Sliders and Baseball

I can't think of a more appropriate dinner to take to a baseball game than mini Italian sliders.  (Pun intended)  Monday night I packed the sliders and the rest of our dinner into our picnic basket and we headed to the field to watch my son's baseball game.  As it turned out, the game got cut short so we ended up bringing our picnic home and we ate it outside on the back deck.  The sliders were good but it just wasn't quite the same as eating them at the ballpark.

This is adapted from a recipe in the March 2012 issue of Cooking Light magazine.
 
Italian Meatball Sliders
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, diced
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup panko
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
16 ounces ground pork
8 ounces turkey Italian sausage
1 egg
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
12 basil leaves
12 slider buns








Heat 1 T. oil in skillet.  Add garlic and onions.

Saute 3 minutes.













Combine onion mixture with the next 8 ingredients.  (through egg)













Shape into 12 meatballs.  Flatten each into a meatball.















 Grill over medium heat.














Remove from grill and place slider on bottom bun.  Top each with a Tablespoon of marinara and a fresh basil leaf.   






My dad actually cooked the sliders for me so I can't really take all the credit for these juicy little burgers.  It was definitely a group effort to get dinner cooked and packed.

Sliders and baseball - a perfect match.

Ciao!


Italian Meatball Sliders
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, diced
1/3 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup panko
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
16 ounces ground pork
8 ounces turkey Italian sausage
1 egg
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
12 basil leaves
12 slider buns

Heat 1 T. oil in skillet.  Add garlic and onions.  Saute 3 minutes.  Combine onion mixture with the next 8 ingredients.  (through egg)  Shape into 12 meatballs.  Flatten each into a meatball.  Grill over medium heat.  Remove from grill and place slider on bottom bun.  Top each with a Tablespoon of marinara and a fresh basil leaf.