Porcupine Meatballs

I am a sucker for comfort food. When I was growing up, my Aunt Bev made these meatballs every time I spent the night over at her house. They were my favorite and she knew that and made them for me with love every time. I remember watching her make them so many times. When I was a young mom and wife I started making these meatballs for my own family. Never had a recipe, but made it by memory. A few times I had to call her to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything, but now I can make them in my sleep. I usually serve these meatballs with mashed potatoes, but have used noodles and rice as well.

Porcupine Meatballs

Ingredients
1.5 lbs ground beef
2 T butter
1 (6.8oz) box Beef Rice A Roni
1 egg
1 1/4c water

Directions
1.Place the ground beef in a large mixing bowl and set aside
2. in a skillet on medium heat, add the butter. When it melts, add the rice a roni. NOT the seasoning packet just yet. Just the rice. Stir the rice and the butter for about 2 minutes, until the rice is coated and begins to darken a bit. Remove the rice from the skillet into a bowl to cool.
3. When the rice has cooled, add it to the ground beef, along with the egg. Using our hands, mix it all well. Make meatballs ( I usually have around 23-25 meatballs) and place them in the skillet that you browned the rice in. 
4. Om med high heat, brown the tops and then turn and brown the other side of the meatballs.
5. In a mixing cup, add the water and the reserved seasonings packet. Stir very well , making sure there are no lumps. Pour the water mixture in the skillet with the meatballs. 
6. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil, then immediately turn down to a simmer and cover ( I use a piece of aluminum foil)  for about 15 minutes, until the rice is soft and the meat is cooked through. You may need to add a bit of water if the meatballs are soaking up the moisture, just check it every few minutes and add as needed. 
7. Serve with mashed potatoes, rice or noodles.