine with hands.
2. Form mixture into balls about the size of your palm.
3. Place meatballs into a large pot.
4. Add tomato sauce, wine, water, bouillon cubes, brown sugar, and butter.
5. Squeeze the oranges into the pot, and let the whole orange cook in the stew.
6. Bring the mixture to a boil.
7. Cook over low heat for two to three hours, or until the rice in the meat is tender.

Now get yourself a serving of the stir fry, grab a meatball or two, and pour the citrus sauce all over your meal and voila, you're officially in heaven!

Orange ya glad you tried this?! ;)

Cheers!
xx