Italian Melt in Your Mouth Meatballs

By SewingDragonfly

From food.com– Recipe #69173

Cooking the meatballs in simmering pasta sauce will not only add so much extra flavor to the sauce; the meatballs will melt in your mouth. You may of course oven-bake the meatballs for about 25 minutes – don't be afraid to add in more Parmesan cheese and a little more milk, there is no need to measure exactly, this recipe is pretty much foolproof. Leftover cooked meatballs make a wonderful pizza topping. Just slice thinly and freeze until ready to use – these also make wonderful juicy burgers shaped into a patty. Check out other recipes at www.kittencalskitchen.com.


My Notes: I made these 5/6/14 using the ground beef and pork mixture. After mixing I put it all in the refrigerator for about 24 hours before shaping and baking. On 5/8/14 I shaped into approximately 1 oz meatballs and baked for 25 minutes. After they were cooled I placed them back into a container and put back in the refrigerator. On 5/9/14 I placed them into a pan with a jar of Ragu sauce. Simmered about 20 minutes to heat up. Very good flavor.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ground beef or a mixture of 1 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs (or use enough to hold meat together) – if you don't have dry breadcrumbs just soak 3 slices of bread in the 1/3 cup milk
• 1-2 T fresh minced garlic or use 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1-2 tsp salt or seasoned salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/3-1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 T dried parsley

Preparation

Step 1

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Shape into small meatballs. At this point you can place on a jelly roll pan or baking sheet and freeze to use later, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 24 hours before using.

Drop the meatballs into simmering pasta sauce, do not stir for at least 20 minutes or you will risk breaking the meatballs.

Continue cooking in the simmering sauce for another 20 minutes. Depending on how fast your sauce is simmering, 40 minutes total should fully cook the meatballs.

After 40 minutes cooking time, continue cooking your sauce with the meatballs for as long as desired.

To bake the meatballs – bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until cooked through.