Weeknights can be so busy during the school year, and I know when I was a young mom I was always looking for recipes that could be made ahead or slow cooked in the crock pot. When we have the grand kids coming over after school I like to have supper well under way before they run in the door, and these meatballs are always a hit. All I have to do before supper is boil a pot of pasta and pull out a tray of cut up veggies or a garden salad and supper is served.
(this will yield approximately 25 meatballs)
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pound ground chicken or turkey (you can use 2 pounds of ground beef if you don't want to use poultry)
- 1 small onion grated
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp milk
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 6 cups spaghetti sauce, I like to use Prego brand for this recipe
- pasta of your choice, enough to serve number of people around the table
- Mix the first 10 ingredients together with your hands.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Form golf ball size meatballs and place close together on baking sheet.
- Bake in 400ºF oven for 15 minutes.
For crock pot method: Pour sauce into crock pot and add cooked meatballs. Cover with lid and turn to low and allow to simmer for 4-6 hours.
For oven method: Pour sauce into a large casserole and add cooked meatballs. Cover and bake in 350ºF oven for 1 hour.
To freeze: You can freeze the meatballs either raw or cooked. Place either way onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in freezer. Once frozen remove and store in freezer bags. This way you can take out as many as you like.
You can also freeze the baked meatballs in the sauce right in the casserole dish. To serve place frozen casserole in refrigerator the night before. It will be thawed and ready to pop into the oven an hour before supper time.