Homemade Italian Meatballs

Hi Everyone,

I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day!  I spent the day cooking up a storm and I took a a quick speed walk for some energy and calorie burning.  For you frequent readers you know I like to freeze just about everything!  When it’s just my Husband and I, we can’t always eat everything, well unless it’s meat and potatoes, than there is never any leftovers because my Husband eats it all!  So with that said I have a wonderful opportunity from Glad to try out there new Glad FreezerWare containers.  I asked Hubby, what should I make to freeze and the first words out of his mouth was meatballs!

Meatballs?  He’s like yah!  I haven’t had those in a long time!  It’s been years since I made homemade ones.  Since my Husband has been so good to me, I thought I shall grant his wish and make him my famous Jennifer Meatballs!  I didn’t tell you this, but this morning I was going to go take my shower and my Husband was in the bathroom cleaning the tub at 6:30 in the morning.  Can you believe it?  First he did the dishes the other day, put the sprinkler system in my garden yesterday and today he’s cleaning the tub.  I think he maybe sick or something?  This is very unusual behavior for him!  Hmmmm, what does he want?  Maybe he’s being extra good to me because I’m going to Europe in July and he’ll be without me for 8 days and he just wants me to remember all the wonderful things he does for me?  Nah, that can’t be it?  So with me going away, this opportunity to make freezer friendly foods from Glad came just in time!

So I decided to spend my Memorial Day making him Meatballs and cookies, not together  though, that would be gross.  Wouldn’t it?  Maybe not?  You tell me, would you eat cookies meatballs?  So the first thing I did was mix all my ingredients together, time to get your hands dirty, I love this part!!

Roll your meatballs int 1.5 oz size, about the size of a golf ball and than roll into bread crumbs.  I didn’t have any bread crumbs, so I took Hubby’s hot dog rolls, baked it till crispy and that put it in my mini food processor.  Fa la, bread crumbs.  Than I placed each meatball into a mini muffin cup.

Bake at 400 degree Fahrenheit for 20 – 25 minutes.  Meanwhile, while they were cooking I decided to freeze up some more goodies, like fresh strawberries.  These are perfect for my smoothies, strawberry quick jam and so much more.  I bought so many at the Farmers Market that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to eat them all.

I’m pretty happy with the 3 cup size Glad Freezerware containers.  There sturdy and a perfect size to hold 2 pints of strawberries.  Plus there a nice size to store in my freezer, without taking up to much space.  I also made some cookies this morning for my Husband lunches this week.  I always freeze his cookies and now that I have the Glad Freezerware this will make it so much easier for him to grab and go!  Oh the recipe for the cookies will come later this June, so just be patient!  But I’ll tell you there so good, you won’t be disappointed!

The meatballs are now done!!

How do they taste?  I didn’t want to share or freeze a recipe without tasting it first, so I split just one meatball for myself and Hubby to try.  Plus I want you to see the inside.

I took one to Hubby and he gave me a thumbs up and said there good!  He wanted to eat the rest of them, and I told him no!  I told him there for spaghetti or a meatball sub or on pizza.  He had a sad look on his face.  But hey, sometimes you just have to say no!!  I took the meatballs and put them on a plate and placed them in the freezer to so they would freeze individually.  I froze them for about an hour.  Than I placed them in my Glad Freezerware 8 cup container.  When you go to heat up the meatballs, all I do is throw them in some pasta sauce and let them warm up that way.  There one of the most perfect foods to freeze. Now that I froze them individually I can always heat up just a few.  I know my Husband would love them on that meatball sub with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Homemade Italian Meatballs

Nutrition Information

• Serves: 12 meatballs

• Serving size: 1 meatball

Prep time:  10 mins

Cook time:  20 mins

Total time:  30 mins

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Freezer ready, baked Italian Meatballs that have a golden top, moist middle and full of Italian seasoning. Perfect for pasta, meatball subs, appetizer or on pizza!

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• ¼ cup finely grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1 whole egg
• 2 tbsp, onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. kosher salt
• ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
• ½ cup bread crumbs, divided (I used one hot dog bun, baked it until golden, than pulsed it in a food processor to make crumbs)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and ¼ cup of the bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well combined.
3. In a shallow dish add remaining ¼ cup of the bread crumbs.
4. Using a food scale, weigh meatball mixture to 1.5-ounce portions, about the size of a golf ball. Roll into a ball and than roll into the bread crumbs. Place each meatball into a mini muffin pan tin.
5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
6. Let them cool, Use immediately or freeze for future use.

Notes

Calories per meatball: 71, Fat: 2.6, Cholesterol: 35, Sodium: 185, Potassium: 9.3, Carbs: 2, Fiber: .01, Sugar: .03, Protein: 9.7

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I should tell you a little bit up the Glad Freezerware containers.  It’s the only container made just for the freezer.  It resists cracking, is specially formulated to withstand extreme temperatures, and lets you simply freeze, heat and serve!  I don’t want to forget to mention there microwave safe!  So from freezer to microwave, you can have breakfast, lunch or dinner served in a matter of minutes!  After reading that I just had to roast up 3.5 cups of sweet potatoes, than after there cooked and cooled, add a 1.5 cups of black beans and 1 cup roasted corn and now I made my own Chipotle mix, which is perfect on tacos, with quinoa or as a side dish!

Well there you have it, my Big Batch Freezer Cooking Memorial Day!  It feels great to have this done and out of the way!  Now I know I have some meals prepared for a nice easy week!   I guess you  know I’ll be having tacos, and smoothies this week!  Yum!  I just hope my Husband doesn’t start sneaking meatballs for his lunch!   I better get these in the freezer!

I was lucky enough to get sent 12 Glad Freezerware containers.  I kept 6 for myself and I am giving away 6 containers to you!!

To enter the giveaway all you have to do is tell me what kind of foods do you like to freeze?

I also encourage you to share your very own freezer-friendly recipes and meal planning tips on Glad’s Facebook page!  Between now and June 30th, everyone who shares a recipe is eligible to win great prizes.  For more information go to www.facebook.com/Glad

6 Additional chances to win:  Oh and be sure you tell me you did this.

• Sign up for email/subscribe to Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Follow me on Twitter @JenatPBandP
• Tweet my giveaway:   Glad Freezerware Giveaway at Peanut Butter and Peppers http://wp.me/p2aEXh-1tf
• Like Peanut Butter and Peppers on Facebook
• Like Glad on Facebook
• Grab my button and place on your blog

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, “I received a case of Glad® Freezerware™ containers and a stipend“.

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