That's A Spicy Meatball!

I'm a big pasta lover - absolutely love the stuff.  I tend to go towards chicken or fish when I create a pasta dish but every now and then there's something truly satisfying about meatballs and pasta.  That is what precipitated this recipe - Mark and I wanted pasta and meatballs.  Now I did this with a whole wheat penne  and a very unorthodox sauce made of salsa, some balsamic vinegar and cheese but the star of this show was definitely the made from scratch baked meatballs.  Check out the recipe below:

That’s A Spicy Meatball

2 lbs                    Lean Ground Beef

½ cup                  Breadcrumbs

¼ cup                  Italian Seasoning

1 (large)              Egg

¼ cup                  Worcestershire Sauce

3 tbsp                  Hot Sauce (I used Franks)

PINCH                Salt

PINCH                Pepper

¼ cup                  Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350°F and place a wire rack that has been sprayed with cooking spray inside a rimmed baking sheet.

Combine all the ingredients except the Parmesan cheese in a large mixing bowl.  Put some gloves on and get dirty – start rolling up the meat into regular size meatballs.  This recipe should give you 16 regular size meatballs so judge accordingly as you are pinching the meat off.  As you finish each meatball, place it on the prepared baking sheet and rack and keep going until all the meat has been rolled into balls.

Before popping the meatballs into the preheated oven, sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese over each meatball.

Pop the tray of meatballs into the oven and cook for 20-25 minutes.  This will give you medium well in terms of internal temperature so, if you want well done meatballs, leave them in the oven for an extra couple of minutes.

Makes 16 regular meatballs but you could certainly make double this amount in mini meatballs.

There are so many possibilities for these meatballs.  Use them with your favourite pasta dish, make a soup with them...Beef Stroganoff would be great with these or make them smaller and use them as an appetizer - Waikiki Meatballs anyone?  Hey, if you have any suggestions on how you like to use meatballs with your meals, feel free to add it in the comments.

If you want to make a batch ahead of time and freeze them, bring them up to room temperature before using and toss them into a frying pan to brown them up a little bit before serving.