Meatballs From Scratch

If you get anything out of quarantine it should be learning new things in the kitchen. (Don't @ me if you're against women in the kitchen).

I couldn't tell you beginning in March how many social media posts I saw of people making loaves of bread from scratch. Granted, it was mostly because bread and toilet paper were nowhere to be found, but I did not see anyone posting about making toilet paper at home. I even tried to make bread once. It turned out good the first night, then I must not have tried very hard to store it properly as the next day it was a rock. I have not tried again.

Instead, Dennis and I watch quite a lot of MasterChef, (Gordon <3) and I tried to make other things like chicken and rice, we tried a seafood boil, and I made a soup from the bottom up with fresh ingredients. This time I wanted to try meatballs. As a side note: when I don't feel like doing much I often will make what my dad calls "hamburger steaks" - basically just hamburger patties in a skillet. No bun, no condiments - and they turn out pretty well so I thought I could do meatballs.

Now, I have dried oregano and basil and an herb medley in my cupboard, but the whole point is to chop fresh herbs and see if the difference is worth it. I think most of the time the issue with fresh herbs is you have to buy a certain amount and you won't use all of it and it goes bad so fast, so people just get the freeze dried herbs that are an arms length away without the fuss of chopping. To each their own, but I went with the fresh herbs: basil, oregano, and parsley. (You can put whatever you want in them by the way, I just went more Italian)

Please note that I love flavor and I am my father's daughter and I don't measure, so if you want less *BAM* try these measurements.

Preheat oven to 350*

1 inch meatballs - makes 23

3/4 lb hamburger

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1 tsp basil finely chopped (about 2-3 leaves)

1 tsp parsley finely chopped (about 5-6 leaves)

1 tsp oregano finely chopped (1 sprig)

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp course ground pepper

Amateur tip: When mincing leaf herbs, stack them and roll them up and make slices before chopping, they're more even.

Mix the chopped herbs, garlic salt, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs together.

In separate bowl, mix hamburger, egg, and water. Add herbs in.

If the mixture seems like it's mushy and won't form into balls, add more breadcrumbs.

Roll into balls just over an inch, they will shrink as they cook, and set on non stick pan.

Cook for 30 minutes or until brown.

These taste fine on their own with mashed potatoes, but can also be frozen or set in the fridge overnight and go in spaghetti sauce. Dennis said it was one of my best meals to date. (I'm not sure I should be offended of my other great meals, but okay.)

Photo by Mallery Adkins