Meatballs & Gravy

I needed some comfort food this weekend after round 2 with the stomach flu last week.  It was a good way to kick off my return to food with a new recipe.  I used my recipe for the meatballs from Swedish Meatballs but increased the amounts of things since I used 1.5# of ground beef instead of 1# as I had in that recipe.  As I was about to scoop the meatballs and put into the pan, I received a phone call telling me I should add cheese to the middle.  I put some Havarti into each.  

Meatballs & Gravy

Meatballs

1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs

1/3 cup milk

1.5 lb extra lean ground beef

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp parsley

1 large egg

Place the Panko bread crumbs in a bowl and pour the milk over it and allow to set for 10 minutes.  Add in the remaining ingredients and mix completely.  Scoop out into meatballs and place in a hot frying pan or Dutch oven with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. 

Remove the meatballs from the Dutch oven.  Deglaze the bottom of the pan with 1/4 cup red wine.  Melt 1/4 cup butter in the bottom.  Whisk in 1/3 cup flour and let cook for 1 minute before whisking in 4 cups beef stock gradually.  I added 1 tbsp Beef Better Than Bouillon for extra flavor.  Whisk in 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce.  Return the meatballs to the Dutch oven and allow the gravy to thicken over medium heat.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Serve over mashed potatoes or noodles.