Homemade Meatballs!

So I have been promising David that I would make meatballs and marinara sauce for months now. Usually I just make a meat marinara sauce, but I changed it up this time. I finally made the meatballs! Yay!


They were definitely tasty. Here is the recipe if anyone would like to try them! The only changes I made were I baked my meatballs at 400 oF for 15 minutes and then tossed them in the simmering marinara sauce for about 45 minutes to an hour. I guess the only changes I would make for next time is to use less bread crumbs. Don’t get me wrong, these were delicious, but I prefer a “meatier” meatball. It seemed like there was just a tad too much “filler” for me. Picky picky, I know :) Oh, and the other thing – the recipe gives a yield of 12 meatballs – I only got 9 out of it. Go figure!

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls.

Now, I actually used a different recipe for the sauce. This is a sauce I normally use for my meat marinara sauce, as well as lasagna! Of course, I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com, but I would recommend this sauce for only a meat marinara sauce. This recipe is so delicious, but I just don’t think it fits as well when meatballs are in the picture. There are a lot of spices in this recipe, so I don’t think you appreciate the flavors as much unless you have meat mixed in with it.

Here is the link if anyone wants it:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Worlds-Best-Pasta-Sauce/Detail.aspx

So David and I are a little different when it comes to eating our meatballs and marinara sauce! Here, you see, I made rigatoni for David, which he then topped with the lovely sauce and parmesan cheese. I like to eat mine without pasta. Weird, right?! Instead, I julienne squash, zucchini, or whatever kind of veggies I happen to be in the mood for and then sauté them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a bit of garlic powder. I pile on the meatballs and marinara sauce and top it with chopped fresh basil and parmesan cheese. Actually lately I have started eating Veggie Parmesan Cheese – it tastes the same as the regular stuff but doesn’t have all the fat in it :) Needless to say, both of our plates were delish!