We're Crazy About Meatballs

We love meatballs. They are little treasures that can be popped into your mouth as a snack or deliciously smothered in pesto.  There's simply no way to screw up dinner when meatballs are the star of the show.  There are thousands of recipes out there, so I won't embarrass myself by sharing my "secret recipe."  For one thing, there would need to be a secret recipe, which there's not.  Because most of the time, I don't measure anything.  Nor do I use the same ingredients twice.  It drives my beloved crazy.  But for me, the adventure of cooking begins by opening the pantry or freezer, then imagining the possibilities.

A few things to consider the next time you make meatballs.

1)  Walk on the Wild Side.  Don't simply use ground beef for your meatballs.  My world changed when I added sausage to the mix, in order to make a batch   s  t  r  e  t  c  h.  Using a 1:1 measure for beef to sausage, it adds a spicy kick that we love.  But you could use any meat: chicken, turkey, or game. Get curious and try something new.

2)  Mix it up.  I used to mixed up the ingredients for meatballs by hand.  Now our Kitchenaid mixer does the work.  I'll never freeze my hands off again.  The Kitchenaid is strong enough to handle whatever I pitch in the bowl.

3)  Fill the freezer.  When I make meatballs, I like to make big batches, so that I can fill the freezer.  This afternoon, I made just over 100 meatballs in a couple of hours.  Freeze them on trays for a couple hours, then bag them up.  Now anytime we need a quick solution for dinner, we can grab a bag of balls, make fresh pasta, and choose the sauce.  Some nights its tomato sauce, other nights it's pesto.  Either way, it's quick and easy.