As I sit here writing this post listening to my husband’s sneeze attack, I hear the childhood song ringing in my head…on top of spaghetti, all covered in cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed! Can’t tell you the last time I even thought of that song. Of course, when I made these for our New Year’s Eve party, we didn’t lose a single one to anyone’s sneezes.
Often times, I make things for our get togethers or for dinner and they are just okay, not blog worthy or even worth making again…but then there are those that get cleared off the plate faster than the time it took to plate the food. These meatballs are an example of the later so naturally I want to share with all of you as well so you too can enjoy them or share them with your friends.
Serve these with toothpicks as an appetizer, on hoagie rolls topped with mozzarella cheese for a delicious meatball sub, or on top of a bowl of spaghetti…just don’t let anyone sneeze around it!
Italian Meatballs
Ingredients:
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced
- 2-14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Meatballs
- 2 cups bread, crust removed and chopped into 1/4 inch cubes
- 1/2 cup of milk
- 1/2 kilo or 1 pound of ground beef
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2/3 cup of grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon thyme
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions:
Sauce:
- In a shallow, wide skillet pan, heat oil over medium heat, add garlic and onion and cook until softened. Add tomatoes, vinegar, and sugar. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3-5 minutes.
- Transfer to a blender and puree the ingredients.
- Return to stove and add remaining ingredients. Simmer on low heat while you make the meatballs.
Meatballs:
- In a small mixing bowl, add bread cubes and milk. Let it sit until the bread has absorbed all the milk.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a standing mixer add beef, eggs, cheese, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper. Mix using the dough attachment. Add bread cubes and continue mixing until it is combined for about 5-7 minutes.
- Wet your hands or apply olive oil to keep the meatballs from sticking as you roll. Roll meatballs into 1 inch balls. Gently put into pan with sauce simmering.
- Once all meatballs are in the pan, cook for about 12 minutes or until cooked through.
A Hint of Ginger 