Mom’s Meatballs
Italian Meatballs
Mom’s delicious, easy recipe. Enjoy them in sauce or on their own! They make a great option to freeze for use later on!
What came first the meatball or the sauce?
In my family, it’s the meatball. It is a key part of the sauce, a reason it tastes so amazing.
Whenever I’m trying to figure out dinner on a Sunday, my fiancé always requests sauce and meatballs. I know, I know, as an Italian I should automatically make the sauce on a Sunday but growing up, we had sauce every Sunday. Without fail. We also had sauce on Thursday’s. Some of you are probably like, “are you complaining?”. No, I am very grateful, my parents cooked every single night and we all ate whatever they made (which was always fabulous) because my parents worked hard for the food they were able to provide and cook for us.
As an adult, scary word, I get to make decisions about what I want to make for dinner and the last thing is always sauce. When I make it, however, I devour it all. Having sauce brings me back to so many amazing memories, a time I would go back to at the drop of a hat. Every Sunday after church, watching whatever game was on TV, helping my mom clean up (yay only girl responsibility), then off to finish homework. So of course when he requests sauce, I grab the ground beef and make meatballs because, for me, a sauce is not a sauce without mom’s meatballs.
Whatever traditions you had with your family growing up, remake them as an adult. Eat the sauce, make the soup. Make new memories incorporating the old. Most of all, have fun!
Meatballs
Servings: 30 meatballs
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Cook Time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (can substitute with ground chicken or turkey)
2-3 eggs
1/2-2/3 cup bread crumbs - seasoned bread crumbs can be used
1/2-2/3 grated cheese
1 teaspoon salt *optional, my mom doesn’t add salt because grated cheese contains salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1 bunch fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 cup oil
Recipe:
In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together.
Once all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed, take about 1 teaspoon of the mix and roll into a ball.
In a medium to a large pan, heat up the oil.
Once the oil is heated up, add the meatballs gently. Keep heat at medium/high.
Once meatballs are light brown on one side, turn them. I prefer to use tongs as it helps to not tear open the meatball.
If using the meatballs for a sauce - they need to be cooked halfway as they will continue to cook in the sauce. I like to brown all sides lightly then remove and add to a pan for the sauce.
If using the meatballs to eat right away - cook meatballs thoroughly to the right temperature, depending on the meat. Once cooked, place paper towels on a plate and place the meatballs on top. This will help to soak up any excess oil from the meatballs.