Friday, June 19, 2009

the ikea inspired meal

If you have ever been employed at IKEA, or even visited really, then you are probably well aware of the meatballs. The meatball dinner is a long standing IKEA tradition and an everyday special. Who can turn down a plate of meatballs, potatoes, cream and ligonberry sauce plus a soda pop for $6?
With only one location in town, it may not be as easy for some to get their cheap fix. Luckily for you, they offer an ever expanding take-home selection in their Swedish food market. I don't come from a big meatball family, so I was surprised to open the freezer one day and see some IKEA goodies. A bag of meatballs and potato cakes were making themselves quite comfortable next to my ice cubes. And what did I spy beside the fridge, a packet of cream sauce.

Like every other frozen meal, it goes together in no time. The meatballs and potato cakes sit in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes, while the gravy/sauce gets mixed on the stove with some water and cream. The cream sauce even includes those little tasty tidbits you scrap from the bottom of your pan.

So how did they taste - no idea. See, even with over 5 years of IKEA experience I've never once had a meatball. Nip, Zero, Zilch. It has become such an ironic (am I using that right or did I just fail like Alanis) topic that I can't turn back. Sorry! They must be addictive, as I've personally witnessed many shoppers come in day after day for this exact meal. Fellow homesteaders declared the meatballs delicious, with my father saying they remind him of a more flavorful breakfast sausage. I did sample the potato cakes and they were decent, although something that could easily be made a home. It is definitely a cheap and easy meal, and if you are a frozen food person, maybe these goodies would give you a nice change of pace.

Part of taking photo's at the homestead is the joy people get at trying to make their plates more exciting. Take for example, the below. I plated the cakes and meatballs before going to get my supper. With the cream sauce on the table, I quickly turned around to..."Hey Chris, look at our presentation, take a picture!"

So it turned into.

Taking food photo's = always good for a laugh

7 comments:

Sarah said...

Make your own meatballs. Healthier. Tastier. Delicious-er. Haha. Didn't work. Ah well. :)

Chris said...

Make at home, of course...but like I mentioned Sarah, I'm just not a meatball kind of guy.

Sarah said...

My mistake. I got all caught up thinking about the mini-meatballs that went into my Italian Wedding Soup....

KimHo said...

Hahahahahaha!! I thought they would do a smily face instead! :)

I haven't been to IKEA in a while. Some long time ago I also purchased the meatballs - mainly for backup purposes. By themselves, they were decent at that price. In fact, I shouldn't complain, hehehehe.

Chris said...

I'm surprised as well, a face always seems to find it's way into food 'design'.

Maki said...

Funny. I used to get teased by my friends for not eating the ice cream when I worked at Baskin Robbins. It wasn't until after 2 years of working there, I finally sampled what I was scooping! Just never crossed my mind. So I get the irony. You, me and Alanis.

Chris said...

:) See I knew someone out there in food land would understand. Thanks Maki!

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