Day 261: Double Recipe Entry

I make damn good meatballs and today's you're lucky day because I'm going to give you the recipe.  Usually we eat them without pasta, but tonight I boiled up a little bit of whole wheat spaghetti.  I also made some baby broccoli as a side dish and it was beyond delicious.  All in all, a stellar meal tonight.

Meatballs:

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/3 cup bread crumbs or panko

1/2 cup cold water (or beef broth if you have some handy)

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 lb lean ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground lamb

Place first four ingredients in large bowl, stir together, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Pour a thick layer of olive oil into a pan and place it over a medium-high burner.

Add garlic, parsley, and parm to the egg mixture and mix everything together.  Add meat and use your hands to gently mix everything together.  If it seems too wet to hold together, add some more bread crumbs until you're happy with the consistency.  

Place two jars of your favorite tomato sauce in an oven proof pot and place in the oven at 225 degrees.  I like Classico and use some combination of their tomato basil, roasted garlic, or spicy tomato flavors.  Of course, you can make your own sauce if you prefer, but having tried that a couple of times, I find it's way more effort than it's worth for this particular recipe.

Make balls out of your meat mixture.  I like to make larger ones because you can get them all fried in fewer batches.    I get about a dozen and a half large meatballs out of this recipe.

Place a batch of meatballs in your hot oil and cook until browned.  Turn them and allow the other side to brown and then place them in your pre-heated sauce.  Once all of your meatballs are in the sauce, allow them to cook uncovered for an hour and a half.

Upon serving, grate some more parm or melt some mozzarella over the top.

Baby Broccoli:

1 package of fresh baby broccoli (we purchased ours at Trader Joe's)

2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 small shallot bulb, chopped

1/4 cup white wine

Pour a thin coat of olive oil into a pan and warm over low heat.  Add garlic and shallot and saute for a couple of minutes until soft and fragrant.

Add broccoli, season with S&P, and turn heat up to medium-high.  Add half of the wine and stir everything together.  Add the rest of the wine a couple of minutes later, or when you see the initial bit has evaporated.

Stir frequently and cook until broccoli is at the desired doneness.  I like mine to still have a lot of crunch.

This dinner definitely takes some time to prepare, which is what makes it perfect for a Sunday night.  If you're cooking for two, then you will also be blessed with some yummy leftovers which will make dinner preparation a lot easier one night during the week.  Enjoy!