Italian Meatballs and Marinara Sauce

A versatile, great make-ahead recipe that can be used for meatball hoagies, spaghetti and meatballs, or even as a side dish to another Italian favorite! The recipe suggestion for meatball hoagies is included with this recipe!

Italian Meatballs and Marinara Sauce

Cook time: 30 min. Prep time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

1 lb. ground beef (73/27 ground beef or 80/20 ground chuck is best)
1 lb. ground pork sausage
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning blend
1 egg
1/2 of a small white onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil

Marinara Sauce:

1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 of a small white onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning blend
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

To prepare the marinara sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat approx. 1-2 minutes. Add diced onion and chopped garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent and soft. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, stirring until mixture begins to bubble all over. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20-30 minutes.

To prepare meatballs, heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat approx. 1-2 minutes. Add finely chopped onion and garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent and soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, measure bread crumbs, onion powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning and stir together these dry ingredients. Add ground beef and ground sausage, cooled onion and garlic mixture, and egg. Using hands, mix together all ingredients until combined well—be as gentle as possible as over-mixing or over-working the meat mixture will result in tough meatballs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large, oven-proof baking dish, spoon approx. ¼ of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the dish. Using a large (#20) ice cream scoop, form meat mixture into 18 meatballs; after taking a scoop of meat mixture, gently form into neatly rounded meatballs. Place the meatballs in the baking dish and then spoon another ¼ of the marinara sauce over the meatballs. Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil. Bake the meatballs for 30-35 minutes.

Cooked meatballs can then be served with spaghetti or sliced in half to make delicious Italian meatball subs. To make meatball subs, place an Italian hoagie roll, split in half, on an oven-safe tray, place 4 sliced meatball halves on one side of the roll, spoon a small amount of remaining marinara over the meatballs, and then place two slices of mozzarella cheese on top. Broil the sandwich for 3-5 minutes, just until the cheese is warm and bubbly and the bread is slightly toasted. This meatball and sauce recipe will make 9 hearty Italian meatball subs.

 

ENJOY! I hope you try some different variations with this recipe. Be sure to share your feedback (as a comment to this post) and also share if you try a different variation from meatball hoagies, spaghetti and meatballs, or as a side dish to an Italian favorite!

Back-to-School Time-Saving Tip!

Happy Wednesday, Recipe Revolutionaries!

Since today happens to be the first day of school for many here in Ohio, I thought this would be an appropriate mid-week tip for all of you looking to save a little time now that the kids are back in school! So, here are just a few ways to make your kids happy when you pack their lunch or when they get home looking for a snack...

Tip #1 - Do you ever wonder how you can send your kids to school with their favorite deli-meat sandwich, but you don't have one of those handy-dandy freezer pack thingys that keeps it cold (or, as in my case, you don't want to pay the money to buy one) until lunchtime?

Problem solved! Simply make their favorite sandwich, including cheese and condiments if they like it that way the night before. Put the sandwich into a sandwich bag and then wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Write your child's name on the outside with a marker and pop it into the freezer overnight. Then, simply pull it out when you pack their lunch in the morning and it will be defrosted and delicious by lunchtime! NOTE: If they want veggies like lettuce or tomatoes on their sandwich, don't put those on before freezing as they will wilt and be less than delicious when they unfreeze...simply put those in a separate bag and pack with the sandwich so they can put those healthy elements on before eating.

Tip #2 - Do your kids love apple slices for lunch but hate eating them when they have turned brown?

Helpful and fun hint! When slicing the apple up for your child while packing their lunch, simply dip the sliced apple pieces into their favorite lemon-lime soda (like Slice, Sprite, or 7-Up). Doing so will help prevent browning of the fruit longer and your kids will thank you for crisp, tasty apples slices!

Tip #3 - Do you want your kids to eat more vegetables, but they refuse to do so because they just taste "too healthy"?

Along with carrot sticks, celery sticks, broccoli, or whatever ever vegetables you are sending, pack a small container of their favorite, low-fat salad dressing for dipping! Those veggies will be sure to disappear now.

Tip #4 - Would you like to have an easy, no-fuss treat ready when your kids come home from school?

Well here are two simple ideas! One, take your child's favorite pudding cups, insert popsicle sticks (DO NOT remove foil seal), place them on a flat, freezer-safe tray, and freeze until solid (usually at least overnight)! When they get home from school, they can simply pull off the foil seal, loosen the plastic cup, and ENJOY!

Two--you'll need small Dixie cups and popsicle sticks for this one! Prepare your child's favorite flavor of Kool-Aid. Then, on a flat, freezer-safe tray, arrange 12 Dixie cups. Fill each cup approx. 3/4 full of the prepared Kool-Aid. Place in the freezer for approx. 1-2 hours, until the mixture is slushy (until popsicle sticks inserted will stand on their own), and insert a popsicle stick into each cup. Return to the freezer until frozen solid. When ready to eat, your child can pull one out of the freezer and just tear away the Dixie cup to enjoy!

Tip #5 - How about a quick and easy snack mix they can enjoy, either packed in their lunch or when they get home from school?

Ingredients:

3 cups of rice squares cereal
3 cups of mini pretzels (sticks or braids)
3 cups of cheese cracker bites

6 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon seasoning salt (may need to adjust to your child's taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup of honey roasted peanuts
1 cup of sesame stick snacks

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rice squares cereal, pretzels, and cheese cracker bites.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter or margarine over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the Worchestershire sauce, seasoning salt, and pepper. Pour this mixture over cereal/pretzel/cheese cracker combination and, using a large flexible scraper, toss to coat the cereal mixture with the butter mixture.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spread the coated cereal mixture onto two large baking sheets and place into the preheated oven. Bake for approximately one (1) hour, stirring/tossing the mixture every 15 minutes--cereal mixture should be nicely baked and no longer moist from the butter mixture. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Before storing in an airtight container, toss cereal mixture with the honey roasted peanuts and sesame stick snacks. Your kids will love this yummy snack mix!

I hope you each find this mid-week edition helpful in getting your kids back to school and keeping them satisfied with healthy lunches and snacks! Be sure to share with me (as a comment to this post, please) how these tips and ideas work for you!

Stay tuned for this week's recipe, Italian Meatballs and Marinara, coming Saturday!

Party Pasta Salad

An easy, family-friendly (and kid-friendly) side dish that pairs well with almost any lunch or dinner! Great as a summer picnic or potluck side!



PARTY PASTA SALAD


Cook time (pasta only): 8 min. Prep time: 30 min.

Ingredients:

1 - 16 oz. box of rotini pasta, uncooked
1 - 3.5 oz. package of sliced pepperoni
1 - 8 oz. block of marbled cheddar cheese

1 medium orange bell pepper

1 bunch green onions

2/3 cup prepared Italian salad dressing

 

Directions:

 

Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and rinse.

 

Reserve 12 whole pepperoni slices for garnish later. Cut remaining pepperoni slices into quarters and place into a large serving bowl.

 

Cut block of cheese into 1/2 inch slices and then cut cheese slices into 1/2 inch (bite-sized) cubes. Add diced cheese to bowl with pepperoni.

 

Wash bell pepper and remove stem, core, and seeds. Cut pepper into 1/2 inch strips and then dice pepper strips into 1/2 inch (bite-sized) pieces. Add diced bell pepper to bowl with pepperoni and cheese.

 

Reserve 2-3 green onions to be used for garnish later. After removing ends and approx. 2-3 inches of green onion tops, slice green onions thinly and add sliced green onions to bowl with pepperoni, cheese, and bell pepper.

 

Add well-drained pasta to the bowl with pepperoni, cheese, bell pepper, and green onions. Using a scraper, toss ingredients to combine. Drizzle with approximately 1/2 cup of the Italian dressing and toss well to combine.

 

To garnish, slice the remaining green onions (after removing ends and approx. 2-3 inches of green onion tops) and sprinkle evenly over top of pasta salad. Drizzle remaining Italian dressing over salad; DO NOT MIX. Arrange reserved pepperoni slices around edge of bowl. Cover tightly and refrigerate a minimum of 2-3 hours (salad is even better when prepared a day in advance).

 

Lightly toss salad before serving and enjoy! (NOTE: Salad will have absorbed most of the dressing while resting in the refrigerator. If you like a moister pasta salad, simply drizzle 1-2 additional tablespoons of Italian dressing over the salad before tossing and serving.)



Welcome to Matt's Recipe Revolution!

Good Afternoon, Recipe Revolutionaries!

This blog is meant to be an exciting collection of my personal recipes as well as some favorite recipes I have collected over the years with a few little "tweaks" to make them my own. I will share a new recipe every week and will look for feedback from each of you!

I will also share seasonal recipe tips, entertaining ideas, and will always include a photo of the finished product for your viewing pleasure and feedback.

My goal here is share my passion for cooking through recipes I've developed or recipes I've stumbled across and fell in love with over the years. In addition, food is not only nourishment for our bodies, but also meant to be visually appealing and meant to inspire reason(s) to get together with family and friends. It is my goal to inspire that same love of food, family, and celebration in each of you!

I look forward to this revolutionary journey with each of you along for the ride! Please invite your friends and family to follow as well so that they, too, can enjoy the journey for themselves!

Happy cooking and I'll see each of you in the kitchen soon with our first easy recipe, Party Pasta Salad!