Recipe Day - German Meatballs & Spaetzle

I came across this recipe in a church cookbook last year.  Tried it out and everyone liked it.  We never have left-over spaetzle. I've modified it a bit to make it my own and now I'm sharing it with you.

*A note about bread crumbs. I use my mini food processor to make what I need.  Bread, bagels, crackers and even oatmeal all work well.

Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp oregano (I put this in almost everything)

pepper to taste

2 cups beef broth

1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (I skip these if I don't have any in the house)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup sour cream

1 Tbs flour

Directions:

In a bowl, combine egg, milk, bread crumbs, and seasonings.  Add ground beef and mix well.  Shape mixture into approximately twenty-four 1 1/2 " meatballs.

Meatballs in the pan

Brown the meatballs in a skillet; drain off excess fat.

Browned meatballs

Add broth, mushrooms and onion.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes.  Combine sour cream and flour; stir into broth.  Cook and stir until mixture thickens and bubbles.  Serve with spaetzle.

Meatballs in the sauce - ready to serve

Spaetzle (German noodles)

Ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

nutmeg to taste

Directions:

In a bowl, combine flour and salt.  Add eggs and milk; beat well.  Let rest 10 minutes.  Place batter in coarse colander.  Hold over large kettle of rapidly boiling salted water.  Press batter through colander with a spatula.  Cook and stir 5 minutes.  Drain water and serve with meatballs.

Spaetzle Batter

Cooked spaetzle (it floats)