Another Great Freezer Recipe

I love some good meatballs. Put a nice steaming bowl of pasta in my face topped with meatballs and I'm a happy camper. Make it a freezer recipe so I don't have to cook hard on another night and seriously, I'm ecstatic.

I found this recipe on SmittenKitchen. Man, she's got some good recipes on there. You gotta check it out. She inspired me to make my own bread crumbs. I mean, I don't know if I did it right. I just tore them up and stuck them in the oven until they were nice and brown. I probably could have achieved the same effect by just popping them in the toaster, but it wouldn't have felt as authentic.

I only had one substitute from her recipe. I minused out the 1/2 pound veal and just used an extra 1/2 pound pork instead. I also wish I wouldn't have added as much salt but I didn't taste it before I poured it in. So I would advise you do so. Just combine all the ingredients like so.

I crushed my bread crumbs with a fork and there was bread flyin everywhere. Don't be stupid like me, put it in a bag and crush it that way. It will save you a lot of clean up. Luckily I have a human vacuum roaming my house named Diesel, so it's not so bad for me. But you may not be as fortunate.

Shape them into balls. Big balls, little balls, whatever your heart (and stomach) desires.

Fry them up and it's just that easy.

I got 4 nights worth of meatballs and 2 nights worth of sauce. We like things a little more saucy around our house so I should have doubled the recipe.

See the steam rolling off? Doesn't it make you want some? GO MAKE MEATBALLS NOW. You can thank me later.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For the meatballs:
1/2 pound ground veal (or substitute an extra 1/2 pound pork)
1/2 pound ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1 1/4 cups fresh white bread crumbs (about 5 slices, crusts removed)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 extra-large egg, beaten
Vegetable oil
Olive oil

For the sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 cup good red wine (I forgot I didn't put this in either. Not because I oppose but because I didn't have any on hand.)
1 (14-ounce) can pureed tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can chopped or diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Serve over your favorite pasta with grated Parmesan.

Make the meatballs: Place the ground meats, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, onion powder, egg, and 3/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Combine very lightly with a fork. Using your hands, lightly form the mixture into 2-inch meatballs. You will have 14 to 16 meatballs. (Or perhaps 24, which is what I ended up with. I’m sorry I cannot give you a more precise measure; I am sure your amount will fall somewhere in the middle.)

Pour equal amounts of vegetable oil and olive oil into a large (12-inch) skillet to a depth of 1/4-inch. Heat the oil. Very carefully, in batches, place the meatballs in the oil and brown them well on all sides over medium-low heat, turning carefully with a spatula or a fork. This should take about 10 minutes for each batch. Don’t crowd the meatballs. Remove the meatballs to a plate covered with paper towels. Discard the oil but don’t clean the pan.

Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in the same pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook for 1 more minute. Add the wine and cook on high heat, scraping up all the brown bits in the pan, until almost all the liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, parsley, salt, and pepper.

Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer on the lowest heat for 25 to 30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.