GREENSBORO, N.C. — This year, Our State magazine is celebrating its 90th anniversary and to mark the milestone each month, Our State will feature retro recipes from the archives as we revisit flavors from pages past. For July, Chef Lynn Wells has adapted these recipes for current times: Easy Skillet Meatballs, Skillet Corn & Okra, and Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake.
You can find the Easy Skillet Meatballs recipes right here. In 1978, Carol Dare published a recipe called Meatballs for the Microwave, which recommended microwaving raw beef for 15 to 17 minutes. Home cooks had been cooking in microwaves since the appliance’s first iteration, the Radarange, was patented in the 1940s. Few used it, as it was large and expensive, but by the mid-1970s, sales of microwaves surpassed those of gas ranges. While culinary innovations over the past 45 years are impressive, we still prefer a well-seasoned skillet for best results.
Easy Skillet Meatballs
Yield: 4 servings
1 pound 80/20 ground chuck
1 large egg
½ cup bread crumbs
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 cup sour cream
½ cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Egg noodles, cooked and buttered
In a large bowl, mix together beef, egg, bread crumbs, paprika, salt, and pepper. Portion beef mixture into 12 meatballs. Add vegetable oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove meatballs from skillet and set aside. Reserve oil and juices.
Add onion and bell pepper to skillet. Cook on medium heat until onion is translucent and pepper is tender.
Stir in sour cream, chili sauce, and brown sugar, and reduce heat to low. Add meatballs and cover. Continue cooking for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.