Baked Meatballs

Hi everybody! Long time, no see! I've been busy lately, and in addition to everything else, I have also moved into a new home. Not too far; same town and all that. Now I'm in the process of trying to unpack and organize.

Since I haven't posted any recipes (or ANYTHING) for a while, I thought I'd jump back into things with a new, favorite recipe of mine: Baked Meatballs. Meatballs are traditionally a "fun" dish to prepare...the kids can help, too! The kids that I know really love getting their hands into the mixture, and squishing things around.

These meatballs are a bit non-traditional, since they're not cooked along with the pasta sauce. What often happens is the meatballs tend to get "lost" in the sauce, and sometimes they even disintegrate completely! These meatballs will retain a nice outer crust, and have a more distinct flavor, than their traditional counterparts. Plus, you only have to use as many as you need; once you've baked a batch, you can use half of them right away, and freeze the rest for later.


Baked Meatballs

1.5 pounds (total) ground beef, pork, and/or veal
½ to ¾ cup FRESH chopped parsley
½ cup bread crumbs PLUS about ¼ cup extra, for coating**
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 ½ teaspoons dried basil, OR 3 Tablespoons fresh chopped basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano, OR 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more, to taste)

Combine all the ingredients (except for the extra ¼ cup of bread crumbs) in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, thoroughly combine everything together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and put it into the refrigerator for one to two hours, to allow flavors to combine.

After the time is up, remove the bowl from the fridge. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Have two identical-sized mini-muffin pans (the kind with 12 cavities) ready. Spray one of them with non-stick cooking spray; you may or may not need the other pan. Use a 1/4-cup sized measuring cup to “weigh out” the each meatball (so that they'll all be a uniform size). Roll each meatball gently between your palms, and when you have a nice, golfball shape, place one meatball into each of the cavities. There should be just enough to fill one muffin pan; if you have extra, use the second muffin pan (don't forget the cooking spray).

Bake the meatballs at 400 F for about 20 minutes.
When done, remove the muffin pans to a cooling rack (or to a folded towel on the counter top). At this point, the meatballs may be added to pasta sauce, etc. or, you could just eat them right away! If the meatballs are not going to be used immediately, allow them to cool, then store them in a plastic zipper bag (be careful not to break them up when storing). Keep them in the fridge or freezer until ready for use.

(** an equal amount of saltine cracker crumbs may be substituted for breadcrumbs, if you want the meatballs to have a little more "crunch" to them. If you use saltine crackers, reduce the amount of kosher salt to 1/2 teaspoon--the crackers have salt in them too!)

There you have it. Add the meatballs (as many as you need) to your favorite pasta sauce. If you're using the meatballs immediately after baking them, just stir them into the sauce, and serve. If the meatballs are frozen, throw them into the pot of sauce about 25 minutes before serving. Cover the sauce, and keep it on low heat; the meatballs will heat through, and dinner is served!