Did anyone else have a serious case of the Mondays yesterday? You know what I'm talking about. You wake up on the wrong side of the bed, wishing you had just one extra day in the weekend and needing numerous cups of coffee to get through the day. Yeah, yesterday was rough.
Fear not, dear readers (and by readers I mean my parents), I have found a cure. Here's what you do: on Saturday invite a friend over for dinner on Monday. On Sunday make a steaming hot pot of homemade meatballs. It's that easy. When you wake up feeling blue on Monday morning you will remember that you have a delicious meal and great company to look forward to and then Monday won't seem so bad.
Meatballs:
2 lbs. of ground beef
3/4 of a yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
2 handfuls of parsley
1 egg
2/3 cup of Italian breadcrumbs
2/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
Place beef in a large bowl. Use a food processor to finely chop the onion and garlic. Reserve 2 tbsp. for the sauce and add the rest to the beef. Chop the parsley in the food processor and add it to the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and use your hands to combine everything. Once all of the ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the meat form uniform balls using a soup spoon to measure.
Heat a little olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. This imparts a great flavor and helps the meatballs keep their shape in the sauce (recipe below). When they are browned add them to your pot of sauce, bring to a slow boil, cover and let simmer for at least two hours.
Sauce:
2 tbsp. of diced onion and garlic
1 12 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup of chicken stock
salt, pepper, and oregano for seasoning
4 basil leaves
Saute the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil until soft. Add tomato paste and enough chicken stock to liquify it. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano and add the can of tomato sauce as well. Bring to a boil over medium heat then lower to simmer. Before you serve it add some fresh basil leaves.
3 comments:
This is a great idea! But can I be the friend invited over instead of the meatball making host?
Yum yum!! My dad makes a really neat lemon turkey meatball that I think you'd like - let me know if you want the recipe!!
They were so tasty!
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