Our Spaghetti and Meatballs

So, for us, spaghetti has never been a big deal - Carol is not a big fan of just spag-and-sauce. I used it as an excuse to deploy the "focaccia-of-doom". But there were always leftovers...

Until I found this meatball recipe from Simply Recipes. I don't use the sauce - we use our own (this year's blight knocked our tomato sauce production down to zero, so I sub in Newman's Sockarooni Sauce (with red and green peppers!).

We throw these on top of linguine (best) or spaghetti, top with the meatball(s) and then drizzle sauce over top. Yummie! And if you can stand the extra garlic, try adding in the "focaccia of doom" and dip those bread slices into olive oil studded with minced garlic. Vampires beware!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef (I use 90% lean, plenty of fat from the cheese and pork)1
• 1 lb fresh sweet Italian pork sausage (I like the local Geno's)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1/2 Tbsp dried basil)
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1/2 Tbsp of dried parsley)
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated parmesan
• sea salt and pepper to taste

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Mix together meats and herbs in a medium bowl (I use the KitchenAid!).
3. When well combined add the eggs, bread crumbs and parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix for 1 minute till really well combined.
4. Roll the mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs (should make about 20).
5. Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet (I line mine with aluminum foil to keep them from sticking) and cook them at 400 F for 20-25 minutes.