That's a spicy meatball!

My tried and true meatball recipe.

Originally posted 09/25/07

Preheat oven to 350-375 degrees (lower temp will cook slower, giving you a more 'well done' meatball over a jucier one)

1 lb. ground beef or meatball/ meatloaf mix. If using beef, use 90% or higher so that you don't make a hot mess out of your oven.
Bread crumbs (Italian seasoned if you like, or plain if you want to add a lot of your own spices. I use Italian, and a brand name... it's in a blue thing.)
1 egg (per lb. of meat)
grated Parmesean cheese
grated Romano cheese (both cheeses can be found in shaker jars near the sauce, but I prefer fresh. Whichever works.)

The following can be added or left out, whatever you fancy. Mix it up.
basil
garlic (finely chopped and sauteed, or garlic powder if you don't like chunks)
salt
pepper
finely chopped sauteed onion
*BBQ Dinosaur FOREPLAY rub* (I swear, it comes out sooo much better)
cumin (I really like cumin)
whatever else on your spice rack smells good. No, seriously, just sniff and see.

Wash your hands. You will want paper towels near by.
Put the meat in a bowl. Good.
Now add about 1/2 c. of bread crumbs and the egg.
Add the cheeses. I like about 1/3c. each. Maybe more.
Smash it all together with your hands. Like with hamburger, you don't want to overwork it. Just mixing it up is great for now.
If you feel that it is too runny (from the egg), add a half a palm-full of bread crumbs. The meat should be looser than play-doh, but roll into balls and stay that way, more or less.

Now add your onions, garlic, spices, and all that good stuff. It may look like you are WAY overseasoning it, but don't worry about that. Just go easy on the salt, since the Parmesean is pretty salty on it's own. So is Foreplay.

Roll the meat into golfball sized balls. (I usually only roll 5-7, then roll more while those brown.)

Heat a non-stick pan to medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking pan with tin foil.

Brown the meatballs in the pan, leaving plenty of room to turn. When brown on a few sides (but not cooked through), place on baking sheet. Once all meatballs are done, put in the oven and bake until done in the middle, maybe about 15-20 minutes? Just check them. Eat the ones you cut in half (once they are cooked).

These freeze really well. If warm, add to sauce at last minute. If chilled, add to sauce 15 minutes before you want to eat, or zap in the microwave. You don't want to let them sit in the sauce and cook too long, as they will just turn mushy.