Cheesy Meatballs and Rice

Yay for cooking with kids! This week, I asked "Darth Sith"--that's his chef name--what kind of recipe we should make. After deciding we should make something for dinner, I asked him for a protein, a starch and a flavor. He said ground beef, rice and cheesy. So what came to mind? Meatballs and rice like my momma used to make! Sorta.

I found an easy, throw-it-all-together kinda recipe here. More than likely, you have all of these ingredients in your fridge and freezer. The one substitution I made was using regular jack cheese instead of "processed cheese", (i.e. Velveeta). I just wasn't gonna do it. I also used probably a pound and a half of meat, instead of just one. And I ended up not using all 8 ounces of the cheese, because once I added about 3/4 of it, the sauce already looked uber cheesy, so I just saved the rest.

The kiddo did nearly all the prep and mixing. All I did was cut the cheese--go ahead...you have my permission--, form the meatballs and then brown them. I gave him the option to form the balls, but I think he was just a little creeped out by the squishiness while mixing.

Since my last meatball recipe, I haven't made any progress in learning how to make and keep them looking like balls. That is why I affectionately call my creations "meatlumps". (I photographed the roundest three, of course.)

The consensus on the taste was "good, but it's missing something." I added a little freshly ground pepper and a few spritzes of lemon, which took it up about half a notch. What I think I'd really enjoy is a veggie or 2 mixed in. Zucchini chunks, or maybe ooh! red peppers! Mmmm.... next time! ;^}