Italian Meatballs
3 lbs. or more of lean ground beef
 Container of Italian Bread Crumbs 
many cloves of garlic
1/2 bunch of Italian parsley
2-3 large eggs
Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
Salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste
Olive oil


  1. Prepare Garlic cloves by peeling and chopping them into small pieces. You should end up with about  1/3 cup or more of small pieces.
  2. Pull the Parsley leaves from the stems of a half of a bunch of Italian parsley, then chop or cut them into smaller pieces and put aside.
  3. Put the ground beef in a large mixing bowl and  loosen it up from the large clump(s) it was probably in!
  4. Pour in about a cup of Italian bread crumbs, spreading it around on top of the meat.
  5. Spread the garlic pieces and the parsley around on this mixture as well.
  6. Shake some salt, pepper, and garlic powder on top of the mixture.
  7. Sprinkle on top about 1/3 of a cup of the grated cheese.
  8. Crack the eggs and drop on top of it all.
  9. Mix all thoroughly, preferably with bare hands and then begin to shape into meat balls in the size you prefer, large or small. To achieve a workable texture that will hold together as you shape them, you may need to add more bread crumbs (or that 3rd egg if it seems too dry already.)
  10. Fry them in a large skillet with a little olive oil in the bottom. OR Place all the meat balls on a cookie sheet or other oven pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 30 minutes.
  11. You can place the meat balls gently into your spaghetti sauce (that should be cooking elsewhere on the stove long before the meatball operation began) for the last 15-30 minutes of the sauce cooking time.  But this isn't necessary if you want to just keep the meatballs warm until it is time to serve the meal..
         Serves four or more and should give you ample leftovers.

COMMENTS:  I like to have a variety of meats available for an Italian dinner with guests.  In addition to the meatballs it would be good to have good quality Italian sausages and Braciole available.  Serve the meats in an interesting arrangement on a platter if this variety is present.  If you make a large number of meatballs you can enjoy meatball sandwiches the next day!

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