Recipes

[Reba055]

---

@spix wrote:

I use 3 eggs to 1 lb meat (1/2 beef-1/2pork) lots of parsley, a little bread crumbs, lots of romano grated, garlic, sauteed onion (diced), oregano, s & p, 2-3 Tbsps ricotta cheese, mix well, saute in olive oil, add to sauce close to end of cook time, can freeze & save for another time.  I also keep a handful to brown (broken up) & add to sauce.  It's the way my Italian relatives made theirs, I also add pork neck bones to the sauce (browned & seasoned)

Well worth the time

---

Oh, that sounds so good!  I'll have to try that one of these days. 

[spix]

---

@Reba055 wrote:

---

@spix wrote:

I use 3 eggs to 1 lb meat (1/2 beef-1/2pork) lots of parsley, a little bread crumbs, lots of romano grated, garlic, sauteed onion (diced), oregano, s & p, 2-3 Tbsps ricotta cheese, mix well, saute in olive oil, add to sauce close to end of cook time, can freeze & save for another time.  I also keep a handful to brown (broken up) & add to sauce.  It's the way my Italian relatives made theirs, I also add pork neck bones to the sauce (browned & seasoned)

Well worth the time

---

Oh, that sounds so good!  I'll have to try that one of these days. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@Hi @ Reba, wish I could give you a more precise recipe but don't have one lol, I usually do about 2-3 lbs of meat so there is plently to freeze for another meal, what you want is a not dry meat mixture, hence the eggs, brown till crisp, inside will be juicy.  For my sauce I use puree & tomato paste along with sauteed onions, garlic, & spices of your choice, I love oregano

---

[Mothertrucker]

I like the idea of using frozen...but the texture leaves me wondering about them... Then if I bite in and get anything hard, like a tiny piece of bone or something...well I am totally grossed out...

i just  bought the meat grinder attachment for my KA mixer...can't wait to try grinding my own meats.. I found the foodprocessorbjust doesn't give me the right result...I guess it's not really what it's made for...

[dfyre]

I sure wish I could give you a "precise" recipe, but I learned from my aunt who was a wonderful Italian cook who made everything from scratch and by "feel" - this is what I do:

Use 1/2 "meatloaf mix - beef, veal, pork" and 1/2 ground beef (not lean - about 80%). One egg for each pound of meat. Then, soak day old Italian bread in warm water. Remove crusts and squeeze dry (amount depends on amount of meat being used - maybe two thick slices per pound). Then about 1/4 C. each grated Romano cheese and seasoned breadcrumbs, parsley flakes (fresh chopped if you've got it), garlic powder and freeze-dried minced onion (my aunt used fresh, but I'm a bit lazy). As long as I'm mixing, I'll make a lot and put some of the mixture into a meatloaf pan and freeze for a future meal.

I shape them into balls using an ice cream scoop. My aunt used to fry hers, but I bake mine (less fat AND less time). Then I freeze until I want to make sauce which I do in my crockpot. Yesterday, I made some and used a 1 tsp. cookie scoop to scoop out little balls - froze them on a plate, then transferred to a plastic bag and back to the freezer. These will come in handy for Italian Wedding Soup.

Tried frozen ones once when I was really pressed for time and had none in the freezer - no one would eat them and they ended up in the trash.

[ID2]

I always keep a huge bag of frozen meatballs from Costco. In a pinch I get some from IKEA. I gave up making mine years ago.

[LoLa]

These below are still my personal favorite!

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

1 1/4 pounds ground chicken
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I like Panko or fresh breadcrumbs that I pulse in the processor)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
1/2 cup Pecorino (or Parmesan)
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg, whisked
zest of half a lemon
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 14-ounce can store-bought pizza sauce (or your favorite homemade sauce)
about 4 ounces fresh mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400°F, setting rack to upper third part of oven. In a large bowl, using your hands, gently mix together first 10 ingredients. Shape into lacrosse-ball size balls (that would be somewhere between golf and tennis) and place a few inches from each other on a foil-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix one spoonful of your pizza sauce with olive oil. Brush this mixture on top of each meatball. Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove meatballs from oven, spoon some sauce on top of each meatball, and cover each with a slice of cheese. Broil another 3 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Heat remaining sauce in a small saucepan. Serve meatballs with a dollop of sauce, a fresh salad and some crusty bread.