Not Your Mama's Meatballs

Who doesn't love a good meatball? I am not sure I personally know anybody who doesn't enjoy them, except for maybe one of my vegetarian friends back on the west coast---those kinds of people don't tend to last too long out here in the good ol' midwest.

It may seem a little strange to be blogging about a hearty Italian comfort food during the first official weekend of summer, but these meatballs are so good you will want to eat them for breakfast! A good staple recipe to have, turn them into meatball subs, throw them into your pasta sauce (or as the true Italians like to say, "gravy"--- weird) or serve them as appetizers at your next party!

My favorite part of cooking Italian food for dinner? Sipping on some dry red wine while I am making it! Please excuse Red's camio appearance in a few of my pictures! :)

makes approximately 15 meatballs depending on size :)

1 pound lean ground beef

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (if you're not a fan of spicy foods, take this down to 1/2 teaspoon)

1 squirt Asian hot sauce- preferably Sriracha

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup grated italian blend cheese

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup diced white onion ( the smallest you can possibly chop it)

3 cloves garlic minced

1 glass dry red wine for drinking while you cook! :)



First things first, preheat your oven to 400 degrees F

Combine salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes and set aside.

Chop onion as smal as you can possibly cut it, so that you don't get any overwhelming pieces of onion in one of your delicious meatballs. Measure 1/2 cup  of onion and set aside. Mince garlic and combine with onion.

Combine bread crumbs and cheese and set aside.

In a large bowl mix together ground beef, spices, sriracha garlic and onion. Add milk, worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs and cheese. For best results mix with your hands so all the ingredients get evenly distributed.

Form mixture into balls with your hands and be sure to pack tightly, Tom tried making these and didn't realize you needed to pack the meat together! :)

Place you meatballs on baking dish and bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes.

For best results, when your meatballs are done cooking in the oven pop them into your pasta sauce and let them soak up the tomato goodness! :)

ENJOY!!

Italian Beef Made Easy.

When my husband and I first started dating I would often join in on his mother's home cooked meals, an Italian mom... need I say more? One of the first meals she cooked was Italian Beef and I was instantly hooked! Of course, once we got married I needed to try to recreate this recipe so that I could keep up with his standards, so here is my version of Italian Beef!

 

Serves 2 with just enough leftovers for lunch the next day.

1 lb thinly sliced rare roast beef

1 packet au jus (I prefer McCormick brand, but any will do)

1 package of good italian sandwich buns

2 green bell peppers

1 yellow onion

2 tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Optional Additions

Pepperoncini

Cheese

Giardiniera

Whisk together au jus seasoning packet and cold 3 cups water in small bowl (amount of water may vary depending on seasoning packet). Pour Au Jus into large pot, and add  roast beef 1 or 2 slices at a time, bring pot to a simmer and cover for about 15 minutes... or really until you are done with the next step! :)

 

 

Cut up bell pepper and onion into slices (works best for the sandwiches) and add to pan with olive oil, oregano, garlic powder salt and pepper. Mix well so all the onions and peppers get covered. Cover and let simmer for about ten minutes. 

 

Meanwhile, prepare the buns!

Set you oven to broil and on a baking sheet open up sandwich buns and layer 2 pieces of cheese on them so that the bottom of the bun will be covered in cheese. Place buns in oven for about 5 minutes until cheese is just melted!

Pull those buns out of the oven and layer on the beef, peppers and onions... and hey, if you are feeling risky add the pepperoncini and giardiniera!! ENJOY!