Mother Lovin' Meatballs!

So, in my post entitled "Love Is In The Meatloaf", I gave the basic recipe for the meat mixture to make meatloaf, that called for reserving one pound to make meatballs. You cannot argue with any warm blooded, proud countryman, that homemade meatballs are sacred and that every homemaker worth his or her salt, should know how to make proficiently. There is something about the savory caramelized crust from the browning of the meat, to the satisfying garlic and herb taste that lingers on the tongue that just cannot be copied in a frozen counterpart. So, without further ado, please take some time to master this dish, even make it your own by adding, subtracting, varying the seasonings and tackle this dish with all your heart! Here is the recipe!

Homemade Meatballs

refer to the recipe in "Love Is In The Meatloaf"

Form the meatballs into golf ball size balls. Place on a cookie sheet and cover with foil and freeze until firm. Transfer meatballs to freezer bags and into freezer until you are ready to make spaghetti or meatballs subs with marinara sauce... or, you could try making my Garlic Zucchini Cream Sauce with thin spaghetti or angel hair pasta. Mama Mia!

• 2 Tblsp butter
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°

Heat oil and butter in crock pot over medium heat until butter is melted. Add single layer of meatballs and cook each side until dark brown (caramelized). Cover and place in oven at 350° for 20-30 min. You can split one ball and make sure center is no longer pink. Then, you can add whatever spaghetti sauce you want and continue to heat until the sauce is bubbly, finally serving over noodles. Or, you can do this:

Garlic Zucchini Cream Sauce

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 small zucchini finely diced
• 3 heaping Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 C. milk
• 1/2 C. heavy cream
• 2 Tbsp flour or use Wondra
• salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium heat and add garlic. Saute until garlic just starts to golden. Add zucchini and saute until tender. Add milk and cream and continue to stir until heat comes back up and it just starts to bubble. Lower heat and add flour or Wondra and cook until it starts to thicken. Add more milk if too thick. Salt and pepper if needed. Add noodles, and fold in. Next, add your meatballs and enjoy with garlic toast. YUM!