Stroganoff with Cheesy Bacon Meatballs

Another dish all the kids will eat!  This is adapted from a recipe from Food Network Online.  All onions, many spices, and salt/pepper have been taken out and some family favorite additions have been added as well to make it our own recipe. Please feel free to add spices, salt, etc. as your family likes.  This is a great comfort-food recipe to eat after an afternoon of carving pumpkins!  Enjoy!

Meatball ingredients and directions:
       1 lb. ground beef or turkey
       2 tablespoons bacon bits (this can be real
                                                                                               bacon bits as found packaged or you
                                                                                                can make your own bacon bits with
                                                                                              regular or turkey bacon)
                                                                                           1 egg
                                                                                           1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
                                                                                           1/2 cup parmesan cheese
                                                                                           1/2 cup italian bread crumbs
                                                           Possible additions:  1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, salt
                                                                                         pepper to taste, 1/4 cup chopped onion

Meatball Directions:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Form portions of the meat into small 1 to 2 inch diameter meatballs and place on a baking sheet.  Bake in oven 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove meatballs from baking dish and place them on a paper towel/paper plate to drain any excess oil.  (Tip:  Meatballs can be made ahead and frozen to make this dish an easy, delicious one to make quickly).  Meatballs can be either covered in the stroganoff sauce and placed on bed of egg noodles with remaining sauce drizzled over the entire dish. 

       My son loves helping to make these meatballs as they use his favorite ingredient, bacon!  In tonight's version of the dish, he chose to try chunks of mozzarella instead of shredded.  The image to the right shows all ingredients mixed in the bowl.                                                                                     

       Stroganoff Noodle ingredients:          1 package egg noodles, cooked al dente

                                                               1/2 cup chopped white onion (we don't use) with 1 tbsp. oil

                                                               1 cup chopped mushrooms (we don't use as my kids won't eat)

                                                               1/2 cup chicken broth (low sodium and reduced fat are available)

                                                               1/2 cup white cooking wine

                                                               1 can (10.5 oz. approx. size) cream of chicken soup

                                                               1 cup reduced fat sour cream

Sauce Directions:  If using onion, cook onion on medium heat in oil until clarified, then add mushrooms.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth, white cooking wine, cream of chicken soup and reduced fat sour cream.  Cook on medium heat until all ingredients are blended and sour cream solids have all melted and mixed well with other ingredients.