Spaghetti and Meatballs!
This is my daughter’s all time favorite meal. It gets requested often and we make it often. Sometimes it gets requested on a random day on the way home from school. This is not a hard one to make after school, but if you make it once, you’ll have sauce and meatballs for next time. I’ll get to that in a minute.
So, my meatballs are…unconventional. Not the meatball itself, but I guess how I deal with them. I have tried to cook them so many ways and I just didn’t like they way they tasted with the tomato sauce. When I fried them, most of the time they fell apart in the pan. When they didn’t, while a fried meatball is never a bad thing, it was just adding a fried meatball to tomato sauce. Then I tried baking them. Better that a fatty fried meatball and they were tasty, but again just adding an already cooked meatball to some sauce. Meh. So here is what I came up with…
I make my meatballs according to the recipe, and then I semi-freeze them. Hear me out. No really- it is fantastic! Two reasons. Number One: they don’t fall apart when you cook them! Number Two: They cook IN the sauce so they are almost like meat dumplings and your sauce now has meatball flavor-BONUS!
I use my classic tomato recipe here: Classic Tomato Sauce
Start the tomato sauce first. While you sauce is cooking you can make the meatballs.
If you have any sauce leftover, freeze it for next time. I double or even triple the meatballs. If your going to make meatballs, make a ton of meatballs! Freeze them to throw in some sauce on a busy night. Your welcome.
*A word of caution- you must make these meatball with FRESH ground beef! Please don’t defrost your ground beef only to stick it back in freezer! If you want to make this with defrosted ground beef I have a suggestion (I’ve done this many times). Make the meat balls and put them in a casserole dish side by side. Cook them in a 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, and then throw them in the sauce- they can finish cooking in the sauce for a few more minutes. Your sauce won’t be as meaty, but who doesn’t want spaghetti and meatballs?
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lb FRESH ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 2-3 cloves garlic finley chopped
- 1 small onion
- 1 tsp dried oregano finley chopped
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- First, get your Classic Tomato Sauce going. Tip: Chop enough onion and garlic for your sauce and your meatballs. Make the meatballs while the sauce is cooking.
- Mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Don’t over mix or you will have dense meatballs. (Add a little more milk if the mixture seems a little too dry)
- Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Roll the meat into balls, and start to fill your cookie sheet your meatballs. You don't want they on top of each other, but close together is fine. You can use several trays and freeze in batches according to your freezer space. Cover the meatballs with some plastic wrap. I just lay some on top.
- Place the tray with your meatballs in freezer. You can use several trays and freeze in batches according to your freezer space. Let them hang out for for ½ hour to 1 hour while your sauce is cooking.
- After an hour, drop as many meatball as you are planning to have in the sauce. Don't stack them. Every meatball needs its space. I make a circle along the outer ring of the pan and them work my way in.
- Put any remaining meatballs in a zip bag and freeze for next time.
- Let the meatballs cook in the sauce for at least 20-30 minutes. Ocassionally, carefully stir the meatballs by just knudging them around bit. You dont want them to fall apart during cooking. Towards the end of the cooking time, cook your spaghetti al dente.
- Remove the meatballs to a plate and pour some sauce over your spaghetti. Add your meatballs on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.
