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Ginny’s swedish meatballs – a case of serendipity

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“I like to refer to my small social circle as ’boutique.’ And much like the hotels of the same ilk, my friends are all unique, high quality, and serve me good food. But more than that, they teach me things about the world and about myself that I couldn’t learn anywhere else.”
Dan Levy

Hi there,

I got out my old handwritten book of recipes last week to see what I might want to share. Serendipitously my friend Ginny’s recipe for Swedish Meatballs fluttered to the ground. I have held onto this recipe for so long that the paper is yellow around the edges. It is a treasured recipe because it is absolutely delicious but also it is in her handwriting, which I haven’t seen for a very long time.

The recipe brought back memories of Ginny who was my very, very fun friend. We met when our children started kindergarten together. She had a huge welcoming smile and a twinkle in her eyes that led you to believe that something fun would soon be afoot.

One of my favorite memories of Ginny was a Halloween night when both of our children were about 7 years old. I started out for Ginny’s house figuring I could pick up her son, Billy, and take Steve and Billy trick or treating.

Ginny greeted me at the door with that sparkle in her eyes and a glass of wine. She pulled me into the house and informed me that her daughter would be taking the children out. I, on the other hand, would be enjoying a glass of wine with her. That Halloween would become, for me, the most memorable one of my life. There was no need for tricks because I was treated to some wine and lots of laughter.

Ginny’s Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground lean beef
  • 1/2 lb ground pork
  • 1/2 lb ground veal
  • 1 cup of bread crumbs
  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 onion minced
  • butter
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • dash of nutmeg and pepper
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups meat stock
  • pinch of grated lemon rind
  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • chopped dill

Directions:

  1. Blend meats, crumbs and milk
  2. Saute onion in 1 tablespoon of butter and add to meat with eggs and seasonings
  3. Mix with your hands to get even texture
  4. Roll into small balls
  5. Brown in 2 tablespoons of butter
  6. Remove meatballs
  7. Add to pan juices the flour and stock to make a gravy
  8. Stir until home and lemon rind
  9. Return the meatballs to the gravy and simmer over very low heat for 1 hour.
  10. Remove meatballs to serving dish
  11. To the gravy add sour cream and stir until combined.
  12. Pour gravy over the meatballs and serve with dill and buttered noodles

I hope you make Ginny’s meatballs and that their flavor make you smile.

Talk soon, ❤️💕 Bernadette

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19 responses to “Ginny’s swedish meatballs – a case of serendipity”

  1. Angie@Angie's Recipes – Angie's Recipes is an interactive blog dedicated to sharing yummy & creative recipes, helpful cooking hints and tips. Enjoy your visit and spread the word!
    Angie Schneider says:

    What sweet memories! We eat lots of meatballs and will never get tired of them..so I must give this recipe a try ASAP!
    angiesrecipes
    http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com

    Reply
  2. Chef Mimi – As a self-taught home cook, with many years in the culinary profession, I am passionate about all things food-related. Especially eating!
    chef mimi says:

    And, of course, your recipes have stories associated with them as well! Great post, lovely recipe.

    Reply

  3. This is one of those great, “old school” dishes that never goes out of style! They sound delicious, and I love the idea of dill with the sauce. Yum!

    Reply
  4. Darlene – British Columbia, Canada – Writer of children's stories, short stories and travel articles. https://twitter.com/#!/supermegawoman http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=201634059868404&id=631897250&ref=notif&notif_t=like#!/pages/Darlene-Foster-Writer/362236842733
    Darlene says:

    A fabulous recipe with a wonderful story attached to it. Nothing like memories of good friends.

    Reply
  5. Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most full-fat dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educated myself about our food sources! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
    Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

    Ah, I love the story and the memories! And, I love that the recipe floated around the universe that day to be offered up!

    Reply
      • Dorothy's New Vintage Kitchen – I'm a writer, cook, gardener, photographer, poet, quilter, and accomplished daydreamer. I'm also a wife, mother, grandmother, sister. cousin, aunt, and friend, no particular order on any given day. I've been a writer all my life, newspaper reporter and columnist, radio news writer, and magazine contributor, and poet and short-story writer as the spirit moves. Now, I turn my attention to my cookbook, the blog, and a cooking column "Memorable Meals," which runs in our county newspaper. Besides my family, I love dogs, cats, good coffee, chocolate, and my never-dwindling pile of books I intend to read. Our family ran a small Vermont Inn for 18 years, with our focus on local, organic ingredients. I cook from scratch, and try not to use anything that has ingredients I cannot pronounce! After many years of daily serving up local delicacies, cooking classes, and catering, we are now only open for special events, and the odd cooking class. We also host musicians and artists, having helped produce a musical festival and other musical events for nearly 20 years. Many incredible artists have found a place at our table. Wonderful experiences, we will treasure always. My family and friends are my practice subjects. With a family that includes nut, peanut, tree fruit, and vegetable allergies, gluten intolerance, dairy intolerance, vegetarians, vegans, heart conscious, and a couple of picky eaters, there has to be a few quick tricks in the book to keep everyone fed and happy! Personally, I do not eat red meat or most full-fat dairy (usually) for health reasons, making the occasional exception at Thanksgiving and Christmas or our anniversary if the duck is locally raised. I do eat fish and seafood, so I try to come up with alternatives and substitutions when available. I serve local organic eggs and cheeses to my family who can tolerate dairy (My husband recently had a heart attack, and I need to watch my own cholesterol so I am careful, but have been known to let a little piece of really good cheese accidentally fall on my plate!). I believe strongly that eating in a way that is good for our planet is also good for our bodies, and I try to educated myself about our food sources! I cook by the seasons and draw on inspiration from the strong and talented women in my family who came before me, as well as the youth in the family who look at the world with fresh eyes. Food links us all, whether sharing a meal, cooking it together, or writing about it for others to enjoy. I love taking an old recipe and giving it a modern spin, especially if I can make it a littler healthier and use foods that are kinder to the Earth and to our bodies. I believe strongly in sustainable, delicious eating of whole foods, and the wonderful flavors we have at our fingertips! And finally, I love conversing with all the talented cooks and chefs out there who dot the globe! It's a wonderful, world full of culinary pen pals, and I cherish them all! XXXOOO Dorothy
        Dorothy’s New Vintage Kitchen says:

        😆

  6. Time Traveler of Life – Where my Motor Home is! – Biography Creating worlds, characters, and wielding power like a madwoman, making my characters happy, sad, angry, and some of them with no redeeming qualities. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I sometimes laugh out loud when I am writing a scene, and I have been known to cry when one of my favorites has to die. I am a left-handed Gemini, what do you expect? Reading bedtime stories to my two children until they fell asleep or until they just told me to go away, was fun. Making up wild stories for my grandchild, and creating Halloween costumes from Cowboys to a Dragon, was another favorite thing to do. I missed that so much when they were grown, that I started writing. My yearly newsletters frequently were drafted third-person by my Love Birds, Miranda our motorhome, and by Sir Fit the White Knight, our faithful Honda. Throughout the years, some of my creative talents centered around writing letters of complaint expressing my displeasure with services or products. One crucial, at least to my Son, was a note to our local school bus driver petitioning her to allow him back on the bus. He was kicked off for making an obscene gesture at his buddy. I reminded her that it was not directed at her, and that “obscenity can be in the eye of the beholder,” kids use that gesture as a greeting. He rode the bus until he graduated. I loved driving my English teacher crazy. Leaving a “continued next week” at the end of my five handwritten pages required each week. He was one of many people that suggested I “do something about my writing.” I graduated from the School of Hard Knocks at the top of my class. After 30 years, in the trenches as a Real Estate Professional, I have found that truth is stranger than fiction. My books are filled with characters I met in that profession. Their names were changed to protect the guilty. Others were from people we met traveling around the country in Miranda, our Motorhome. I am married nearly 60 years to the love of my life, Shirl, and partner-produced two exceptionally talented children, and one grandchild who is our pride and joy.
    Time Traveler of Life says:

    Damn, those sound so good, I can almost taste them. Gettin’ old ain’t for sissies! I would love to try these, but of course almost all of the igredients are on my cardio no! no! list. Thanks for posting with the story of Ginny. We all need a friend like her in our lives. You were indeed lucky to have her in yours.

    Reply
  8. Time Traveler of Life – Where my Motor Home is! – Biography Creating worlds, characters, and wielding power like a madwoman, making my characters happy, sad, angry, and some of them with no redeeming qualities. I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I sometimes laugh out loud when I am writing a scene, and I have been known to cry when one of my favorites has to die. I am a left-handed Gemini, what do you expect? Reading bedtime stories to my two children until they fell asleep or until they just told me to go away, was fun. Making up wild stories for my grandchild, and creating Halloween costumes from Cowboys to a Dragon, was another favorite thing to do. I missed that so much when they were grown, that I started writing. My yearly newsletters frequently were drafted third-person by my Love Birds, Miranda our motorhome, and by Sir Fit the White Knight, our faithful Honda. Throughout the years, some of my creative talents centered around writing letters of complaint expressing my displeasure with services or products. One crucial, at least to my Son, was a note to our local school bus driver petitioning her to allow him back on the bus. He was kicked off for making an obscene gesture at his buddy. I reminded her that it was not directed at her, and that “obscenity can be in the eye of the beholder,” kids use that gesture as a greeting. He rode the bus until he graduated. I loved driving my English teacher crazy. Leaving a “continued next week” at the end of my five handwritten pages required each week. He was one of many people that suggested I “do something about my writing.” I graduated from the School of Hard Knocks at the top of my class. After 30 years, in the trenches as a Real Estate Professional, I have found that truth is stranger than fiction. My books are filled with characters I met in that profession. Their names were changed to protect the guilty. Others were from people we met traveling around the country in Miranda, our Motorhome. I am married nearly 60 years to the love of my life, Shirl, and partner-produced two exceptionally talented children, and one grandchild who is our pride and joy.
    Time Traveler of Life says:

    I had one like Ginny and her name was Lemoyne. We were close, but sometimes life put us miles apart and it seemed like a decade, but when we got together it was like yesterday. I miss her too!

    Reply
  9. D. Wallace Peach – 30 Miles beyond the edge of civilization, Oregon – I'm an adventurer in writing, peering under rocks in my garden for secret magic. I can't stop writing. My stories want to explode from my head. They demand my attention and surge from my fingertips faster than I can put them to paper. I love what I do.
    D. Wallace Peach says:

    I printed this one off, Bernadette. I’ve never made Swedish Meatballs and think I ate them once, maybe (?). So I’m eager to try them. It will be an adventure, and if you kept Ginnie’s recipe for that long, they must be good!

    Reply

  10. I am sure you will enjoy them Diana. They are delicious over buttered noodles as a main course or made smaller, they make an excellent cocktail treat. Let me know how you enjoyed them.

    Reply
  11. the Painted Apron – Life is all about creativity for me, as long as I'm creating something I am happy! I hope I will inspire your daily life and give you ideas for your own wonderful creations!
    the Painted Apron says:

    What a lovely story and the meatballs sound divine!
    Jenna

    Reply

  13. I love the way these sound with the three different kinds of meat!

    Reply

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