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I’ve been craving spaghetti with meatballs lately, especially after stumbling upon Christine’s recipe for Italian meatballs. I scanned through the ingredient list, realized that I had everything on hand, and so I immediately dove into making these mini meatballs.

What I love about this recipe is Christine’s choice of using extra lean ground beef with breadcrumbs and fresh herbs; that combination works really well together to yield the ultimate juicy, flavourful meatball that is a lot more heart-friendly than regular store-bought meatballs (less saturated fats than meatballs made with regular ground beef, pork and veal).

The recipe was easy to follow and was a lot of fun! Be prepared to use your hands and get messy!

I followed the recipe exactly and made 25 two-bite meatballs.

Two-Bite Italian Meatballs

Source: Christine’s Corner

What you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pound extra lean ground beef
• 1 onion, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup fresh oregano, finely
• 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
• Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
• In a small bowl, mix breadcrumbs with milk. Set aside to allow crumbs to fully absorb milk.
• Meanwhile, in a large bowl, gently mix together the ground beef, onion, garlic, egg yolk and Parmesan cheese using clean hands (or with gloves).
• Add the breadcrumb mixture and fresh oregano to the mixture. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Mix well.
• Form mixture into small balls (roughly the size of ping-pong balls), make sure the balls are roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Place onto baking sheet.
• Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes.
• Use immediately, or let cool and freeze (lasts up to 3 months).

I tasted one right after it came out of the oven – the meatball was juicy and meaty, plus the taste of the fresh oregano was really prominent, adding a whole new flavour dimension to the meatball. I really enjoyed it!

I served these meatballs over faux mashed potato with a salsa and cheese topping to my brother for his pre-dinner snack. He loved it and he scraped every last bite of food off the plate — a telltale sign that the meatballs (and my faux mashed potato) was a definite success!

As for the recipe for my faux mashed potato (which my brother didn’t suspect to be anything else until he finished his last bite), I’ll be sharing that on my next post. Stay tuned![Update: here's the post on faux mashed potatoes!]

Question of the Day: What is your favourite way to eat meatballs?

The Silly Nutrition Undergrad has moved. Come to Juicy Fresh Bites for new content on health and nutrition!