Meatballs for Spaghetti

Yummy homemade meatballs

I served the meatballs over spaghetti noodles and with homemade focaccia.

I have no idea why, but last night I decided to finally, at age 44, attempt to make homemade meatballs. I know. What took me so long? They're so easy, and so good. My 13 year old son ate too many, and the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed our reasonably sized servings. These are the perfect texture with the right balance of flavors and salt. Mmm. Perfect first attempt at meatballs. This recipe is definitely being put into my regular dinner rotation--that is, if I had one, it would go in--I will be making these again.
The original recipe called for a pound of ground pork and a pound of ground beef, but I didn't want that many meatballs, and I only had ground beef, so that's what I used.  At any rate, another success story courtesy of  AllRecipes.com. Sorry, Chef John, if I messed with your beautiful recipe too much, but I couldn't have made this tasty meal without you.
Oh, and I had no spaghetti sauce on hand, and I was not about to try making some from scratch, so I used what I had: pizza sauce and tomato sauce. It worked, and I'll be doing it again.

Meatballs for Spaghetti
   --adapted from AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons Italian breadcrumbs (I used gluten free bread crumbs made from Gluten Free French Sandwich Rolls.)
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 pound ground round (90/10)
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

• 1 14 oz. jar Classico Pizza Sauce
• 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup water

Instructions:
In a medium sized bowl, soak the breadcrumbs and milk for about 10 minutes while you chop the onion and garlic.
In a frying pan that you'll also use to fry the meatballs, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute onions until translucent, but not browned. Add the chopped garlic and stir for about one minute. Transfer onions and garlic to a small bowl to cool.
Into the milk and breadcrumbs, mix the egg, dried parsley, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese. Add the ground beef and cooled onions/garlic. Gently mix with your hand until completely mixed. Cover and refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes.
Wipe the pan out with a paper towel. Form the meat mixture into balls that are about the size of golf balls. 
Preheat pan over a medium heat. Drizzle in 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and place meatballs evenly in the pan. Cover lightly with a lid or foil. When you can see that the meat is starting to cook and brown, gently turn meatballs with a small spatula. Turn, cover, and cook until meatballs are browned and juice is starting to run out. Turn the heat down if meatballs are browning too quickly.
When meatballs are pretty much cooked through, add the pizza sauce and tomato sauce. Rinse the jar and can with the 1/2 cup water and pour into pan. Gently stir meatballs and sauce. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes while you prepare noodles and sides.

Makes 4-6 servings (about 12-13 meatballs)