This post has nothing to do with Abba, and everything to do with spicy little balls of meat.

Yes, I’m finally posting photos of my meatballs, and I’m going to do my best to describe the process. As I’ve said before, it’s nearly impossible for me to write down a recipe for this sort of thing.

The process starts, of course, with the ingredients.

The large metal mixing bowl was probably not necessary for the amount of meatballs I was making, but it was what I had. 😉

I used about a pound and a half of ground beef. The necessary ingredients include:

• grated cheese (I use a parmesan/romano blend that my family buys from The Cheese Man–really, that’s what his card says–who’s based in Jamestown.)
• bread crumbs (my grandma made her own using leftover bread no one was going to eat and a food processor. I buy them in the can.)
• parsley flakes
• black pepper
• garlic salt or powder (if you use powder, I recommend also adding some salt)
• eggs

Here’s the tricky part…no measurements on any of the above ingredients. I dump a bunch of stuff in and mix it up, adding things until it feels/smells right. You need a good meat-to-bread ratio. (you don’t want it too meaty) I use lots of cheese. I ended up using all three eggs in this batch, but it’s hard to say.

Here’s what the mixture looked like:

You’ve really got to work it through, to make sure it’s well mixed.

Then, you roll it into balls. I scoop some of the meat out with a tablespoon and form the ball from that, but you can make them whatever size you like.

I always test one…form one into a patty and fry it so that I can taste it before frying the rest.

Once you’re satisfied with the flavor, it’s time to fry!

I just used canola oil. You can use olive oil, but that costs more. Plus, I was out of it. 😉

The meatballs should just be browned in the pan. (I cook them a little bit longer if they’re going to be eaten in this state.)

I did put some aside for Jen, since she likes them this way, but I made sauce a couple of days later. No photos of that, though.

When I make sauce, I start with cans of Hunt’s tomato sauce and some water, seasonings (cheese, garlic salt/powder or real garlic, various italian seasonings, pepper, and a bay leaf), add meatballs (and just a smidge of the oil they were fried in), and cook for several hours. I let the water I added cook down, which gives enough time for the sauce to really cook into the meatballs.

I thought the results were pretty tasty. 🙂