These days, heading home means big skies. Fall is in the air, even in Los Angeles. We get crazy light, great clouds. For some reason, this reminds me of home: not necessarily Chicago or even Kenosha, where Mom lives now (talk about big skies!). I mean home in the sense of when I was a kid. When the light changed and the air got crisp, Mom would break out the hearty fare and what follows is her recipe for meatballs, which is so crazy-easy it almost begs the question: why NOT eat meatballs more often? After all, it’s comfort food – Welcome Home.
Mom’s meatballs
1 pk ground beef – I use 90% lean here, probably about 1 to 1.5 pounds
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 heaping tbs. of dried parsley
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs (store-bought with seasoning works just fine)
¼ cup parm cheese
(I have also added dried onions to this with success, but that onion-y crunch is not for everyone)
Mix together. Make 11 meatballs. Place in a large pot with TWO jars of store-bought marinara if you are in a rush. I love Barilla’s plain old marinara. Bertolli is a close second. Simmer on top of the stove on a low flame for 40 minutes. Done! Lots of meatball recipes call for mixing it up – pork, veal, beef. I’m a fan of doing this, but it takes time, which is hard to find these days. Like fall in LA – you really have to look for it. I’d also make the sauce from scratch if I could but alas…also, a lot of folks like to cook the meatballs before putting them in the sauce. If you use a lean enough cut of beef, the sauce will cook them for you and also get a great flavor to boot. Just keep the flame low and Bob’s Your Uncle, as they say in the UK.
Mom’s meatballs
1 pk ground beef – I use 90% lean here, probably about 1 to 1.5 pounds
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 heaping tbs. of dried parsley
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs (store-bought with seasoning works just fine)
¼ cup parm cheese
(I have also added dried onions to this with success, but that onion-y crunch is not for everyone)
Mix together. Make 11 meatballs. Place in a large pot with TWO jars of store-bought marinara if you are in a rush. I love Barilla’s plain old marinara. Bertolli is a close second. Simmer on top of the stove on a low flame for 40 minutes. Done! Lots of meatball recipes call for mixing it up – pork, veal, beef. I’m a fan of doing this, but it takes time, which is hard to find these days. Like fall in LA – you really have to look for it. I’d also make the sauce from scratch if I could but alas…also, a lot of folks like to cook the meatballs before putting them in the sauce. If you use a lean enough cut of beef, the sauce will cook them for you and also get a great flavor to boot. Just keep the flame low and Bob’s Your Uncle, as they say in the UK.
I did not know you could skip the browning first step! hooray I will now make meatballs your moms way! Hey? Is it Prince Spaghetti Day? ?ANTONY!!!!
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