Italian Meatballs

Italian Meatballs

Meatballs - real Italian Meatballs - are among my favorite things to make and I like to have plenty on hand.  While they're not terribly difficult to make, they take more time than I typically have on an average weeknight so I like to make them in advance on the weekends.

Pasta and meatballs are a staple here, and are especially perfect for busy nights when I don't have a lot of time.  You know the kind of nights I'm talking about - the ones where you have to take the kids to three different practices and you spend all your time driving and fantasizing about how much easier your life would be if you just hit one of the ten fast food drive throughs you pass on your way home from work?   Don't do it!  With a little advance planning, you can have a hot meal on the table in just a few minutes that is so much better than anything ever passed through a drive through window.

When I make these, I usually make enough to roll out about a hundred meatballs in any given batch.  I know that sounds like a lot, but if you already planned to make meatballs, and have everything out, it doesn't take that much more time to make a big batch.  I always have my kids help with this part, and we can roll out a hundred in about fifteen minutes.  I freeze them on a cookie sheet, then vacuum seal the frozen meatballs by the dozen.   I like to think of it as feeding the freezer, and this method gets me through on even the busiest nights.   In fact, I use this method of cooking so often, I'll be dedicating an entire section of my blog to feeding the freezer over the coming year.

I'd love to know how you survive busy nights and hungry kids?  What's your favorite meal to serve?  Click below for my meatball recipe.

Recipe for Italian Meatballs

Italian Meatballs

Ingredients (Makes approx 100 golf ball sized meatballs)

3 lbs ground beef (at least 85%)
2 lbs ground pork
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups Locatelli Cheese
1 large white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
3/4 cup chopped (fresh) parsley or 1/2 cup dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1/4 cup fresh oregano or 3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
15 slices Italian bread, toasted and turned into bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
Fresh basil.  Always have fresh basil.

Directions

1.   Put bread crumbs in a large bowl and add milk.  Stir to combine.
2.   In a separate bowl, add ground beef and ground pork
3.   To the bowl containing meat, add beaten eggs, Locatelli, onion, garlic, parsley, Italian seasoning,
      oregano, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper.
4.   Add bread crumb/milk mixture to the bowl with meat and spices.  Use your hands to combine
      everything well.
5.   Roll into balls about 1 1/2" - 2" across and place into a prepared casserole dishes.  It's ok if they
      touch, just try to keep the size consistent.
6.   Put into a 375F oven for about 30 minutes, then remove from oven and turn them carefully so
      they can brown on both sides.
7.   Return to the oven and continue to cook until they are well browned.
8.   After they are cool to the touch, place on baking sheets and freeze them.
9.   You can either put all of the frozen meatballs in a Ziplok bag and just pull out what you need
      (similar to commercial meatballs you can get at the market) or vacuum seal them in meal size
      portions.
10. When using frozen meatballs, simply defrost in a microwave or add directly into your sauce until
      they are heated through.