Italian Meatballs

eawilson's Note:

This is a combination of lots of different recipes. The sauce is slightly spicy, but can be altered by adding more or less crushed red pepper flakes and peppers. We eat these on a sandwich, over pasta, or even on pizza. They freeze really well either in the sauce or alone. If freezing without the sauce, place them on a cookie sheet and place in freezer until solid. Then the meatballs can be placed in freezer bags and added to pasta a few at a time.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

Meatballs

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 lb Italian sausage
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Sauce

• 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup red wine (or beef broth)
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (1 t)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon sugar, to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add remaining ingredients, except for meat and sauce ingredients.
2. Add meat. Mix well, with hands. Shape into 1" balls.
3. Place on cookie sheet lines with foil and greased (or a broiler pan to catch any excess fat).
4. Bake for 10 - 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
5. Place meatballs in slow cooker, and move to sauce.
6. Combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, mix well.
7. Pour over meatballs.
8. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
9. If you don't want to use a slow cooker, mix sauce ingredients together over medium heat. Add meatballs to saucepan, and let sauce simmer for 30 minutes, or longer for better flavor.

Reviews

[majesticmoonrise]

Wonderful dish best meatballs ever.

[Sweetness of Rose]

These meatballs were fantastic! I love the taste of the sausage and the spices. They were very tender. Since I had a premade pasta sauce, I didn't try your sauce. I baked them in the oven at 400F for 25 minutes in and ungreased pan and they were done perfectly. Thank you for this recipe, it's a keeper!

[Donna Matthews]

Mama mia, what a meatball! The only thing I changed was to cut the red pepper flakes in half ... and it still had quite a kick. Next time I might leave the peppers in the meatballs but cut them out of the sauce completely. I made bigger meatballs,using my ice cream scoop as a measure and slightly underfilling it. I still browned them in the oven for just 10 minutes. I did sautee my vegetables a bit first, as suggested by another reviewer. Then I put the meatballs and sauce in the crockpot on low for about 5 hours. They transported easily to a potluck in the crockpot and were moist and flavorful. Great recipe!