Dinner

Bella's Italian Meatballs is for Dinner.

Bella's Italian Meatballs takes 30 minutes to prepare.

Bella's Italian Meatballs takes 25 minutes to cook.

Bella's Italian Meatballs makes 8 servings.

The ingredients for Bella's Italian Meatballs are:

1-1/2 lbs. extra lean ground beef
1-1/2 lbs. extra lean ground pork
1 cups whole milk
4-1/2 slices wheat bread, de-crusted, about 3 oz.
3/8 cup ricotta cheese
3/8 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
3 tsps. sea salt
3 tsps. Black pepper
1-1/2 Tbsps. fresh parsley, chopped
3-3/4 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 Tsps. dried oregano or marjoram
1-1/2 cups flour for dusting
3 Tbsps. olive oil
1-1/8 cups diced onion
3 Tbsps. fresh parsley, chopped
1-1/2 cloves minced garlic
3/4 tsp. dried basil or 2 tbsp. chopped fresh

Here is how you make Bella's Italian Meatballs:

Heat the milk in a small pot until steamy. Turn off the heat, tear the bread into little pieces and soak it in the milk until it partially dissolves. Mash it until you get something that resembles a paste. Turn it out onto a plate to let it cool.In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, ricotta cheese, grated parmesan, eggs, salt, parsley, oregano, black pepper, garlic cloves and the bread-milk mixture. Mix it well with your hands until it barely combines. Don't overwork the mixture or it will become tough. It is OK to have some discernible bits of bread or meat in the mix; better that than overworked meatballs. Wet your hands and form the meatballs. A traditional size for this sort of meatball is 2-3 inches across, but you can make them any size you want. Once you roll the meatball in your hands, roll it in the flour to give it a good coating. Set each one on a baking sheet as you work. You might need to rinse your hands a few times as you make the meatballs.FRYING METHOD - When all the meatballs are formed, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on at least two sides. Don't worry about the center getting cooked through, as you will finish these in the sauce.Once all the meatballs are browned, arrange them in the sauce, turning each one over in the sauce to coat. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes. Serve with the sauce and pasta or crusty bread. Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley for garnish if you want.OVEN BAKED METHOD - Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake meatballs in upper third of oven for 20-25 minutes. Serving Size: 8 servings of 6 meatballs each (48 meatballs)Number of Servings: 8Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BBELLA-VA.

The nutritional information for Bella's Italian Meatballs is:

• Servings Per Recipe: 8
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 536.1

• Total Fat: 35.9 g
• Cholesterol: 189.2 mg
• Sodium: 1,150.1 mg
• Total Carbs: 6.9 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.8 g
• Protein: 40.7 g

Bella's Italian Meatballs is Italian cuisine.