Day 128 - Meatballs and Spaghetti

As you can guess, I didn't bake the spaghetti.  It's all about the meatballs tonight, friends.
I've only ever made my meatballs one way: with a recipe using ground beef from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, and always cooked them in a skillet on the stove top.  I like that recipe as does the family, but we can always try something new and see if we like those better.
After all, isn't that what having fun in the kitchen is all about?
Experimenting!
Sometimes what you make may not turn out that great or really horrible actually, as in the case with the Indian Pudding
OR
you could have something look and taste a WHOLE bunch better than you ever expected it to as with that luscious Lemon Meringue Pie.
Oh man, I could use a BIG piece of that right now!
I've heard that the best meatballs are made with three kinds of meat, so we'll be putting that to the test.
I didn't go crazy and make the sauce from scratch, so don't get too excited.  I do have a life which included a hair appointment and taxiing a child to volleyball practice down that highway.
As a side note, I didn't have any problems with drivers in the high speed lane today, they must have all read yesterday's post, or you let them know about it.
Thank you, I very much appreciate it!
I'm off to roll out the meatballs, retrieve said child, eat dinner and then watch 'Chopped'.
I also have to organize my coupon binder.
It's going to be a FUN night here at the 365 abode.  I know you're jealous.
I can see it in your eyes.

This is adapted from The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook.
Meatballs

3 slices potato bread with crust removed and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup milk
8 ounces ground beef
8 ounces ground lamb
8 ounces ground pork
½ medium onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
grated zest of 3/4 lemon
1 tablespoon parsley
1½ teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
4 tablespoons olive oil

Place the bread in a bowl and pour the milk over it; set aside.

In a large bowl, place lamb, pork, and beef.

Add the onion, garlic, lemon zest, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper and egg.

Mash the bread mixture to form a paste and add to the meat mixture.
Combine well. 
(The best way to do this is with your hands, so don't be shy, get in there and get dirty!)

Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Form the mixture into 1-1½ inch balls.

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Brown half the meatballs, a few minutes on each side.
Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet large enough to hold all of the meatballs.

Repeat with remaining oil and meatballs.
Transfer cookie sheet to oven to finish cooking and bake about 20-25 minutes.

  

Meatballs

&

Spaghetti

I was going through the pictures and I thought the meatball I took a bite of looks like either a grumpy old witch or this guy,

Mr. Magoo.

Can you see it in the following picture, or is it just me?

When I was rolling the meatballs, they were pretty mushy and I was concerned about them holding their shape and not falling apart completely while they cooked. 
That didn't end up being a problem although some of them turned out blobbish rather than looking like balls.
The family really, really liked these, so this is my NEW meatball recipe!
Everything I bake I rate on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these meatballs earned 3½ rolling pins.
They had so much flavor and were quite delicious with the beef, pork and lamb.  I really don't like most things with lamb, but it blended well with the other meats and spices.
I can't tell you how glad I am that these turned out because I have the other 8 ounces of each meat in the freezer for more meatballs at another time!
These tasted like real Italian meatballs, definitely NOT the stuff I was making before.
Cottura Felice!