Ricotta Meatballs

The thing I love about meatballs is that you can put anything in them and they still taste great.  Well, almost anything...........

Italians love their meatballs!  This recipe is a variation of my original meatball recipe.  Here are the ingredients:

• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• Olive oil, 1/4 cup
• Shallots - 1 large shallot, minced
• Garlic - 4 cloves minced
• Parmesan Cheese - 1 cup shredded
• Parsely - chopped, 1/2 cup
• Basil - chopped, 1/4 cup
• Ground Beef - 1 pound
• Italian sausage, ground, 1/2 pound
• 1 egg
• Ricotta cheese - 1 cup
• Salt
• Pepper 

 Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl.  Roll the meatballs to the size you want.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Let the meatballs finish cooking in your sauce.  Here is a great recipe for marinara sauce.  If you aren't planning on serving these with sauce, finish cooking them in the oven.

Mangia!

Stuffed Shells With Meatballs!

Do you love the taste of lasagna but don't have the time to put all of the layers together?  This recipe will give you the "cheesiness" of lasagna but without all of the time and effort.  It is a simple cheese mixture put into large shells, then covered with marinara sauce and meatballs.

Here are the ingredients:

Meatballs:

1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground pork
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 egg
3 tablespoons Ricotta cheese
Salt
Pepper
Fresh parsley

Sauce:

http://rediscovermom.blogspot.com/2013/01/marinara-sauce.html

Shells:

1 box Jumbo shells
1 container of Ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Fresh parsley
Salt
Pepper
1 cup shredded cheese

To begin, mix the ingredients for the meatballs.  Roll into balls and sear in a large saute pan.

Add marinara sauce and let that simmer for 30 minutes or so.

In a large stock pot, boil water with salt.  Cook the shells, al dente - still with a little crunch/bite to it.  The pasta will finish cooking in the oven.  When the shells are al dente, drain and set aside.

Assemble the cheese mixture.  Mix the ricotta, cheeses, salt, pepper, parsley, and egg.  Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture and place in an oven proof pan with a little sauce in the bottom of the pan.


Ladle sauce and meatballs on the top of the shells.  Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


Remove foil and top with 1 cup shredded Italian cheese (Mozzarella, Provel, Provelone, etc).  Put back in the oven until the cheese melts.

Mangia!

This recipe is listed on

Marinara Sauce

Italians have to have a few tomato sauce recipes.  This is a recipe inspired by my Sicilian Nonna (grandmother).

Nonna and Nonnu

Are you craving a meatless sauce?  A basic marinara sauce is super easy to throw together!  Here are the ingredients:

2 cans tomato sauce
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup red wine
Salt
Pepper
1 teaspoon each:  parsley, basil, oregano
Dash crushed red pepper
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

In a sauce pan, heat a little olive oil.  Add the onions.  Saute for 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute another minute.  Add the crushed tomatoes, red wine, sugar, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and the rest of the spices.  Let that simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the tomato sauce.  Let that simmer for another 15 minutes.

I like to serve this sauce with meatballs and pasta. 



If you are interested in a meat sauce, see:  http://rediscovermom.blogspot.com/2012/07/meat-sauce.html

Mangia!

Meatballs!

When you have spaghetti, there is nothing like a huge meatball to go with it!  My meatball recipe has evolved over the years.  My Nonna used ground beef, ground pork and ground veal.  I am a one stop shopper and my local Schnucks doesn't have ground veal.  Instead I use ground beef and ground salsiccia (Italian sausage).

To begin making my meatballs, I get some stale bread (about 6 slices or 3 rolls), break them into pieces and soak them in milk.  This will keep the meatballs very moist!  As a variation, you can put some ricotta cheese in the meatballs instead of the milk-soaked bread.

Chop up some parsley

Add some chopped onion (3 tablespoons) and garlic (3 cloves).  Add 3 eggs and 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

Mix all of those ingredients together with the meat.  Roll into 1-2 inch balls and place on a baking sheet.

Bake in the oven on 300 degrees for 30 minutes.  Finish cooking in spaghetti sauce:  http://rediscovermom.blogspot.com/2012/07/meat-sauce.html.  

These meatballs are a meal in itself!  Mangia!