Make it Yourself Monday: Homestyle Italian Meatballs

I know everyone has their own favorite meatball recipe, but this one is close to my heart. I have great memories of Sunday nights at my grandmother's house, eating these meatballs in long-simmered marinara sauce.  You may thing you've had delicious meatballs before, but if you haven't had my grandmother's recipe, you need to fry some up for yourself. 


Yes, I said fry. You can bake them for a more healthful preparation, but they won't be just like grandmas.  At the risk of sounding like Paula Deen, some things -- potatoes, bacon, oreos -- just cry out to be fried. Hey, at least this recipe uses heart-healthy olive oil!


Grandma's Sunday Meatballs


1 lb ground beef
3 slices day-old Italian bread, crumbled into coarse crumbs
3 eggs
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tbsp good quality grated parmesan or pecorino cheese
1/2- 3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
olive oil

• Whisk together the eggs and bread crumbs in a medium bowl. Add the garlic, parsley, basil, cheese, salt, and pepper to the egg mixture.  Mix until thoroughly combined
• Add the egg mixture to the ground beef in a large bowl. Combine all ingredients manually -- that's right -- you have to get your hands dirty!
• Form the mixture into balls, roll them in a light coating of olive oil, and pan-fry.
• Place them on a paper towel on a plate
• Serve with red sauce and pasta

Note: these can easily be frozen if you have the fortitude not to eat them all in one sitting.

I still have some in my freezer from my Once a Month Slow Cooker Freezer Cooking from the Stockpile extravaganza.