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If you’re a longtime follower of my blog, you are probably already aware of my obsession with meat in the shape of balls. I don’t know what it is about meatballs but they just do it for me. I love bringing them on day hikes because they’re a perfect little portable pop of protein right in the middle of a tough day. I didn’t have the opportunity to bring these meatballs on any hikes, but if I could have, I certainly would have. Instead I ate them for lunch at work every day last week and loved every second of it. We still aren’t allowed to use the refrigerator or microwave at work -_- so I ate these meatballs and sweet potatoes when they were a little on the colder side every single day and they were still excellent. Sweet potatoes, BBQ Sauce, and bacon go so well together, and all three are present in this recipe to party.

My gym finally opened back up! I haven’t been to the gym in about three and a half months, but I went over the weekend TWICE and dang it felt great. There are of course about a million new restrictions in place, but it felt great to be able to do some of the moves I used to do without feeling like I’m disturbing my neighbors or about to fall through the floor. We live in a building built in the 1980’s and the floors are pretty squeaky. After a solid 35ish years of a million different renters beating the crap out of this unit, the floors probably aren’t as sound as they once were. We actually have a soft spot in our living room that I try to avoid because every time I accidentally step on it I feel like I may fall through the floor and finally meet the man who I’ve lived above for the last three years. Today is not that day though, because the gym finally opened back up!

Another big change has occurred in my life, and this one involves work. I may have mentioned previously that I work in aerospace. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but people aren’t really traveling much these days. Not too many flights are coming and going. Therefore, the aerospace industry as a whole is way WAY down. My company in particular is not in deep trouble yet, but I know many of our industry peers are. It’s a difficult time. As a preventative measure, we have transitioned to three day work weeks for the foreseeable future. I have no idea how long this will go on for, but for the time being I apparently have Tuesdays and Fridays off until at least the end of July. My company enrolled in a program with the state of Connecticut to work out the money stuff, but it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be even more interesting to see if I can get all of my work done in just three days. I’m betting on no, but again, time will tell! I am looking forward to having more time to put toward my blog, which I am really enjoying as I approach the one year mark, because it has been a bit of a challenge juggling the blog and working 50ish hours every single week. I’m looking forward to slowing down a bit in the summer. I’ll spend all day Tuesday and Friday mornings on my blog, and then Mike and I will take off hiking for the weekend on Friday afternoon when he gets home from work. I just hope this summer actually is as awesome as my brain right now thinks it will be. We’ll see!

thehungryhungryhiker

BBQ Bacon Meatballs with Sweet Potato Puree

A new spin on meatballs thanks to the flavor of BBQ! Loaded with crisp bacon and spices, these meatballs are served over creamy mashed sweet potatoes for a delicious Whole30 meal the whole family will love!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 5 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

For the BBQ Bacon Meatballs:
  • ½ lb bacon, cut into lardons reserve 1 tbsp bacon fat after browning
  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 yellow onion, small, diced small
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup BBQ Sauce plus more for serving if desired
  • 3 tbsp almond flour
  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • dried parsley for garnish if desired
For the Sweet Potato Puree:
  • 2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1" chunks
  • ¼ cup ghee
  • sea salt to taste
  • fresh ground black pepper to taste

Method
 

  1. Brown the bacon until crisp using your preferred method. I like using Saute mode on my Instant Pot because it's the fastest with the easiest cleanup. When browned, use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towed lined plate. Reserve a little over 1 tbsp bacon fat that you will later add to the meatball ingredients along with the bacon bits.
  2. Preheat oven to 350° F. Use a few drops of bacon fat to lightly grease a 9" x 13" baking dish.
  3. Add all of the meatball ingredients (wait to add the bacon bits and 1 tbsp bacon fat when they are cool enough to handle) to a large bowl. Mix with your hands to combine. Do not overwork. Form balls 2" in diameter and place in the glass baking dish. You should yield about 20 meatballs. It's okay if they are touching.
  4. Bake at 350° F for 27-30 minutes until meatballs are cooked through. When cooked, transfer the meatballs to a large plate.
  5. While the meatballs bake, make the Sweet Potato Puree. Add the sweet potato chunks to a large pot and cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium high so it is not vigorously boiling. Check with a fork occasionally. When very soft (after about 15-20 minutes), remove from heat and drain the water from the pot. Add in the ghee and sea salt and pepper to taste. Use an electric beater to whip the sweet potatoes until very smooth.
  6. To serve, place a small scoop of the Sweet Potato Puree on a plate. Top with 3-4 meatballs. Top the meatballs with a little extra BBQ Sauce and dried parsley if desired. Serve hot and enjoy!