Porcupine Meatballs

Whenever I think of recipe cards, I think of this recipe. Porcupine meatballs were a frequent meal at our house growing up. My sister was in charge of dinner one night and made these. But my mom's handwritten index card did not tell her to roll the meat mixture into balls. So she didn't. (My mom is a conceptual cook and her index card listed the ingredients along with the temperature. That's it. No instructions.) Kate mixed the ingredients, patted the meat into the pan, and poured the sauce on top and baked it. We had porcupine loaf for dinner. "But it didn't say to roll it into balls!" Kate said as we all exclaimed over the loaf when it came out of the oven. We teased Kate for years about her literalness and her belief that the loaf could somehow transform into balls in the oven. I mean, she ate porcupine meatballs at least once a month. She knew they were supposed to be balls. :-)

I've never made these in my life. Thanks to the Internets I can find a recipe for anything I want to make. I think I will make these this weekend. Kate? I think you should make them too. Let me know if you go with a loaf or balls.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound lean ground beef
2/3 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 large can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Preparation:
Directions for porcupine meatballs
Mix ground beef with rice, 1/2 cup of water, chopped onion, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Shape porcupine ground beef mixture by tablespoon into 1 1/2-inch balls.
Place the porcupine meatballs in an ungreased 2-quart shallow baking dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the porcupine meatballs. Cover and bake at 350° F. oven for about 45 minutes. Uncover and bake porcupine meatballs 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Porcupine meatballs serve 4 to 6.