When it comes to cooking South Beach friendly foods, Scott and I have fallen into something of a rut. We've been eating tons of salads with grilled chicken, chili, turkey burgers (cooked on the ever-handy George Foreman grill) and lots of cauliflower puree (faux-ta-toes!). Last weekend, tired of these tried and true dishes, I started flipping through the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook that Scott brought with him into this relationship, searching for some new inspiration.

I actually found quite a few things that I thought were pretty appealing, and tonight, I cooked the Mini Greek Meatballs (Phase 1 and on page 216 of the book for those of you following along). They were tasty, filling and easy to put together. The only thing I would change in the whole recipe was the manner in which they were cooked. The recipe tells you to cook them in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Unfortunately, this means that they get crowded into the pan and end up a quarter submerged in the liquid they release by the time they are done cooking. Next time I make them, I will spread them out on a rack on a large cookie sheet, in order to get more surface area browning and prevent them from cooking in their juices.

For those of you who aren't are the South Beach diet, these are still yummy meatballs and could potentially spice up your weeknight dinners. If you want to try them out, the recipe is after the jump. For a more photogenic version of these meatballs, check out the batch that Kalyn made.Mini Greek Meatballs
from The South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook

1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 small onion, minced (I used a red onion for color)
1/2 cup finely crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 large egg
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more for baking dish
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt (skip it if your feta is really salty)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees

Combine beef, onion, cheese, garlic, egg, 1 tablespoon oil, oregano, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Knead to combine, being careful not to overmix.

Lightly oil a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Shape meat mixture into 40 meatballs (1 tablespoon). Place in a single layer in the baking dish and baked until cooked through, 12-15 minutes. Serve hot.

We ate them with a big, green salad and some steamed broccoli. Delicious!