Manly Buffalo Meatballs

• 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1/2 Vidalia Onion, minced
• 1 Carrot, minced
• 3/4 cup Cooked Quinoa
• 1/2 cup Red Wine
• 3/4 cup Mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup Sun-dried Tomatoes (in-oil or not - your choice)
• 2 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, finely sliced into ribbons
• 1/2 Dried Chipotle Pepper, finely chopped
• 1 pound ground buffalo
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 1/3 cup Ketchup (or tomato paste)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• Salt and Pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded smoked provolone
• Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• Marinara Sauce of your preference (we prefer a thin simple sauce as the meatballs pack a punch)
• 1 pound Pasta
• finely grated Pecerino

1. Heat Olive Oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Saute garlic and onions until fragrant. Add carrots and saute until soft.
2. While onion mixture is cooking, soak the cooked quinoa in the red wine in a small bowl.
3. Add mushrooms to medium-hot pan with onion mixture and continue to cook until all the water has been released from them. Then quickly add the sun-dried tomatoes and balsamic vinegar, turning up heat to high. Stir constantly until balsamic vinegar is nearly cooked down.
4. Turn pan to low. Add quinoa/wine mixture, basil, and chipotle, stirring until well combined. Salt and pepper mixture to taste and remove from heat.
5. In a large bowl add cooled onion/quinoa mixture, meats, ketchup, eggs, Worcestershire sauce, cheese, oregano. Mix gently with your hands until well combined. Refrigerate mixture for at least 1 hour.
6. Remove mix from fridge and mold into balls. (The size of the meatballs is completely your preference - we prefer to make them smaller when we are serving them with a long/thin pasta or large when serving with a shaped pasta.)
7. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. (The meats used here are lean so some oil is necessary for non-stick and flavor purposes.)
8. Brown meatballs in batches (without crowding), turning frequently, about 5-7 minutes per batch, depending on the size of your balls.
9. Meanwhile, boil water for pasta and heat your preferred Marinara sauce. Cook pasta until al dente.
10. Add cooked meatballs to marinara sauce and simmer for several minutes.
11. Serve pasta in bowls, ladling sauce and meatballs over it, sprinkled with cheese.

olive oil, garlic, vidalia onion, carrot, quinoa, red wine, mushrooms, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, fresh basil, pepper, ground buffalo, ground pork, ketchup, eggs, worcestershire sauce, salt, provolone, olive oil, oregano, preference, pasta

Taken from food52.com/recipes/6261-manly-buffalo-meatballs (may not work)