{beef 'with hidden vegetables" meatballs in hermie}

Our family has just returned from a holiday in Singapore and on this holiday I discovered something very important. Miss A does not eat any food that is pre-processed. In fact, she spits it out and pulls a funny face.

On one hand, I should be happy and delighted that she likes my home made food. However, there are those times in your day when you're really tired and you look in your fridge and freezer and there is nothing already cooked to feed your family and you just wish you could feed them 'takeaway'.

Having said that, I also like to feed a variety of foods to Miss A and am always on the hunt for something new for her to try in her repertoire of weekly foods. This week, I had some beef mince in the fridge which I was originally going to make spaghetti bolognese with (one of the families favourites) but thought, lets try and make this mince more versatile. I looked at the rest of my fridge contents, and have come up with the following recipe.

2 slices wholemeal bread, torn roughly
170 grams zuchinni (about 1), chopped 4cm lengths
1 leek, chopped 4 cm lengths
20 grams olive oil
500 grams beef mince
salt to taste
Good shake of paprika
Garlic oil for frying (or vegetable oil)

1. Place bread into TM bowl and chop 5-10 secs/ speed 7. Remove and set aside.
2. Add zucchini and leek into bowl and chop 3 secs/ speed 6.
3. Add oil and saute 2 mins/ 100C/ stir speed/ reverse. Add to bowl containing bread crumbs.
4. Add mince, paprika and salt to rest of ingredients in bowl. Mix through thoroughly.
5. Form 3-4cm size balls and set aside on a tray ready for frying.

6. Using garlic oil, fry the meatballs until golden brown. I like to use garlic oil to add a bit of extra flavour. Serve with your favourite tomato based sauce with pasta or as is for your little one with some mashed potato.

Makes 25-30 meatballs.

Bon Appetit xx

Tips: If you run out of bread like I did for the bread crumbs, you can use a crushed up weet-bix as a substitute. Also, if you don't want to use garlic oil (or cannot find it) but still want the extra flavour, just add 1 or 2 garlic cloves at step 2. For a healthier version, you can bake these in the oven but you will have to turn them half way through.