Italian Meatballs

Hi everyone!  Hope all of you are faring well in this interesting weather we're having.  Here in Indiana, we got about 10" of snow, and although for a Minnesota transplant and a Chicago/Yooper transplant that's a regular Thursday, basically our entire town has shut down.  As a result, we dug into the freezer to find dinner tonight, and I made one of Chris's favorites: meatballs!

The original inspiration from this recipe came from Rachael Ray (thanks again Food Network), but I've definitely doctored this one a bit.  You can find the original recipe here.

This recipe calls for:

1/2 lb ground beef, as lean as you can find/are willing to pay for.
1/2 lb mild Italian sausage
1 egg
1/2 Cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2+ cloves garlic (to taste)

Okay, so this is another recipe where you quite literally dump everything in a bowl and mix.  Start with your ground meats:

Unfortunately, we only had 80% lean ground beef, so these turned out a little greasy/squishy.  They still tasted great, though.

Then add everything else.  Make sure you beat the egg before you dump it in.

Oh!  A note on the cheese.  I am by no means a Parmesan purist, but for the love of everything, use fresh grated when you're cooking.  The powdered stuff (and even the pre-grated you find in the expensive cheese case) has garbage in it to keep it from sticking together in the container, and this prevents the cheese from melting properly.  Please, please, please use the real thing.  A wedge of the cheap stuff will cost maybe $6, but it's totally worth it, really.

Okay, so put everything in the bowl.

Mmm.  Except not yet.  Roll up your sleeves, wash your hands, and get in there like this is meatloaf.  I have tried using the Kitchenaid, and it really does not mix as thoroughly as your fingers do.  Combine the ingredients REALLY well, squishing it between your fingers.  You're trying to combine the two meats as well as you can.  When you finish mixing, it should a lot like meatloaf... one homogeneous substance.

Also, somewhere in here, you should preheat your oven to 425*.  Take the mix little by little and roll with your hands into 1"-2" balls, and then place them on a cookie sheet.

This recipe makes approximately 16 meatballs, although it depends entirely on how large you roll them.

Pop them into the oven for about 10-12 minutes, and they'll come out all bubbly, especially if you didn't use lean ground beef...

Finally, put them on top of your favorite pasta and sauce, and eat them!! They're also awesome reheated. 

Enjoy!  Cheers to a happy and safe snowday!  If you need me, I'll be sledding... ;)