Homemade Meatballs

Nothing makes spaghetti night more special than toping those noodles with some delicious homemade meatballs.

These are so easy to make and a great way to feed my increasingly picky eaters at home. they loved the meatballs and I know your family will too.

Ingredients you will need

• ground beef – you can always use any kind of ground meat, pork is usually a pretty swap, but you can also use ground chicken or turkey. using poultry you will need to adjust your cooking time and the texture is slightly different. for a flavorful meatball try using both pork and beef.
• eggs – used to bind all the ingredients together so your balls won’t crumble in the pan
• onion powder – using a powder is always better in these kinds of recipes, too much moisture from fresh ingredients will make the balls fall apart easier.
• smoked paprika – smoked is not necessary but does add richness to the flavor.
• dried parsley flakes – dried ingredients are recommended but if you only have fresh use about half as you will get a stronger flavor from fresh and more moisture will come from the leaves.
• dried chives – same goes with chives as parsley. use fresh or dry but use less if you are using fresh. if you don’t have chives the green portion of green onion will swap nicely.
• Italian seasoning – basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram can be used together to make Italian seasoning.
• black pepper – fresh ground is nice but regular old in a pepper shaker pepper is ok also.
• salt- I like to use kosher salt
• olive oil – use vegetable oil if you don’t have olive.

Spaghetti

• onion, bell pepper, mushrooms – use vegetables you have on hand to make the spaghetti sauce exactly how you like it.
• minced garlic – you can use fresh and mince it yourself or you can do what I do and use the pre-minced garlic that comes in a jar. I keep it in my fridge and have easy-to-use garlic on hand at all times.
• spaghetti sauce – Whatever is on sale and whatever brand you like will do.
• spaghetti noodles – best part about pasta is you can use whatever you have on hand. we like classic spaghetti noodles in our hose but also use elbow, or fusilli noodles in a pinch and it tuns out delicious.

How to Make Homemade Meatballs

1. Put your ingredients into a bowl

In a medium bowl add ground beef, eggs, and seasonings. make sure if you are using ground beef that was frozen make sure it is fully thawed out. you can also substitute ground pork, chicken or turkey for the ground beef if you wish. Just make sure you adjust cooking times and cook everything through.

2. Mix it all together

Using a clean hand mix together the meat squishing it together and folding it in on itself until the seasoning and eggs are mixed well into the ground beef. I like to use a latex glove for this step since I don’t like to get beef under my fingernails and you want to make sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

3. Make the meatballs

Use a spoon or a baking scoop to spoon 1.5 tbsp of the mixture into your hand. Roll into a ball and set on a plate. repeat this step until you have all the balls made and on a plate. I don’t feel like I need a glove for this step since I’m rolling with my palms. Always wash your hand before and after to prevent any cross contamination.

4. Allow balls to set up.

Cover plate with plastic wrap then place in the fridge to set for up to 1 hour. you can even make these the day before or in the morning when we have more energy to get things done. that way when its dinner time we can just boil some noodles and serve dinner.

5. Warm the pan

In a large flat bottom frying pan over medium heat warm olive oil. You should notice the oil changing in consistency, when you pour it into the pan it will be thicker and as it heats up it should move easily about the pan when you lift one side.

6. Cook the meatballs

Carefully add the meatballs to the frying pan, use control when adding the meatballs to the pan so you don’t splash the oil. You should hear a slight sizzle when the meat hits the pan. if you don’t hear the sizzle you pan is not hot enough and you should wait a bit longer. If the old spatters everywhere and the sizzle is high you should turn the heat down and wait for the pan to cool.

7. Cover and finish cooking the meatballs.

Cover with a lid and let the meatballs cook for about 10 minutes until they are almost but not fully cooked. if you are using a different type of meat the cooking time will vary.

Note: if you are making these meatballs to make spaghetti continue to the next steps. However, these meatballs can be used for anything. Even adding some BBQ sauce and eating them as a side dish would be delicious.

8. Making the sauce

Peel and dice the onion

core out and dice the pepper

slice mushrooms into bite-size pieces

Add onions, pepper, and mushrooms to the pan with the meatballs, and cook the vegetables down until they start to soften. if you wish to use different or less vegetables feel free to make it how you and your family will love.

9. Add the sauce

Add garlic and spaghetti sauce. turn the heat down all the way to low and allow to simmer. simmer all day or at least until your noodles are fully cooked. The longer you simmer the more your flavors will meld together creating a more cohesive sauce. The sauce will reduce as it cooks, if you are going to simmer all day make sure you cover it with a lid so that not too much moisture leaves the pan.

10. Cook Pasta

Cook pasta per instructions on the package. We like to use spaghetti noodles but if we don’t have any on hand we usually have elbow or fusilli noodles. Really any pasta will work.

11. Plate

Drain and plate noodles with sauce on top and a few meatballs, sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and enjoy.