Italian Meatballs

What’s easier and more tasty than spaghetti and meatballs when you’re in the mood for a comfort food-carbfest?? We kicked this standard fare up a notch for our Sunday night dinner by making our own sauce and adding steak, sweet Italian sausages and of course, homemade meatballs. Now, if you’ve been around here for a while you may know that my husband’s Sicilian family recipes are top secret and I am forbidden to share them. However –  I can give you a big tip for making a red sauce even more delicious: add meat to it.

Here’s a peek…..that’s liquid gold right there!

Before Mark made the secret sauce, he parcooked a sirloin steak and sweet Italian sausages in the sauce pot until they rendered some fat, and then left them in there when he added the sauce ingredients. The steak and sausage slowcooked with the sauce and were deliciously tender and flavorful come dinnertime, and the sauce of course had the juices from the meat incorporated into it. If you don’t make your own red sauce, you can use this trick to jazz up jarred sauce. I do it all the time when we are busy. What a difference the juices of the meat make!! {We like Classico Four Cheese or Classico Tomato and Basil as a basic jarred sauce.}  We also make large batches of homemade sauce and freeze it. I strongly recommend making your own sauce – so easy and economical!

Of course, a sauce meal in my house requires meatballs! Everyone in my house loves them, they can me made into sandwiches the next day, and along with the sauce, meatballs freeze well.

Italian Meatballs
2 eggs
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/4 green pepper, finely chopped (optional – I omit because me kids don’t like it)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. ground beef (85/15)

{Do you see a theme with “finely chopped?” That’s because I find kids are less likely to object to a food if they can’t pick it apart, and the meatballs wouldn’t be the same without these ingredients.}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the eggs with, garlic, parsley, celery, pepper, Parmesan, salt and pepper.

Add beef and use your hands to combine.

Add breadcrumbs.

Roll into 2″ balls and place on baking sheet.

Parcook in your oven* for about 10-15 minutes until browned. Don’t overbake them or they’ll be hockey pucks!! They do not need to be cooked all the way through as they’ll be added to your sauce later.
*You can also use the traditional method of pan frying the meatballs but they spatter, make a huge mess on the stovetop, take forever to cook, and we find that they taste just as good baked.

Remove from baking sheet and allow to cool completely, about 30 minutes. Once cooled, add to red sauce and simmer for 30 minutes before serving over pasta.

Add a green salad and of course a big loaf of freshly baked Italian bread to mop up your sauce with, and you’ve got a satisfying meal made in heaven!