Italian meatballs

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• dash nutmeg
• salt and pepper as desired

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Chop up your garlic and set it aside. I mixed my dry ingredients (Parmesan, bread crumbs, and dried herbs and spices minus salt and pepper) in a separate bowl – but this is not necessary. Place the ground beef into a large bowl, breaking it up with your fingers as you do so. Add salt (I sprinkled maybe 1/4 teaspoon) and pepper (about 4 twists of my grinder), the egg and the chopped garlic, mix these until they are loosely incorporated. Sprinkle the dry ingredients evenly over the top of the beef and then mix again until everything is incorporated – you don’t want any dry deposits or wet spots and the beef should begin to hold its shape.

Once you're at that point, it's time to roll! Make sure you have a cookie sheet – either grease it plenty or use parchment paper. I used parchment and the meatballs didn't stick at all. The meatballs should be about an inch big – forming them is super easy. Throw the ball on the cookie sheet, make sure there's a bit of room between each (they won't expand, but you need the space in order to heat them evenly on all sides). Once you've rolled up all the meatballs, place the cookie sheet in the oven. It should take about 20 minutes to cook through, I flipped my meatballs midway through the cooking time – partially to make sure they weren't sticking and partially to brown the other side.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info

Calories: 298 kcal Fat: 17.8 g Saturated Fat: 6.5 g Total Carbohydrate: 3 g Fiber: 1 g Protein: 30.5 g