Recipes

Easy Italian Meatballs

Italian  Main Dish 

• 3/4-1 lb ground meat
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1/2 C bread crumbs (italian seasoned is OK, but I just had the plain on hand)
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 T minced dried onion
• 2 t dried oregano
• 1 t fennel seeds
• Pinch red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Spray a nonstick jelly roll or rimmed cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Roll meatball mixture into 1 - 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on cookie sheet.

Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes.

While meatballs are baking, heat a jar of your favorite pasta sauce on the stovetop to simmer in a large skillet.

Add the meatballs when they are cooked through. The longer the meatballs simmer in the sauce the more their flavor will blend with the sauce. Serve over pasta (I used whole wheat spaghetti).

I don't know why I don't make these more often...they are easy comfort food and I almost always have the ingredients on hand. Below is an approximation of how I made them last night. If I hadn't been CUI (as opposed to DUI)I would have added some finely shredded parmesan cheese to the mixture as well but forgot. You could probably make with less seasonings than what I put in...I just like it with all of it.

This will work with any ground meat. A mixture of pork and beef is the most flavorful, if not the most lean. Last night I had leftover lean ground turkey, so I used that. I also bake them as opposed to pan frying to be a bit more healthy.

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