Sometimes you have a few extra minutes on your hands and some frozen meat you want to use and if that’s the case, these are some super simple (and super delicious) meatballs you can throw together in two minutes. Freeze them and save them for a night when you’re making pasta. It’s one of those comforting extras that will make your spaghetti night so much more tasty and you’ll be happy you whipped these up!

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1 egg

• 1/4 cup of bread crumbs or Panko (finely ground)

• 4 tbsp of parmesan cheese

• 1 tbsp of chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients until just incorporated and form into balls roughly 1.5 inches in diameter.

2. Put on a sheet pan - on parchment paper covered with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes - this will help keep the meatballs together when you cook them.

3. When ready to cook, heat a few tbsps of EVOO in a frying pan on medium heat. Place the meatballs in the frying pan once it’s hot (note it should not be too hot or it will smoke).

4. Cooking for 5-7 minutes making sure to shake the pan regularly so they don’t get stuck and to ensure they cook on all sides.

5. While meatballs cook, set aside a plate covered with paper towel.

6. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to soak up excess oil and fats.

7. Now you’re ready to serve or add to your favorite pasta sauce.

Freeze and Store

These can also be frozen for use later. If you’re going to freeze, here’s how to avoid having them stick together. Right after you form into balls place on a clean flat surface in the freezer. Make sure none are touching. Allow to freeze completely overnight. The next day you can place them all in a ziplock bag together.

Recipe Tips:

• When mixing ingredients and forming your meatballs, do not overwork - you don’t need to pack them super tightly

• You can use Panko bread crumb instead of real bread crumbs

• If you are using real bread crumbs, make sure they are finely ground

• If we ever have stale bread, we always grind it up with our food processor, put it in a ziplock bag and throw it in the freezer to be used later in recipes like this one

• Sacrifice one meatball and cut it open to ensure it’s cooked through before eating

• No need to add salt and pepper as it’s usually added to the pasta sauce