I don’t normally consider recipes that have multiple parts – I’m more of a single-pan or crock-pot kind of girl – but the other day I came across this AMAZING looking recipe in an old issue of Cooking Light and I had to try it. A typical weeknight for me and my husband includes leaving work, driving to the gym, working out, and then a 40 minute commute home. Needless to say, we are normally ready to devour whatever is in the fridge, ready to heat and eat, once we get home. This week however, I was motivated. On Monday night we made the Meatballs and on Tuesday night we made the veggies and the sauce. And we ate it. So much of it. Don’t you just wish you could skip right to the eating part?!

Okay, I’m sure you’re ready by now…. I present to you, Vietnamese sheet pan meatballs and shredded sweet veggies.

What You’ll Need for the Meatballs…

• 2 lbs 93% ground beef (optional: 1/2 and 1/2 beef and pork)
• ½ cup almond flour
• 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Ground black pepper
• Red pepper flakes
• Cayenne pepper

What To Do for the Meatballs…

1. Heat olive or coconut oil in a medium skillet. Sauté garlic, yellow pepper, ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, and red pepper flakes for about 8-10 minutes or until yellow pepper is very tender. Note from my kitchen: The original recipe called for 2 cups of onion but my husband is sensitive to onion so I replaced it with the bell pepper. Feel free to use onion, bell pepper, or go half-and-half!
2. Turn your oven onto Broil – High
3. In a large bowl combine ground beef, almond flour, apple cider vinegar, and bell pepper mixture with your hands (allow bell pepper mixture to cool before sticking your hands in it…)
4. Roll meat mixture into 1.5-2 oz. balls – this amount made about 23 meatballs for me – and space evenly on a foil-line cookie sheet.
5. Cook in pre-heated broiler for about 7 minutes or until golden brown. Note from my kitchen: I took my meatballs out when they were slightly pink in the middle because I knew I would be cooking them for a little longer in the sauce (see next step) the following day.

What You’ll Need for the Veggies & Sauce…

• 6 medium carrots, peeled and shredded
• 12 radishes, shredded or cut thin
• 3 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup rice vinegar
• ¾ cup water
• ¾ cup unsalted beef stock
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 ½ tbsp sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste)
• ¼ cup chopped peanuts
• Lime wedges for juice
• Cooked brown or white rice

What To Do for the Veggies and Sauce…

1. Bring vinegar and water to a boil. Stir in carrot ribbons and radishes, simmer for 3-4 minutes on very low heat until carrots are tender. Remove from heat and strain liquid out.
2. Combine beef stock, coconut aminos, sambal, and peanut butter in a large skillet. Add meatballs; toss to coat. Simmer pre-cooked meatballs in the sauce, covered, for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

To Serve…

Top rice with veggie mixture and sprinkle with cilantro. Add 3-4 meatballs and spoon stock sauce over entire meal. Top with peanuts and serve with a lime wedge for juice.

Enjoy!!