Let’s talk about frozen food for a minute: you always here that if it can’t be fresh, frozen is second best. However, I have a very strong dislike for frozen food from the grocery store. Call me crazy, but I can taste the difference and its overwhelming to me. This distaste has presented me with some real convenience issues. As much as I love to make things from scratch, sometimes it’s the last thing I want to do after a long day. So how did I solve this problem? Make MY OWN frozen food, of course!
My favorite freezer food is hands down Italian meatballs. They are so simple to make, cook quickly, and freeze beautifully. The best part is if I forget to thaw them ahead of time, they can be nuked or heated up in sauce in no time. We are having meatball subs tonight and we have no meatballs in the freezer. So, I am going to make a big batch, have some for dinner and freeze the rest to have on hand.
Meatballs are little packages of yum, and when it comes to meat one of the best ways to achieve yum is with fat content. I know that the 95% lean and 5% fat ground beef seems like the healthiest route for you and your family, but please opt for something with a little more fat. You will not regret it, and you’re wallet will be happy since it tends to be a bit cheaper. You’ll also need eggs and breadcrumbs to bind everything together, diced onions (make these super small as to not bite into a chunk of onion), minced garlic, and Worcestershire sauce (for anyone not from Massachusetts, it’s pronounced WIS-TA-SHER). The only spices I use are Italian herb blend, salt, and pepper.
Dump everything into a large mixing bowl and wash your hands, because it’s about to get fun! Some people prefer to fold everything together with a serving spoon first, but I like to just get in there with my hands.
Once everything is completely combined start forming the balls. An ice cream scoop would greatly improve your ability to make them a uniform size, but I have complete faith in your judgement. Place the balls on a greased or foil lined baking sheet and bake them at 400 F. The cook time is going to greatly depend on what size you have. Mine are probably about 1½” to 2″ diameter, and I baked them for 20 minutes.
From here you can drop them right into a sauce and simmer everything together to serve either on it’s own or over pasta. If you want to freeze them, transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet and put the whole sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes or until the outside is pretty much frozen. This is called flash freezing, and it will allow you to combine them in one bag or container without being crushed together. After they are flash frozen I like to put them in a food storage bag, that way I can take out just the amount I need each time.
Do you have any meals you like to freeze ahead of time? If it’s a time saver, I’m all about it!
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Serves: approx. 20 pieces
- 2 lbs. Ground Beef (the more fat, the better flavor!)
- 2 Eggs
- ¼ cup Breadcrumbs
- 1 Medium Sweet Onion
- 2 tsp. Minced Garlic
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 tsp. Italian Herb Blend
- 2 tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400 F
- Combine all ingredients and mix well to incorporate (your hands are your best tools!)
- Form balls in your preferred size with the mixture and place on a greased baking sheet
- Bake 1" balls for approximately 15 minutes, 2" balls for 20-25 minutes
- If you are planning to freeze the meatballs, transfer them onto a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place the entire sheet in the freezer for about 30 minutes to flash freeze them. Once somewhat frozen to the touch, they can be put into a large food storage bag and kept in the freezer.