Pioneer BBQ Meatballs

Yesterday wasn't a good day. It started off OK. I took the kids out to play. We walked up to our little store so they could get a treat and then we came home and Sophie and Chase played with the neighbor girls. I brought them in for lunch and they picked chicken nuggets, baby carrots (this was my first time letting Chase eat them), a pickle and fruit snacks. I went to the bathroom and was in there maybe 20 seconds when Chase came back and asked me to get the carrot out of his nose. He had stuck raw carrot up his nose! He's never even tried to stick anything up his nose before. I tried using the baby booger sucker and it did move it down, but he wouldn't blow and I didn't want to try and stick anything up there in fear of pushing it farther up. He was crying it hurt, so I called the pediatrician and took him in. Me and the nurse tried to hold him still while the Dr. used tweezers to remove it, but we couldn't keep his head still, so the nurse went out to get the receptionist to help. While she was out of the room he blew out really hard and it came flying out of his nose. I paid a $25 co-pay so he could blow it out himself! Then later while I was trying to cook supper I kept dropping and spilling everything. On the up-side, these meatballs are fabulous! The Pioneer Woman hasn't let me down yet. I've noticed in the past 2 weeks several of the blogs I follow have posted this same meatball recipe. It got great reviews from all, so I knew this was going to be a big winner. The meatballs have a great flavor. The tangy sauce goes perfect with them. I did make one change in order to make them healthier. Instead of dredging them in flour and browning them, I just stuck them in the oven to brown and then drained them really well before sticking them in the baking dish and covered them with sauce. I can't wait til noon so I can eat the leftovers for lunch.


PIONEER BBQ MEATBALLS
Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
3/4 cup oats
1 cup milk
3 TBSP very finely minced onion
1 1/2 tsp salt
ground black pepper

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP vinegar
2 TBSP Worcestershire
4 to 6 TBSP onion
Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes. Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour. Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish. Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Comments

Anonymous said…
What a day you had! Glad the carrot episode was resolved OK, even though you had to pay for him to blow it out on his own. :-)

The Pioneer Woman is amazing, isn't she? I've not tried her meatballs yet.
Kathy said…
Don't feel so bad, it could be worse!!! When my daughter was about 4 years old we started noticing she had really bad breath!!! I took her to the doctor two different times! They looked up her nose both times but didn't see anything!!! Well, she had really bad tummy problems one day and didn't want to go to the potty! We were on our way out and wouldn't be near a bathroom for awhile, so we told her she couldn't get off the potty until she finished her job! ;) She was crying quite a bit with all the straining she was doing. Anyway, my husband went in to wipe her tears and he had a tissue for her to blow her nose in. Anyway, all of a sudden something shot out of the tissue, hit him in the knee, and fell to the ground. IT WAS A SCREW!!!! I would say it was almost an inch long!!! I guess with all the straining it dislodged it and then with the blowing it was able to come out. She had stuck it up there one day and when she couldn't get it out she was afraid to tell us what she'd done!!! Can you imagine!?! I'm guessing it had moved into her sinuses, and was covered with mucus which is why the doctors never saw it. We were so blessed!!! She could have sucked that down into her lungs - it could have traveled up into her brain. I don't even want to think about what all could have gone wrong!!! I just praise God for taking care of my little girl!!! Whew.... (btw, no bad breath anymore either) ;) lol...

I hope your day is better today!!! :o)
teresa said…
Ah, being a mother! I haven't had any "nose" incidents yet, but I'm sure my time will come. I'm glad everything worked out okay. The meatballs look wonderful!
Anonymous said…
wow...I didn't know what an adventure being a mommy is.
I love that meatball recipe! esp the fact that you use oats instead of the regular breadcrumbs. so much more nutritious that way!
You poor thing! What a day! Here I was worried about my little one choking on a carrot, I didn't even think about him shoving it up his nose!
jjnhubbs said…
Oh my goodness! I'm sorry you had such a cruddy day! But didn't the meatballs make it better? I made them last week and I can't wait to make them again. I'm so glad you tried browning them in the over though - I did mine in the skillet and it was a pain in the rear. I don't have time for that! Ha. And I'm glad to hear that Chase is carrot free!
Coleens Recipes said…
I've been in the mood for meatballs lately, thanks for the post! (glad your son is carrot free too!) LOL
Debbie said…
I love your header!! I'm glad your little one is carrot free too.
I'm going to try the meatballs, they look great.
Sara said…
Wow, what a crazy day! I saw these meatballs on PW's site, I can't wait to try them.
Karen said…
A friend of mine had a little boy and he had some plastic bullets for a toy gun. He stuck one up his nose and she couldn't remove it, so ended up going to the ER. When she got there they asked her what was wrong and she said "My son has a bullet up his nose." They freaked because they thought it was a real bullet! LOL Thanks for visiting my blog!
priscilla joy said…
Hi Heidi,

I am loving your blog! Great recipes and pictures. These meatballs look fabulous!
mommyofgirls said…
Poor Heidi...and Chase! I'm glad the carrot came out. Grace had a popcorn kernel lodged up her nose once....scary times! Meatballs look fabulous!
Sagey said…
I just found your blog through Tasty Kitchen.

I wanted to let all the mom's out there know that if your child sticks something smooth up his nose (raisin, carrot... not a barbie shoe or screw) and you can't get it out. Save yourself a trip to the ER. Lay your child down and pretend to do mouth to mouth on them. But instead block the clear side of the nose and blow REALLY Hard into just their mouth. The force of your air should dislodge it. We took our son to the ER for a raisin and this is what they had my husband do. The raisin came flying out! They said it always works for something smooth. I am so sorry your doctor didn't try that!