Lima Beans and Meatballs for the Crock Pot

Here's an interesting concoction that will combine an unlikely set of ingredients to make a slightly unusual dish. It cooks all day in the crock pot and smells heavenly all day long.

If there's a problem with this dish, it's the lima beans. I don't know why, but far too many people have a thing about lima beans. My wife and daughter refuse to eat them, even when they're just a minor part of a wonderful soup or casserole. I guess there's no accounting for tastes....

If your family doesn't suffer from this particular peccadillo and they will eat lima beans (good for them!), this is a great recipe. You make tiny walnut-sized meatballs with ground beef and cook them in a sausage-and-gravy combination that, along with the lima beans, makes for a unique taste.

Lima Beans and Meatballs for the Crock Pot

• 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 16-ounce cans lima beans (many like the baby limas)
• 1/2 teaspoon beef-flavored gravy base

In skillet cook sausage till lightly browned; then drain. Transfer to crockery cooker.

Combine egg, breadcrumbs, onion, green pepper, marjoram, salt and dash pepper. Add the ground beef and mix well. Shape the mixture into small meatballs--about the size of a walnut.

In same skillet brown the meatballs on all sides; then drain, reserving the drippings. Stir the flour into the drippings.

Drain the cans of lima beans; again reserving the liquid. Blend the bean liquid slowly into flour mixture. Add the gravy base and a dash of pepper. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly.

Combine gravy and beans with sausage in cooker, and then add the little meatballs. Cover and cook on low setting for 8 or 9 hours.

To serve, sprinkle with additional chopped green pepper on top, if desired.

This recipe was adapted from an old standby favorite cookbook, the Better Homes and Gardens Crockery Cooker Cook Book. You'll find a whole raft of wonderful recipes in this book, which--although it is old--is still readily available at Amazon.com (Though I must admit, most of the recipes don't use beans, darn the luck.) It's a practical cookbook, using primarily things you'll have on hand and not demanding unusual cooking techniques. I recommend it heartily for the crock pot-enabled bean lover.

© Copyright Richard Mann, 2001. All rights reserved. Please contact author for permission to use this article (includes reprints in mailing lists, newsletters, and/or any other purpose/format) and give details of its proposed use. Any and all use of this article in any way without permission is prohibited under copyright law.Please feel free to link to this page.

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