Porcupine meatballs and my Christmas tree
@shaggin (74057)
United States
December 21, 2022 6:36pm CST
Last night I made Porcupine meatballs as part of our dinner. The boys didn’t like them. My husband said they were okay but he would rather have pigs in a blanket or meatballs instead that it just wasn’t a very good combination.
I asked him if he wanted me to just give them to the dogs and he said yeah. Before I did that though I thought to send them over to my parents.
I texted my mom I would be dropping them off soon. When I went over she thought they were actually made from porcupine meat. I laughed and said no it’s just rice in them that gives them that name. She and my dad laughed and my mom said referring to his hunting “we’ll he kills everything”.
I told my husband when I got home and he got a good laugh over it. He said he hasn’t eaten porcupine meat in years. That’s something I would never expect anyone would actually eat.
Photo is of my Christmas tree this year which is the first real one I’ve had in 18 years. I hate cleaning up all the pine needles and it doesn’t have a nice strong smell like I expected.
I only have two strands of lights that fit perfect around my artificial tree but was no where near enough for this tree. My husband brought home two more but it still wasn’t enough to get completely to the top so I put the Santa plush at the top to try to distract from the missing lights. He brought home peppermint candy canes two so I decided between those two things the ornaments we put on should be only red.
We couldn’t put the ornaments on the bottom due to the baby and the kitten. My stepson put all the ornaments on.
I needed tulle to make bows to go on the limbs but didn’t have any. I found my old veil from my first marriage and cut them up and use that to decorate the tree with.
The lace at the bottom of the tree in place of the tree skirt was my grandmothers.
17 people like this
19 responses
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@pitstop I won’t be making them again as they weren’t a big hit with the guys in my house. After they ate them I thought I should have taken a photo to go along with this post but it was too late by then.
Here’s a link to the recipe I made in which you can see a photo.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@pitstop no you can’t buy it in any stores around here. My husband does hunt and has eaten their meat before though which I was surprised to hear. Porcupine meatballs that I made are just meatballs where you add rice to them. They look strange but that’s how they get their name.
1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (82753)
• Onaway, Michigan
27 Dec 22
@shaggin Ours will stay up til after new years.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (49113)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
22 Dec 22
Using your old veil to make Christmas tree decorations is not just recycling but upcycling. 
2 people like this
@BarBaraPrz (49113)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
24 Dec 22
@shaggin Upcycling is when you turn something into something else, not just finding a new use for it.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
24 Dec 22
@BarBaraPrz oh I see so yeah I guess it does fit that 
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
24 Dec 22
@BarbaraPrz I’m not sure I really know the difference between recycling and upcycling. Last night while looking for my ribbon to use on Christmas decorations I found three rolls of tulle from my wedding two years ago. Would have made things a lot easier to decorate the tree but oh well I got to reuse and item I only wore once and would never wear again.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (187049)
• United States
22 Dec 22
That's an awesome tree. YOu did a great job with it! I was worried you weren't going to have a tree due to renovations.
2 people like this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@snowy22315 I was getting pretty grumpy about it and he finally slapped up some more insulation and sheet rock enough to get a tree in and keep the baby out of the things not safe for her to touch. It will be a bit though to get a photo of the kids in front of the tree as it’s cramped on that room but better then nothing.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
23 Dec 22
@snowy22315 Well I was grumpy for months over this remodeling that had come to a halt and that wasn’t good. The kitten loves the tree too much
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (187049)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@shaggin Worth being grumpy once in awhile I guess.I am sure the kids are happy with it too
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (52185)
• United States
22 Dec 22
Your tree is pretty. Did your parents like the meatballs ?
2 people like this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
28 Dec 22
@Tampa_girl7 they eat just about anything and think it’s amazing tasting
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
27 Dec 22
@Tampa_girl7 thank you and yes they did. My mother said they were gone in under 5 minutes.
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (52185)
• United States
27 Dec 22
@shaggin that’s really good they enjoyed them.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@Adie04 oh that is so disappointing you not being able to get together for Christmas so many years in a row. I think my husband is coming down with the cold my baby and I have but she and I are much better and didn’t get to bad to begin with.
1 person likes this
@Adie04 (17358)
•
22 Dec 22
@shaggin Yeah.. Because this year brother and mom infected with covid.. brother got level 2 and only quarantine at home, but mom get admitted to the red zone due to level 3. Gosh, and I am not at home, at campus now. Thankfully dad still negative, he's the one that has to take care of the house now. I am forbidden to go home because afraid will infect more because I'm from outside. Gosh, I hope everyone are okay..
1 person likes this
. I hope your mom will be okay.
@GardenGerty (162873)
• United States
22 Dec 22
It is really very pretty. I like the lace at the bottom as a skirt as well as the white tulle bows.
2 people like this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
24 Dec 22
@Gardengerty thank you. I wanted to get a woven basket that goes around the tree stand but by the time he got the tree I knew I wouldn’t get out in time to get one at aldis. So I had to improvise. If I can find the basket one next time I go shopping I may get it for next year if he gets a real tree again but I hope he doesn’t.
@RebeccasFarm (93198)
• United States
22 Dec 22
I am in awe of your beauty of a tree Shanny! And your Grandmothers lace at the bottom..this is charming.
I did not know what porcupine meatballs were either but I was thinking that too..what is your husband shooting porcupines for?
2 people like this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@RebeccasFarm thank you. They are just meatballs that have rice mixed in so they look a bit odd. I wasn’t surprised the boys didn’t like them. Based on the texture of them I don’t think I’d like them either but I don’t eat meat so I didn’t try any.
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (93198)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@shaggin Well yes, by the sounds of it, you may not have liked them even if you tasted them.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (73006)
• United States
22 Dec 22
we never had real trees because of our allergies. Did you remember to pull the quills out of those porcupine meatballs first?
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!2 people like this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@Fourwalls thankfully I didn’t actually have to handle real porcupine meat. Being a vegetarian and having to handle ground beef if bad enough.
I hadn’t thought about allergies with real trees. Unlucky for you if you enjoy them. I wish my husband was allergic so I could have used my fake tree instead .
.1 person likes this
@andriaperry (118595)
• Anniston, Alabama
22 Dec 22
That's funny. Your tree is beautiful
2 people like this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@andriaperry I wish it looked nicer but it’s the best I could do this year. I’ll buy more lights for next year but hope my husband will let me use my artificial tree again then.
@Beestring (15123)
• Hong Kong
22 Dec 22
That's a beautiful tree. Nice decorations.
2 people like this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
27 Dec 22
@Beestring thank you! It is only a few more days until we take the tree down.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (143200)
• India
23 Dec 22
I see Santa has taken the place of the star We normally have a star up there.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (143200)
• India
27 Dec 22
@shaggin Your sister gave the star due importance (lol)
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
2 Jan 23
@rebelann my mother has huge rolls of it in her attic. I cut large panels of it off to make curtains under the tent for my wedding but then didn’t use it. This was one panel so all I did was just drape it around the bottom of the tree stand. It’s nice and clean still. I am going to see if my sister would want it to lay over her table on top of an ivory satin table cloth I gave her. Actually there’s enough I could do that to my little desk as well. It’s nothing fancy or expensive it’s a stretchy kind of lace I’m not really sure what it would have been used for. My grandmother worked at a place that made lingerie so must be something to do with that.
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
22 Dec 22
@wolfgirl569 thank you. I wish I had been able to make it look nicer but it is what it is. I’ll plan ahead better next year.
1 person likes this
@Kouponkaren (5501)
• United States
24 Dec 22
That tree is beautiful and I didn't even notice that it didn't have enough lights. We haven't had a real tree in many years either but only because my husband complained about the pine needles for months after Christmas when we find them under rugs, etc. He was driving me crazy so we switched to an artificial tree. AND, I never knew anyone else that made porcupine balls except me and my mom. I had them growing up and made them for my family when my kids were little. I loved them. Do you use cream of mushroom soup to make them so you have gravy with them?
1 person likes this
@shaggin (74057)
• United States
24 Dec 22
@Kouponkaren no it was a mixture of tomato sauce, Worcestershire and water they were cooked in and it thickened up to a red sauce. My son didn’t like that either. My ex used to make dinner for their dinner parties and he mentioned making them. When I saw a recipe not long ago for them I figured I would give them a try to my family.
That’s one of the things I hate about real trees is the mess from the needles. Dang I just realized I forgot to give it water yesterday. I have killed so many plants due to lack of watering them that I was impressed with myself remembering to water it every day.
