Along with photography and quilting I also enjoy cooking and on December 28, 2012 I shared My New Favorite Chili recipe.  Unlike the woman in the aforementioned blog, I actually don't mind sharing my recipes, in fact after I finish writing my current book I may actually start the cookbook I have been wanting to write for many years.  Since that has not been high on my to-do list lately I have not given it much thought, until this past week.

As it turned out last week I planned on making a large batch of meatballs to store in the freezer for future use, but then the ladies in the office planned a pot luck so I decided to bring the meatballs and sauce as my part of the pot luck.  The long and the short of it is that, much to the dismay of my husband, my wonderful coworkers decimated an entire batch of Italian meatballs and sauce! One of my fellow interpreters asked me for the recipe and I promised her that I would indeed provide it and in order to keep the peace at home I told my husband that I would make another batch; since the school district I work for is on fall break this week that is exactly what I did today.  Please feel free to like and share this post

Meatballs

2/3 cup dried Italian herb breadcrumbs

1 tsp each salt & pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Mix the above ingredients 

1/2 red onion & 1/2 yellow (sweet) onion- finely diced

 1/4 cup finely chopped  fresh parsley and 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh oregano (or 2 TBS each dried parsley & dried oregano)

2-3 cloves fresh garlic-finely chopped

Saute in a hot pan with 2-3 tbs olive oil 

Let cool completely then mix into the bread crumb mixture.

Add to that:

2-3 TBS parmesan cheese

1lb ground beef and 1lb sausage and mix until all ingredients are blended. Refrigerate 1-2 hours until cold all the way through, then make into 2 inch balls. *I have also made these with other combinations of meet added such as turkey, bison, and finely diced uncooked bacon

Place balls on a pan that is well oiled or covered in foil and lightly oiled.  Bake in a pre-heated 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

Sauce

Two 12-16 ounce jars of pasta sauce-I prefer one to be a spicy marinara and the other a vodka sauce

1 can plain tomato sauce

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or 2-3 TBS dried parsley

1/2 red onion & 1/2 yellow (sweet) onion finely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic finely chopped

Mix and heat in in a slow cooker set on low while meat mixture is chilling and while meatballs are baking-this ensures the sauce is hot.  Add meatballs to sauce after cooking in the oven and continue to cook on low heat for 2+ hours.  Serve as desired (over pasta or as an entree with a side of garlic bread).