Italian Meatballs

I LOVE meatballs. 

I really do.  

But I love homemade meatballs more than any other kind.   I was super intimidated by making my own meatballs for some reason.  Once I gave it a try I have never gone back to store bought.  

So here is my family's favorite meatballs!

Ingredients:

1 to 1 and 1/2 pounds of ground meat 

(we like turkey best but beef, pork, or chicken are good too!)

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 large egg slightly beaten

1/2 cup italian bread crumbs

2 teaspoons minced garlic

(you can substitute ground garlic here if you don't have fresh)

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons of dried parsley

Now, I always set the meat out to thaw early so I don't have to use the microwave.  My microwave always cooks some of the meat in the defrosting process and that makes meatballs more difficult to make.  So depending on your microwave you might want to set your meat out early too. 

Let's preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Done?  Awesome!

Now to the easy part.  Mix ALL the ingredients together!  I know, I love simple.

I use a fork to mix everything and it has always worked just fine for me.  

Now do you have a mini ice cream scoop?  I know they sell them in the baking aisle to make cookies with.  

They are perfect for making meatballs.  It's nice to have them all the same size.  If you don't have one you can use your hands like I did before I realized that this little wonder tool would do the work for me.

You are going to want to grease a cookie sheet for this (or line on with foil and grease that). If you don't your meatballs will stick. 

Now make your meatballs! 

I just pop them on the cookie sheet how ever they will fit.  This batch was little more than a pound of meat and makes a quiet a few.

Now pop them in your preheated oven (350 degrees) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. 

Now you can add them to whatever sauce you like!

If you want to cook them in the sauce you can skip the baking part and cook them in sauce for 40 to 45 minutes.  Either way they are delicious!