The weather for the next week is just cold and boring – typical this time of year.
The dogs are going stir-crazy in the house. All six of them… And I’m lethargic and want nothing to do with anything really, unless it involves cooking (and eating) large quantities of comfort-food. Or reading good books and drinking wine.
Last night it was meatballs.
No pasta for a little while – I am on a “diet” you know. I hope to reach 115 lbs by this May… But meatballs were enough, I didn’t even miss the pasta. I’m going to make another batch today and freeze them for quick dinners.
I can toss them in a pot of sauce and let them thaw and simmer while I’m in the barn doing chores on busy week nights. Vegetables or a salad along side them and I’m good to go. “Convenience food.”
I only make these meatballs 2-3 times a year, mainly because I prefer to eat only meat from my farm, but I do not raise veal or beef cows, both of which are found in my recipe, so I have to buy it. I know, I know… “veal” is frowned upon by many and I get it. I promise to find an alternative in the future – ground rabbit maybe? Any thoughts?
These meatballs are really easy and I’ve been making them for years now. I always use my home-canned italian sauce with them but you can use whatever favorite sauce you choose. Give them a try if you want something good for dinner – with or without the pasta… Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have go to get myself motivated to go knock off a chicken or two for next week’s dinners. ~A
Meatballs (Makes 4-6 servings)
- Olive oil
- 1 slice of homemade bread
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 cloves of garlic- minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 1/4 lbs ground pork, beef and veal (equal parts)
- 1 large egg
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and coat lightly with some olive oil.
In a food processor combine bread, parsley, salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, basil and paprika. Pulse until finely chopped and the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the ground meat and egg and mix together with your hands until well combined.
Form mixture into 1-2 inch balls and arrange evenly spaced on the baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes. If the meat produces a lot of grease, scrape it off before adding to your sauce or freezing the meatballs. At this point you can either finish the meatballs in your sauce or freeze them for later use. Enjoy!
Please comment below….
